Out Of Town: Nagoya
Published 3rd Jun 2003 by Dan

I`d been in Nagoya for two weeks when me and some others decided to go for our first drink out. Nagoya is an industrial city known by me as "The Birmingham of Japan", not helped by the fact it was almost completely destroyed by bombing in the war. As the evening progressed we went back to someone?s house and went on the roof with some cheap plum wine (umeshi). You could see our flats, the massive "Green City" with its orange roofs dominating the night sky. At about five or six I headed off home, but on my way I thought it would be a good idea to cycle into town, falling off my bike twice on the way.

Even though I don?t smoke, I bought a packet of "Hope" lights to steel myself for the journey ahead. The cigarettes all have amusing names such as "Time" and "Peace" as the Japanese have a very poetic grasp on the English language. I met two young students from Tokyo hitchhiking to Osaka. I offered them some "Hope" and while we smoked on the side of the road they informed me that if I was studying at Nagoya University I was a "genius". I let them continue with their hitch-hiking and carried on walking till I reached Osu Kannon temple, where for 300 yen the monk will sign and stamp a book or piece of paper in beautiful calligraphy. As I was in no fit state to be talking to monks or anyone else for that matter, I left the temple and found somewhere to sit and rest when this strange man approached me on his bike and said hello. That wasn?t strange in itself, it happens very often, the Japanese are very friendly, especially to Westerners. What was strange was that he had his flies undone and he was rubbing the pocket of his mustard coloured shorts somewhat alarmingly; he walked over to a bush and began watching me so I decided to walk away. He followed me as I headed back to the sanctuary of the temple and as I glanced back I noticed he was wearing cheap women?s tights with large holes that had obviously seen better days and better owners. To cut a long story short I didn?t want to see the next installment in his weird fantasy, and my drunkenness that had been like a protective blanket was fast disappearing; so I strode off purposefully with my head in the air. This was quite hard to do because my feet were aching from my lovely shoes, and I had cut my feet from falling off the bike. My crazy adventure was fast unravelling itself into a gruelling crusade. I finally lost him and started walking to the central business/tourist district of Nagoya but as soon as I found a park bench I sat down and promptly fell asleep. I woke up at 11 O?clock and decided I`d put myself through enough punishment, the crappy biscuits I had bought for breakfast from a "Daily Yamazaki" shop and the cigarettes were making me feel ill, and `actually my face, heart, lungs and lips hurt? (quotes from my journal!). I got the subway home, and sat furiously scribbling in my notepad "when in Nagoya and drunk don?t cycle into town, don?t fall off your bike, don?t buy cigarettes" and so on, cursing myself under my breath for my stupidity and drink-fuelled insanity. I was quite scared that once in Kami Otai I`d find my bike in a tree or something but it was there with all the others in the precarious two-tier bike racks next to the station. Still cursing myself, I gingerly cycled home dreaming of bath time and bedtime. Back in "Green City" I checked the post but as usual there was nothing but pizza ads and what I reckon was a flyer for a prostitute, so I got the lift up the 13 floors and went into my flat. My flatmates greeted me with excitement in their eyes as they all thought i had spent the night at a "boy?s" house, and over a cup of tea I explained the boring truth to them.

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