May 17, 2022

The saga of my foot problems continues. I visited my “foot doctor” at Yokosuka on May 4 to check and see if it was ok after my April 29 visit. Two doctors examined the foot, and both said that it healed well. I would be able to do normal walking activities in seven to ten days. A week later, on May 4, my foot started swelling up. I put ice on it Wednesday and Thursday, but the swelling didn’t go down. On Friday the thirteenth. I went to the “urgent care” at Yokota. (An emergency room is for life-threatening problems and urgent care is for not so serious problems, but you should see a doctor as soon as possible.) Yokota doesn’t have a foot specialist doctor, so they gave me strong antibiotics and told me to see my doctor at Yokosuka. Yesterday I went to Yokosuka. He found an infected area different than before. He said it is a mystery on why the infections are happening in different places. I will have an MRI at Tokushukai hospital in Akishima on Thursday. I had an MRI there in February before I had the surgery. The MRI didn’t show anything. I have a feeling this next MRI will also show nothing. This seems like a never-ending story. Right now, I hope that the strong antibiotics will kill the bacteria that is causing the problem. I must continue to be a patient patient and stay positive.

Japanese “gacha” machine sells nostalgic super tiny books from the Showa Era!

The retro Showa Era of Japan (1926-1989) is still a nostalgic time for many, which explains why places like Showa-themed cafes are still popular. The same goes for vintage trinkets, like our Japanese-language reporter Masami Kinoshita found on a recent shopping trip.

It was a “gacha” machine that sells super tiny books called “mame hon” (literally translated as “bean books”). These gained popularity with students in the 1950s. Though there were a lot of quiz and fact books back then as they were meant to be quick reads, these “gacha bean books” were actual short stories. The theme of each was “Surprise Endings in 5 Minutes“, meaning that each story was estimated to only take five minutes for the average Japanese person to read. It costs 500 yen per book.

Each book in the machine represented a different genre: red for a “nightmare” story, blue for mystery, black for humor, and yellow for tragicomedy. Masami wanted the blue mystery book.

However, the first one that came out was the yellow tragicomedy. When she tried again, she got the same result. Spoiler: she didn’t get blue. But the third try? She got black. Then she got red. So close…but then she got another red. That was when she decided to call it quits after having spent a total of 2,500 yen. This was tragicomedy.

These books are tiny at 5 by 3 centimeters each, but they look like full-sized books. Masami’s first thought was… “These letters are tiny!”

Just like the book title promised, she was able to finish reading the book in just under five minutes. They’re perfect for when you have a bit of time to kill. Her only complaint was that the Showa-era customers who buy these may not be able to read them without some sort of visual aid. Hopefully you have more luck than Masami with getting the book you want.

“Retro” means “nostalgic.”

“Genre” means “type or style.”

“Tragicomedy” is a story that has both tragedy and comedy or sad but funny at times.

“Spoiler” means “to tell someone what happens in an event (sports game, movie, book, etc.) before someone has a chance to watch it.”

“Bit of time to kill” means “have a short period of time with nothing to do such as waiting for a friend to arrive.”