Funny Memory of Japan

26 Dec Mon

While I'm on the topic of recalling Japan in the previous post, I smile to remember this woman at a dining place one night. I will always remember her & her fabulous rice, although not her face.

While in Japan, I had a lot of interesting & amusing encounters with very kind-hearted ladies. Because I look harmless & Japanese-looking (a small-sized woman travelling alone), they are quite comfortable with me & don't mind that I'm an alien. They were very helpful even knowing I'm not Japanese. Of course, I always speak (broken) Japanese & they appreciate that I try.

Many times at the end of helping me when I bowed (to the same degree as they) & thanked them, they will say "Kiotsukete ne!". At that time, I didn't know what that word meant & didn't think anything of it. I assumed it was like "See ya, have a good time" or something.  Only years later back home, I finally learnt that they were telling me to "Be Careful". Gosh.

Never speak English with the Japanese. Be polite by speaking in their language. You are after all in their country. They will appreciate it. Always start with "Sumimasen" (excuse me) to get their attention. It's spoken with a bit of a sing-songing way. Actually, I miss saying it.

As I moved around & soaked in their sounds of speaking, I began to say "Sumimasen" that sounded so Japanese, they would turn instantly to reply happily "Hai!", before realizing that I'm actually an alien.

It was late at night. Usually, I was never this late. I can't recall which train station. But I exited from a train station & was hungry. There was no shopping mall.

The street lights were few & some guys were hanging out in their office clothes. They just glanced at me while I wheeled along my backpack luggage.  Japanese people are nice in that they mind their own business.

I needed food. In case I wanted to try a restaurant (in an emergency), I had set aside some extra cash. So, I was ready if I wanted to try an establishment with a $30 meal.

After walking around randomly & entering a dimly lit broad alley, I saw a food place. From outside, the glass was quite dimly lit but I could see lights & customers inside. Looked Ok.

I don't usually go into dark or dimly lit alleys but this time, I was hungry.

I went up the steps & stood with my trolley luggage at the door. Some male customers eating. A lady inside immediately turned to me & came out to politely welcome me to a large table.  I don't know if she's the lady boss but she was very service-oriented.

I think she already knew I was a foreign traveller.

I didn't know what to order. She didn't show me any menu. The moment I sat down, she lowered herself in a kneeling position beside my table & looked at me. I was very surprised looking at her do that. I was wondering why was she lowering to a such a "servant" position to take my order?

She was a youngish lady but motherly. 

She waited for my order.  I said hesitatingly, "Gohan", meaning rice.

Amusingly, she nodded and said, "Rice" in English. AHahaha! I didn't expect it. So funny. Here I was trying to come up with the Japanese word for rice. And there she was saying it in English. I kept a serious face, even though I was surprised. I've been travelling for some time by then & no Japanese person speaks English.

Then... I didn't know what else to say since I didn't know what food she had. And I didn't want something weird.

Without me saying anything, she very helpfully proceeded to recommend chicken. She said "Chicken" in English although it was with a Japanese accent but I understood. And even raised her fingers to draw an imaginary line down along her throat to describe which part of the chicken. She made sure I understood while doing it. Oh, tender chicken meat at the throat?  I said Ok.

She hurried away & I didn't know what to expect.

She returned some minutes later with grilling apparatus. Oh... So, I was to cook it? It's not going to appear in a bowl already done?

Later, she brought a plate of 3 thin slices of chicken meat with a bowl of rice & a small plate of pickles. So little? No soup?

But I tell you: That was the best plain rice I ever ate. The meat was very tender & nice. The pickles, I liked but too few. I ate everything.  I didn't know how much it was going to cost. But for this amount, how much could it cost?

When I asked to pay, the price was around $15. Expensive for so few slices of meat.

I never knew plain rice can taste this good.  No wonder the Japanese people love their rice. That rice that I ate there, no other Japanese restaurant that I've tried in Singapore has been able to come close. In fact, even their microwave convenience store Omu-rice is better than any of the common/popular Japanese establishment in Singapore.

I still remember the lady & that night. I wonder if she's still there.