December 02, 2004 - Bandit

I bought a motorcycle yesterday. I found it on the internet with the help of a friend who can read Japanese - he is here working on his Japanese language PHD translating obscure Japanese poetry. I set out for the shop with my riding gear hoping that I would ride the thing home. As the train got further and further from the apartment I started to get a bit worried about the prospect of finding my way home. And then I switched tracks. It turns out the shop was quite a distance from home and in another valley. Shit. My plan of navigating by keeping Osaka bay to my left was seeming a bit naive. I started wishing that I had brought a map. The sun was setting as I got off the train and I imagined myself riding aimlessly through the darkened streets before giving up and sleeping in a ditch somewhere. By the time I found the shop, about a mile from the train station, the sky was dark. By pure luck I walked up to the only guy in the place who spoke a few words of English. He wore clean coveralls, was surprisingly tall, and possessed a friendly smile with bad teeth. Using his handful English words and my handful of Japanese words we looked at several bikes I had pulled off the internet. After about five minutes I pointed to the best of the group and said, "Kore o kudasaii" (which I think means "I'll take this one please"). He gave me a surprised look, smiled and bowed deeply, "thank you". It was probably the quickest and easiest sale he had ever made - during the course of which he only needed to say four or five words. We went through the paperwork, I handed over the money, and he said that he would call in about two weeks. "Two weeks?" Apparently they need the time to set up the registration, insurance, and license plate. I was disappointed, being eager to get lost for the evening. I am learning that getting things done in Japan requires a great deal of patience. Ask me about our internet connection sometime... The venerable Suzuki Bandit 250. Cheap and plentiful.

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