Today was laundry day.  I went to a laundromat instead of doing laundry at the hotel.  It was too early to check into the hotel so I thought I’d take my chances at a laundromat.

All the machines looked super large and the pictures above the machines showed the number of blankets each machine would take.  So maybe people only use this for large items they can’t do at home.  Still, I was there and I probably looked silly toting my suitcase around anyway.  Might as well do laundry there. 

I put my translation app on camera mode and tried to figure out how it all worked.  All the machines were combo washer dryers.  This is technology I am skeptical about, but here we go.

Step 1 – put laundry in machine, close door and remember machine number. Check.  I shut the machine door and the central control (my name for it) started talking to me in Japanese.

Step 2 – go to central control machine, select “English”, put in machine number – machine will flash green so you can be sure you have the right machine.  Green flash – check.

Step 3 – select “wash and dry”, put money in and receive change. 

Crap, machine took coins or 1,000 yen bills.  My laundry would be 1,300 yen and I had 900 in coins or a 2,000 bill.  Another lady was in the laundromat.  I show her the 2,000 bill and pointed at the machine.  It took a minute but she understood.  She ran out to her car and came back with two 1,000 bills to make change.  I was grateful.  Step 3 – check.

After successfully paying, my machine started to spin.  I’m pretty sureOh shit – I forgot the laundry detergent.  The door was locked tighter than a safe at the bank.  I peered in and there were suds.  Did this automatically provide soap too?  I hope so.  I suppose clothes washed in just water are still cleaner than clothes not washed at all?  And I suppose I could wash them again at the hotel if this was a $9 experience just for my blog.

Later I did the math.  I feel this was very expensive coin laundry.  Maybe I should have used the laundry at the hotel.  Too late, the laundry is no longer mine until central control releases it.

I heard a 5 second song and then the door of my machine clicked.  My laundry was dry and smelled clean!