Nov. 13, 2011–Further corrections: Gomen nasai. Watakushi wa machigatta, ne. Very sorry, but I’ve really been confused, and my memory has failed me. Realize, though, that all this happened over 22 years ago. The sign in the photo is not for the main Ginza, which is located in the chu-o- district of Tokyo. The “Yamato Ginza” is an area of the city of Yamato, which is about 25 miles southwest, as the crow flies, or about an hour and a half drive, from the real Ginza. I’ll try to get my facts straight next time, but I’m not promising anything when it comes to my memory.
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Gee, you’d think I’d get tons of people correcting my Japanese, but not one of you baka gaijin sent me an email to tell me how wrong I was.
OK, here’s what I’ve found out so far. The kanji on the right is a 10-stroke symbol that means (among other things) entrance, or pass-through. The actual kanji for “Yamato” is not there, but it appears to be an old name for Japan.
Sooooooooo … the kanji part of the sign just says it’s the Ginza entrance.
