I started by walking around Ikebukuro...the restaurant area. Guys were standing around passing out brochures. Other people who missed the train seemed to be looking for places to wait. I wasn't sure where to go and I had no idea how to ask “Where's a good place to waste some time?” (the first of many phrases I needed to translate this night.) Everything was well lit and Tokyo-ish. Some drunk people loitered. A guy drank a soda outside the kombini. I walked in circles, almost hoping to run into someone interesting to waste time. Nada. And no rogue gaijins walking around either. I meandered back near a station exit, spied the 24-hour McDonalds, used my last free iced coffee ticket, and plopped down on the bench outside to start waiting it out.

After a new minutes, a guy sat down next to me. He had 2 phones and kept checking them carefully...like he was syncing them, or waiting for a call, or something. I wanted to say something because I was bored and talkative. I didn't know if it was a good idea or not, so I waited quietly. Sipped my coffee. Watched people walk by. Watched the guy on the bench across from me squeezing the inner thigh of the girl he was with as they sat close and she giggled. My bench guy put away his phones. Time passed. Finally, I mustered up enough courage to ask in some broken tarzan japanese when the first train ran. Seems to be at 4:30am. And he continued to say something...I didnt understand. So, sumimasen! Wakarimasen! Nihon go wa yokunai desu! Yuta said something that people think you don't want to talk to them when you say your Japanese is bad. Like clockwork, he shut up and continued to ignore me. Fine. I wasn't trying to end the conversation...but since I was clueless...why not? And anyway, I knew I'd be stuck here until 4:30. I thought about walking more...but...why? I'd just spend money and I couldn't freakin say anything anyway. I started a vocab list: window, missed (as in missed the train), uniform (as in the guy in the white uniform loading burger buns into the McDonalds is totally hot), frustrating (as in not being able to talk to anyone), motorcycle (as in I wish I had one so I could go home), bench, start/begin....

The guy next to me got up an hour later as a girl approached. They stepped into Mcdonalds, grabbed a drink and headed off down the street. Sip. Sit. Wait. Drunk guy on the bench across from me, homeless guy napping a few yards away. People in and out of Mcdonalds. Some looking at me. Most ignoring. Sip. Wait. The drunk guy comes over to sit next to me. People pay attention suddenly as he tries to talk. I can' t understand anything. Never mind just Japanese words..but slurred and sleepy lingo on top of it. I did hear “doko” I started shrugging with a smile. He copied me. I started doing a thumbs up while saying “Its ok!” He copied that too. Good fun. Slurred talk. People staring. The drunk guy started pretending to ride a motorcycle. Broooom! He weaved back and forth on the bench. “Motorcycle!” I said. He repeated it. “It's ok!” I said. “Motorcycle! It's ok!” Yeah! He rode his imaginary machine for a minute..and then suddenly keeled over away from me an passed out. Nice.