Things the Japanese Do that We Shouldn't in America

1. Nampa

I've heard nampa translated as a few different things (girl-hunting, flirting, skirt-chasing), but basically it's when a guy randomly hits on a girl on the street. Not in a bar, not in a club, not in an izakaya, but literally on a street corner or sidewalk.

Some afternoons in Shibuya, you can see j-rocker types waiting around like lions observing a herd of water buffalo. They'll hang out on the edge of the sidewalk until the Hachiko intersection gets busy, then they'll wait in the middle of the sidewalk waiting for a pretty girl to walk by. When one comes by that they like, they'll try to walk next to her and get her to go to bar or restaurant or something. Why you'd do it in the afternoon in Shibuya, I have no idea; I've never seen a successful attempt at that time of day.

I was a nampa victim last night waiting for Dan. The Hachiko statue* outside Shibuya station is a big meeting place, so there are lots of teenagers and 20-somethings waiting around for their friends. We were minding our own business, waiting for Dan, when a Japanese guy comes up to us and starts talking in Japanese. I thought he was on his phone not facing us, so I ignored him until Ashlie started laughing. He had a friend with him who was a bit embarrassed and kept trying to get the first guy to quit the nampa, but he kept going. I got a drink at Atom out of the whole ordeal; he offered to pay my cover but I declined because I thought that might mean I'd owe him a trip to a love hotel.

Anyway so my ORIGINAL point, having to do with the title of this blog and all, is that we should not adopt this practice in America. The number of pepper spray-related emergency room visits would skyrocket. I find the short Japanese boys who speak broken English kind of endearing, but I don't think I'd find it so cute coming from a frat boy. There were some American boys hanging out around the bathrooms, hitting on the girls who came in and out of the ladies' room, and they were just embarrassing to all Americans (especially on the 4th of July).

Speaking of my grand nation's independence day, I totally forgot about it. But once I was reminded in Japanese class, I decided to go to McDonald's, a truly iconic American institution, to celebrate. No pictures, but I had a salsa chicken burger thing. It was okay. Go America.

*The Hachiko story is the cutest story ever. Go read at Wikipedia.