Laundry and Coffee - 洗濯して日本の喫茶店に行った

I woke up early today to do some laundry. It ended up being rush hour around the time I was walking to the laundromat so I felt like I was standing out alot as an American toting around a large luggage while everyone else is trying to get to school or work.

At the laundromat, an older woman was waiting for her clothes to dry and I was doing my best to read the washing machines. I eventually decided to ask her if laundry detergent was neccessary because I could not determine it from reading the instructions on the machine. She explained how the machines worked and which options I should select. The washing machines did not require anything additional to put inside of them! All you needed to do was put your clothes in and then the machine will wash your clothes automatically with its own detergent and then also dry tho clothes. In America, I have never seen a washing machine like this. I'm sure they exist, but all the places I've had to do laundry required bringing your own detergent, moving tho clothes from washer to dryer, and usually it's very overpriced. For a large load it was about 1400 yen (10ish dollars) which is expensive but well worth it if I don't need to transfer the clothes to a dryer or buy soap.

While waiting for my clothes to wash and dry, I went accross the street to a coffee shop. When I walked in, it was clear they do not get many people who look like me in their cafe. The waitress stared at me and it was very quiet. I then said 「座ります？」which translates to "I will sit?" And the waitress gestured towards the seating area. I was embarassed because I know the correct grammar for saying "Is it okay if I sit?" But when I get nervous or in high-pressure situations I mess up my grammar and revert to caveman-style japanese.

The waitress came over to the table and kind of just stood there thinking about what to say. It was awkward so I eventually said 「少し日本語が話せますよ」which means "I can speak a little Japanese". She let out a sigh of relief and and said 「よかった」which I would translate to "Thank god" or "phew, that's good". The cafe smelled faintly of smoke and the man a table over asked me if it was ok if he smoked. I don't mind the smell of smoke because it reminds me of my Grandma and visiting her when I was a kid. It kind of makes it feel homey. You cannot smoke indoors in America so this smell is rarely one I experience.

She walked away and didn't bring me a menu when she came back so I just ordered a black coffee and studied some kanji. The coffee was actually very very good. It was definitely the best black coffee I've had in Japan and maybe even America. I didn't expect to get such high quality coffee since I found the shop out of convenience. Pleasantly suprised, I got up and paid my bill. I was really happy to see that the waitress went from a state of confusion and stress to being very happy and bubbly when I paid. I told her the coffee was very delicious and thanked her. It was really cool seeing the transition from discomfort to happiness when I was able to use a language they understood.

This trip is so amazing because of experiences like this. I love that something as simple as going to a random coffee shop can result in a special out-of-the-ordinary experience because native Japanese are not used to foreigners being able to communicate outside of English. If I end up in Hiroshima again, I would like to come back to this cafe.Read more