One of the best experiences when traveling anywhere is to make the effort to live like the locals. Why go somewhere and expect everything to be like home? What’s the point?
Japan is no exception, and these attempts to blend in make for some great stories!! The weird part about Japan is how so much can be so similar to what you have at home, sometimes it isn’t that different or difficult to really blend in.
My first trip to Japan was in 1984. There were six of us Canadians that time, and we stayed in a rented house off the beaten track in a district of Tokyo called Nishi-Ogikubo. Most of the team went home after a month in Japan while Glen Smith and I stayed on for another two weeks of training. It was the first time either of us had been on our own, and we had to figure out a way to buy food, clean the house, and do the laundry. A daunting task for us both!
One night Glen realized we were out of milk for tomorrow’s breakfast of cereal. No problem. By this time we were regulars at the local corner store, and we headed out into the dark. We could speak about 37 Japanese words between us; what could go wrong?
The store was run by an old lady, and was very typical of those family run businesses in Tokyo: storefront on the main level and sleeping quarters either upstairs or in the back. Nothing special, but a far cry from the 7-11’s or Mac’s we were used to back home. The store lights were dimmed, but the door was open on this hot summer night, so we wandered in. Glen headed to the coolers to pick up a litre of milk, while I had a look for the Meiji chocolate almonds that are so good.
It was then that I noticed that we were absolutely alone and there were scattered coins beside the cash register.
Had we stumbled in on a robbery? Was the old lady bound and gagged somewhere? Was the criminal lurking behind the shelves of dried shrimp crackers, waiting to pounce? Would I not be able to finish my chocolate almonds?
We called out into the dark….. “Hello, anyone here?” Silence. “Maybe we should try it in Japanese?”
“Call again, this time louder.”
“ Sumimasen?” Nothing.
“Once more, then we get the hell out of here.”
“Of course we should take the milk!”
Then she appears out from the back! Would she be thrilled to be saved by the two handsome strangers?
Nope.
She is four foot eleven inches of angry old lady. Disheveled and obviously rudely awoken by the two idiot foreigners. She makes us fully aware that the money is laid out for customers to come in, pick up their items, make their own change, AND GO HOME QUIETLY.
Not like 7-11 at all.
