Tokyo Metro Observations

There was this American guy and Korean woman in front of me on the train talking about how she some Italian guys had asked her out when she was studying in the language. And for some reason (cough:blindingjealousy:cough), he couldn't understand that she had said no and therefore didn't go out with them. I wanted to spell it out for the moron. ::roll eyes::

I didn't like the way he talked to her. He seemed aggressive and accusatory in his tone. I hope that was just the wrong impression I got, and that he's really a lot nicer to her.

Ahh! Massage!

I wrote this two days ago, on Thursday, but didn't finish it until now.

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Got a 30-min massage during my lunch break and so had no time for lunch. :T I munched on snacks to keep my stomach from growling. Next time, I'm making an appt or going after work, since they're open until 11 pm.

I didn't have an appt, so I had to wait. But I'm definitely going to be a regular here...expert hands at ¥2,500 for 30 mins?! Definitely won't find prices like these in Tokyo. The only thing I don't like was that it was just a big room with curtains separating the massage beds. I don't like those places because you can hear everyone, and it's hard to relax.

And the other (strange yet interesting) thing that I noticed was that when the husband spoke to me in Chinese, he spoke very loudly, like how most (many?) Chinese people speak in restaurants, with their families and friends--and I say this as a Chinese/Taiwanese person. But when he spoke in Japanese to his customer, whom he was treating when I walked in to the establishment, he spoke much more quietly and soothingly. I'd much prefer the latter for relaxation.

The owners were a Chinese couple who have been in Japan for 10 years. I talked a bit with the wife, who treated me, during the massage about why I was in Japan, how long I've been here, where I'm from, etc.

It's so sad, but now I can write my name in katakana, but no longer in Chinese. The husband said, "We'll teach you!" The wife wrote down a character and asked if that was the right "Pei" (in "Pei-chee"), and I said "Yes! That's it." The husband thought it was funny that I could only recognize the characters in my name, but not write it.

In the end, the wife gave me a coupon for ¥1,000 off the next massage. That was pretty amazing, since i only spent ¥2,500, and will already be able to get a big discount. most places in Tokyo don't offer any discounts for repeat customers, maybe only 10% off or ¥1,000 off a ¥6,000+ massage if you're a first-time customer. (I guess those places care more about getting customers, but not keeping them.)

She also wrote her cell number on a business card and said I could call any time to make an appt or if I had problems with Chinese or Japanese. I think she was offering to translate if I ran into any problems, but I'm not sure, because she spoke in Chinese, and I only sort of understood what she said. Sigh. I really gotta beef up my language skills.