Out and About

When you finally catch up to Emiru, you take the moment to insert the new sim card she got you into your phone. It was a a simple process; your phone is dual sim compatible and the card came with the little tool that pops out the tray on your phone where it gets installed. You and Emiru then exchange phones in order to put in each other's phone numbers (with Emiru also inputting the numbers of her household's phone, and her parents' numbers as well). With that, you finally tap your IC card to the ticket barrier reader and walk through onto the train platform.

Several pathways and sets of stairs leading to different train routes stretch out in front of you, with groups of people streaming in and out of every which way. In the background, you faintly hear the sounds of the locomotives coming and going from the station, and you spot a large map monument labeled with coloured lines representing the different routes they can take, and which platform they correspond to. Unfortunately, all the locations on the map are in Japanese, which you struggle with reading greatly compared to speaking.

"Where would you like to visit first, Ken?" Emiru asks as she notices your confusion.

"That is a hard question..." You respond, folding your arms. "Like your mother said, Tokyo has a lot to see, so it is hard to choose where to go. Asakusa, Shibuya, Akihabara..."

Emiru thinks for a bit, then claps her hands together in a manner that reminds you of her mother. "Oh, how about I show you where the school we will attend is first? Then we can decide where to go afterwards."

You toss the idea in your mind for a bit, before agreeing. Truth be told, you still are undecided on where you want to go next, so you need more time to make the decision. Hopefully, after Emiru's shown you her school, you'll figure something out.

With the plan set, Emiru leads you to the appropriate train platform, which arrives a short while later. You both manage to find seats easily enough; it seems the train at this time of the weekend isn't too crowded, mostly occupied by people who are out and about on errands or day-trips like you are.

On trains, you'd normally be checking your phone or watch the scenery go by, but as the train sets off, an inexplicable feeling of uneasiness stops you. It's almost like you could sense that something was not right, that something was going against the prevailing sense of conformity that Japanese people usually adhered to.

Taking care not to look too obvious, you scan around the train car trying to find the source of your discomfort. It doesn't take too long to figure it out; really, you should have suspected it from the start.

It was the women.

Most of the men riding in the car were acting as normal: staring out the windows, looking at their phones, or just overall not paying attention to anything in particular, least of all you. The women however...weren't. Though, to be fair, they mostly tried to hide it, even turning away whenever you looked in their direction...though once, you thought you saw a woman point in your direction and whisper something to her friend.

I'm guessing they all want to 'help' me as well. Ugh, I don't think I could deal with another situation like with that info station clerk right now. I wonder if this is how women felt about men on trains...that's why they made those 'female only' train cars, isn't it? Wait, does this train have one of those? I didn't even notice; what if I wondered into one without knowing? I'm glad I have Emiru with me, otherwise that'd be disastrous.

You snort at the thought. Yeah, 'accidentally' walking into a car full of women. They'd probably accuse me of being a pervert. Maybe I could just say I have Yellow Fever...and then they'd...want to help me...

You blush at the idea of a car full of beautiful Japanese women offering their 'services', and immediately shake your head to try and rid yourself of the indecent thoughts.

The train runs for a few stops before Emiru informs you that you've arrived. You both exit, where she then leads you out of the station, though not before you take a photo of the big station entrance for commemorative reasons (and also to remind yourself which stop it is if you ever forgot).

Fortunately for you, the school is only a five or so minute walk away from the train station entrance, and soon you're at the gates of Emiru's (and for the next while, your) school.

Your first thought was...well, it's a school. An open courtyard, some multi-storied buildings holding classrooms, some tennis nets and a running track. Despite that, you couldn't help but feel a certain novelty coming from it, even though there wasn't much functional difference from your own school back home. Maybe it was just the weeaboo in you.

"What do you think, Ken?" Emiru asks you.

"It looks amazing!" You reply enthusiastically. "I look forward to coming here tomorrow!"

Emiru smiles in appreciation at your comment. Although the gates are closed on Sundays, she still takes the time to point out everything she can from where you're standing. You learn where the her classroom is, where the main office is, as well as the location of the cafeteria and nurse's office.

"...and that's the roof. I like to eat up there sometimes." She says, as she points to the top of one of the classroom buildings.

"The roof? Is it cold up there?"

Emiru laughs good-naturedly. "Sometimes it is. But only when the wind is very strong."

"You and your friends must used to it, then?"

"Actually..." Emiru says hesitantly as she bites her lip. "I usually only go there to eat alone. My friends are nice, but...sometimes quiet is nice too."

