Reading charlie's journal

(Real names have been abbreviated to protect the innocent.)

Getting off the bus, I stepped into the neon lights I had watched from the bus. I lugged by bags underneath the red and blue neon lights and flashing star billboards of Sanyo, McDonalds, and a million karoke places.

Now to find a payphone. They're green here.

I join the floods of people heading for the ticket-wicket. But I have to fight against the flow to get to the phones.

Dig for the book, find the page with the number, hope I have enough spare change. Payphones require 100 yen using only 10 yen coins. No wonder everyone here has cell phones. Pick up receiver, insert 100 yen using ten 10 yen coins, dial A-chan's number.

"Konichi wa..."

Get a very nice sounding but annoying prerecorded voice that doesn't belong to A-chan. Damn.

Get change from payphone. Go back to McDonalds. Find nice looking twenty somethings sitting in front of said McDonalds. Stand there awkwardly. Wait to be noticed.

"Hi."

"Do you speak English?" (hate yourself for taking the easy way out)

"No."

"Crap."

"Crapu?"

Bumble your way through "Can you help me call my friends?" in the most polite Japanese you can muster. One Japanese girl goes to the payphone to call the number for you.

See looks at you expectantly for change. Extend your hand full of 10 yen coins. See her grimace as she takes one. Remember that taking coins from someone else's hand is considered really dirty in Japan. Put said pile of coins on top of payphone.

Japanese girl tries number and gets same prerecorded message. Japanese girl shrugs her shoulders and puts hands up using the universal "I don't know either" sign.

Get change, call a different. Bow profusely to the Japanese girl while saying thank you and repeat.

"Moshi mosh"

"H-chan?"

"Charlie?"

"What's up? Hey, I need to get a hold of A-chan, but I think I have the wrong number for her mobile. Can you call her and tell her I'm at the McDonalds in Sagami-Ono? I'm supposed to be staying with her tonight."

"Yeah. She's probably at work, but J-kun can come and take you to their place. That'll probably be about ten minutes. I can be there in about half an hour."

"That's okay. I just need to get some sleep tonight."

"Okay, we'll be there in half an hour."

<Click>

Go back to McDonalds. See same Japanese girl. Bow profusely again. Pretend not to see her and her friend giggle and whisper at the only American in the station. Go into the McDonalds and order a shake. Sit by the window and watch for J-kun and H-chan. Listen to crappy vintage American music. Try not to stare at the man happily humming along with the song,

"St. Peter don't you call me cause I can't go. I owe my soul to the company store."

Oh McDonalds, it's like an American embassy away from the American Embassy. The floors are actually dirty here. And the place smells like beef. You won't get that anywhere else in Japan.

H-chan and J-kun show up, and we go to an Italian restaurant for supper (brunch for me). Much rejoicing and flexing of old English skills is had - followed by pizza and spaghetti. And iced tea with little liquid sugar packs (like for coffee creamer in the USA). Wait for A-chan. Ka-chan shows up later too.

A-chan and J-kun rode their bikes, but the rest of us didn't.

H-chan takes the train home, Ka-chan and I take the bus to A-chan's place, and A-chan and J-kun ride their bikes.

"I can't stay. I have to teach in the morning. But you are so lucky. Last time they made me run behind their bikes."

"She wouldn't ride on the back of mine!" A-chan shouts as she pedels away.

"...and it was in the rain," H-chan continues. "Say, I've got a high level elective English class tomorrow. Would you like to visit?"

"Sure. What time?"

"I'm picking Ka-chan up at K-eki at 12:45. Be there."

Please contiune to vote AND post.

Thank you for the little taste of Tokyo, as it were. The pictures are very nice. They help to fill in some of those nagging questions about the city, and give me a sense of the difference in cultures.
It's always those little things (like pay phones and sticky wickets) that show the biggest difference.
I'd like to read more about your exploits over there.
:)

I'll bet that just took 5 years off my life--but GODDAMM if it wasn't worth every second