Some of the recycle stores in the area have some pretty good stuff. Managed to find a good toaster oven for ï¿¥500 ($5) once. Gileseyboy scored a couple body boards for under Â¥500. There was finally a day of semi-decent weather on a weekend. The beaches are still pretty deserted, despite the warm weather (People apparently don’t come out until ‘official beach season’ starts. For me, anytime there’s sun, it’s official beach season.). The water wasn’t too bad and I would have continued to hit the waves more…if I didn’t freak myself out so much by imagining an octopus wrapping its tentacles around my legs and pulling me down to the depths. Not to mention, there’s a very sudden and steep dropoff right near the shores.
After the beach, I decided to check out the Hamamatsu lighthouse. Before I go on about the lighthouse, let me preface it with a long, but important explanation that will give it some context.
The longer you stay in Japan, naturally, the more you start to experience things without the rose-colored glasses. More often than not, things in Japan start to become a huge disappointment. Example: Mr. Donuts is an extremely popular donut chain in Japan. I’ve never seen one that’s not packed with giddy schoolgirls. Often during the evening, there is a huge line for those wanting to get their hands on some specially-priced treats. And who can blame them? The donuts are always so beautifully displayed in pristine condition. But after you hand over the Â¥136 yen for that gorgeously glazed chocolate ring and wipe the drool from the corners of your mouth to go take that first delectable bite, your tongue hits a wall – a wall of nothingness. Confused, you go to take another bite. And then another. And another. You’re searching for the obvious flavor that must come with something that looks so scrumptious. But I can tell you that you will be searching in vain. You will finish the entire donut without ever experiencing the expected satisfying taste. This is what I like to call a Japanese Disappointment, or a “J.D.” A big fuss over something that’s really nothing, but was made popular somehow. Probably by giddy schoolgirls.
A J.D. can also be something that’s not necessarily popular and lets you down. It can also be a failing on your part because of your trust in Japan to be interesting enough to provide you with daily excitement and constant unique experiences. Do not fall for the cunning disguises Japan puts on. You will be led down a path that might appear to be heading toward adventure, but what you inevitably find at the end of the trail is something terribly mundane or something that wouldn’t even amount to below average.
This was my experience with the “lighthouse of Hamamatsu.” Every time I go to the beach, I see this tower in the distance. I always thought it was a lighthouse I absolutely had to check out in the future, even if it did turn out to be somewhat of a J.D. I finally made the long bike trek out there…only to discover that it wasn’t just a J.D. It wasn’t a lighthouse. And it wasn’t just not a lighthouse. It was a waste incineration plant.
It was a whopper of a J.D., but I had Gileseyboy help make it less of a J.D…..with another animated GIF! Enjoy.
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