月岡温泉の清風苑 2-2
Kitty-chian and Pikachu in Tsukioka Onsen, Niigata
I woke determined not to be defeated. My first task – to discover how the minds of these young girls ticked. What they loved. What they hated. What they enjoyed. My new companions and workmates were mostly fresh out of high school and were known in the industry as ‘Grade One New Faces’. Nakai-san are classified according to the length of time they have served. For example, during your first year, you are known as Grade One, the second year, Grade two and so on until you become a ‘Veteran’. As a temporary apprentice, I joined the Grade One girls most of them as young as eighteen. Some were already very gifted in the ways of the service industry as if predestined to serve the majestic onsen. They had skill, spirit and were open minded. Others reminded me of children just learning to walk. As they tottered along, struggling in the cumbersome Kimono, they seemed to be like babies that have just discovered their feet and are trying to use them but look delightfully inept.
I began to talk to the girls in my rapidly improving Japanese. I was fascinated as to why they had chosen this arduous career. Was it family tradition? Was it a lifelong passion? I was eager to learn if these young girls, still children, were as passionate about onsen as I was. I talked to them at great length. My first job was to welcome guests at the gate as they arrived. As we had to be in place long before the guests arrived, I had plenty of time to observe my new friends and to learn about them. I told them about my life, traveling the world and meeting new people. They were fascinated by my stories and asked to be taught some words of English to impress their friends. We talked and we laughed. Watching the relationship blossom between me and my young, naïve friends gave me confidence.
Although I liked them all, two of the young nakai-san became my special friends and taught me some of the secrets of ryokan service. Although many of the girls had Hello Kitty bags, clothes, stationery, etc., one seemed to be particularly fanatical and would often abandon her elegant nakai-san exterior to reveal the true Kitty fan within. I affectionately nicknamed her ‘Kitty-chian’ and teased her about her love as she blushed with delighted embarrassment. Despite this childish obsession, she was becoming a very talented waitress and was graceful and elegant in all she did. She helped me overcome some of my initial difficulties and probably saved me many a sleepless night. She showed me how to arrange the intricate folds of the kimono and how to bow and kneel with correct deference. I was charmed by her boundless enthusiasm and delighted to be learning from this young star who, I am sure, will be a great okami one-day.
Ask any Japanese teenager to name a cartoon character and they will probably say Hello Kitty. Ask them to name a second one and the reply is likely to be Pikachu. I had found my Hello Kitty and soon my Pikachu was to find me. She had, possibly, the largest selection of Pikachu memorabilia in Japan and was very proud of it! She became the second of my newly found friends and was great fun to be with. As a former member of the school volleyball team she found it almost difficult to walk rather than run! Her ears seemed finely tuned to the noises on the road approaching the hotel. When she heard a car in the distance, she would sprint off down the driveway to be the first to meet the new arrival.
With my two friends guiding me in the intricate ways of the Nakai life, I concentrated on fine tuning my Japanese linguistic skills. With the kind help of the okami and the waka-okami (young okami, usually the daughter or daughter in law of the okami), who corrected any grammatical errors I made, my progress was good and soon I felt I could chatter away with my new workmates.
Through the kindness and generosity of Kitty-chian, Pikachu, okami-san and all the staff and guests, I soon learnt how to greet and honor a guest, to make him feel truly warm and welcome as an onsen would welcome me and warm my heart.
