Nihonjin nanoni?

Do you think I am a westerner Japanese who is much different to a majority of Japanese? Or am I just too unique in the entire globe?

 

I had been said ‘you are so unique and I will never meet any person like you’ twice. And others might think too but have never told me. But I won’t be sad with this kind of comment. I am happy to be in the Footy Almanac family.

 

Let me tell you what happened today in Arashiyama, the western suburb of Kyoto.

 

In the town centre, a young Australian woman asked me the direction to the famous bamboo forest in the Japanese language. I answered in English. Then she pointed my St Kilda cap and asked me if it was an AFL one or not. I answered yes, indeed.

 

She told me she was from Sydney so she didn’t watch footy much, but her family followed footy as they were from Melbourne. Her grandpa is a Sainter while her dad supports Collingwood. Then she couldn’t remembered who her mum went for. I said ‘there are so many teams in Melbourne. Let me to call all Victorian clubs’.

 

I started with St Kilda, but obviously it was not the answer. My second try was Carlton and I got it! Then I was surprised her parents supported big rivals each other. I told her their clubs were big rivals and her mum’s Blues and Essendon were arch rivals as they share the most premierships in the league (16 flags each).

 

She said ‘you know AFL more than me’. Her response was what I had heard times so usual.

But it was not the end. She said ‘nihonjin nanoni?’ that mean ‘even if you are Japanese?’

Oh my goodness. The response was unexpected but what she said was true. It was straightforward and too much for me. I started laughing and couldn’t stop laughing.

She was very surprised and asked me why I was laughing. I responded with a lot of laugh and in funny voices, ‘it’s so strange, isn’t it?’

 

What do you think of me not only being a passionate St Kilda supporter but also writing footy stories here?

 

I hope St Kilda club staff members know about this crazy Japanese guy (me) as well as my boys and coaches. At least Sam Gilbert and Josh Bruce who were guest speakers at Yvette’s Siren’s Call launch.

 

Don’t worry I don’t take her response as negative.

 

Before the funny talk, I helped an Australian couple taking pictures and they gave me positive feedback on talking photos. I told them that I should undertake a further education to be a good photographer and to be a good professional writer. And we talked about recent media.

 

As The Age newspaper lost great journalists, I hope there are good online news sites who offer feature articles in good qualities. Then I can write for them in the future. But as I said in the article in regarding with Connolly’s leave from The Age, I seem to need more skills to live in another country (the UK) and to achieve my career goals.

 

At current work (a Japanese restaurant), I expected to be a bilingual waiter, but am working in the kitchen more because I believe many customers (especially Japanese) are pleased to be served by young ladies even if they are less experienced. Sadly my talents and skills are killed. Or is it a sign I need more skills to live overseas?

 

But my passions of writing are alive!

Your thoughts please!