Saturday, June 20, with Perry

I was with Perry the entire day. After only a couple of days, he quickly mastered the public transit system and can confidently have a conversation with someone who only speaks Japanese.

I think there's going to be a Japanese child in his suitcase coming home. While we were at the zoo, he spent a lot of time watching the "cuuuuuute" kids. Not as interested in the museum, he really enjoyed the zoo despite initial doubts.

Although he wanted to go to Akihabara, I think it has been the place he has liked least. It was very loud, even by American standards. There were so many people with microphones and so many speakers playing music.

Once we got back to our hotel, we went shopping since Perry had very few comfortable clothes. Even though most associates spoke only Japanese, the ones who did help us were amazing. They completely made the experience for Perry.  Here's why:

We stopped at Gap first, thinking it may have large enough sizes for Perry. Once he found lightweight pants, he looked through the sizes. Someone who worked there asked for his size and informed him that pants there only went up to 32 x 32. We left and went to the department store, feeling sure we would not find anything he would fit into.

There were 3 floors dedicated to men's clothing. Perry needed a dress shirt. A man working in that part of the store approached us. We couldn't convert centimeters to inches easily. Speaking in only Japanese, he held out a measuring tape. He took Perry's measurements in centimeters; shirts are sized by both neck and arm length here. He found a shirt, tried it on and it was the best fitting dress shirt I've ever seen. The men then took his waist measurement too. Dress pants are sold only by waist with long pant legs. Then they hem the pants for free to your personal length. It takes only 60 minutes to complete the whole thing.

Everyone store-wide was so nice and accommodating even though we were clearly the only foreigners there, which can be burdensome on places that don't normally serve that population.

I felt really uncomfortable at Gap. I haven't quite figured it out yet. One of the things I noticed immediately was that all signs were still in English. Sizes were American sizes. Japanese clarification in small print was on some labels, but very few. Interestingly enough, the employees spoke only in Japanese, except when talking about sizes or fit. So it was kind of like, "Japanese Japanese 32-32 slim Japanese." For some reason I found the store unsettling. I'm not sure if it was the overly forced American-ness or considering how difficult it must be to be to work there when absolutely everything was in a language they did not know. The people who worked there were nice. They tried to help, but it seemed like they couldn't have full knowledge of the products due to a language difference. The care instructions on the clothes were entirely in English. The last shirt I got from the American Gap had a thick and giant tag in five different languages. Maybe this is just how the Japanese like Gap. I don't know.

Anyway, in the evening we wandered the streets near our hotel looking for a place to have a couple drinks. For so many hotels in the area, there were very few signs that seemed like they were willing to take in foreigners, which is understandable if a place doesn't have the resources to do so.

We finally found a place that advertised an English menu. It was crazy! Instead of fake memorabilia nailed to the wall, it seemed like a man's collection of action figures and toys. There was a PlayStation near our table and behind me was the largest collection I've seen of robot action figures from the Gundam Wing series.

Our middle aged server seemed excited to see us and quickly sat us down. He wanted us to have drinks at that moment. There was no running to get us water to give time to look over the menu. Perry ordered a beer, but wasn't sure what kind he was getting. I ordered a glass of sake.

Once our drinks were brought out, we were given tiny bowls of breaded squid. No one else had them (and the place was busy).

We looked at the menu for a possible snack. It was entirely in Japanese, but it had some pictures of food. Perry and I exchanged confused looks: "there was a sign for English menus, right?" The server returns speaking in broken English. "Menu." He opens it. "Picture only." Then pointing. "Roast beef, chicken, pork." He smiled innocently and then walked away. We immediately heard two men laughing loudly from behind a wall.

The server returns, laughing, along with the owner, also laughing. Both men spoke English well. They took the Japanese menus and replaced them with English ones. It was the. best. prank. ever. 

The subject quickly went from where we were from to what to eat. The owner opens the menu and suggests a few different things, but then highly recommends the okonomiyaki, and states that's what we will be eating. Then he brought out a bowl of stew-styled miso soup.

While we ate and drank, the owner brought both of his sons out to introduce us. Then he pushed his wife and daughter out to meet us. His boys looked unsure and slightly embarrassed. They ran away quickly. His wife was embarrassed too. His daughter seemed curious but confused. She waved a few times and then silently said bye-bye. She was so cute.

We got the bill about an hour later. It was my turn to pay. I'm not sure what we paid for. It was a little over 2200 yen. I had two 1000 yen on the bill clip and was fishing for some 100 yen coins, but the server came back and grabbed the check. We tried to stop him; we didn't pay the full amount. He held up his hand and said it was okay. I think that was the best time we've ever had at a bar.