I must say, I didn’t expect to have English classes lined up or to have made Japanese friends in less than a month of being here but I have done both thanks to my friend, Rachel. She’s one of the three flight doc wives I had been put in touch with via email back in February. I’m subbing for a couple of her English classes while she’s traveling this summer. I was able to tag along with her and one of her classes on a day trip to Tokyo. This class is a group of about eight ladies whose ages range from late 40s to late 60s. We took the train into Tokyo and did the Sky Bus tour. It’s an open-air bus that drives around the major sights of Tokyo. Rachel and I had English audio headsets that dryly narrated the tour but I’m pretty sure the live guide included jokes in her descriptions. There were several times when she was pointing out the sights and the entire bus would erupt in laughter. Rachel and I were left wondering what was so funny about the Imperial Palace being destroyed during World War II…?
After the tour, the ladies treated us to lunch at a Japanese buffet. They described the food as “very traditional Japanese.” I tasted a couple items that I won’t be eating again anytime soon, like the seaweed that looked like pond moss and the transparent noodles, which were slimy and kind of tasteless. I’ll definitely be eating mochi balls again. A certain type of rice is ground into paste and shaped into balls. There are different ways of preparing them, but I had my mochi balls in a sweet soup. Yum! Oh, I almost forgot. Our busboy came to clear our table and I thanked him (in Japanese) when he took my plate. "No sweet," he replied...or so I thought. I assumed he was wondering aloud why I hadn't gotten dessert. "Oh, I'm going right now to get some dessert," I explained. He looked confused. After he left I realized he said, "No sweat." Oops. I felt bad because if he's anything like me, he was really pumped to be able use a phrase in his second language. He probably walked away slightly embarrassed, confidence shaken. But most likely he walked away thinking I was an idiot.
After lunch we headed to Tokyo Tower. From what I could tell, it’s a big antenna modeled after the Eifel Tower. There are observation decks at 150 and 250 meters. The ground floor houses restaurants, museums and souvenir shops. We were lucky to have been there on a clear day. We could see most of the Tokyo megalopolous from the observation decks.
With the day coming to a close, it was time to say goodbye. This always involves a lot of bowing. But this particular farewell was different. I’m not sure exactly how it started. I think Rachel was hugging some of her students goodbye, which surprised me since the Japanese aren’t usually big huggers. Then she introduced what I call the “bro’s shake/hug combo.” I’m sure you’re familiar. The participants clasp hands, pull close and pat each other on the back one to two times. They seemed to find this entertaining, and I wondered what passersby must have thought as a couple of blond girls stood on the train platform giving “bro shake/hug combos” to grown Japanese women. I doubt they’ll make this a regular part of their greeting ritual, but I’m glad we could impart this unique behavior to them.
Top: Here's me and my new Japanese friends--yes, I feel quite huge when I'm around them.
Bottom Left: View from Tokyo Tower.
Bottom Right: Tokyo Tower
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