Japan = Reality > Expectations

Right after this post, I promise I will jump into the actual beginning of my trip. It is very important for everyone to know where I have been to really understand where I am going. Also, sorry for a math-y title.

Where were we last? I believe that I, armed with my 2 year-old-level Japanese, was about to go to dinner with some high and mighty Japanese businessmen. I had first met them on a Thursday and they invited me out the following Tuesday, so I had a good 5 days to fret and worry and feel astoundingly foolish/nervous about trying to struggle through another few hours of conversation. I immediately began to think of ways to avoid meeting them. Unfortunately, the usual tactic of making an excuse doesn't work when you can't speak the language in which to craft the excuse, and after that I was out of ideas.

Ultimately, I decided that I would go. What was the worst that could happen? Worst case: a total stranger asks me to leave a building that I have no intention of ever going to again. I might feel silly...but at least I would know for sure that drunken promises are to be taken lightly in Japan.

As it turns out, any promise ever made (ever!) is to be taken lightly in Japan. The very first person I saw when entering the office building, who was indeed a stranger, called me by my name and asked me to follow her before I even had a chance to say anything. After I recovered from the initial shock of this, I settled into the nice feeling that a wonderful opportunity to practice my Japanese for a bit was coming my way. Needless to say, I was even more surprised when, instead of coffee and chit chat, they had instead planned a "Welcome Party" for me at a nearby Yakitori restaurant (grilled meat on a stick). So they ushered me on over there to be met by the welcoming stares of another 30 Yomiuri business men and women, all apparently there to say hello to me. Considering my Japanese level at the time, I will probably never really understand that night...but it was a ton of fun!

Kawasaki san on the left and Ikemoto san on the right. Truly wonderful people.

As the night drew to an end, Kawasaki san, the head honcho of sorts, invited myself and the president of the online newspaper division to continue eating and drinking at the restaurant where we had first met. It might sound like a date, but it turns out that Kawasaki san's apartment is right above the bar, so he eats there quite often. As THAT part of the night drew to a close, the vice president of the online division, Ikemoto san, personally walked me home from the bar to my dormitory (also not a date).

I am sure the language barrier is to blame, but I am constantly amazed by the difference between my expectations in Japan and what ends up happening. I expected coffee and a one hour chit-chat. Instead it was a 5 hour drink/eat marathon that ended with an escort home by a guy who kept calling himself a "small Yakuza."

Kawasaki san again. Do not try to sit on a bench with a guy in a thong. Either it isn't allowed, or they just aren't that friendly