Last night, I attended an Argentinian wine-tasting event with some friends.  As we made our way around the room, wrestling with overpowering Malbecs along the way, some tango music began playing as a Japanese couple took to the dance floor.  A crowd immediately began to form around them, cameras flashing left and right as mesmerized onlookers jostled for viewing position.  It was pretty clear from the outset that this couple knew what they were doing, but I had no idea what a proper tango looked like so I wasn’t sure what to make of it (even though I had seen a mass tango breakout on the streets of Buenos Aires during a visit there many moons ago).  So, me being the ignoramus that I am regarding all things dance, I mentioned to a friend that the woman seemed awfully stiff, basically sticking her head in the man’s neck and never moving from the chest up while the couple sauntered around the dance floor.  And my buddy responded by wondering aloud why an Argentine couple wasn’t there instead to provide the tango display, which I met with nodding agreement.

Well, as it turns out, this wasn’t just any Japanese couple with a passing interest in tango.  Rather, they were the newly-crowned world champions of tango.  I kid you not.  That’s their winning picture above, capturing the moment when they beat out a host of Argentine couples at the Tango Dance World Championships in Buenos Aires back in August.  And now I can add to my life’s list of interesting events the fact that I once saw the world’s greatest tango act.  Live and up close.  And here I thought I’d never get that box checked!

This little story helps to illustrate something that I find fascinating about the Japanese.  Oddities and frustrating practices aside, the Japanese are an amazing people: immensely talented, curious about the world around them, unforgiving in their exactness, and intensely focused when goals are set.  You hear stories about Japanese who literally dedicate their lives to perfecting tea ceremonies or calligraphy, and the puzzled American chuckles at the point of it all.  But such striving for perfection means the Japanese are capable of excelling in a multitude of arenas.  It’s the reason why the country leads in several areas of technological innovation, and it’s also why the food here is so extraordinary.  I hear stories all the time of Japanese chefs cooking the best Italian some have ever tasted, and that seemingly hyperbolic statement is inevitably complemented by a story of how the chef moved to Italy and worked on a farm for five years learning about the life cycle of food and its proper preparation from the motherland.

Maybe this helps explain why the concept of hobbies is so big here.  It seems everybody has one, and the hobbies typically aren’t of the standard variety.  Nothing generic and broad like movies or books or music.  It’s more likely you’ll hear someone talk sincerely about a very specific hobby, like their stuffed animal collection or Russian language club.  I’ve found this to be a unique attribute among the Japanese.  Once they decide they like something and want to pursue it, they go straight at it and give it their all.  There’s something really cool and respectable about that.

Meanwhile, I’m left to ponder how, in my crazy busy state of mind, I managed to miss the news that today marked the start of the NBA regular season.  I’ve clearly been here too long!