A Tale of Two IKEAs

Spring Revival Series #3

IKEA in Yokohama... nothing but blue and yellow (with a hint of a few other colors)

Today, I'm sitting at a wedding hall, waiting for the reception party of my wife's friend to start; I'm here 3 hours early because my wife needs to get her hair done. Her friend traveled to Miyako for our wedding party, so it's only right that I attend hers when invited. Now, I got some time to reminisce about my recent trip to IKEA.

To set the story backdrop... I really like IKEA. Stuff there, I think, are simply designed but fashionable, practical, and cheap. You aren't going to pass down an IKEA armoire like a precious family heirloom (maybe you can), but the furniture will last you some good years for the price you pay. And you won't have to cry when you have to throw it because you can't fit it in your moving van or truck. I enjoy the shopping experience, going through the showrooms and exploring the warehouse. I enjoy bringing home the tightly packed boxes of plastic, plywood, and metal. I enjoy putting those pieces together into something which becomes a part of my home, with my own hands. Above all, I admire the precision of IKEA furniture: Everything in the box has a purpose; you will very rarely find an unused or missing piece.

When I moved to Miyako, I was rather disappointed that the nearest IKEA was 4 to 5 hours away, in Sendai. I would have to resort to buying plain furniture from a regular home store in town. Luckily, a more abundant IKEA-like store called Nitori is 2 hours away in Morioka. Not an everyday shopping trip, but it's a bit more manageable.

Before this most recent trip, I haven't been to an IKEA in at least 5 years.

Act 1: The Swedish Reunion

*In case you didn't know, IKEA was founded in Sweden.

After my wife and I moved to Oyama, we hit up Tokyo-Yokohama for a final gathering of some Miyako veterans, since we're scattering soon. Because our friend Victor needed a toilet brush, we made an on-the-spot decision to go to IKEA in Yokohama. We really had no set plans until later, and my wife had never been to IKEA. So off we went in his car.

Even before coming off the expressway, we could see the humongous blue block, like that giant crystal shaped angel from Evangelion (Ramiel), that is synonymous with every IKEA in the world. After circling the monstrosity for 10 min to find the parking garage entrance, we entered the domain. Before we began the adventure, we stopped at the food court and wolfed down a few 100-yen hot dogs and 50-yen ice cream. We needed the energy for what's to come.

While my wife was ever amazed by the massiveness, I was able to contain my excitement for a bit. Even after a 5-year hiatus, having some prior experience helped with navigating this beast. Many new products had come out since, but many things remained the same.

One thing never changes: IKEA is designed to be a one-way maze trap. In most cases, you are forced to start from the top floor, and work your way through the winding corridors and aisles, down to the cash registers near the entrance on the bottom floor. And somewhere in the middle, something will catch your eyes and you'll buy it.

   

Daiso doesn't stand a chance against these prices.  But do you really need 100 tea candles at home?

In our quest to get a toilet brush, which was only 99 yen, we spent 2.5 hours there. Originally intended on window-shopping only, I ended up with a wooden snack bowl and a set of magnetic tin cans, and my wife bought some horse shaped kitchen sponges. Things that are useful but aren't really needed. We even bought some snacks from the IKEA grocery store. The "magical" business model worked.

Our original objective.  Would you spend over 2 hours looking

for a super-cheap but stylish toilet brush?  We did...

Act 2: Return to the Big Blue Beast

Since my wife and I just moved into our new place, we still needed furniture. Living off of our recent excitement, we decided to go back to IKEA. Also, my wife's sister was visiting, so we wanted to show her the "adventure of the big blue beast".

We didn't go back to the one in Yokohama, of course. We found another one in Saitama, just an hour away by car in the adjacent prefecture. We had made a wish-list from our trip yesterday, so I figure we won't be trapped there.

I was wrong.

The 3 of us started with same routine as yesterday - stopped at the food court first for some hot dogs, then walked up a grand wide set of stairs to the start of the maze on the 2nd floor. After an hour in, I admitted to my wife that this trip wasn't as fun as yesterday's, but it didn't stop us from exploring every showroom and aisle.

The grand sterile staircase where our Swedish LOTR journey started.

Our unchecked browsing had turned our IKEA adventure into a "trail of tears". 2 hours in, and we're only done with the 2nd floor. We ended up eating dinner there.

This floor plan makes navigating IKEA look like child's play.  Then again, 

there are probably children's games that boggle the minds of grown-ups.

