#tenkatsu

[blankquest]

Shokyokusai Tenkatsu

[herbkins]

A surprisingly good day

There are some things that we don't expect that we will like, so it's always a surprise when we eventually find out, that such a thing can be good too.  Yesterday, I went with my fellow Nitori scholars for a day out in Tokyo.  We went on a Tokyo bay lunch cruise aboard the Symphony, leaving from Hinode Pier.  Honestly, it's not easy for me to mingle with people but I was feeling kinda chipper that day so I tried to be pleasant. The food was good, but sadly, I didn't think that there was enough of it to go around.  I wasn't even able to get to the spare ribs with mushroom and garlic sauce.  Sucks.  But I had salad, dessert, and some fish and chicken and my hunger was placated.  Most of the scholars were from China, and I felt out of place with them talking in Chinese, so I mostly kept to myself.  Most of the scholars probably thought that I don't speak Japanese, but those who wanted to "practice" their English came up to me and struck conversations.  I didn't mind that at all.  It's nice to talk to people when the day is warm and bright at sea (no matter how black Tokyo bay is). After lunch, we attended a "pep talk" by one of the head honchos of the the organization.  he sat on a desk and talked about his road to success.  He was proud of the fact that he never received a scholarship during his entire educational career.  Hmmm...  I don't know if that's good because it could mean that, he wasn't smart enough to get one.  But he kinda just rattled on how hard he worked and how he made it to the top through perseverance.  While I respect the guy, I just wondered how a man with no charm at all was able to make it as a CEO.  Only in Japan, I guess.  The highlight of the day was a theatrical play on the life of Tenkatsu (Japanese female magician and her oh-so-tragic life) and concert by a Japanese singer; Sachiko Kobayashi, famous for her flamboyant singing costumes.  And man... were they flamboyant!!! Her dress covered the entire stage, with special mechaized backdrops and lights!  It was truly a sight to see and I was highly entertained.  Never mind that I don't like enka... her costumes dazzled me and I was in awe of them the entire night. You will know what I mean after seeing this video: http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=PAwWhI3QkME Ahhh... life's little surprises.