You nod in understanding, and her face relaxes. You then walk around for awhile, exploring the nearby streets and chatting idly, when you eventually hear your stomach rumble. Looking at your watch, you're shocked to find it's about half an hour to mid-day. Where had the day gone?

"Ah, perhaps it's lunchtime?" Emiru suggests. You can see her smiling widely, and hope dearly that it's not because she heard your abdominal grumbling.

You agree, though choosing was still something of an effort. Of course, you wanted more Japanese food, but there were almost too many choices in that regard; chain restaurants, family owned businesses...heck, you were pretty sure even cafés served ramen or something.

In the end, Emiru eventually suggests that you try one of the more popular chain restaurants. Soon, you find yourself outside a certain Japanese fast food chain that features a circles-on-yellow logo. You and Emiru make your orders and then take a seat, all the while you marvel at the prices (seriously, a meal costs less than half the price of a regular meal back home!).

"Thank you very much for showing me around, Emiru." You thank her while you wait for your meals to come.

"It's no problem," Emiru replies. "I hope you are enjoying yourself, Ken."

"I am. Japan is a very nice place; I am happy that I was finally able to visit."

Emiru nods and the conversation pauses for a second before she continues.

"Um...Ken? Can I...ask you something?"

"Ask? Of course, please go ahead."

"Well..." Emiru hesitates again. "I don't mean to pry, but...your Japanese is very good. But Mother and Father said you speak mostly English at home. Many foreigners struggle with the language compared to English, so how...?"

You chuckle, and wave your hand trying to ease her hesitation.

"I do not mind. The truth is that my parents came from Japan to abroad only a short while before I was born. They initially struggled greatly with English, but I was lucky enough to learn it since I was young, so I am more fluent with it. They did their best to teach me Japanese, but I was never as good with it compared to English. That is why I felt I wanted to travel to Japan and learn of its culture more, and improve my understanding of my roots."

Emiru listens interested at your tale. As you finish, she smiles with understanding.

"Well Ken, I hope you will learn a lot. I will be happy to help you learn with whatever you want to know."

"Thank you very much, Emiru," you thank her sincerely. "What about you then? Why did your family decide to host an exchange student?"

"O-Oh, um..." Emiru thinks for a moment. "It was mother's idea. She felt it would be a good idea for me to speak with people who have lived outside of Japan. Just as you want to experience our language, I wish to experience yours as well."

"Experience?" You ask with eyebrows raised. "Do you want to learn English then?"

"Y-Yes...I would become more proficient if I could. I think that if I can learn English, I will have more opportunities in life. And...I think English sounds very cool."

You couldn't help but smirk as you listen to her. "Can you speak English, then?" You ask, switching to your native tongue.

Emiru blushes as she stutters out an answer. "I speak...English...a little bit."

She tries to hide her face with her hands in embarrassment, but you just laugh and commend her on her efforts. Just then, a waitress comes over with two trays holding the meal sets that you ordered.

"Thanks for waiting!" She says cheerfully, as she places your dish in front of you. The smell of miso soup and grilled beef is heavenly to your nose; you start salivating immediately.

You unsnap your chopsticks and though you are **** to dig in, you decide to wait for Emiru's lead first. Didn't etiquette dictate letting the most important person start eating first? Or wait...was that supposed to be you, as the guest? Years of inviting family friends for dinner parties had given you the reflex of waiting for others to start eating first.

"Is there anything else I can help you with?" The waitress asks brightly. You politely refuse; if you wanted extra soy sauce or tea, there were self-serve counters for that.

However, the waitress seems a little shocked at your response. "Are you sure? Nothing at all?" she asks again.

Somewhat confused, you briefly turn to look at Emiru, but she doesn't ask for anything either so you once again tell the waitress that you were fine. She looks doubtfully at you for a second, but as she turns to Emiru, her face brightens.

"Ah, I see! In that case, please enjoy your meal, and please take care of him, young lady!" The waitress says as she walks off.

You turn back to look at Emiru, slightly confused. You briefly wonder what that was about, but you couldn't care less about that right now.

"How does it go, Emiru? 'Itadakimasu', right?" You say cheerfully, as you engage in the ancient Japanese tradition.

Emiru giggles at your enthusiasm before doing it herself, whereapon you both finally dig in to your respective meals. It's delicious, obviously, but what impressed you was the size of the meal for the price listed. You briefly wonder if there are many people in Japan who live off restaurant food alone.

The meal is mostly silent, with both you and Emiru too focused on eating to really chat, giving you some time to ponder where to go after lunch. What would be a good place to go in the middle of Tokyo with only half a day left?