We were scheduled to visit a customer today to explain the possibilities of a Nanosurf AFM.  Fortunately, we left early.  We got on the Odakyu line in Shinjuku (unfortunately not on the Romance Car, whatever that was) and thought we were on the express headed to Hon-Atsugi (who names places Genuine Thick Tree?).  I recognized some of the scenery from a previous trip to Komae, but we soon passed that.  We also passed the point where we should have changed cars because we we headed for Enoshima instead, and it wasn’t until three stops later that I noticed.  The advantage of that was getting to see a truck with the blog title posted on it and a far away sign that said “Feel Wood.”  It reminded me of nothing but the Häring company (and wasn’t posted in Genuine Thick Tree).  We caught a train in the other direction that left a few minutes after we got off and after changing where we ought to have changed we were soon in Hon-Atsugi, with still enough time to spare to have a quick lunch. 

But it had to be quick, so we grabbed a bite at the incredibly cheap Sakura Sansui, where we got full meals with all-you-can-eat rice and raw eggs – obviously not a place catering to foreigners.  I’ve gotten used to it, so I had my cholesterol for the week there: one egg on the rice and one in the miso soup.  Along with that I had saba (mackerel, not the island). 

A short taxi drive later we were at the customer site.  One of the guys we spoke with had a pencil that looked like a regular wooden pencil with a hexagonal cross-section, but was fitted with a tip that gave it away as a push pencil.  I give him as many style points as one can give a uniformed Japanese engineer. 

The taxi driver’s first name on the way back was Luna, fueling suspicions among us that there might have been something odd about him.  Guys in Japan aren’t called Luna.  We took a brief break in a coffee shop, where I had a large hot cocoa and astonished my colleagues by emptying ten little cream containers into it.  I wouldn’t have to do that if they went easy on the chocolate and used more milk.  Across the table sat a young woman in a pink coat with a pink purse obviously trying to read a research paper of some sort and not managing because apparently watching ducks molting would have been more exciting. 

The pit stop may have been our downfall, because the train we caught ended up being delayed because of an accident.  It appears my week was framed in accidents, Tuesday seeing one on the Saikyo line that delayed the Narita Express and today one on the Odakyu line that ended up blocking traffic between Sagami-Ono and Shinjuku.  Usually, “accident” is a euphemism for a suicide jump; Monday and Friday see the highest number of jumpers, those who can’t bear another week or those sucked dry by a bad one.  We got off at Ebina and took the Sotetsu line to Yokohama, then the Shonan-Shinjuku line to Shinjuku.  This ticket would have cost about twice the ticket we had, but we got a free pass from the Odakyu line.  They’ll somehow figure out how much they gave out in free passes and invoice it to the family of the jumper.  It sounds nauseatingly cynical, but implementing this rule led to a decline in suicides by jumping in front of a train in Japan. 

During the extra time we had, I don’t remember how we got onto that topic, but someone mentioned that NOVA had gone bankrupt.  This will, I suppose, lead to a lot of English teachers looking for work or hiring on with less centralized setups like Smith’s or just going private, as intimated in the blog I already quoted above. 

On the way back from the office, I took a slightly different route and happened past a store that sold men’s underwear.  I thought I might perhaps find a pair of boxer shorts with a quirky design as a stocking stuffer, but instead of that the store boasted a wall of DVDs with titles like Bareback Mountain.  Then I remembered I’d been warned about this part of town.  Sure enough, the next store offered a similar combination of merchandise.  I continued on and was glad when I reached the Yasukuni road.  There I stopped in a men’s clothing store and found out that I can find a suit in Japan, if I’m willing to accept that I’m the second largest size in height and largest size in waist. 

Through a maze of love hotels I made my way to the hotel, stopping on the way at Lee’s gyoza restaurant for a small dinner.  I had mushroom gyoza (potstickers), but this joint has all sorts, so maybe I’ll stop by again tomorrow.