Profiscor on the Your-Japan Blog Network

So you guys already know how kind Firefly’s been to me since I came here. For one, the last thing he posted on his blog was about me, and for anyone reading to give me support, which I am truly indebted to you for! So one day I discovered Gmail had chat when Firefly decided to message me and say hello.

…What’s that? …Hmmm a messege from… FIREFLY? …posted only 2 minutes ago?! Reply Advena! Reply!

I thanked him for all his help because there’s nothing nicer than coming home after a long day and finding out that people all over the world are supporting you along with someone, whose blog you’ve been reading for almost 2 years now, deciding to support you and tell you to hang in there.

So again, Firefly was very kind to me and said if I was ever in town we should go for coffee and I could hear more about his travels. He also made a point of telling “Remember, when times are going crap, there’s a good chance someone’s been in the same situation or worse.” I thanked him for his kindness again and we got talking about Azreal’s (www.gaijinsmash.net) and Firefly’s own adventures. It was really strange to be talking to him about his past and his life but it was great to get some feedback and ask some questions about his blog straight up.

A couple of days ago I got an e-mail from Firefly telling me that he would be in Akihabara for the afternoon, the next day. Luckily I had tickets for the train already since I was meant to be going to Tokyo the day before but my friend cancelled at the last minute. I thought why not and e-mailed back telling him that I’d be there.

I woke up knackered from the karaoke-fest we had the night before and got dressed. For some reason the timetable that I have for the train is wrong (Gotta love Japan!) so I decided to leave some time and just get to the station within reasonable time. I went downstairs to see that the kitten I helped was doing just fine. She meowed at me in hope of some food but that would only strengthen her attachment to me and make her come in the building…Which might result in her getting hurt so I didn’t give her any food.

I got on my bike and cycled to the station.

Doubt popped into my head.

Hey…Advena? Did you just agree to meet someone over the internet that you don’t know…and he doesn’t know you…and neither of you know what the other looks like?

I suppose I did!

…Oh well too late now! I’m on the platform waiting for the 11:55 train and it’s 11.54!

I got on the train and headed off for Akihabara. I got there early and decided to go up to the 3^rd floor of Yodebashi Akiba to look at curling tongs and continue my search for a good make up remover. I was shopping for about 20 minutes when Firefly rings me from the first floor and tells me he’s in the building.

We meet by the AU section and I shake his hand. He had a different hair colour than I had imagined, but in essence it was Firefly, you could just tell.

We got a coffee at the nearest Starbucks and got talking about each others’ lives in Japan and various other things. Firefly told me that he planned to go to an English language game shop later.

…Excuse me? … A shop where all the games are in English but nobody can speak English? I have to see!

I asked if I could tag along and he was happy to show me where it was. This was also a great chance to venture into the back streets of Akihabara and not be worried about getting lost.

At the shop I realised Firefly was completely right. None of the staff here could speak English but look at all the games!

Advena: Erm… In general Japanese people can’t speak English right?

Firefly: Yep

Advena: So…Why are all these Japanese people shopping in a shop where all the products are in English?

Firefly: No idea!

*Files in the “Gotta Love Japan!” File*

Next, after seeing some penguins in a shop window. I let it slip that I was kind of hungry.

Yes penguins.

In Akihabara.

In a shop window.

Which for some reason was next to a place selling food.

Like a hot-dog hut but with Japanese food…only stuck to a building…And next to some penguins! 3 to be exact.

I noticed how normal this all seemed for Firefly. He must have had some fun watching me freak out. Haha.

Firefly then asks me,

“You hungry?”

“Yeah I am actually” I replied, and got distracted by the fact there were 2 wii boxes just openly lying outside a shop saying “for sale”. In England those would have been long gone…Chavs popped into my head.

Firefly went somewhat silent during my babbling, and finally said “I’m thinking it might be interesting to take you to a maid café”

Me:E-Excuse me a maid café?

Firefly: Yeah I think it would be a really interesting experience for you, and since you’re in Akihabara…!

I paused… then said

“ Yeah sure why not! You can watch me get culture shock!”

So I agreed as Firefly hunted down a maid café to go to.

