Tokyo Hearts: A Japanese Love Story (13 page)

After checking that her makeup hadn’t spoiled in the heat, she stepped into the elevator. It was only a couple of minutes before she reached the main reception and introduced herself to the young girl at the front desk. It was exactly ten fifty a.m. and the whole floor was buzzing with staff, foreign teachers and students. It could easily have been Haruka’s school back in Tokyo, except for the fact that you could occasionally hear a snippet of the Kansai dialect representing this side of the country.

Five minutes later, Mrs Aoki introduced herself to Haruka and led her to a cubicle set aside from the reception area. She was a very tall and thin lady, dressed in a black mid-length linen shift dress, and she had a beautiful necklace strung with fine cultured pearls around her neck that matched her earrings. She was very officious, yet friendly with Haruka, but the rest of the staff seemed a little bit terrified of her.

‘You’re Haruka Yoshino,’ Mrs Aoki said. ‘Am I right?’

‘Yes, I am,’ Haruka replied. ‘I’ve just come from Tokyo to apply for the manager’s position.’

‘Yes, very good,’ she said. They sat down and Mrs Aoki took out a pen and started making notes on the papers in front of her.

‘This is a very important position, and it requires you to work hard. You need to gain the respect of the other staff members and be able to communicate well with the foreign teachers without any conflict,’ Mrs Aoki said to Haruka without looking up, scribbling notes at the same time. ‘You’ve been chosen for this position because of your capabilities and experience. The woman who has been doing this job up until now has had an excellent understanding of the role; it’s just a pity she’s planning to move to the US to live with her boyfriend.

The role requires you to take charge of three of our girls in administration. You’ll also need to organise the timetables for all our foreign teachers, and they’ll come to you if they have any problems,’ said Mrs Aoki, looking Haruka straight in the eye. ‘You will have a meeting once a month with the other two administration managers and a separate meeting with me in which I shall track your progress.’ Mrs Aoki referred to her notes and continued, ‘We’d like you to start in the third week of February and we expect you to move into the accommodation we’ll have organised for you in the previous week … has your manager in Tokyo talked to you about the salary?’

‘Yes, thank you,’ Haruka replied. ‘That’s absolutely fine.’ In fact, Haruka thought it was a lot better than fine.

‘Your manager tells me that your English is quite good – however, we expect all our staff here to speak excellent English, so I presume you’ll continue with your lessons here on a weekly basis?’

‘I certainly will,’ Haruka said to her.

‘I have some forms for you to complete,’ Mrs Aoki said. ‘I’ll be back in a moment.’

Mrs Aoki left the cubicle and Haruka waited about fifteen minutes for her to return. She could hear her voice now and then asking various staff members to do this or that.

A quarter of an hour later, Mrs Aoki returned to the cubicle and passed Haruka an envelope, but she didn’t sit down.

‘I need you to complete these forms and post them back to me by November.’ Haruka accepted the envelope with her name on it.

‘You also need to complete a one week training course at our school in Nihombashi in the first week of February,’ Mrs Aoki said to Haruka. ‘Is that clear?’

‘Yes, it is,’ Haruka replied.

‘Good. I have a very busy day, so I must finish up now … here is my business card.’

Mrs Aoki passed this to Haruka. She accepted it with both hands and a respectful nod.

‘Feel free to call me at any time if you have any questions before you start in February – and of course, you can make an appointment at any time to see me if you’re in Kyoto.’ With that, Mrs Aoki picked up her notes, pushed her chair back under the desk and stepped to the side. ‘Thank you for coming today, Haruka – it was very nice to meet you.’

‘It was very nice to meet you, too,’ Haruka replied. ‘Thank you for your time.’

Haruka walked quickly back to the elevator, but just before its door opened, she turned her head and looked back to see Mrs Aoki summoning three girls into her office for another meeting. Haruka was relieved that her interview was over and she’d secured the management position.

