Yoroshiku Onegaishimasu!

Walking through dimly-lit back-alleys of Kyoto, looking for a place to eat, I chanced upon what seemed to be a hole-in-the-wall izakaya. I wasn't entirely sure what to expect as I walked in to the room. In many ways that feeling sort of sums up my experience in Japan until then. After deciding to stay on for a week, all alone and armed only with a guidebook and my repertoire of a smattering of Japanese phrases, things had turned out unexpectedly well and I was hoping that this night would be no different.

For what seemed like an eternity, I shifted uncomfortably in my seat, waiting to figure out the protocol for ordering in this place. The izakaya that I happened to pick that night seemed like the kind of neighborhood joint where everyone knows everyone else. No one would have had any trouble picking me out as the foreigner in there. Soon enough I exchanged smiles with the proprietor. Unfortunately, most introductory Japanese speaking lessons cover only formal introductions of the kind "Hello, I am XYZ. Pleased to meet you!"; not entirely appropriate for this location so I had to make do with lots of smiling and prefacing everything I said with a lot of "please" and "thank yous". I proceeded to order some sake after convincing the proprietor that I did indeed want sake and not beer in spite of his repeated insistence. As it turns out, the sake was delicious, and went very well with the bowl of snails that were placed in front of me.

I spent the next few minutes enjoying the sake while impolitely overhearing conversations of the neighboring customers. I didn't feel terribly bad about doing this since I barely understood what anyone was saying anyway. I managed to rationalize it by thinking that it was good practice for learning a little more Japanese to add to my limited vocabulary; an educational eavesdropping experience of sorts. And then finally, and fortuitously, I met the only person in the place that spoke some English, and very good English at that. As it turns out, this person had traveled all over the world in her 20s and had been to some of the places from back home that I was familiar with. All conversations between me and the proprietor were now funneled through her and she didn't seem to mind playing the part of the interpreter. In due course, everyone in the place wanted to chat and I didn't really feel alone in there anymore. Soon I was being offered sake by the other customers and laughing out aloud while trying tons of delicious and tasty snacks, most of which were offered on-the-house after some gentle prodding from one of the customers.

As the night wound down, I knew I had just a tad bit too much to drink, but not so much that the short walk to the place I was going to spend the night would prove to be challenging. I am glad that I decided to try out the izakaya, while rejecting the guidebook advice of seeking out a 'foreigner-friendly' place. That night, like all the others spent in Japan was extremely memorable. I can't wait to be back!