So I'm at my local Target store

[katoftw]

USA, NZ and Australia peeps will know what Target is.  Waiting in line for service at the registers.  Row 6 becomes available and the man gestures at us to proceed.  We walk up and I notice his name badge says "Koretaka."  I ask if his name is pronounced Kor-re-ta-ka.  He confirms and I ask if it is Japanese.  Again he confirms yes.

 

At this point my wife takes over the conversation.  I swear she secretly loves Japan and wont admit it.  She asks where he is from.  "Arita" was his answer with heavy Japanese accent which makes me not hear Arita correctly.  "Pardon, where?" we ask.  And he says, "South Japan, Kyushu Island."

 

Kyushu!  He just said the magic word in my mind!  When he said Kyushu, then my brain I understood the earlier heavily accented Arita.  "Oh yes I know where you are from," I explained that we had travelled throughout Kyushu in 2014.  Once we used the city names Fukuoka, Kumamoto and Kagoshima.  He understood that we knew where he was from.

 

We left with a smile and a wave.

Edited February 27, 2016 by katoftw

[JR 500系]

Haha ~ I bet you guys would have spoken more to him if there was a chance! It's always fun to talk to Japanese, and it's great when the Japanese we talk to hear of how much we know their country, especially the lesser known secrets like local lines ...  :P

[katoftw]

Yes a longer conversation would have been good.  But cannot stop Koretaka doing his job.

[velotrain]

 

 

I ask if his name is pronounced Kor-re-ta-ka.  

 

I'm curious that the "r" is pronounced in two syllables - is this common with Japanese?