It’s summer now, and this hot summer weather revives my memories even brighter. So, I was there! One afternoon to explore the town, and on the next day I was to meet my first Japanese friend in real life. It was a woman of about the same age as myself, named Rie. She was also kind of my colleague, a translator, so her English was perfect.
Of course I worried before this meeting. First of all, how I will greet her? Russian girls hug and kiss easily, showing their friendship, but what about Japanese? I knew nothing about proper manners. Furthermore, I didn’t know how to eat with chopsticks! Oh well, I had a chance to train this skill a little during the breakfast in the hotel. I was just watching the other people and tried to copy their ways – yes, difficult, but I managed it somehow. Then I got on a train and went to the station where we had arranged to meet.
Rie was waiting for me there on the platform. Her attitude was very simple and friendly. She came up to me and hugged slightly with one arm, and I was relieved. From the first moment we were communicating absolutely freely, talking about everything without slightest embarrassment. We spent two consecutive days exploring Tokyo. She showed me around usual touristic destinations like Imperial Palace Garden, a big shrine (shame, but at that time I couldn’t remember the names of places) and Tokyo Tower, as well as the places which were special only for her. She was wearing comfortable clothes and was a restless walker, which I liked too.
In the evening of our first day she said: “Now we are going to a restaurant. My boss is coming too. He heard that you are from Russia and became interested.” Oh no! I was not ready to meet a boss! I felt panic again. Official manners and so on… no, no! But this came out not scary as well. The boss of the small translation company was on very friendly terms with his employee, they were exchanging jokes all the way. Of course he also spoke good English. He paid for the dinner – I suppose it was an expensive one (including delicious eel!) He greeted me by shaking hands and really asked a lot of questions about Russia. Little by little I became more confident from hearty encouragement by two of them. I showed photographs of Russia which I specially brought there. I tried to pronounce the few Japanese words I knew by the moment – and was praised and encouraged again. Then they both showed me how to make paper cranes (“Origami”). It was really a nice evening, without any strain.
The next person I met was a guy named Keiichi. He also arranged to meet on Tokyo Station, and there I was lost. Those who know Tokyo Station can imagine that. It’s a huge place with so many entrances, passages and so on. I was running back and forth in confusion, together with crowds of people. Keiichi called and sent me messages on the mobile, but it little helped. At last I found the place where to wait. As he told me in the message, “I am wearing white shirt, black trousers, glasses and carrying a black case.” But it was the time when working day ended. Crowds of office workers poured out of the station, all wearing white shirts, black trousers and carrying black cases! Luckily, I stood out too distinctly as a foreigner, so he was the first to notice me. I had seen a picture of Keiichi before, but it was not very good, he was much better in reality. A charming guy, but too busy. We had only short time to meet. He took me for a drive around evening Tokyo and to Haneda Airport, to look at the airplanes. We talked about our families and countries and parted as very good friends.
Whom else did I meet? My best and dearest friend Chie, who worked as a tourist guide in Kamakura. She knew the place perfectly and introduced it to me. In course of the sight-seeing we entered little shops and cafes now and then, for rest and shopping. We also went to eat Okonomiyaki, in a fry-it-yourself restaurant where frying pan is built into a table. It was fun – and delicious too! In the evening we went to Karaoke, which turned out shame for me again. Actually I got prepared for it, having learned some songs. But… I had the lyrics in Romaji, and was caught by surprise when saw the text on the screen in real Japanese – Hiragana and Kanji! (I wonder what else should I have expected?) Of course I immediately forgot everything I had learned. But Chie helped me kindly, and it was all right in the end. After singing I danced for her. I am not very good, but wanted to show it anyway. It was a great memory for us. 
And the last was my Indian friend, a guy named Prasad. He lived in Yokohama that time, working as an engineer in some high-tech area. (Now he returned to India.) In the very beginning, when we just became pen-friends, he stated out the condition: “NO ROMANCE! I am looking for friends only.” I readily agreed with this, because I actually wanted the same. He was really a good friend, and then, he could share the experience of a foreigner in Japan. Right from my arrival he was giving me a lot of advice by e-mail: “It’s so hot. Do drink much water!”, “Please take a fan when you go out!” and the like. We met on the last day on my stay there, and he introduced me Yokohama. It’s still one of my beloved places in Japan – Sakuragicho, Minatomirai, Yamashita Park… We walked and talked a lot. He laughed at my English pronunciation, but felt respect for my efforts in studying Japanese (Prasad himself could speak Japanese a little, but couldn’t read or write). We sat relaxedly on the stone steps near the calm water of Yokohama Bay. We ate Indian Curry. We exchanged presents (I don’t remember what I gave him). And then the day ended, and that was the end of my trip. 
My dear friends, I am so grateful to you all. I still keep correspondence with some of you, but some people have already disappeared from my view. I know it happens, being quite a normal thing with pen-friends when relationships come to the end for some reason. I remember you all, and these memories are only good and tender. Sometimes I wonder: where you are? How is your life going on? Please, please, be all in good health, safe and happy!
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