Wrong Signs

All taxis in Japan have a sign on the back of the passenger seat. Of course, it's not usually used as a passenger seat because the passenger(s) sit in the back. But if there are four people, one will probably sit in the front. Anyway, the sign gives the name of the driver and his hobbies. I guess that the purpose is to give passengers a starting point for a conversation if they are in the mood.

I'm always in the mood for a taxi chat. This driver's hobby was listed as karaoke.
"So you like music", I asked
"Yes, I listen so much that I wear out cassettes really quickly", he replied.
"What kind of stuff do you listen to?"

And so he began to give me a history of his listening experience since the 1960's. It suddenly dawned on me that it was directly related to my research into English songwriting in Japan. The influence of the Beatles and Dylan in the 60s sparked off a huge folk movement and the Group Sounds movement, some of which sparked off L2 songwriting. I had been hanging out on Wikipedia trying to find information about the period and had completely overlooked the simple solution of asking people who had grown up in the era. Another methodological kiss in the ass for me :)

As I got out of the taxi, armed with a list of bands to check out, I said to the driver, "karaoke, ganbatte ne".

"Karaoke? I don't do karaoke."
"But it says it here," I said.
"Really? Oh it's my wife who likes karaoke."

Funny thing, isn't it. Sometimes a whole new door can open to you, even when the sign is wrong.