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From
Osaka to Tokyo
Adventures
of a French girl when she traveled to Japan
By Pierre
Coda Continued from previous page: Arriving
in Tokyo
The
evening was making me a bit nervous since this was not the way I had spent
my evenings. I had been entertaining with Monica and others mostly
during the day and I always had dinner with my family. Considering
the time that Yumiko was spending getting dressed, she knew I would need
her help in dressing appropriately too. Yumiko used a short black
dress with spaghetti straps, boots, and a red
designer
handbag. The pearl
necklace added a sense of elegance to her as she fixed her hair and
started advising me to get dressed.
I
selected the knee-length flower dress that I had bought. I left my
hair loose and used a short scarf to give myself an elegant appearance but
still retaining my classic European look. Yumiko realized that I
would need more time to look like the locals so she decided that it is
better to let me look a bit more exotic. Yumiko was also worried
that any major changes would only make me more nervous. As I looked
at myself in the mirror, I realized I had already turned into a different
person in less than a day. "Life has so many surprises. I
never thought that not only would I love Japan so much, I would also start
to work there and hang out with Japanese friends", I thought.
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It
was an Italian restaurant where I met three of Yumiko's friends - Yuka
(who worked as an flight
attendant, 32 years old, single, and dressed
elegantly in a dark blue pants suit that made her look more like a
business executive than a flight attendant), Hiroshi (bank salesman, 25, and
dressed rather casually in a polo shirt with a navy blue jacket, and dark
slacks), and Yasue (who was 38, but looked rather interesting with his
shoulder length hair and dressed in a flannel shirt and designer jeans).
I was a bit nervous being in the company of so many new people but I could
not stop noticing that I was being admired not only by the two men but
also Yuka. In fact when Yumiko left for a good half hour to make a
phone call, I had a pleasant conversation with the group and was starting
to enjoy myself. I found myself asking questions to all three
people about their jobs and their lives in Tokyo while they were
mesmerized by my life. I now had a better understanding of what it
was like to work in a bank in Tokyo or fly overseas regularly or to
paint,
as Yasue told me he did for a living.
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 When
Yumiko returned from her rather long conversation on the phone, her look
was not the same. She looked tense and immediately told the group
that she had to leave immediately to be with her pregnant sister who was
not feeling well. She handed over the apartment keys to me and told
me that I should feel at home even without her and she will call me the next morning.
Everyone told her not to worry about me and gave
her their best wishes for her sister.
I
was not surprised when Hiroshi offered to bring me back to Yumiko's
apartment. He was the only one with a car, and as I found out later
on, lived fairly close to Yumiko's apartment. Yuka and Yasue took a
taxi since it was too late for them to find trains. As I waved to
Yasue and Yuka, I was surprised to realize that I felt some pain as I saw
Yasue leave. Somehow, I wanted to know him better and may be even
spend some time alone with him. I noticed that Yasue kept looking at
me too as they settled down in the taxi.
Hiroshi
turned out to be a perfect
gentleman. We had a pleasant conversation
as he pointed out the sites of Tokyo during night. The streets were
relatively quiet and it was an exhilarating experience to see the lights,
feel the cool Tokyo air in my face, and talk about Hiroshi's life.
Hiroshi was still single and he had not made much effort to meet new
people. Like a lot of Japanese
salarymen, his job just kept him too busy
and coming from Niigata prefecture, he was still trying to get used to the
girls of Tokyo. Arriving at the apartment complex, Hiroshi opened
the door for me and politely wished me good night. As he left, he
even said that he hoped to see me again. I was exhausted by the
time I stepped into the apartment. I realized how late it had been
and also how drunk I was. I simply took my dress off and collapsed
on the futon in my underwear. I could not bring myself to the
bathroom to even take my makeup
off.
Next part: Date
with a Japanese man
How to be like the French women?
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