Nagoya stalker

Waiting and waiting, time was moving so slowly and all I could think about was if my note was ever going to reach its intended audience.  I finished eating and maybe only an hour had elapsed, but I couldn't take it just sitting around. "They'd write me a note back if I wasn't here right?" That's what I convinced myself of, so I could escape from my shady Japanese apartment and breath some thick, heavy, humid air. I decided next mission of the day-find an internet cafe!

The snakes and ladders game of
learning a new language.

There was mention of a cafe and I had a rough idea where I was going, with a dodgy, photocopy printout of my area. At least I could say "Where is the internet?"-Interneto doko des ka? I love when the Japanese words are almost identical to the English words-feels like I get to climb the 'snakes and ladders board' a few places up, towards my far fetched goal to learn Japanese. I headed out with my map, water and some cash on my trek to find this interneto cafe!

I wish I didn't have to stereotype myself in this category, being female and all, but I have a shit sense of direction, especially in Japan! I started walking along a major road and felt like ok this is safe, it must be along this road. Kept walking and walking. Ok it's been forty minutes and I still haven't passed on. But in my naivety I was thinking, 'Hey I'm in Japan, the technological savory hub of the world, if I can't find this one listed on the map there has to be five or so along the way'...WRONG! Internet connections are everywhere but it is 'locked and loaded' privately; so unless your feeling brave and want to try your luck with asking random Japanese people to use there interneto, your out of luck in finding internet or the very awkwardly selected placed interneto cafes! Japan makes life hard for the unconnected people, and I'm not just referring to the internet. So far the walls I had come across, makes it seem like Japan needs us foreigners or unconnected people, to prove how much we want to be in Japan by struggling, before very very slowly opening the door a crack.

I had given up it was starting to get dark and I thought best to turn around and start again tomorrow. It was all sorts of hot and my water was empty, along with the energy I once had. I kept glancing at the map wondering where I went wrong. In my defense the map was shit and pretty much what I had to go by is walking perpendicular to the train lines, which I obviously couldn't see anymore. Why was traveling becoming so difficult for me here?! So many other countries I've been to, I guess, had it easily paved out for travelers, even if English wasn't spoken (such as Europe). Japan seemed like another league-entering into the 'master'-sensei traveler category.

I grudgingly turned around and decided instead of walking alongside the noisy highway, I'd do a box circuit to cut out some of the noise and enjoy more of the residential area. Ah this was nicer! There were beautiful bonsai trees and gardens to look at and people going about there daily lives. Surprising how you can turn a corner and see so much more to the other side of the picture. I had my ipod tunes going and had more of a skip in my step.

I was walking along then I heard someone yell something in Japanese. I looked towards the shouting and saw a man in a car, windows rolled down and his arm hanging out. He's just parked in the stationary car so whatever I'll ignore him. I kept walking. He kept shouting at me and when I looked back at him I said 'No"-iie, as I really had nothing else to say in Japanese. The necessities of 'Hello' and 'Thank you" were becoming less relevant and phrases like "Leave me alone you creep" seemed like something I should have studied more thoroughly!  Then the car engine started up. I looked beside me and there he was starting to drive along side me, still rambling off something in Japanese. I made an educated guess about the meaning of his catcalling by his ungroomed appearance and disgusting attempts at 'come hither' noises. As a young, blond, foreigner walking alone at dusk, possibly lost, meant I had 'calling all creepy weirdoes posted on my forehead'! I started saying my "Iies" (No's) louder and made ridiculous shooing motions towards him. He did kind of have the facial features of a pigeon, to which I would be doing the same motions. Luckily, the dude was driving on the opposite side of the road to me (Japan drives on the left hand side) so I had a little bit of a gap between my newfound stalker and I. I then just gave up and started completely ignoring him, keeping my peripherals on the vehicle. This guy must have won an award for nonstop catcalling record, because he did not shut up the whole time! His car started veering more to the middle of the street, closer to me and suddenly another car was laying on its horn. The car swerved around him and he quickly veered back to his side of the road. Ok good he stopped for a second, then it starts back up from his side of the road. What a loser! I wish he got hit, so at least he could stop more than a second. I started walking fast and saw up ahead there was a one way street he couldn't turn down, which luckily was leading me back to my noisy, public, 'no-slow-paced-stalkers allowed' highway. I waited at the crosswalk which seemed like an eternity. It's crazy how dirty you can feel when you know someone is looking you up and down. I shuttered and considered a couple times trying to dodge traffic to end the continued catcalling, but I waited. Finally, I bolted across the road and was half tempted to turn around a flip him the bird, that he could see in his rear view mirror. He was gone. I could calm myself down, my heart was racing-this was not an ideal situation and if he had followed me home even worse! I walked for a few blocks and kept checking behind me noting down a mental image of what his car looked like. About five minutes had passed and I was feeling like I was in the clear. Then all of a sudden stepping out onto the street..there he was again! He had tailed me somehow through the residential areas to be sharply cut me off with his car. Ok that's it now psycho bitch is coming out, because this polite shooing thing wasn't working (when in doubt girls act nuts and most guys will leave)! His greasy smile reminded me of the grinch character and his infamous evil smile. I think he thought I would have been impressed. He motioned for me to get in his car and I screamed at the top of my lungs (in English) "NOOOOOO!!!"
I sprinted past his car. As he turned onto the highway he gave me a final honk. What a prick! I was so freaked out, I watched every corner and street I had passed and looked several times before entering my apartment. Only three days in and I had managed to get myself a stalker!

My Nagoya stalker. Anyone seen him? I have some other Japanese words
 I can practice using on him, "$&#*@!"