Wasabi Miso Edamame

Today while I waited patiently for my Japan Rail Pass to be processed, I spent some time reading through my Guidebook. Did you know that Japanese uses four scripts? And, unlike our measly 26-letter alphabet, each script uses thousands of characters. Thousands! All pronounced differently depending on context.

They also use different numbers. How will I know how much things cost? Or what address I’m looking for? Or how many beers I’ve had?

I was beginning to panic as I read through the language section of my guidebook. Until I suddenly arrived at a page where the Japanese words looked familiar. Hamachi, unagi, nigiri, toro… I know these words!

My heart calmed. Turns out I DO speak Japanese. And I should be able to get by just fine as long as all I do is order sushi.

Here are some examples of how I expect my conversations in Japan to go:

Hotel desk: “日本語 政治”
Me: “Sashimi.”

Policeman: “化学和言葉”
Me: “Ummm, yellowtail?”

Train conductor: “和言葉 政治”
Me: “Fatty tuna. Fresh water eel. Thank you.”