I NEVER FOUND IT THIS DANGEROUS, REALLY...

I NEVER FOUND IT THIS DANGEROUS, REALLY..., a photo by roberthuffstutter on Flickr.

LOST IN THE DARKEST PART OF TOKYO

Earl Norman had quite an imagination. There was never a time during my tour when I encountered any scenes of this nature, thankfully.

I recall getting lost in the back streets of Tokyo during the first few months of my tour. It was in the spring of 1962.

I was near a canal; it was very dark and there was not a taxi anywhere. I kept walking, not fearful at first until my mind began tormenting me.

I was walking softly, listening to sounds I could not identify, no voices, nothing. I kept walking. I was in an industrial area, a reconstruction area. Suddenly, as I was crossing a small bridge over a canal, I heard the sound of an outboard motor. I leaned over the railing and watched the small boat get underway without lights.

I listened as the motor faded. How did I lose myself from the streets where the nightlife never ended. I must have been in a daze. My mind kept tormenting me as I recalled how I had gotten lost one night in Los Angeles in 1960.

But I was in Tokyo. In a few moments, I saw what appeared to be a red lantern glowing outside a row of buildings. I walked in and was greeted heartily by friendly faces, men twice my age. After several complimentary drinks of sake, a cab pulled up outside and the men smiled, laughed heartily and told the driver to take me to the Ginza.

At the moment, I never thought about what the men had been doing only a few years short of two decades in their past.

By Robert L. Huffstutter