World Cup Runneth Over?

While the excessive police preparation for foreign hooligans has taken up plenty of column space both here and abroad, there are other reactions to the World Cup influx of foreigners that make less shocking headlines.

The foreign faces have been noticeably weaving in and around Tokyo crowds. They generally make themselves obvious. Long-time foreign Tokyoites often shun each other, everyone looking for their own authentic Japan experience, and shuffling after it at rush hour speed.

So, the soccer fans here for the first time are easy to spot. They stand around looking at maps, guidebooks, scraps of paper, and glancing in circles, hopeful of direction, at least not the wrong direction. They have a standard look, eyes wide, upward crook of the neck, legs ready to walk-human maguro in the fish market of the city. Everyone who comes to Tokyo feels that way at some point: dumbfounded and frozen in place.

The foreign football fans talk, though, too, as has become apparent during the weeks of the invasion. And in response, Tokyoites of all sorts seem ready and willing in return to chat, smile, attempt directions, and in the sports-bar-dense sections of town, to party.

So many volunteer translators applied to help at the World Cup they had to be turned away. Others found part-time work at help booths in train stations, in front of department stores, and at special locations near large, presumably foreigner-attracting areas like Shibuya and the Ginza. At the booth inside Shinjuku station, the Help Desk displayed hand-written Korean, Chinese, and Spanish signs taped to the counter. These changed to French, Korean, and German later in the day when new workers came on duty.

The stations were prepared with added signs, especially in Korean. In the past, even Korean stores barely had Korean. Now, the platform signs in stations sport well-scripted Hangul up above, guiding those Koreans with no Japanese or English skills (a rather low ratio, it would seem). Signs in other languages are just as common.

In the end, though, the signs are of minimal help. A passenger still has to figure out a dense array of spatio-temporal information to navigate Tokyo's trains. Being able to read that the Chuo line heads to Takao doesn't mean too much if you don't know what's along the way. Ditto for every other train line in Tokyo.

It's not only the trains, though. Restaurants and nightspots have more English menus and "Welcome" signs, with all the "bienvenidos" and "bienvenus" of the United Nations. "SPORTS BAR" has been plastered over many a signboard throughout the city, and even "Le Sports Bar" over a temporarily transformed outdoor wine/espresso cafe in Akasaka. Those signs will be taken down eventually, of course.

More English language T-shirts cover more bodies than any summer on record. And with more coherent and correct English as well. English as a fashion accessory, or maybe as an invitation to conversation. Even the Japan national team blue jerseys, which have become the second uniform for most high school girls, are covered mainly in English.

It's too early to call it anything more than a temporary linguistic make-over. When the television news showed scenes of the police shouting in English while making an arrest for disorderly conduct, they were showing off their internationalized awareness as much as their physical strength. It was as if communication were an essential part of their job. As it turned out, they needed only Japanese for the young Japanese celebrants, leaving their anti-hooligan Anglo-Saxon on the shelf.

And yet, something has changed. Tokyo feels different after this invasion, nothing overwhelming, but subtly, just a difference of confidence perhaps. Something indefinable, but there.

Then, two nights ago, at a favorite local Italian restaurant, the young waiter flourished a brand spanking new menu in English. As they were obviously pleased with this new addition, I showed how impressed I was, even though English menus are not all that unusual in Tokyo.

But then, after looking more closely, and comparing to the Japanese menu, I noticed a small note at the very end of the English menu which said simply: "Our dishes are prepared for Japanese taste. If you would like more Italian flavor, please tell your server and we can make." It was this that showed the subtle, yet distinct, change, that more than one sense of taste could be catered to, and done with success. I asked for the Italian flavor and got it.

Michael Pronko