Tokyo Nugget #20: Strange questions at customs
I don’t always get funny queries when I pass through customs at a Japanese airport, in fact, I rarely do. But this time, I flew in from Singapore to Nagoya, and had a handful of puzzling questions from a very curious man in uniform.
Let me recount our convo here…
”Where are you from?” – Singapore.
”But you are Chinese…?” – so I told him my grandparents were from China who moved to Singapore, so my parents are Singaporean, and hence I’m Singaporean.
”You live in Tokyo, but why did you fly to Nagoya?” – that’s fair enough because most people commute through Narita Airport. I told him I couldn’t get an air ticket out of Narita.
”Why did you spend only one day in Malaysia? What did you do there?” – hmm, I guess it would look odd to someone who doesn’t live in Singapore or Malaysia. I answered, “Shopping.” And he raised his eyebrows — I suppose very few people outside of southeast Asia would consider Malaysia as a prime shopping destination. I was amazed that he picked that one out but he did flip through my passport very thoroughly.
”Why do you have so many clothes?” – I wanted to laugh in my red eye stupor! I was thinking, “It’s none of your business?!” as he ruffled through my entire suitcase, looked into my dirty laundry bags, and unashamedly flipped my bras about, while feeling the walls of my suitcase. I told him I took a month-long holiday back to Asia — in truth, it was a five-week one.
“Why don’t you have any omiyage?” — Because I’m a selfish b*tch?!
I suppose I looked like a possible drug mule in my disheveled, unwashed state. Or maybe he just wanted to practice his English — I must say he had a good command of the language.
Related posts:
- Tokyo Nugget #19: How Japanese propose marriage
- Tokyo Nugget #14: Hidden temples
- Tokyo Nugget #8: Everything is the opposite in Japan
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