Most streets in Japan have no names. Finding one’s way around can be difficult if there are no monuments along the way. Last night I was invited to a work party and given a map that was devoid of English and meant absolutely nothing to me. So I was riding my bike around in the rain looking for a small restaurant when I decided to stop and ask for directions. I chose a meat shop that was run by an old man, his wife and daughter. With the few words that I knew I succeeded in asking how to get to the point I was looking for on my map. The old woman took charge and proceeded to discuss the matter with me for about 20 minutes. I suspected that she had no idea where I needed to go and she proved me correct when she finally decided just to call the restaurant. Apparently what she did was assume that I was an English teacher and ask the restaurant owner to talk to one of the teachers that were there. The person she got happened to be my supervisor. When she hung up she spoke to me for another five minutes before she drew me a map. The map was a classic. It took her three tries to get it right, but the third one was perfect. It was just a straight road going through the center of the page leading from one point to another. At the end of the road she drew and colored in a large black dot. That was the map. It was a straight line.
By the time the map was perfected I was about 30 minutes late for dinner and I still had only a vague idea of where to go. The old woman insisted on walking me out to the intersection so she could point me in the right direction. Her daughter got her coat and held her umbrella over her head as we walked slowly to the corner and she pointed out the right way. I thanked her and as I peddled away, I imagined her standing on that corner watching me leave to make sure everything was alright.
I took my bike a few minutes straight on that same road when I came across my supervisor, standing with an umbrella on the corner. The old woman had asked her to come out to the road that I was on because she knew I would not understand any other directions. Her straight map was perfect.
I was terribly embarrassed showing up 40 minutes late to dinner (and making my supervisor leave the party to stand in the rain). The group was waiting patiently for me so they could begin eating. Nobody said a word about it. It turned out to be a great night.
