Alex Quinn's Japan Journal

8/16/2004, A day in Aioi

For once, I didn't have anywhere special to go.  So, I spent the day in my home town of Aioi.  I hung around the apartment and then went out for a bike ride.  It was nice.  Went by the harbor and up a steep hill.  Came back down the hill and parked next to the harbor for a few minutes.  As I sat there, a girl came and brought me a beer.  Then her brother (?) came and we had a nice chat.  They were good and liquored up, but awfully pleasant.  They eventually invited me to join their party.  Their family was having a barbecue.  So, I sat around with them and drank beer and chewed the fat.  At one point, most of the men took off most of their clothes and jumped in to the water which was mostly mud.  Well, it is really dirty water, anyway.  They didn't care.  One guy was naked from the belly button down for a while.  Rather amusing.  They didn't care that they were being cut by oyster shells.

Ultimately, everybody dried off.  I helped them pack up.  The party went back to a bar.  It turns out the mother of the family owns a little bar.  We sat around and drank sake and beer and sang karaoke.  I did some Frank Sinatra, but ultimately I learned that they really wanted to hear "Stand By Me".  Apparently, that song is popular here.  I could barely remember it but I gave it my best shot.  Anyway, it's always cool the way you make friends in the most surprising circumstances.

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