All the guide books have Kabuki in them. It is esoteric theater that hasn't changed in hundreds of years and is spoken in obscure dialect by an all male cast.When I first got here it was definitely on my list of things to do. The fact is, I only know one Japanese person who has ever been: Hatta-san's wife. Actually Hatta-san volunteered her to take me, and I am sure she would, but after two years I'm almost feel Japanese enough that it seems silly for me to go. I mean, I don't want to act like a tourist or anything.
I went in my favorite "kaitenzushi" restaurant in Shinbashi today and it was pretty crowded at the counter. There was another "gaijin" (foreigner) there and the waitress, who knows I am a regular, led me away to a better seat at the back so I wouldn't have to sit by him. This pleased me to no end and I made sure to speak Japanese to the waitress as we went by him so there would be no doubt why I was getting special treatment.
Pretty silly, huh? Actually, I don't get mistaken for being Japanese very often :-). Take care and enjoy doing whatever silly thing you are doing...
2 comments:
1. The all male cast would have been enough to turn me off to the Kabuki.
2. A Kaitenzushi is one of those "conveyor belt" sushi bars... Right?
3. If it is not too late to vote for the koi, I'd like to cast my support to the Tancho Tohaku in the second photo. Very nice red spot.
StuMonkey
1. Kabuki was originally all female but it was turning into something more than theater so they made it all male. The male cast dresses up in fancy clothes and wears a lot of make-up. What am I missing here?
2. A Kaitenzushi is indeed a conveyor belt sushi bar. Kaiten means revolving and zushi is just the way “su” sound is pronounced after an “n”.
3. I liked the Tancho also. As you may remember, it is named after the crane that is kind of the national bird of Japan and is all white except for the red spot on the head. The spot is also reminiscent of the Japanese flag. As you can imagine, Tancho are popular fish here. I agree it is a nice one.
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