Haruka stepped out of the building flushed and quite drained. It was eleven thirty a.m. and she had thirty minutes before she was supposed to meet with Jun. She took out the envelope that Mrs Aoki had given her with the intention of going over the requirements for her new role. Her eyes were on the paper, but she saw Jun’s face on the page, rather than the letters. About fifteen minutes later, Haruka received a tap on the shoulder. She turned to see Jun smiling down at her.

‘You’re early,’ Haruka exclaimed, jumping back in surprise. She looked him up and down and thought he looked very smart in his grey suit, white shirt and mauve silk tie.
Maybe he has a ring in his pocket?
she thought to herself.

‘I was looking forward to seeing you,’ he replied. ‘Would you like to eat sushi? I know this place not far from here that does decent conveyer belt sushi.’

‘Sounds good,’ Haruka said, beaming from ear to ear.

Jun led Haruka away from town down various narrow streets until they arrived at his chosen eatery. It was quite crowded inside, and they had to wait ten minutes for a seat.

‘How was your interview?’ Jun asked Haruka.

‘I think it went well,’ she replied. ‘I start in February.’

‘Good,’ replied Jun without much enthusiasm.

Haruka thought he would’ve been happier for her, but she told herself he probably wanted her to give up work once they were married, and thinking that cheered her up.

‘What time is your train leaving for Tokyo?’ Jun asked Haruka.

‘One thirty p.m.,’ she replied, just as two seats became available and they were invited to sit down.

Within seconds, Jun had started taking dishes off the conveyer belt for both of them. By the end of the meal, he’d finished off seven plates and Haruka had eaten five. It all seemed a bit rushed, and he was more intent on eating rather than making conversation.

‘What’s the hurry?’ Haruka asked.

‘I should really be at work … my father thinks I’m viewing a new property right now that has just come on to the market, and he’ll be expecting me back at the office soon.’

‘I don’t want you to get into any trouble,’ Haruka said half-heartedly. ‘Maybe I should go to the train station now and let you get back to work.’ She really expected him to turn around, apologise and tell her that he’d much rather spend time with her than make his way back to the office, but he didn’t.

‘Yes, Haruka, I should really get back to the office,’ he said as he paid for the meal and led her out into the street. ‘But I’ll hail a taxi and accompany you to the train station.’

‘I’d much rather walk,’ Haruka replied.

‘No, it would be much quicker by taxi,’ said Jun, raising his hand in the air and with that a taxi pulled up right in front of them. The back door opened automatically and he nudged Haruka in, following her close behind.

Haruka didn’t know why they needed to get a taxi. It only took five minutes to get to the station. Once there, Jun leaned forward and asked the driver to wait a moment while he said goodbye to her – but he had no plans to wait inside the station with Haruka, although her train didn’t leave for another fifty minutes. He simply waved to her as the back door of the taxi closed and the car pulled away. He’d left in a sea of traffic before she could even say a proper goodbye.

Haruka waited for her train inside the station, feeling a bit upset and confused. The lunch had not gone as well as she expected, and she wondered whether she’d been rude to Jun without realising it. She went over and over the lunch scene in her mind all the way back on the train. Her relationship with Jun didn’t seem right to her, and her mind was in turmoil trying to work out what was wrong. She arrived back in Tokyo feeling wretched, worn out and perplexed.

Even a chance acquaintance is decreed by destiny

Takashi continued with his studies throughout the summer. The long, hot and humid days finally ended, and October began. Cooler breezes swept through the city like gentle kisses. Over the past few months, he had been disappointed that so many of his Thursday night meetings with Haruka had been cancelled. She’d tell him she had to work late or her mother was expecting her home early for one reason or another. When they did get to meet, she didn’t seem as friendly. If anything, she seemed distracted, and Takashi was worried that their friendship was beginning to unravel. Their regular phone calls had also been reduced to once a week and this left a gnawing ache in his stomach.

From Monday to Saturday, Takashi’s daily routine would centre on his studies at home. This was only broken up by an important lecture at university that he felt compelled to attend. If he thought that the lecture would have no significance in relation to his exams, he would not show up. He would ask a friend for the notes and use this time to his advantage and study at home.

