Toilets and trains

Hmm so before we leave I was going to talk about some random things like:

TOILETS

Yeah, they have the kinds you always hear about with the adorable little butt wash button, or the "hole in the floor" variety etc, but I had never heard of one with a faucet coming out of the top. Both of the ones in the house I'm staying at have this. When you flush, the faucet runs, too, so you can hit two birds with one stone. The flush trigger seems to have two different "strengths" according to the kanji, if I understood it right. You pull to do a small one, and push to get a bigger one. Maybe it's a way to save water???

TRAINS

SO CONFUSING. Just like you always heard. There are a bunch of different companies that run trains and they all have their own tickets, so you have to buy the right kind. Then the price isn't a flat rate, but depends on where you are going more like a normal train than what you would expect from a city metro.

I had a funny experience last night where I tried to buy a ticket with a 1000 yen note, but it was a little bent. The machine took it, but it must not have liked it because suddenly a fellow opened tiny door in the wall (which I hadn't even noticed, so it sort of surprised me) and handed me a new note, saying I should try again on a different machine.

Well, I guess we're watching cartoons before we go, so that's cool. The fridge is hopefully almost fixed. Honestly, I don't really want to bring the computer on the trip, so I may just blog 'n stuff when I get back. I mean, there may not be a wireless connection, anyhow.

EDIT: OH yeah, I forgot to talk about "yay."

United States - "YAY!"

Japan - "Yay."

But it means the same thing as far as I can tell. You say it when something cool happens or you're really happy, ne. Like "Whoo hoo!" In Japan, though, it's said in the most flat, uninterested way. Totally blah. It's actually a really hard nuance to master. Chris and I were attempting it yesterday, and he got pretty close. I still can't do it very well...