just when they get comfortable
my nice pair of brown leather shoes are near the end - the soles are going - they're still wearable but I've been concious of them looking decidedly more and more knackered as the days go by. today I had to put a good pair of chino's in the bin after a very good innings. again I could wear them but the holes were becoming a problem. throwing out clothes is difficult for me because they generally only become comfortable after you've had them for a few years, then they start falling apart. I'm the type of shopper who waits until everything dies and then goes and buys up a load of stuff at once. just now seems to buying season for me what with the bike and everything - it's been many years since I got new shoes so I went to shinsaibashi and bought some nice new leather shoes which will fit my feet in time. the arduous task of breaking them in lies ahead. I left the sensible birkenstock route and took a more japanese route of slightly pointed. I feel like ronald mcdonald without the dungarees.
the ipod also died (had been suffering for a long time and this week it sounded like it was having a stroke) and I eventually went to the apple store in shinsaibashi to, well, what people do at the beginning of the 21st century, get a new battery for my ipod. it was a little more than I had expected to pay (6800 yen) for the new battery but I didn't realise they just give you a new machine now. not the new model right enough, but a new machine all the same. if you work out how much you would have spent on even rechargeable batteries, it doesn't work out too bad for a year and a half. the fact they give you a new machine really does underline the design flaw though. yuka bought a nano which is tiny.
we wandered to the good wee thai place on senichimae just east of sakaisuji which has good scran for pretty decent prices. the interior is a bit 'clean' but the staff are friendly and some local thai's tend to pop in so it has a warm enough feel. they have some thai deserts, beers and that haloed rice. worth a look - (just look out for the flag on the south side of the road). there's another place we went to in the maze of restaurants just to the east of the main arcade running up shinsaibashi (parallel to the midosuji). it's a kind of a south asian mix with great chai. don't know the name, don't know the exact location, but this area is worth getting lost in - lots of the restaurants have a long history and the food is amazing. the chai came in traditional bowls which reminded me a bit of the french drinking chocolate chaud. the iced drinks came in stainless steel 'glasses'. the wall paper was peeling here and there's basically just a big table in the middle that people sit around. tiny. great place.
just south of the thai place and to the east of dotonbori area is kuromon food market - if you live in osaka and haven't been, you should definitely pop along - I found it by accident last year when I was wandering. it's very much alive and the sights and smells are mouth-watering. brave some of the wee eateries and your tongue and stomach will be delighted.
