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I’m so happy! 7-11 has started another Snoopy related promotion, so I plan on getting some nice Snoopy dishes for my apartment.

Yes, you read that right. Snoopy dishes. See, here in Japan, everything is a promotional item. I have gotten skiing Hello Kitty from a cola bottle, a Paddington Bear cell phone charm, waving cats for good luck, World Cup poker chip keychains, and much much more. It’s actually nice – I don’t have to buy extra presents just in case – “Oh, of course I got you something, here…a stained-glass Goofy!”

I mentioned last week that I went to Nikko with Roommate Andy (file photo) and Liz. Nikko is a UNESCO World Heritage site, and my understanding of why is because it has really S H I N Y shrines and temples. And a bridge. And some mountains. And a lot of hot springs, which all come from the top of a mountain (and are very sulfur-y smelling).

Bonus Picture: We are some SEXY bitches.

Liz and Andy stayed for a week. I had to work some of the days, but I did get another trip to the Ramen Museum in and we went to various Tokyo places. Liz did a lot of shopping, which I hear is a popular activity in Tokyo, where there are only a billion stores.

I ended up purchasing a Nintendo DS after they left – Andy and I tried to find one, but apparently they’re squirreled away by rabid shoppers as soon as they’re available. I finally got one, in “ice white” or whatever color white is these days. I bought New Super Mario Brothers, Children of Mana (even though I won’t be able to read much of it), Super Mario Kart DS, and Mario v. Donkey Kong (for the GBA, but the DS plays both). I wanna try racing in Mario Kart DS online, so I just gotta figure out how it works.

In a couple of weeks I’m hitting the tracks to a weeklong trip out of Tokyo. I am hoping to get to Nagasaki, Hiroshima, Shikoku (to see my friend Nina), possibly stay at a temple at Mount Koya, and then…well, I’m not sure after that. Then a few days in Osaka and Kyoto with Mariko, and then back home to Philadelphia. So much to do, so little time!

PS: Bonus Quote: “In retrospect, the real victims of Fox News weren’t the liberals it attacked but the conservatives who believed it.”

Okay, you may think Japan has good medicine. Their schools are supposed to be good, they’re a modern country with lots of Science and Technology and Stuff. Unfortunately, maybe that’s true if you’re Japanese, but I just spent the past two weeks experiencing treatment, and it was…um…sad.

I went to the first doctor on May 26th, and said I had an earache. He was supposed to be a generalist, but he said “I can’t look in your ears, but here’s an anti-biotic.” So I started the anti-biotic, and I felt a little better. Status: Severe ear pain, but little ringing

So by the end of weekend, the pain had gone, but the ear was ringing. So on Wednesday (May 31) of the next week, I went to see another doctor. Status: No pain, but ringing The second doctor was an american – he said “I don’t see anything wrong, but here’s some wax remover. By the way, the Japanese dosage is about 1/5th of the US dosage.”

Friday, June 2nd – still ringing, so I take off work and go see the ear, nose, and throat specialist. He says “Wakusu!”, or “Wax!” and he cleans out my ear. It’s still ringing. I go back to the first doctor and threaten him with bodily harm, because I am pretty sure that it is still infected and GOD DAMN IT I WANT AZITHROMYCIN. So he gives me that, and I go home. It rings the entire weekend, but it’s a little softer then.

Finally, on Monday, June 5th, I go to the Akasaka International Clinic. Why didn’t I go there in the first place, you may ask? I didn’t realize they took National Health Insurance – everyone kept telling me that “only Japanese doctors take NHI”. The doctor, Dr. Jerry, takes one look in my ear, says “It’s still infected,” gives me antibiotic and steroid eardrops, and within a few days the ringing almost disappeared.

So there you have it: Akasaka International Clinic, highly recommended. Japanese doctors, not so much.