Well, I have met Masato! Yesterday I went to Tokyo for my appointment at the USA Embassy. Afterwards I met my brother-in-law at the nearby Starbuck's and we headed over to Kanda to look at guitars. He had found a new shop where he bought himself a used guitar.

The shops we visited were great little places crammed with guitars and other instruments. We looked and touched and played and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. I saw a tai-sho-koto. I had seen one in a mail order catalog earlier in the week and Wakana had tried to explain it to me. I had to see one to understand it. Imagine a wooden box about 2' long. There are 4 strings that run the length of the box. There is a cover over the strings with keys that look like old style typewriter keys. Looking under the cover you can see that the fret board has frets. The keys press all the strings down on to the frets. Essentially it is a mountain dulcimer with keys.

After we left the guitar shops we stopped at Disk Union. I was worried that we might be late for meeting Masato but Fumito wanted me to see this place. It was a neat little hole-in-the-wall type shop chock full of CDs, DVDs, and vinyl records. The first thing I saw, right as I stepped into the shop, was an old Pogues album, Rum, Sodomy, And The Lash! This was the first European "folk" music I had seen since I left New England. I was impressed. There were others bands represented, bands I actually recognized. I found a David Bromberg album and picked up the old CSN&Y album Déjà Vu.

Finally we set off to find Masato. I had arranged to meet him at the south entrance to Shijuku station. The crowds were thick. People were busily hurrying around at the end of the workday. We wandered around and finally spotted him.

Did I mention that folk music gets some attention in Japan? He swept into site, surrounded by bodyguards keeping back the adoring fans. Girls shrieked and boys looked on with adoration. His white cape swirled in the spring breeze and revealed a black skintight leather outfit covered with rhinestones and silver snaps.

Well, maybe not. Masato is a gentle college professor with graying hair. He wore a corduroy jacket over a plaid flannel shirt. He has a firm handshake and impeccable manners. We were conscious of the importance of the meeting. I am the first Mudcat he has met and the first one to meet him. I hope many of you can have the same honor some day. He is a lovely human being.

We adjourned to the 13th floor of the Takamayashima Building to a Chinese restaurant. I suggested we go someplace with slow service so we could have time to talk. Masato insisted on treating us to dinner. He wouldn't allow us to pay for anything. On top of that he gave me a CD that he said was all there is to know about Auld Lang Syne.    It has a 60 page booklet, written in Japanese. There are 27 cuts on the CD of various pieces of music all based on the melody line of Auld Lang Syne. There are simple vocal arrangements, classical pieces by Rossini, Beethoven, and Damgaard, music box pieces, bagpipe bands, brass bands, in Arabic, Japanese, and possibly other languages. What a guy!

The waitress brought a tall stack of small dishes to the table. I looked at it and wondered if they were all meant for us. It isn't unusual for the staff in the restaurants I have been in before to use a diner's table as a staging point for setting other tables. As it turned out we needed every one.

We started with beer and tea, then we had jellyfish, pork and pickled radish for appetizers. The servings kept coming; shrimp served in a pepper sauce, fried pork, soup, and yaki soba with squid, shrimp, and scallops and ended with fruit salad served over Chinese jelly. Itadakimasu and gochisosama to Masato-san for such a delicious meal.

I had to ask the question that we all want to know, i.e., how on earth does a homebound Japanese college professor get to know so much about European and American folk music? He dodged the question! Well, not so much a dodge as a humble shrug of the shoulders and the comment that he likes it and learns what he can. He doesn't sing or play but he listens to whatever he can get. I imagine he must have a library of music and books to die for.

We had a very good time. We drank a little beer and ate too much and laughed a lot. It was a lovely evening. Thank you, Masato. I hope to meet with you again next time I am in Japan.

After we left Masato my brother-in-law escorted me back to meet the shinkansen (bullet train) back to Nasushiobara. Standing in the train station Fumito echoed my sentiment. Masato is a real gentleman. Sorry ladies, but he is happily married.

As to my visit to the embassy, that was another ADVENTURE IN BUREAUCRACY! I had a 2:00 appointment. I arrived from Tochigi, 150km away, at 12:45. I was informed that the embassy was closed until 1:30 and I had to come back then! Sigh. I wandered off, got a cup of coffee and a muffin, came back and settled on the curb to wait. I fell into conversation with a young couple who were there for the same reason I was. When they heard I lived on Guam they got all excited. They explained they had friends who had moved there and they were interested in going there too. That and their little son kept us entertained while we waited. And we did wait. Getting into the embassy was like going through airport security, twice. At one station they physically inspect bags and walk you through the usual scanner. At the second station they take away your cameras, cell phones, and pocket knives and run your bags through an x-ray scanner.

Finally you are admitted entrance. Of course, there is nobody who is interested in helping you with the process. The room is full of nervous expectant people and in one corner there is an innocuous little gray machine. By intuition you are supposed to know that the machine provides numbers by which they will call you to the window.

Before going to the embassy you are supposed to download the instructions for how to prepare for the visa request procedure. We had spent the previous two days filling out forms, getting pictures and documents, translating Japanese language documents, and making copies. We had to provide a statement about our relationship, how we met, what we've done together, complete with pictures and documents. I had in my possession three sets of documents, the two sets we were supposed to provide to the embassy (according to the instructions) and one for our records.

When I stepped up to the counter the man started by asking for the copy of the ID page of my passport. The instructions hadn't said anything about that! Fortunately he was used to that and he stepped over to the photocopier to make one. Then he asked for the copy of Wakana's passport. That was fine. Then he wanted the various forms we had filled out. He scanned them and had me make small corrections. Then he asked for a copy of my divorce decree. I was astounded to say the least. There was no mention of that in the instructions! He pulled out his regulation and pointed out that they needed it to finish the application process. I tried to explain that it was destroyed in the fire but he wasn't interested.

He continued working and when he was finished he gave me a paper that identified what I needed to provide and where I needed to send it. He had only taken one copy of most of the documents I had sweated over and left me holding a pile of paper and written instructions on how to finish the process. Then I was left to find my own way back to the street. Sigh.

Now I have to figure out how to get a copy of a legal document from 8,000 miles away. Charley? Any ideas?