How far I have come in nine months!

I've been out all day, but thought I'd stop by here for a few minutes before I dropped into bed. 

You know, I can hardly believe it is only nine months since I wrote this post about avoiding the Japanese train system. Today I took seven trains, right across Tokyo and back. Yes, it is a route I've now become familiar with, but I also stopped at an unfamiliar station, found an unfamiliar shop, bought a transformer (the electrical kind), found my way back to the former station, and back home again. All without one misstep nor without one nervous sweat! Are you impressed? I am.

And for those of you who are wondering what the transformer thing is. It is a device that enables me to run the only two electrical items we have from Australia – my sewing machine and my coffee grinder (though that is now a little redundant as we were given a manual one on Saturday). The fact is that Australian appliances run on 240V but the Japanese network is only 110V. Net result is that an Australian appliance barely gets going on the juice it gets here.

Anyway, our nearly 11 y.o. transformer stopped working a couple of weeks ago and it needed replacing, but nowhere local had any such item. So, I as I happened to be travelling through the famous Akihabara "suburb" on the train today, I took the opportunity to get off the train and seek what I needed. Akihabara is the place that gives Japan the reputation of being an electronic mecca (or part of the myth, I guess). When they do overseas travel shows on Japan, they very often show pictures like this, aka Akihabara. But alas, I'd never gone there. Now I can say I have! And survived. Mind you, I only had 67 yen left in my purse when I left . . . but I guess you could say that is my own fault for not estimating the cost of the transformer better.

Alas, it is past my bed time and I am now raving. Best be off, so that I can get some rest before tackling my long list of to-dos tomorrow.