A little snack?
02/07/2007
In Japan, the word "snack" has two distinct meanings so if you are being offered a snack, make sure you clearly understand which type it is before accepting...
Everybody knows the first kind of snack, by the way it is written on the sign at the top right (スナック):
But it has another meaning...In fact, when I was in Nagasaki, I walked downtown at night and ended up in a nice area, with lots of small streets filled with restaurants. But there was something weird...and after a while, I realized that I was in the hostess bar area! It's less noticeable than in other countries but when I figured out, it suddenly became obvious. Then about 5 minutes later, a guy came to me and offered me to get "something" cheap at a nearby bar. However I couldn't understand what that "something" was, because of his typical (that is absolutely terrible) English pronunciation. I'm not saying French pronunciation is good but seriously, it's so much worse here. So after I had him repeat the word like six times, still not getting it, he finally mimed the action (a picture is worth a thousand words...) and I understood that the mystery word was..."blowjob"! I politely refused but since the guy was nice, we talked a bit and he explained to me that in Japan, hostess bars are called snacks. So if you go to Japan and see that kind of sign (this one is called "Honey night"...):
Then you're in front of a hostess bar. So, how about a little snack ?...
Category: Japanese language
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