He's basically the coolest old Japanese guy I've met. For an example, I was supposed to drive to this landmark by his house and then call him for the rest of the directions. Instead, he tells me to wait there and just shows up on this little (they are like BMX bikes but with small tires, they are super popular but are exhausting) bike with a mini flashlight tied to the front. And he's like, let's go! And I followed him to his house.
The first time I met this guy was my first viewing of the house. He had his sweat towel and big floppy hat, staples of Japanese old folk, and showed me around the house. He's got a funny limp, and he tells me his hobby is being a farmer. Anyway so he gives me this super confusing phone call the other night, telling me he's got some real cheap rice he'll sell to me. Something like, 8000 yen for 30 kilos. Which is a great deal actually, and I didn't want to be rude, so I was like alright you can come over tomorrow night. But then I called back and he was like, come over to my house. So I scoot out there after work, and i come in to his crazy home.
Basically, it's a half modern, half old SUPER traditional house. Its too old and well kept for words, full of all kinds of knicknacks,and an empty Japanese garden pond that is massive when compared with the original house. Attached to the back is a what looks like a small apartment building. So when we go to the kitchen, its basically a different building although from the inside I didn't notice.
Anyway they sat me down and started feeding me. It was like, 'am I here for dinner? no one else is eating, and they keep talking to me..' Their son was skyping from tokyo the whole time, like they didn't want to kick him off once I got over or maybe they just wanted him to try and speak english. He was of middling ability for the average Japanese citizen, but his parents basically don't speak and English and the mom doesn't know how to speak 'special japanese.' (speaking simply, like no jokes, puns, sayings, phrases, idioms, slang words, olde tyme slang words; speaking like to a four year old with a good vocabulary). Anywhoo, so it was pretty confusing in general. He didn't sell me any rice, he just told me about his family. Apparently his son inherited the house I rent from his great grandmother, and its actually his house and his mom is the manager.
Even though his son technically owns the house I deal with Shigenori (the old guy) exclusively. Kind of funny. They thought it was pretty hilarious that they have someone from Seattle living in the house of Watanabe. They gave me a massive bowl of curry rice with vegetables, two trays of pickled vegetables, two bowls of fruit, an entire fish (for those not living in Japan eating a fish means eating the meat and scales, while the whole skeleton/fins/head is attached. some people might think that's weird, right? I forget how we eat fish in America) and a bowl full of chicken livers. Honestly I would have been psyched and just eaten the whole time if I hadn't had a massive dinner like 3 hours before. And they kept talking to me, so it was kind of difficult to eat. Anyhow, he ended up giving me two dvds for the Niihama Taiko (drum) festival and invited me during any matsuri or new years to come over and make mochi with him.
I think his son said he was a Professor of Japanese History and Culture, which is probably why he has these 30 or so person mochi making sessions three times a year. Anyhow, when it was time to go he just rolled out on his bicycle with me to the highway. He has cars and scooters, he's well off, but he seems to prefer that bicycle.
They told me to come back soon and bring Angelina next time, haha.
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