From Lizzi
Last summer, I started taking advantage of our gym’s swimming pool. Tokyo summers are brutally hot and the indoor pool was a perfect way to cool down and get a workout in. One particular afternoon, I was in the middle of my swim when I noticed an older Japanese man enter the pool area. I did a double take when he exposed the leopard print speedo he was sporting under his robe. This was not a fit man with washboard abs and tight pecs (which would have warranted a MUCH different double take). Instead, he had a big Asahi beer belly and man boobs…not a body that should be allowed to wear a speedo.
Anyway, I carried on with my swim and tried my best to ignore the gross view underwater. The man was walking laps, which is a big thing here. The Japanese LOVE walking laps in the pool, which they make sound like real exercise by punctuating their laps with sporadic grunts and lots of twisting at the hips. There’s even a lane specifically dedicated to walking, which swimmers are required to vacate to make way for their lazier peers (granted, some people need to rehab sports injuries or are simply too old to do much else, and these folks are not the subject of my disdain). So, I was on one side swimming while Mr. Leopard Print walked his laps. Suddenly, I heard a sound that made my skin crawl. It’s that noise that guys make when they’re getting a phlegm ball up from the back of their throats. I can’t stand that noise – like nails on a chalkboard. The man gave a few good hocks and spit the loogie…INTO THE POOL! I couldn’t believe it. Number one – are you f*&king kidding me!?!? Number two – why would anyone want to swim/walk in their own mucus? How could this possibly be considered acceptable behavior, particularly in society so obsessed with cleanliness?
Needless to say, my swim was over and I took a triple dosage of Vitamin C as soon as I got home. The sad part to all of this is that this was not an isolated occurrence. Indeed, Matt and I have borne witness to multiple such violations of the pool code.
Nasty! Remind me not to go for a swim when we come visit.