osutoraria

An old sign saying Gowings was flaking off the side of the building. Just below the sign was a clothes store called Suzanne.

"There was a shop here called Gowings a few years ago. It had been here for over 130 years. Then some young people thought they could expand the business and failed. The shop was just for men but it sold everything a man might want from fishing gear to underwear. So, ironically, it has been replaced with a shop that is just for women!"
Yuki listened to Kumiko's trivia with interest. Kumiko had been absorbing all this information over the past few years since she'd become an Aussiephile. She had hundreds of books on Australia and could probably talk more than most Aussie tour guides. "Are there buildings like 109 in Shibuya?" she asked as they walked into the store.

"No. Not enough people here for that. All the big malls rely on selling everything, not just clothes. Come on, they've got some great cocktail dresses on level 2." Kumiko answered.

After exploring the racks, Kumiko found Yuki a very stylish black dress that fit perfectly.

They went to the girl behind the counter to pay. The girl looked at them, smiled, then said "It really is important in life to take every day as it comes, don't you think?"
Yuki was very surprised but Kumiko just took it in her stride. "Oh yes!" she replied.
"There's no use worrying about something that might happen tomorrow. Best to enjoy something that is happening today," the girl continued as she swiped the barcode of the dress and removed the plastic security tag.
"Oh, absolutely," Kumiko agreed.
"What are your plans this weekend?"
"Oh, we're probably going to go to the mountains, maybe a trip down to Wollongong. Not sure yet."
"That sounds great. That'll be $69.95"
Kumiko handed her her card and winked at Yuki. The girl seemed to be on autopilot. Yuki supposed it was an incredibly boring job, not like working in a cafe.
The girl finished the transaction and handed Kumiko the dress in a thick plastic bag. "Thank you very much. Please call again and I hope you have a great time on the weekend," she said with a slight nod.

They left the shop and headed to Liverpool Street. "Strange!" Yuki said.
"Nah. A lot of the sales people are a bit out of it. It's a mind numbing job so they're sometimes a bit vague. Better than some of the really rude ones, though!"

It was 6:00pm and the streets were crowded. Lots of people were coming home from work or out shopping. In some places there were so many people trying to cross the street that cars couldn't move.

Kumiko pointed out the Queen Victoria Building. "There's a really cool cafe on level 2 called Yama," she said.
"Seriously!" Yuki replied. "Mountain cafe?"
"Yeah, it's Japanese and Korean. If your job with the Sydney Tower Cafe doesn't work out, you can always try there."

Before Yuki had left for Australia she'd spent several days online searching for jobs in Sydney. The Sydney Tower Cafe was looking for a Japanese speaking waitress 2 days a week. She got the job through a phone interview and had gone there early that morning to meet the boss.

He'd given her a pass that enabled her to visit Sydney Tower anytime she wanted.

She'd worked in Starbucks in Shibuya, overlooking the busiest pedestrian crossing in the world. She'd sold cakes, made coffee, wiped tables and commented on the latest books and magazines to thousands of people from Japan and around the world, while thousands more congregated near Hachiko statue a few stories below.

The only real difference with her new job was that it would be a bit less busy and much higher!

She was a bit nervous as she started tomorrow and tomorrow was the day she had to make the call.

Kumko had been talking. "...and over there is the QVB statue of Queen Victoria, Sydney's Hachiko. Hundreds of people use it as a meeting place on Friday and Saturday nights. Others use Woolworths Metro or the Town Hall steps. In any case this is the busiest area of Sydney."

Yuki nodded. They continued past Woolworths. She'd walked up this way earlier that day but with dusk approaching and the lights flickering on it looked a little different. She realised it was still Thursday. She'd only been in Sydney for 2 days. It felt like a week already!

"When we get back to your apartment you're going to have to get changed because we're going out tonight." Kumiko said.
Yuki protested. "I've got to work tomorrow. I need to sleep so that I can do my job. I can't go out tonight"
"You don't start until 11:00am. We're only going to a pub in the city for a few hours. You don't need to drink. It'll be fine." Kumiko grinned.
"I don't feel well." Yuki mumbled.
"Matt is dying to meet you. You'll like him."
"Look, I don't think I'm going to feel up to meeting anyone tonight"
"Yuki. If you don't like him or any of his friends there are plenty of other people there. We're going to Mokupub!"
"What?"
"It's a group that's been meeting at the Windsor Hotel for over 15 years. A great place to meet Japanese and people interested in Japanese culture. Every Thursday night from 9.00pm"
"You're not serious! Are there enough Japanese in Sydney for this to work"
"Yuki. There are thousands of Japanese working in Sydney."
"Oh."
"So we're going there tonight. If you don't like it we'll go home again. Matt is only available Thursday nights so this is the only chance to see him this week. He's another friend of mine so I'd really like you to meet him."
"Okay."
"Great! Now let's get to your place and start fixing up your makeup"
Yuki groaned.