Like McDonald's, IKEA tries to adapt its in-store restaurant to its host countries. No sushi in IKEA Japan though. We (all 3 of us) went for the veggie meatballs.

Next, IKEA will charge you to use its knives and forks...

Another thing which IKEA is infamous for... being a cheapskate. Every little thing cost money; you can expect nothing to come included, not even a AAA battery for a 200-yen clock (which we bought today). The restaurant was no different. Even a small slap of butter cost 20 yen. But hey, a 20-yen butter or a 100-yen dinner roll sold in volume is a lot of money.

The 1st floor was even more grueling. We're trying to keep our browsing in check, but we spent too much energy before dinner. It also didn't help that at times I would run off like a little kid when something caught my attention.

If you want how the Hobbits felt in LOTR, walking around

inside an IKEA for 4 hours may be the next closest thing.

Another hour and a half, we finally made it to the warehouse section, where people can fetch boxes of to-be-assembled furniture on their own. I was surprised that my wife still had the energy to push-and-ride her cart down the warehouse aisles like a little kid. I guess you got to find fun where you can, even after a long day inside this Swedish LOTR journey.

  

Did you think I was joking about 100-yen hot dogs?

4+ hours later, we made it out, just in time before the store closed. And once again, we came out with lots of stuff that we didn't need (like that 200 yen clock which can be a timer, thermometer, calendar, and alarm clock, depending on which side it sat on... kinda cool), on top of what's on our original list. We even bought beer (who would've thought IKEA sells beer!?). Most importantly, my wife's sister had a good time, so we succeeded as hosts.

I wonder if/when we will go back...

How IKEA is getting your children's money: 3 yen per gram at a time.

The answer: a month later.

* 110 yen = 1 USD
** LOTR = Lord of the Rings, also known as the "walking tour of New Zealand"

Be Careful of "Maybe"...

Another East vs. West Culture Clash

I'm having some trouble finishing another post, so I'll move on to something else for now - something easier.

I was out with my wife last night.  We decided (or I decided and she didn't object) that since we moved to a new and bigger city, we would make the most of this opportunity and explore. For example, trying out a new restaurant every week. Not that my wife isn't an excellent cook, but it's about forcing ourselves to get out of the house and experiencing life. Looking back, I've always regretted not being more adventurous with the many mom-and-pop places in Miyako. Our new hometown has no shortage of places to eat, and new ones seem to be appearing left and right. My wife had often said that this city has nothing but places to eat.

We went to a rather fancy Italian place near the JR station, which I've wanted to try since I found it the night before the interview for my current job. A bit expensive, but it's one in a blue moon, and the food was fantastic. For some reason, we started talking about a possible meetup in Tokyo with the old crew and how likely I'll go. Then, the word maybe came up.

 

Earlier this week, I had mentioned that one of my elementary school teachers in Miyako invited me back for a sports festival (in elementary schools, these festivals are usually fun since they have events for guests to participate and win stuff). It's next weekend, and I said maybe I'll go. Apparently, my wife interpreted the comment as "I'm going back to Miyako next weekend, so I won't be going to Tokyo".

This conversation brought me back to last year, before I had proposed to my then-girlfriend-now-wife. Many of my Japanese friends and teachers wondered if I'd be getting married. Although I was already certain that I would be, my answer was always "maybe" or the Japanese version of it (たぶん). At the time, I didn't have all the pieces to make a final decision, and something could've happened to change my mind the next day. However, my maybe always got people excited.

At first, I didn't think much of the excitement. I mean, hearing someone possibly getting married is exciting, and the folks in Miyako are generally cheerful and expressive. However, as the question kept coming up and people kept getting overly excited, I became suspicious. Finally, I asked one of my Japanese friends what she thought of maybe, in terms of percentage. Her answer surprised me: about 80% likely.

Back to last night's dinner conversation... I asked my wife the same question: what does she think of maybe, in terms of percentage? She gave the same answer as my friend, about 80%.

I explained to my wife, as I had to my friend before, that in my mind, and maybe in other Americans' minds, maybe means around 50%, kind of a cop-out answer when you aren't sure about something. Now, there's a running joke between my wife and me, whenever maybe is used. I know it's only been a day, but I use maybe a lot.

So next time you decide to tell your Japanese friend or partner "maybe", you may want to think twice about what it means to him/her.

To everyone out there: What do you think of maybe?

I found this nice line diagram of maybe and other probability words on the net.
Courtesy of english-hanasitaino.seesaa.net