U. S. Soldiers Home, Washington: during a century of travel (well 78 years!) both in and out of service I have travelled to over 150 countries (I count both North and South Dakota as countries) and for some reason have jotted signs and happenings that I thought funny at the time (and now wonder why). So here is the perfect opportunity to share some of my anecdotes.
In Japan, often near railroad stations, they have what they call Capsule Hotels. They are like train berths one on top of the other or some refer to them as coffins. Businessmen after a night at the bars and who miss their trains home often stay in them. They even have a very small TV set in the bunk with you and a telephone. If you can’t find a place elsewhere then you look for a capsule hotel. I stayed in several. One had a sign at the entrance. No elevator. No Cooking. No tattoos (they associate tattoos with criminals and Cher.) No dead drunks. One time the bunk over me was not occupied and for some strange reason I left my money on the bunk overhead like it was a shelf. When I returned that night the manager handed me the money. I guess he knew only a foolish foreigner would do that. One time I went into a coffee shop near train station in Ueno section of Tokyo and when I left I left my backpack at the stool. I went to downtown Tokyo before discovering my backpack was missing. I thought maybe it got pulled off in the crowded subway. There are thousands of coffee shops in Ueno and I did not know if I could remember which one I was in. I went into one and the manager held up my backpack as if he had been holding it all day waiting for my return. The Japanese are just incredibly honest. More about capsule hotels later.
One way to cut down on expenses in Japan is to use the many vending machines found on streets everywhere. Food etc is cheaper there. Coffee in YMCA was $4 a cup. In the machines, $1.10. In McDonalds $1.80 a cup. Beer can cost you $6.00 in a bar but in vending machines outside $2.90 or less. They even sell whisky in vending machines on the street. I don’t know how they keep children from buying whisky from the vending machines. Japan has clear plastic umbrellas you can see thorough so you won’t run into people and spike them. Stores have stands outside to place your wet umbrella and not take into store.
A Japanese man that looked older than me stopped me on the street in Tokyo one time evidently to try out his English and said to me. “My, you look old. Are you tired? It turned out he was older than me and had been a Japanese fighter pilot in WWII with he said 303 missions. (I suspect I heard wrong.) His English was not too good. For some reason he told me he did not like Italians. He sang a bit of song Coming thru the Rye and asked me if I knew the name of that song. He laughed when he heard my military background and saluted me and then scooted away. I would have liked to have found out more about him like did he bomb Pearl Harbour. It was a most strange encounter. About as strange as these notes.
The honour of inventing the useful rickshaw falls to an American missionary in Japan who designed one for his invalid wife. The Japanese appropriated the idea and then the Chinese.
I one time was on a train in Japan and some Indian congressmen asked me if I would have lunch with them in a week as they were invited to the States. Before I met with them, I read up books about our Congress, how many how chosen etc so I would not look like a dummy. The first question they asked me is: “What is pie a la mode?” (It is pie with ice cream on top if asked.) They then asked about tipping which they were not used to in Japan. I did not tell them I went to places where tipping is not required Ha! I have met particularly Australians that have worked while travelling. I met an Irishman that got a job as extra in Japanese movies where they needed a Caucasian face in background checking into hotel, airport etc. He talked me into taking such a job. Military Intelligence found out about it and suggested I not do this as the studio Nichikecki (or something), sometimes slanted their picture anti American and I might not know from scene I was in. There went my movie career. I could have been a star. I met an Australian temporarily tending bar in US Military Sanno Hotel. Some try jobs that do not take away jobs from locals. Like big firms hiring foreigners for practice in conversational English. I met some Japanese that had had British teachers. I had to smile when I heard them talking with a Japanese accent. I don’t know if your Embassies would know of trade shows or possibilities for temporary work that did not take away jobs from others or not. They hired a Japanese to teach my Irish friend some Japanese He got more pay if he spoke a few words. We think of Japan as having high class films but they also make a lot of cheap films. One day my friend was playing the part of a reporter in front of Judge’s stand. The Japanese actor Judge did not show up the next day so my Irish friend was promoted to Judge in same movie.
Next month, Mac discusses India.
If you would like to contact Mac, he can be e-mailed on: macsan400@yahoo.com