Receipt Rani

So, I am in Japan... Yoo hoo... And since we all hail from Asia, we don't probably right away see the exotic nature of the country, perhaps, mainly because the airport is located over an hour away from the city center. And I took the Narita Express (Nex for short) to a connecting station called Shinagawa and another train to Ōfuna where my hotel of the day is located. And the whole ordeal from start to finish including negligible connection times took over 2.5 hours. This, for a country that's not even that big.

And so I found the hotel (no biggie considering its facade is visible from the railway station exit) and was told that check-in wasn't for another 5 hours. I must've looked a sight because no sooner had I coaxed for an advancement and I was asked to come back in 90 minutes. Wearing an unnecessarily thick jacket for the humid climate outside, I was in no mood to lunge it around looking for a decent place to lunch, all the while wondering what all went into it's preparation. Just as I dreaded walking out into the heat with the backpack and the jacket, I spotted this cozy coffee shop that belonged to the hotel. Like all hotel-adjoined coffee shops, it was pricier than it should be (or maybe all the yens just seem like a large number). Be that as it may, I pointed out to the coffee of my choice on the menu card, having rapidly exhausted my Japanese vocabulary of 2 words (Konnuchiwa - Good day and Arigato - Thank you). And it was delicious. Instantly, I ordered one more and decided to kill the 90 minutes by reading Harry Potter yet again on my laptop. And that's when it occurred to me that the lady hadn't given me a receipt. I marched back and asked for one and was given it immediately. That's what prompted the title of the post. Having never really cared for any sort of receipt in the past I was amused at my own instantaneous reaction on a business trip. Guess that's what everyone does, huh?

More on Japan in subsequent posts. I want to lace them with iconic photos... but I happen to have left the USB transfer cable back home. So I guess that'll have to wait. Guess what's impressed me the most in Japan yet? Their technology. Even in toilets. Toilet technology. Yup, a post on that is due very soon. Sayonara! (I guess tht's my third word then!!)