9 Yukatas, 2 Yukis, and a Yuka

July 30

I spent Saturday morning in my pjs, finishing a book of short stories called Traveling Light: Take a Trip with Ireland’s Top Women Writers. Some of the stories are slight, silly things, some are emotional voyages of self-discovery, and some are heartbreaking accounts of experiences in war-torn or poverty-stricken countries around the world. I bought the book last week to read on the train to Osaka and it’s given me a little more perspective on what I’m doing here and how, despite my valiant efforts, there are some things that are out of my control. I’ve been here a full month now, and I’ve seen and done a lot of things. But there’s a lot more out there.

Saturday night was the yukata (bathrobe) party I mentioned in an earlier post. Yuki came to my little apato in the afternoon to get ready. She brought this great little cake that was kind of like strawberry shortcake but with more fruit in it. While we chatted, I finally got to hear some good gossip about the company. Well, it wasn’t really gossip; it was about people’s real opinions and feelings about co-workers, management, etc instead of the usual polite comments I’ve heard so far. The word “Asshole” was used.

Yuki brought several yukata and I ended up wearing one that she sewed herself! Although I don’t think the yukata is particularly flattering, I admit that the two of us looked quite fetching.


The party was in honor of the Sumida Kawa Hanabi (Sumida River Fireworks) which is the largest fireworks display of the season. For reasons no one could explain, many women wear traditional robes for this event. Although some men also wear yukata, they usually wear jimbei, which are kind of like pajamas. Yuki’s friend, Julia, is an Australian who works as an English teacher for Berlitz. She has an enviable 2BR in Hikifune, a small area of Tokyo that reminds me of Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Most of the people at the party were teachers or friends of teachers. Many of them had come over on the JET program
and just stayed. I can’t remember anyone’s names. But I do recall that there were two girls named Yuki and one named Yuka. Who can keep it straight? The people were friendly, the fireworks were bright and noisy, and the Asahi was cold. A great night.









Site of the day: Hasbro set up a live Monopoly game in London using taxis fitted with GPS systems. The first game has ended, but you can register on the site to be alerted when the next one is starting.