Shopping at the "big" mall

I'm totally enjoying my vacation! What have I done? Mostly work on the business but since I love it ....it hardly feels like work!

Yesterday we went to a "big" shopping mall. I say "big" because really...they aren't as big as the ones we have in North America but for around here it is pretty big. To get there we have to take the train and got off in what appears to be, the middle of nowhere!

From here we call a taxi and go to the mall. Inside we find that it is decorated for Christmas!

From the second floor they hung balls and lights and they twinkle....not sure the pics are so great but here they are. The first pic is the first floor looking up and the second pic is taken from the second floor looking down on the first floor. Many of the malls are carpeted and since we don't get a lot of snow I guess it is ok....to be honest I prefer no carpets!

So we did the usual things....coffee at Starbucks which was playing Christmas music (but sadly didn't have eggnog flavored anything). Then we went shopping to one of my favorite stores in this mall. We were lucky...we found a ton of stuff for our businesses!! We go there often enough that the staff recognizes me. I'm pretty sure we are the only ones to shop the way we do. Now...a bit of interesting trivia about Japan. Did you know that many Japanese stores have a limit to how many items you can buy at one time? By this I mean...for example, yesterday we had probably over 200 items.....the cash register could only accept about 80 at a time so we have to pay after 80 items are rung up. This happens to us all the time!! Even the post office is like this. I think each store has it's own limit but the fact that they have a limit at all is a bit strange, isn't it? (Ok I am asking....are there limits like that in America, Canada or other countries? My first thought is no...but I might be wrong!). Anyway, at this store after we paid for the last time, the clerk leans over to me and whispers a question (of course in Japanese)...."Is this for a business?" and I whispered back "yes." to which she bowed and thanked me "itsumo arigatou gozaimasu" which basically means "Thanks for always shopping here." I get asked all the time about the items I buy....I mean who normally buys $700 worth of stickers and memo pads at one time? Depending on what I'm buying I lie and tell them it is for my mom (her house must be filled to the ceiling with fabric and Japanese paper!! ^__^). I'm just not comfortable saying I sell things...I mean they don't really care....they must just be happy I'm buying all the time from them!

Anyway, we didn't shop for very long but it was power shopping for a few hours. Then we ate sushi and took the train home. I must have tired out my poor honey because he fell asleep on the train clutching a few of the many bags we had.