in article 1g5o3go.odiqy5d81c0N%dame_zumari@yahoo.com, Louise Bremner at
dame_zumari@yahoo.com wrote on 12/8/03 9:30 PM:

> Ernest Schaal <eschaal@max.hi-ho.ne.jp> wrote:
> 
>> I like reading... <snip the asnide>
> 
> So do I, but I haven't been to either Kinokuniya or Maruzen for their
> overpriced, miserable selection for... um... many many years.

The problem is that I like to browse before buying, and the internet really
doesn't allow browsing through the book before buying (especially the more
expensive books). While the internet has made great strides in providing
information about a book, it doesn't match the browsing experience.

>>  And, sometimes I like having a real American food.
> 
> OK, so maybe I was never a Western gaijin in the first place.

Not all Western gaijin are American (many Western gaijin in Gifu are
Canadians or New Zealanders, and then there is the occasional Brit), but I
happen to be a citizen of the great United States of America and like
American food.