Everybody wants the same thing
Yesterday was weird. I dawdled for a long time before finally going to see the real estate agent in Nakano about the flat my kouhai wants to rent. Then, since I was "in the neighborhood", or had to walk past the place on my way from Takadanobaba to Nishiwaseda, I popped in to see Hoshino-san. He was good fun, like always. We talked about the flat and how far it is from Waseda, and how the contract is at a point where it still needs to be okayed by the landlord. In Nakano I'd been shocked to hear it, and asked what were the chances of the landlord okaying it, and was told they were "good, about 80%". To me 80% isn't necessarily good... Hoshino-san looked quite shocked too. "When will you know?", he asked, and I told him they'd call "early next month". He said, "Well, tomorrow's already the 1st". I looked at him blankly and said tomorrow was the 31st. "No, it's the 1st", he said patiently. We stared at each other, then he smiled and said, "Look at your cell". I did, and he asked me what date was it. "The 31st...", I told him sheepishly, "but the 31st was supposed to be Sunday...". "Pull up the calendar", he said, "do you have it up? Does it say the 31st is Saturday?". The other real estate agent sitting in the other desk grinned all the while listening.
I explained to Hoshino-san why I'd thought the 31st was supposed to be Sunday, because the Sumida river fireworks festival was supposed to be then. "Oh, I guess that explains why there're so many people wearing yukata", he said. It was already half past 5, but I figured I'd have time to go home, take a shower and put on a yukata. Which I did. But I only saw the last 5 minutes of the fireworks. But really, there was no place to watch them in Asakusa, since about the only places where you could see them from were the bridges, and they were patrolled by policemen with ropes and megaphones. The soundscape was people oohing and aahing, and the monologue of a female officer perched atop a patrol car, piping into her megaphone "People stopping to take pictures, please do not stop. Let's enjoy these beautiful fireworks with our eyes only.".
I could check how many people came to watch the fireworks, but I'm too lazy, so I'll just say a fuckload. And after it was over, almost all of those people cued to the Ginza line Asakusa station. I figured I'd have a drink or two and wait for the crowds to disperse, but naturally I wasn't the only one to come up with that idea. There was about a 40 minute wait for Watami. When I'd crossed the bridge back, the female officer had chirped "Please consider walking to JR Ueno station. It is only a 30 minute walk.". At the moment I'd found it so funny I laughed out loud, but in the end I made that trek. In fucking geta. How all the other yukata and geta wearing people made it is a mystery, but the mincing pace one is supposed to walk in while wearing these started to drive me insane, so I just hiked up the hem of my yukata and took strides. There happened to be a 7/11 on the way, so I bought myself a can of chuuhai. While drinking and walking, I guess I was nanpaed. Which actually made the walk more enjoyable. At Ueno station he laughed self-derisively and asked if we could have drinks some time. I told him I was flying back to Finland pretty soon, and he said "That's cool, when you come back's fine". 20 past 11 he emailed to ask when I'd have time.
It seems that the adjective most people here associate with me is 渋い. It refers to having somber, quiet tastes. But my favorite translation for it is "an aura of refined masculinity". So I quite like being called shibui. I found it pretty funny to be called that even when I was being picked up, though.
I had to change trains in Ikebukuro anyway, and I figured my regular cafe was still open. When I came out from the Metropolitan exit, I happened to see a street performer. I like them, so I drifted to look, but sadly only caught the last few seconds. After the performance he wanted pictures with his audience, and we took one together. As I wrote down my address so they could send it to me, I chatted a little with his cute little assistant. When I told her I was a student, she asked me where. I told her Waseda, and her eyes lit up. "Me too!", she said. She's in the Department of Sociology. "He graduated from Waseda!", she told me, pointing to the street performer, then called out to him "She's from Waseda!". "Hm, my kouhai then", he said. They were pretty funny.
When I asked Koushi once how the Japanese rank universities, he explained that here a universitys worth is measured in where the graduates are employed. So graduates from top universities can get jobs in top firms, like Sony or such. "A smart person who graduates from Tokyo University can get in anywhere". And a Waseda graduate can become a street performer, I guess.
Yesterday was good fun.
I explained to Hoshino-san why I'd thought the 31st was supposed to be Sunday, because the Sumida river fireworks festival was supposed to be then. "Oh, I guess that explains why there're so many people wearing yukata", he said. It was already half past 5, but I figured I'd have time to go home, take a shower and put on a yukata. Which I did. But I only saw the last 5 minutes of the fireworks. But really, there was no place to watch them in Asakusa, since about the only places where you could see them from were the bridges, and they were patrolled by policemen with ropes and megaphones. The soundscape was people oohing and aahing, and the monologue of a female officer perched atop a patrol car, piping into her megaphone "People stopping to take pictures, please do not stop. Let's enjoy these beautiful fireworks with our eyes only.".
I could check how many people came to watch the fireworks, but I'm too lazy, so I'll just say a fuckload. And after it was over, almost all of those people cued to the Ginza line Asakusa station. I figured I'd have a drink or two and wait for the crowds to disperse, but naturally I wasn't the only one to come up with that idea. There was about a 40 minute wait for Watami. When I'd crossed the bridge back, the female officer had chirped "Please consider walking to JR Ueno station. It is only a 30 minute walk.". At the moment I'd found it so funny I laughed out loud, but in the end I made that trek. In fucking geta. How all the other yukata and geta wearing people made it is a mystery, but the mincing pace one is supposed to walk in while wearing these started to drive me insane, so I just hiked up the hem of my yukata and took strides. There happened to be a 7/11 on the way, so I bought myself a can of chuuhai. While drinking and walking, I guess I was nanpaed. Which actually made the walk more enjoyable. At Ueno station he laughed self-derisively and asked if we could have drinks some time. I told him I was flying back to Finland pretty soon, and he said "That's cool, when you come back's fine". 20 past 11 he emailed to ask when I'd have time.
It seems that the adjective most people here associate with me is 渋い. It refers to having somber, quiet tastes. But my favorite translation for it is "an aura of refined masculinity". So I quite like being called shibui. I found it pretty funny to be called that even when I was being picked up, though.
I had to change trains in Ikebukuro anyway, and I figured my regular cafe was still open. When I came out from the Metropolitan exit, I happened to see a street performer. I like them, so I drifted to look, but sadly only caught the last few seconds. After the performance he wanted pictures with his audience, and we took one together. As I wrote down my address so they could send it to me, I chatted a little with his cute little assistant. When I told her I was a student, she asked me where. I told her Waseda, and her eyes lit up. "Me too!", she said. She's in the Department of Sociology. "He graduated from Waseda!", she told me, pointing to the street performer, then called out to him "She's from Waseda!". "Hm, my kouhai then", he said. They were pretty funny.
When I asked Koushi once how the Japanese rank universities, he explained that here a universitys worth is measured in where the graduates are employed. So graduates from top universities can get jobs in top firms, like Sony or such. "A smart person who graduates from Tokyo University can get in anywhere". And a Waseda graduate can become a street performer, I guess.
Yesterday was good fun.