Sun to Moon (street view from Google Maps)

Today I got on my bike and rode to Sun to Moon shopping center in neighbouring Shimizu town (not to be confused with Shimizu city). I had been to Sun to Moon before by car, so I had a general idea of where it was. Using a book of maps that I had purchased at 7-11, I found a route from my apartment and actually managed to avoid getting lost. The ride was about 3 km, and by the end I was going faster than the cars what were stuck in bumper to bumper traffic.

Sun to Moon is a pretty cool place to shop. The design is similar to the shopping malls I am familiar with in Canada. They have clothing stores, groceries, a food court, a bowling alley, a dollar store, and my personal favourite, a used CD / movie / video game store. I ended up buying some CDs, but the real highlight was being able to navigate using a bike and a map.

(2015 Update) If I was trying to find my way around now, I would simply use Google Maps and my smartphone. The result would be the same, but I would not feel the same sense of accomplishment of finding my way around using a map.