Growing In Tokyo - Day Four

Vitality Stories

Growing In Tokyo – Day Four

Souvenirs and memories

Steps Taken: 15,024
Day Four (Day One, Day Two, Day Three)

On our fourth day in Tokyo we returned to Asakusa and the Nakamise-dori shopping area to purchase souvenirs and yes, more pastries. I spent an inordinate amount of time shopping for a cloth tote to carry our bottles of water and souvenirs, and then we walked along the Sumida River to Ueno—a neighborhood to the west known for its old-fashioned outdoor market, Ameya-yokochō.

Ameya- yokochō began as a black market after WWII. Today it’s legitimate and there are vendors selling fresh seafood and produce, dried spices, teas, candy, shoes, clothing, and leather goods. You can buy battery operated cats that dance to Shania Twain, and plastic yakitori (grilled food on a skewer) toys:

plastic yakitori

One crush, please

We passed food stands showcasing rotisserie chickens, ramen bowls, and fish-shaped pastries filled with ricotta cheese or red bean paste. We were having a hard time choosing. We were salivating.

photo by Wikipedia (I ate mine)

In the end we didn’t have to choose lunch. It chose us. An outgoing, exuberant Turkish man wearing gray Crocs and red capris jumped in our path and enthusiastically steered us toward his booth where they were roasting the ‘Most amazing, delicious donar kebabs!’ We were ‘smelling what he was selling’ so we stayed.

We grabbed a seat next to the stand to share the pita-wrapped juicy meat, lettuce, and spicy red sauce kebab, and we were entertained by our host’s antics with prospective customers. Our timing was serendipitous because the next ten minutes would shape one of my favorite memories of Tokyo.

Our Turkish host zoned in on a group of ten school kids decked out in their black and white uniforms. In their pre-teens, four boys were following six girls. The boys were saying something in Japanese and the girls, who continued to look forward, would giggle behind their fingertips.

Waiting for his opportunity to interject and offer some ego-boosting support to the awkward boys, our Turkish host grabbed the smallest boy and started rubbing his shoulders as if the boy was a prize fighter, and in English he said, “You are a strong young man in need of a very spicy donar kebab. So spicy a grown man will weep.”

The other boys started laughing and joined in on the ribbing, but soon they also fell victim to the Turk’s machinations and salesmanship. The girls laughed as their beaus were coerced into proving their manliness. Wisely, the girls skipped ahead and watched from a safe twenty paces.

The Turkish man asked the boys, “Which girl is the cutest? Which girl do you like?” As soon as the boys confessed they realized their mistake and juggling their kebabs they scrambled to stop their unsolicited wing-man from playing matchmaker. He sang loud and clear, “Ooooooh, Akiko, someone thinks you are cute!”

A wave of female laughter ensued and with renewed confidence, the boys carried their meals over to the girls.

Nostalgia washed over me. I recalled my first crushes during fourth through sixth grades, that magical time where I was still a child but also feeling those first hints of innocent attraction. An attraction that mostly translated to picking on a boy or chasing each other around the school yard, not quite understanding what makes someone cute or even what cute meant. Sitting in Tokyo I felt the magic again and was reminded that this mystic language of crushes is timeless and universal.

As we stood our host said, “Goodbye, Lovely Lady.” I have to admit that when Ted and I continued our journey through the market, I felt ten years old again as I slipped my hand into his and he responded with a squeeze. We both laughed and in that moment my own crush was renewed.

What I learned

We’re never too old to have a crush. It’s good for the heart and mind.

Who’s your crush?

*Happy 2016*

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