One small group approached David and said in Japanese "we are supposed to speak to a foreigner in English for our class." One of them proceeded to ask David using English if he would sign his notebook. He tried several times to say it properly and pronounced correctly(with his friends laughing at his attempts).
David used the encounter as a teachable moment - so there was a delightful impromptu English lesson at the shrine after which we both signed each of their notebooks.
On the way to the Shrine we passed a very tiny place selling okonomoyaki. There were 2 tables. The okonomoyaki we had was a regional specialty. 7 inch crepe poured onto a griddle then piled high with about a cup and a half of chopped green onions, topped with various additions (ginger, dried fsh flakes, an egg etc) then topped with more crepe batter and flipped over and cooked longer. Served with soy sauce. Yum.
David asked the cook in Japanese - what the "number 18" was. This is a very old Japanese expression for the specialty of the house. This led to a conversation with all the customers in the place about how the younger generation doesn't know what the "number 18" means. We are the "older generation" even in Japan!
