FREE STUFF

Given their humble & respectful nature, Nihon-jin (the Japanese) are quick to deliver freebies when you purchase their goods.

For instance, opening a cell-phone account eqauls an assortment of odd gifts. Upon purchasing my AU phone I received a bag filled with a charger, official documents, manuals, but also green AU flip-flops and two ice packs. Please re-read the last three words. TWO ICE PACKS! Maybe they`re trying to tell us that their phones are just that
D A N G E R O U S... I hope so!

My new baby. Say konnichiwa to my Hitachi WOOO.

They sort of fit.

Then upon opening my internet account with Yahoo! BB, which was conveniently done at a local electronic store, I received ￥10,000 ($100) in free shopping money. "Thanks for subscribing with us, and by the way here`s a 100 bucks." I used their generous donation to the Cravak Fund for a landline phone and a headset to use Skype. The great thing is that they ended up costing more than ￥10,000, but they allowed it to count and did not ask for any additional money. I like it...just not that I have to wait a month for it to be installed.

Even the bank has joined the party and gives you a weird hand towel and pack of tissues when opening an account. Are the tissues for the tears because you just realized how little money you have? Maybe. Banking at Aomori Ginko is neat because they give you a bank book that is inserted into the ATM machine which gets stamped with your new balance after any deposits or withdrawals. Pretty cool!

Hold on there buddy....I saved the best for last. Here`s the story...continuing my World Grocery Store Bike Tour...I entered the Mega Benymart. Like any shopper I had expectations: edible solids and liquids for sale efficiently organized into corresponding shelves. But this store had more to offer. As soon as I entered, a man greeted me. Being bashful, I simply replied with "Konnichiwa" and scattered off afraid to display my lack of nihongo (Japanese). However, as the cashier was scanning my goods my eyes froze stiff. That very man who I had politely ignored had a surprise in his hand. A can of beer; a FREE CAN OF BEER! He gave this can of Asahi beer to EVERYONE! Even the old ladies who crawled into the store happily received their beer. In fact, I have never seen an old lady`s shopping cart that didn`t have some sort of alcohol. They love it, and I love them! Talk about leaving a store satisfied. The day America starts handing out "harmful liquid products" like they`re Teriyaki Chicken samples in the food court is the day I will salute the American Flag buck naked on the top of Mount Fuji!