I spent a long time in Japan - nearly 20 years.  To be sure, a lot got by me. On the other hand, I picked up quite a bit, too. Including the language.

I ran a business, fought with the auditors from the Tokyo Tax Bureau (IRS-types) and taught Japanese people about Japan in Japanese among other things. I learned the language. Not perfectly, mind you, but more than enough to just get by.

Here at Japan-Hopper, I’d like to share some of the lessons I learned, on the street

You got to start somewhere, so I will begin with Japanese body language, from the feet up.

足が遅い[あしがおそい, ashi ga osoi] be slow; be a slow walker; be slow on one’s feet

Easy enough to grasp, ashi = leg or foot and osoi is to be slow.

One’s legs are slow.

My Japanese friends and the parents of other kids I met at school undou kais (athletic festivals) used to say this about me when I participated in running races.

“We don’t have much chance of winning this race. Not with that big fellow our team. He runs slower than molasses.”

“Yeah, but I’ll bet he’ll be useful in the tug-o-war.”

Sure enough. They would just pounded me in the ground and tie a rope around my waist. Sometimes, we even won.