Kore wa nan des ka?

It's a hand towel, I said to myself as I studied the fabric again. It must be. A hand towel makes sense. A hand towel is a custom at Tokyo restaurants anyway. But at restaurants, the cloth is usually small. And moist. And sometimes warm. This towel is larger. It is also dry. And, this hand towel also has a large pocket.

It's probably not a hand towel.

I studied the non-towel again.

I put my hand in the pocket.

It's some sort of puppet, I said to myself. It must be. Japan is a very courteous, quiet and respectful country. So, a little hand puppet makes sense. That way, you can just quietly and courteously wave above the dressing room curtain for assistance.

I looked at the puppet.
The puppet looked at me.
It's probably not a puppet.

Usually, at this point in "Tokyo Moments", I would just give up and ask. I would simply perform my perfected "Sumimasen"-and-shrug-routine and have someone show me what to do. Or, I would just look hopelessly confused and someone would help me. Or, I would just ask as politely as I could, "Sumimasen. Kore wa nan des ka?" What is this?

But, not this time. This time I am in a dressing room. And, I've been here awhile now. And, now I'm a bit embarrassed. And, not to mention, I'm naked.

I do have my cell phone though. Maybe I could just call the store? "Konnichiwa, shujin wa salaryman des. (Good afternoon, my husband is a salaryman. [This is one of my best Japanese sentences]). I'm calling from Dressing Room ichi. What do I do with this white towel thing?"

C'mon, I said to myself. It's just a square piece of fabric. This should be easy to figure out.
I studied the non-towel, non-puppet again.

It's got to be a "gift", I said to myself. That makes sense. It's quite common for stores and restaurants here to offer a "thank you gift" for your business. In the last few months, I've received free samples of lamb, a complimentary scoop of cherry blossom gelato and a Snoopy tote. But, I haven't bought anything at this store yet. And, why would she give it to me as I was walking in to the dressing room?

I don't think it's a thank you gift.

I studied the non-towel, non-puppet, non-gift, white cloth with pocket one more time. OK. OK. Wait. Wait. I did it. I figured it out!

Hop. Hop. Hop. Fall. Ouch.
Hop. Hop. Hop. Fall. Ouch.
Hop. Hop. Hop. Fall. Ouch.

"So, did you have any luck shopping today?" my husband asked me later that afternoon. I told him about the mystery towel. "Oh," he said. "I was told that it's a make up hood. You're supposed to put it on your head before you try on new clothes. It will protect the new clothes from make up stains."

"Put it on your head?" I said. "Really? You're joking."
"You didn't put it over your head?" my husband asked me. "What did you do with it?"
"I put my feet in it," I said. "I figured it must be some kind of special dressing room slipper. No wonder I kept losing my balance."

Hop. Hop. Fall. Ouch.
Hop. Hop. Fall. Ouch.

CNN

"Mom," my 15-year-old son said as he looked around at all the cameras surrounding us. "I think it's about time to put this sign away."

A few weeks ago, my family and I (including my parents who flew in from Massachusetts, USA) attended the MLB opening series at the Tokyo Dome (Red Sox vs. Oakland A's). It's bit of a long story how we were able to get tickets to Game 1. It was 2 parts luck; 1 part flattery and 1 part social (i.e. I'm very chatty).

"So," I said to the school mom sitting next to me (a few months ago now). "What company brought you to Tokyo?" Several of us moms were assigned/volunteered as the decorating committee for a school event. I know I probably should have been focusing on my bows and ribbons, but I don't like silence.
The mom looked at me. "We are here with MLB. Do you know Major League Baseball?"
This is when I messed up on my bow. By the way, the glue from a glue gun is hot.
"So des ne," I said in Japanese (In English: Ohmygoodnessohmygoodnessohmygoodnessohmygoodnesohmygoodnessohmygoodness.
"Oh, what a lovely bow!" I said to my new and best friend. "You have such talent...and by the way...Oh! my what wonderful colors you chose! By the way, do you know how...beautiful! Just beautiful ribbon! DoyouknowhowtogetticketsfortheRedSoxgamehereinTokyo? Wow! You are such a lovely, lovely decorator."

Anyway, we were able to get tickets and be part of a very exciting event. It was unbelievable. At the game, I was expecting to see exciting 9 innings. I was expecting to hear Sweet Caroline. I was expecting Manny to be, well, Manny. But I was not expecting the Keg Girls (young woman who walk up and down the stands with beer keg on their backs). I was not expecting dried squid. And I was not expecting this question:

"Hi. We are from CNN. Can we interview you and your family?"

And, so, my parents, my 3 sons, and 2 men from Boston we didn't know were on CNN outside the Tokyo Dome! I guess we were easy to pick out of the crowd of 45,000: My parents were wearing Cape Cod sweatshirts. My boys and I were wearing Red Sox gear from head to toe. And, we also had a sign that read "Red Sox Victory" in Engish and in Kanji.

"Mom, Mom," my son said from the side of his mouth as another crew filmed us with the sign. "I'm putting the sign away. I really came to the game early to see batting practice, remember."

I also didn't expect to be interviewed by Japanese TV stations. But, as soon as we left the CNN interview, we were immediately surrounded by more crews. They loved the boys' homemade English/Kanji sign.

So, lessons learned from this Tokyo adventure: Be a Sox fan. Know your kanji, and of course, be chatty.

To see the video, go to: http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/sports/2008/03/25/lah.japan.baseball.cnn?iref=videosearch