We spent the New Year playing cards and drinking beer with a bunch of other gaijin who were friends with the owner of the Hawk and the Hare, the Brit from Atlanta. As the night wore on, I began to wonder whether he invited them just so the place didn’t look so empty on such as big night, as none of the Japanese couples staying at the inn came down for the festivities. Among those in attendance:
A 32-year-old guy from Edmonton who is an English teacher with a private company called Interac, which doesn’t sound like a lot of fun to work for according to this story. The guy was extremely funny and extremely lewd, both of which I enjoyed. He toned things down a bit when Tricia came down from her nap, but only a bit. Among his more tame comments: after getting demoted to Vice President in our card game by his girlfriend, who became the new President, he responded, “Ah, no problem. I do my best work under you.”
His 21-year-old Japanese girlfriend. The real show-stopper here wasn’t her age, but the fact that they had been dating for over two years, leading me to suspect that they likely met at school, where she was a student and he a teacher, which is obviously frowned upon, but I don’t think all that rare here. In truth, she seemed much older than 21, and had a really cool yellow strip of hair that wound around her head like a race-stripe when she pulled her hair back, yet was an unseen middle layer ringing the circumference of her head when it hung loose. I’m still not sure how that worked. She had one of the funniest lines of the night. Someone mentioned that her boyfriend was sexy (I think it was the boyfriend). She said, "No. Not sexy. Just cute." Then ruffled his balding head. He looked deflated.
A 30ish guy from New York, who worked for Nova, until recently, when he took over the teaching job previously held by the owner of the Hawk and the Hare. He was a nice guy with a voracious appetite. I saw him eat two plates of fish and chips, a whole plate of French fries, and when Tricia ordered some guacamole and chips for herself, he assumed they were for the whole table and helped himself to a rather generous portion. He also told me he had smoked 25 cigarettes the night before at a bar while unsuccessfully trying to pick up Japanese girls. The Western trend of banning smoking in public places, including bars and restaurants, has yet to take hold in Japan. This is one smoke-happy country, where people are free to smoke anywhere and everywhere, including within close proximity to children. I’ve seen parents smoking away in donut shops surrounded by kids, practically using their little heads to balance their ashtrays on.
A 40ish guy from Tokyo, who was the biggest mystery guest of all. He was alone, he wasn’t skiing, and I don’t think he knew anyone there. He also wore multiple pieces of St. Louis-themed clothing – including a Hard Rock Café sweatshirt from St. Louis and St. Louis Cardinals jacket. I told him we were from Kansas City, which didn’t register at all, and asked him whether he had been to St. Louis. His response: “No. I got them on the Internet.” No further explanation. He was a very jolly fellow, and when midnight struck, he ran upstairs to get his camera, which he used to snap pictures of all of us by remote control. This led the Canadian to say, “Wow. You really are Japanese.”
We left the party at 1 a.m., and at 4 a.m. (when Jonas unfortunately woke up), I noticed the Japanese couples who presumably slept through the New Year scurrying around the hallways, putting on their ski gear. We later asked what was up with that, and the very tired looking Japanese woman, the girlfriend of the British/American owner, who cooked all the meals, cleaned all the rooms, and basically did everything that needed to be done at the inn, told us, “They wanted to see the sunrise. Which is strange, because there is no sunrise.” Ah, those wacky Japanese. Why let a little thing like the lack of sunshine, thick clouds and tall mountains get in the way of getting up to see an imaginary sunrise.
We enjoyed Myoko, more or less, but it was time to leave, and we were glad to be gone ...
... just as soon as I locate our car.
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