Takashi was basically living off ready meals from the convenience store. For lunch, he would usually buy a fried ham sandwich for just ¥210. He was also partial to the dumpling set, although they weren’t as nice as the ones that he could buy at the station. Most evenings at about seven or eight p.m., Takashi would walk to the convenience store between his apartment and the station and choose between a small sushi pack or fried rice and cold Zaru soba noodles. The previous winter when the weather had been cooler and if he’d had enough money, he’d often buy croquettes on rice or his favourite dish, lemon and spicy chicken with rice.

Takashi could either get the convenience store to heat his food up or just zap it in the microwave back at his place. He made it a rule to only eat at MOS Burger once a month, because he was always tempted to eat more than he should. Takashi had never been a great cook – probably due to the fact that his mother was significantly better than other mothers in the kitchen. This room had always been his mother’s domain and to enter into it and to try and experiment would have been sacrilegious. It would have been equal to a waiter attempting to make the Special of The Day in a restaurant renowned for having a famous chef.

On Sundays, Takashi would meet Masaya for some time-out, but on every other day of the week, he would most often hibernate in his apartment with his head lost in his textbooks. If anyone were to come and visit him, they’d probably have thought something was wrong. Sometimes he didn’t shower or shave for days at a time. If he’d bought enough food from the store the week before, he wouldn’t have to go to the convenience store and he could stay at his place and study in his old sweats all day every day.

Takashi tried very hard to be disciplined and sensible, but he would sometimes procrastinate and put off his studies until the next day. When he spoke to his mother, she would often tell him that he should try and be more mature and it was time for him to grow up. He wanted to please her and be like this, but he loved the company of his friends. He especially valued the time he spent with Masaya, and most Sundays he would close his books, smarten himself up and go on long walks with him to clear his head and prepare himself for the week ahead.

He often thought about his relationship with Haruka, and he kept trying to think of ways that he could make it better, but he was afraid that she was now spending more time with Jun and she was also very busy at work. Takashi understood that she was very committed to her job, and when she phoned him with excuses, saying she couldn’t meet up for one of their dates, he’d tell her not to worry because he was busy with his studies. This wasn’t entirely true, but he didn’t want her to feel bad.

The devil inside him made him wonder if she was getting bored meeting up with him. When Takashi called her at home earlier that week, her mother told him that Jun had been over to visit her again, and this worried him. He presumed the worst and again he wondered if she was no longer interested in him. Despite this, Takashi continued to send her text messages, not ready to give up on her yet.

Takashi also spoke to his high-school chum Kenji whenever he had a chance, but he never really had the time to meet with him. Kenji was always working in Ginza or out on a date with a different girl. Takashi lost track of who he was actually seeing.

On Sundays, his long walks became his way of diffusing the tension that his studies created. Takashi found that walking through the department stores and looking in the shop windows helped him to relax. His adventures also helped him, whether he was consciously aware of it or not, to take in trends in branding, advertising and new marketing concepts. The shops that Takashi and his friends liked recognised the need to constantly reinvent new ways to keep them coming back to their stores. With consumers in Japan becoming more and more frustrated with companies bombarding them with constant advertising, the more savvy retailers realised they had to think about introducing subtle marketing techniques and look beyond handing out free tissues at the train stations with their logo on the front.

These days out also made Takashi feel part of the human race. All that study in his cramped and smoky apartment could easily take its toll on him. Takashi’s walks with Masaya also gave him the opportunity to get some solid exercise and on the train there and back home again he could review what he had done over the past week and this helped him to decide what he would do with the next few days ahead of him.

It was the second Sunday in October when Takashi set out from his apartment with a view to visiting Shibuya and Daikanyama with Masaya. These were two of their favourite haunts. He was dressed in faded denim jeans and a black cotton sweater. His camel-coloured lumberjack boots finished off the look.

Takashi walked to Kawasaki station. His eyes followed the usual path that he always walked – a straight road bordered by shops and the occasional restaurant. Rows and rows of bikes were lined up against the footpath, waiting for their owners to finish their shopping or return after having spent the last of their change gambling in the Pachinko parlours. He had a lot on his mind. He was going over and over some statistical models that he’d studied the night before.