On our last night in Tokyo, we hopped into a happening izakaya in Ebisu. There wasn’t an English word anywhere except on the Kirin label. We couldn’t understand what was asked of us. We just wanted to point and use hand gestures. The waitress needed to know right away what it was we wanted to drink and eat. Looking like idiots, she asked around if anyone can translate for us. Luckily, we sat between a couple of girls who can speak a bit of English, and a lady who was fluent in mandarin. I was never so happy to be bustin’ out my putonghua. They helped us order food and drinks and chatted quite a bit. The girls were excited to know that we were from NYC. One of the girls even asked if we knew Kanye West. That marked the second time in Asia that we’ve been asked about Kanye West.
