After waking from my second night in a capsule hotel I spent the remainder of the day doing a little more touring around Nagoya. I took the train from Kanayama to the area of Nagoya known as Sakae as rain and for the first time the cold seemed to have descended on central Honshu. After an aborted attempt to find the international grocery store and the English bookstore (I still have yet to find either) I walked over to the Outback Steakhouse for some lunch. Although I have railed against the prevalence of chain restaurants in foreign lands there is something to be said for and Outback burger and some cheese fries like you can get in the states from time to time. Add to that a rebroadcast of the new Iverson led Pistons against the Golden State Warriors and it was nice for a time to feel like I was back home. After finishing lunch I walked through the main shopping area of Sakae. The string of shops is decidedly high end with the likes of Gucci, Prada as well as smaller western chains like Gap. I did stop in and browse around the large Apple store where I fondled some of the new Ipods before heading on to the large PARCO store at the end of the shopping district. After spending about an hour at the store browsing around I picked up my first Christmas present and then headed on to a coffee shop where I caught up on some blogs before closing out the day meeting my friend, Akiko at the Hub in Sakae for a couple of beers before heading home to Kasugai. Monday I stayed close to home as finally my internet was to be hooked up. Sure enough in Japanese precise fashion I received a knock at my door where the equipment was dropped off by courier with the installer arriving about 30 minutes later to finish the job. Although the cable TV was not hooked up I was happy to finally have a fast connection from which to use my laptop at home for the first time in Japan. I also heard from my friend Yoshi who invited me over to Hiro’s for a dinner party Saturday night after work. According to Yoshi the party was to feature some new wines (not normally my thing) as well as a traditional “hot pot” Japanese dinner. With another week of school complete I again dropped in on the Backbeat with friends on Friday where my friend Ryan explained that my plans for Saturday evening were in fact a Kombah or a traditional party for Japanese singles. Usually someone agrees to host the party, has food, drinks etc. and then invites both men and woman to the party to meet and socialize. After finishing work I headed home to change before heading over to the party. As the title of the post explained I fretted over what shirt might be most appropriate for a Japanese kombah before heading out to Hiro’s house a few blocks from my apartment. Upon arriving any concerns or nervousness over the party were quickly put to rest as the party was similar to any small get together you might find at home. My host Hiro in polite Japanese fashion had everyone wait for my arrival before starting the meal. In a large pot Hiro had some chicken and haddock swimming in a delicious broth of Japanese vegetables. Even better Yoshi’s mother gave him some fresh carrots from her garden and while usually carrots are one of my least favorite foods even they were good. We spent the rest of the night enjoying some drinks. The only interesting portion of the night was heading downstairs to use the bathroom facilities. Hiro like many younger Japanese in their 20’s still lives at home with the rest of his family. It seems most young people once they leave university stay at home until they marry unlike Americans who usually extend college in subpar apartments with friends upon graduation. The house, which was large, has a separate portion Hiro lives in but the kitchen; bathrooms are shared by the rest of the family. As I entered the bathroom I heard some quiet water tinkling through the smoked glass window in another portion of the large bathroom. Immediately I could make out what appeared to be the shape of a man in a bath as the sound of water could be heard on the other side. Not sure what to do I stuck my head out the door where Yoshi was waiting for me to take me back upstairs to the party. When I inquired about what I had seen he told me not to worry, as it was Hiro’s older brother taking a bath. As I went back in to finish up I was not sure what scared me more, using the bathroom with a middle aged Japanese guy on the other side or the fear he might enter and find me in his bathroom. I am sure either would have made for an interesting story. Fortunately his brother stayed put in his bath and I made my way back to join the party.
There are times in Japan when I quietly reflect on how surreal my life in Japan is, what it is that brought me here and what I hope to find or where I hope to find it. But in the times like these sitting around a table laughing and sharing a meal with new friends on the other side of the world that I didn’t know existed three months ago I have to say the experience have been nothing but enjoyable and exciting with hopefully new things still yet to be discovered and just perhaps those questions still to be answered.
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