Firefly in Japan on the Your-Japan Blog Network

I am running late for an appointment. My heart is beating fast, my map is flurrying about in the wind, and my sweaty, white knuckled hand grips and twists the scooter throttle. I am flying between small, tight streets and frantically looking around to find my building. My unshielded face gets colder as the icy wind beats against it in waves matching my throttle twists.

My hate for the Japanese addressing system is once again renewed. I clench my teeth in frustration – why does it need to be so difficult?

Side Note : I am not a ¡Èjaded gaijin¡É. I do not go about complaining about Japan, about how ¡Èit¡Çs so much better back in my country¡É. I happily accept the good and the bad parts together. I am a very even, reasonable person. However. I really, really hate the Japanese addressing system. It is probably the only address system in the world that is so complicated that you need a computer(car navi) just to navigate around with any degree of certainty. Very frustrating. AARGH.

I now make the mistake of asking for directions. My first advisor is an old lady who seems perhaps knowledgeable about the area.

Me : <IN A RUSH>Excuse me, do you know where 3-12-2 Senzoku-ike is?

Uh, 3choume? Uh… Lets see… um. Hmmmmmm…. Maybe it¡Çs… Noo… No I don¡Çt think so. Ummmm…. could it be over there? Ummmm

Me : <IN A RUSH>It¡Çs ok. I¡Çll find it myself.

Oh, you could do that, I suppose. Um….. But it might be worth going over there, I think…. maybe you might find something, I guess. If you have a look over there.

Me : <IN A RUSH>Ok, ill do that, goodbye, thanks.

Are you sure you¡Çre ok? Hm…. let me call my friend, he knows this area much better than I do, I think

Me : <IN A RUSH>Please don¡Çt. Please don¡Çt.

Now, what¡Çs his last name. I haven¡Çt seen him in a while now, you know.

Me : <IN A RUSH>ARGGGH

Hang on, it¡Çs ringing now. I hope he¡Çs there. He¡Çs very busy these days.

Me : <IN A RUSH>Listen, I don¡Çt mean to be rude, but for gods sake have a look at me. I¡Çm in a rush!!!

Oh ok, <phone appears to answer> Oh!! Hello there ! How are you? I¡Çm good thanks. Very cold recently isn¡Çt it? Oh yes, very cold. It snowed the other day!! Very cold. Oh dear me, yes, very cold. Much colder than last year, isn¡Çt it? Oh deary me, how cold indeed.

Me : <IN A RUSH> *in shock*

Oh that¡Çs right. Do you know where 3-12-2 is?

Me : <IN A RUSH> *somewhat relieved*

Oh yes. Oooh yes absolutely. She¡Çs very well. She just entered Primary School! Can you believe it? How about that. Primary School. She is growing up quickly.

Me : <IN A RUSH>*back in shock*

Dis-orientated and frustrated, I finally managed to escape somewhat politely.

I was so lost, I asked 6 more people for directions. 3 people pointed me in 3 different directions, and 3 people had no idea. Out of these ¡Èno idea 3¡É, only 1 person had the good grace to tell me ¡ÈSorry, I have no idea¡É. The other two wasted about 5 minutes of my time each trying to help me, but only ended up making me later, and driving me nuts. I asked another person who simply wanted to chat, which I probably would have been happy to do, IF I WASN¡ÇT IN SUCH A GODDAMN FUCKING RUSH, GODAMMIT LOOK AT ME.

Whew. The conclusion to the story is that I did finally find the place, however I was 2 hours late. As it turns out, there is place called Senzoku-ike, and there is also a section of a ward called Senzoku-ike, and I went to the wrong one. Oh well, I¡Çll know for next time. Or, I will buy a car with a decked out navigation system that gives me clear instructions.