We found one that had a lunch set and went inside. It was on the third floor so we had to take a lift up. Firefly got in first and made me stand at the front of this tiny lift.

Firefly: This is all you! You do the talking!

Advena: Erm…Okay…

I said, not knowing what to expect.

The lift stopped and we went through the entrance to the café which to my surprise was a small door. It opened up into a hallway with various things staring me in the face.

Firefly: OH MAN! It’s a train café!

Me: A what?

Firefly: For some reason there’s a whole sector of Otaku that just love trains.

Me: *culture shock* I see…O_o

I asked for a two person table and the waitress took us over to a table. On the way I realisd that all the seats were just like train seats. She gave us the lunch menu.

Me: I-..It’s a map?

Firefly: Haha! Wow, so it is…This is the pasta line…This is the soba line…The lunch line…

He went on but I was looking around the place in total awe of all of the memorabilia and the fact that there were CATS on TV wearing HATS and RIDING TRAINS. Not to mention how pissed off cats look in hats…riding trains.

What topped the whole thing off was the other people in the restaurant. This was all so normal to them. Paying more at a café to get affection from some waitresses.

Firefly put it into perspective for me and said

“Well when you think about it, how many of these people do you actually see as having normal every day lives that they’re happy with? They come here to get some attention from these girls and forget about their every day life, and the girls do a pretty good job of making them forget”

He was right, there’s no questioning. That was the single reason as to why the maid café culture/hostess culture does so well. Guys who are unhappy with their real lives so come here to forget about it all.

We both noticed a buck-toothed guy who looked worse for wear trying to act suave but just came off like a total prick to the waitresses. I wasn’t sure if it was just me thinking this so I asked Firefly if he could make out what this guy was saying. He couldn’t really but confirmed that he was acting like a total prick.

I made eye-contact with one of the waitresses who then came over to ask where we were from…and was probably intruiged as to why there was a girl in here. She asked where we were from but I missed the ending of what she was saying so I turn to Firefly and ask,

“She’s asking where I’m from?”

“Yep”

She also nodded her head in agreement and smiled, making it apparent that she could speak some English. When she was about to walk away, the obnoxious guy behind said to her.

“Eigo?Ganbate!…Ganbate!” Which translates to “English? Go for it, keep trying!”

Me: Pssh yeah, like he’s an expert at English?

Firefly: Yeah, it’s kind of a culture here for the men to be dominant, and since these guys can’t get it anywhere else, they come to places like this. Though, it is really embarrassing to watch.

Me: Yeah, I hate that. Someone should say something, like now…HEY YOU.

He was looking the other way, presumably at a waitress, but turns round on hearing my voice.

I stare him right in the eye and say

“YOU SPEAK ENGLISH?”

To which he replies.

“No…No English, Very Sorry…” and lets out a nervous giggle, barely making eye-contact with me.

You should be… I thought, but resisted the urge to be plain rude.

I turn round to see Firefly silently laughing. He smiled and remarked that a Japanese girl wouldn’t have done that.

To be fair, I wouldn’t have usually done that, I mean it’s not like I go out and bark at strangers, but this guy really grinded on my last nerve, and I knew he wouldn’t do anything to a strong intellectually competent girl *wink wink!* So I thought, What the hell!

Another thing worth mentioning is when the food arrived, the waitress poured sauce on my food for me, but before doing so told me to say a word when I was done. With the help of Firefly I managed to get what she was asking me to do but not what it meant.

So she pours the sauce. I say whatever word it was (I can’t remember) and Firefly starts to laugh.

“What did I just say?” I look at him puzzled

Still chuckling he said “She asked you to say “Stop the train!” when you were done with the sauce, and when you said that, she said “Thank you for riding the train”"

I don’t know quite what the expression on my face was but im quessing it was along the lines of ; O_O

We left soon after that because Firefly’s extremely busy life meant that he had other places to be.

I sat on the way home passing fields and various blocks of flats and as the train jerked back and forth I thought to myself, So that was Firefly huh… As I backtracked and processed all that I’d seen, smiling to myself occasionally.

Needless to say, this fueled the stares that I get on the train even more…!

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