I Am a Super Spy!
-Or-
Platform Gaijin
Every morning, as I am waiting for my 8:05 train (and it ALWAYS comes at 8:05; trains in Japan are almost never late, and almost never early), I like to stand by the stairs so I can get into a train car with fewer people. One morning last week, I noticed someone that I recognized.
No, I don't know anyone in Japan. But unconsciously I'd been noticing this guy whenever I went to school at 8:05. He's a tall, slightly balding, mild-looking gaijin (foreigner) business man. He looks American or British to me, although I've never spoken to him.
On that day, I decided I was curious about him, since very few gaijin live out in my area. I'm in a suburb about 20 min by train away from the Yamanote-sen, which is the train line that circles downtown Tokyo's main areas. It's kind of hard to explain. Anyway.
He gets on the same car I do every morning, so I kept my eye on him. When we disembarked from that train, I followed him through the station. I figured I could follow him at least until I had to get on my next train. And happily, he got onto the same second train as me! However, that day, I lost him on the second train's platform.
In telling this story to my friends, they asked if I'd been singing spy music. "No," I replied, and they decided this must be why I'd lost him on that platform. They told me to follow him again and, next time, to sing spy music in my head.
So this morning, I started up the theme to Mission Impossible in my head, and kept myself slightly behind him all the way through the transferring station. This time, I didn't lose him in the crowd! We got on the same car, and I was careful to not stand too near to him.
If you're excited about the ending to this story, I'm sorry to say that I had to transfer trains again, and he didn't. So I'll probably never know where he goes... unless I decide to get up early on Wednesday (I don't have classes on Wednesday), and follow him wherever he goes. He'd probably shoot me or something, because it'd be hard to hide from him for that long. Being blond is not conducive to being subtle in Japan.
But I'm convinced the spy music helped.
No, I don't know anyone in Japan. But unconsciously I'd been noticing this guy whenever I went to school at 8:05. He's a tall, slightly balding, mild-looking gaijin (foreigner) business man. He looks American or British to me, although I've never spoken to him.
On that day, I decided I was curious about him, since very few gaijin live out in my area. I'm in a suburb about 20 min by train away from the Yamanote-sen, which is the train line that circles downtown Tokyo's main areas. It's kind of hard to explain. Anyway.
He gets on the same car I do every morning, so I kept my eye on him. When we disembarked from that train, I followed him through the station. I figured I could follow him at least until I had to get on my next train. And happily, he got onto the same second train as me! However, that day, I lost him on the second train's platform.
In telling this story to my friends, they asked if I'd been singing spy music. "No," I replied, and they decided this must be why I'd lost him on that platform. They told me to follow him again and, next time, to sing spy music in my head.
So this morning, I started up the theme to Mission Impossible in my head, and kept myself slightly behind him all the way through the transferring station. This time, I didn't lose him in the crowd! We got on the same car, and I was careful to not stand too near to him.
If you're excited about the ending to this story, I'm sorry to say that I had to transfer trains again, and he didn't. So I'll probably never know where he goes... unless I decide to get up early on Wednesday (I don't have classes on Wednesday), and follow him wherever he goes. He'd probably shoot me or something, because it'd be hard to hide from him for that long. Being blond is not conducive to being subtle in Japan.
But I'm convinced the spy music helped.
posted by Bridget Lough at
9:22 PM
2 Comments:
you could always talk to him.
By
Monty Jaus, at 1:07 AM
Or NOT because that would totally take the fun out of it!
Honestly, you are not a super spy.
By
Bridget Lough, at 11:05 AM
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