Twin brothers Toby and Glen wore their purple and gold lettermen jackets to Tokyo. It was a long ways from Missoula, and in the no-moon darkness they felt like kings of another planet. Twelve steps down a garish, claustrophobic street, Toby, the more squat of the two, was pulled by his gold leather sleeve into a humid foyer. Glen, older by four minutes, did a little sideways hop-step and followed his brother in.

A food product made of fermented soybeans. Natto is not glutinous. Rather, it is sticky and soft, so perhaps “gloppy” is a better characterization. Non-Japanese are supposed to hate natto. It is kind of a rule. To enjoy natto is an act of defiance. The Japanese will often make funny noises if you tell them you eat it regularly, usually letting forth a downward arcing “heeeeeeey!” sound.

"Your Japanese is good." Although there is no scientific evidence to support this claim, it is generally accepted that there is an exact negative correlation between the frequency with which this sentence is said in response to one's attempts to speak Japanese and one’s actual language skills. In other words, when you stop hearing this sentence, your Japanese is good.