Nishimatsuya

Nishimatsuya is what the American's refer to as "The Baby Store" here in Misawa. Before today, I didn't even know the store's actual name....we just always called it "the baby store." Shortly after arriving here, Chris and I were introduced to 'Ni-shi' by one of the CTF-72 (Chris' command) ladies. She purchased alot of her son's outfits from the place and showed us some of the "ENGRISH" phrases on her son's clothes. Boy, did we get a laugh!!! Most of it is completely nonsensical. This is partially due to the fact that the Japanese to English conversion doesn't translate exactly and partially due to the fact that the Japanese may like the way an English word looks regardless of its actual meaning. (Take a look at http://www.engrish.com/ and you'll see what I mean). If you think that's ridiculous, don't forget that we see this very trend in the States--how many people do you know (or have heard of) that get Chinese characters--Kanji--tattooed on their arms, backs, necks, and other various body parts without really KNOWING what it is that the character means because they think it's cool. Just last month, an American girl here thought she was getting the word 'dirty' (in Kanji, of course) tatooed on her upper arm. Turns out, that the symbol actually meant 'diseased'..... HA! At least the Japanese aren't foolish enough to cover their bodies in permanent ink with words and phrases that don't make any sense. Okay, I digress... :)

Since having Noah, Chris and I have started adding Japanese clothing to his wardrobe. Aside from the crazy, fun phrases, I personally like the overall quality of the Japanese kids' clothes over many of the American clothing available at our BX. For one, the Japanese don't use metal snaps. Apparently, plastic snaps are much safer for babies as they don't have the prongs that can potentially cause a choking hazard. Much of the Japanese clothing is softer and also survives the wash a lot better than even Carter's. I can also get some things at Ni-shi that prevent me from having to order and pay shipping on items from the States. A snow suit, for instance. Anyway, I thought I'd share--I thought most of you would get a good laugh. Our current favorite is the "Super Monkey Baby" outfit! :) It reads:

"SUPER MONKEY BABY...He is the king of the earth, the king of the universe. The ally of justice."

At the very least, it could make a great Halloween outfit! ;)

Hope you all have a great week!

Amanda