Sunday February 2, 2003 ....
Toshi made record time driving back from the country side to Osaka for our lunch
meeting with the members of the English group that were able to attend. I could tell he
was even proud of it too a little bit ha ha ha. We arrived at his condominium, placed my
baggage inside, and I said hello to his wife and one of his sons. after about 15 minutes
we were on the run again. We drove the car down the street and parked it next to his
Pharmacy where he sells over the counter remedies. But it was obviously was closed for the
day as it was Sunday. Then Toshi and I walked down a side street for about 10 minutes
until we got to the nearest subway station. It was neat to see how average people lived
in such confined quarters. There were many people walking to where the had to go and
lots of bicycles navigating around. They even had bicycle ramps that went down into the
subway. Though you were not supposed to ride down the ramps many younger rebels did
so any ways. the tunnels provide an easy access under the streets to the other side. You
cannot take bicycles on the subways or trains in Japan -- as that would be total chaos.
We paid the fare and entered. Fortunately this subway station was the last one on the
purple line on the map so it would be easy for me to remember for the next day when I
would go solo. The people were dressed a little more colorfully as it was Sunday but
many of them still wore the standard black and tan color motifs. I did notice a 45 year
old guy sitting across from us wearing a yellow and blue windbreaker nautical jacket that
had San Francisco on it. He was a tall Japanese maybe standing 6 foot 2 -3 so that caught
my eye. he was very meticulous looking. possibly Gay, but who cares.
By this time the novelty of seeing “the Japanese” had pretty much worn off. Though the
majority of the women are still cute I really would only focus in on looking at the 30 %
that were really good looking. Basically people are people and It reminded me of riding
the Boston subways except people were a little more orderly and maybe shorter with
darker hair. Call it cultural acclamation / integration -- maybe, but I will still always be
the Grande Gringo in the land of the mostly short people even if I learn Japanese
fluently and live there for 20 years. I did notice a young kid sitting with his mother
wearing a baseball cap jacket and baseball mit. He was obviously a big fan of the Osaka
Tigers as it was spring training time also in Japan. Not that I was ever a sports fan
growing up but we have all seen children so enthralled with their favorite team at age 8
- 10 that nothing else in life mattered to them.
After Transferring a couple of lines and navigating through the seas of people we exited
to meet the 4 other people who could attend. Toshi led us to the really modern
restaurant where we would eat. It was really cool and very chick and upscale inside. They
led us upstairs to a private room reserved for us. I made a break before entering to find
the Bathroom. since I had the camera in my coat I took a picture of the ultra modern
Urinal inside. I also splashed some water on my face and tried to half way arrange
myself so I was presentable -- I did not have the chance to take a shower that morning
(actually I never even saw the shower in Toshi’s old childhood house ha ha ha). After
taking off my mud stompers (size 13’s) I joined the group. If I move to Japan I will
have to invest heavily in Docksiders as our normal shoes take too long to put on and take
off. I will also have to invest in about 5 pairs of slippers that fit because my feet do not
fit into the ones that they sometimes provide.
We had nice conversations about many topics and enjoyed an upscale and classy 7 course
Japanese meal. Toshi had called ahead making arrangements for me for a special meal
due to my seafood allergy. Though the courses were small and concise they were very
nicely presented in plated and dishes that were very elegant and interesting. When the
First course arrived in a bento box (compartmentalized box) mine had 2 gold origami
cranes in it as I was the guest of honor and every one else got a different colored
origami crane in their meals. Maybe it was to tell the non seafood dish from the others
for the waitress ha ha ha who knows. We had beer to go with the meal. though I never
did catch the name of the type. This was the only darker ale that I was to have on my
trip. Japan is primarily a lager country and other varieties are hard to find. Most of the
dishes were quite delicious. One course was steak covered with Black Caviar I think. I
noticed this and scraped about 90 % off. Fortunately the other 10 % that I might have
eaten did not affect me. It was a very nice medley of food and I enjoyed the vast majoruty of
it.
It was a very nice and interesting experience for all of us. But as 3:30 PM rolled around it
was Cinderella time and 1 of the members had to leave for a prior engagement. We took
pictures in the foyer of our group and departed. I was happy to have the chance to talk a
little bit with her and the other female member of the group. They were sitting across
from me at the table but a little to far for idle conversation. I did not want to feel like
I ignored them, only talking with the men of the group, so we chatted a little as we
walked together on the streets. Another member of the group had to leave also, so Toshi
and I and the remaining couple (who met in the English group -- and plan on marrying each
other soon) went to find a coffee house. We continued our conversation as they drank
coffee and I had water. but I was happy to leave as the coffee house was very busy on this
Sunday afternoon and the smoke from the other patrons was overwhelming and giving me a
headache.
We back tracked to Toshi’s home and we just relaxed the rest of the evening. Though the
meal for lunch was filling as time progressed they asked if I was hungry and I said yes
so Toshi’s wife microwaved some noodles for me. We watched TV dramas and I told
Toshi and his wife about my adventures so far in my trip. I showed them the pictures of
Miho that I had developed already and I mentioned what a wonderful time we had
together. I also showed them some of the tools that I bought in Tokyo and Hiroshima for
doing pastries. We went into the guest room that I was staying in that had the computer
and I showed them my website and all of the pastry pictures That I had on the web site.
It was funny, I noticed that Toshi’s youngest son had his feet underneath the table with
the blanket like they had at Toshi’s parents home as he was studying for an exam. As
we watched the TV dramas I saw Toshi’s wife sit down on the floor and stick her feet
underneath also. Toshi laughed the next morning when I went over to the table to peer
underneath the blanket, no It was just an ordinary floor not one with the special pit built
in like at his parents home. As is the custom, the members of the family took their baths
after each other washing well before entering the tub to soak. They asked me if I wanted
to take my turn but I told them that I would rather take a shower the next morning to
wake up like we do in America.
