The
first shock in Tokyo came when I spotted Yumiko. This was not the
Yumiko I had made an image of over the phone. She was far more
vivacious and fashionable than I ever anticipated.
The way I dressed made me feel like a girl from the countryside
even though I thought I had dressed reasonably well for travel.
Yumiko smiled and greeted me warmly and helped me with my bags as we
started to get out of Haneda Airport. In her high-heel
boots, Yumiko
was running as if she had to attend to an emergency. I could barely
keep up with her and was wondering why everyone was running around so
fast. Yumiko talked without a break asking me several questions in
one breath. I kept answering her questions without even thinking
since just being in Haneda Airport in Tokyo was an overwhelming
experience.
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Yumiko's
apartment was tiny, and of course this shocked me, despite the fact that I
had heard horror stories about them and was prepared for it. We
lived in a relatively large house and I had not yet visited a single
girl’s apartment in Japan. Most
Japanese entertained outside their homes.
However, Yumiko’s apartment was extremely well organized unlike
the
pictures of messy apartments of single women that I had seen in the
movies. Of course, I was not expecting a room for myself, and
looking at the size of the apartment, I knew that this was going to be a
week full of surprises.
Even
though I woke up so early I felt full of energy. After all I was in
Tokyo. It was a beautiful Saturday morning and this could be the
beginning of a new life for me. I wanted to make use of every
opportunity that would come my way this week so that I could decide
exactly what I would need to do to go ahead in life. While Yumiko
had a decent job in the museum, I wanted to go beyond that. I had
actually studied Impressionist art for two years and was confident that I
could do the job well.
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 Lunch
was rather simple – ready-to-eat meals that Yumiko seemed to keep a
large stock of. As we spoke about the plans for the week, I came to
know that Yumiko would try to give me an introduction to Tokyo during the
weekend so that not only would I get a chance to do what most tourists do
in Tokyo, I would be able to find my way around during the other five
days. Of course, Yumiko will join me for dinner after work.
For today, Yumiko had planned two events. She would first bring me
for a big shopping trip and then in the evening, they would go out for
dinner and meet some of her friends. I did not need to ask why
shopping was planned for me even though Yumiko had not seen what I had in
my bags. We both understood now why it was necessary. As soon
I got off the plane at Haneda Airport, I knew that I was in trouble
since I had clothes that looked so old-fashioned in comparison to other
women around. Luckily, I thought, my parents had given me a hefty
allowance for the trip and I had some of my own savings from some French
lessons that I had started to give.
Shopping
was a mind-blowing experience for me. While I had expected the large
variety of dresses that would be available considering the manner in which
women were dressed here, I had not prepared myself for the prices.
Even prices of French products were 50-75% higher than they were in
France. Yumiko understood,
and tried her best to find stuff that was not necessarily expensive but
still stylish. I not only ended up buying three pretty dresses for
the pleasant April Tokyo weather, Yumiko also forced me to buy sandals, cosmetics, a
handbag, and even some
underwear.
Next part: Going out in
Tokyo
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