A story that I must tell someone

Okay, I just had probably my strangest encounter in Japan so far. Although it was not a strictly Japanese thing. I'm still at the lab (it's after midnight here). This is because Miyzaki sensei had time today to show me how to process tissues for the freeze drier and I jumped at the offer (even if he said that we would start at 9 pm).

Anyway, I go out to get something to drink from one of the vending machines near by (I think that unless you are in a field somewhere, you are never, ever more than a 5 minute walk from a drink vending machine). I notice that the moon is almost full and very pretty tonight, especially with the reflection on the water. So later on, when I get the chance, I take my camera out to the edge of the beach to take some pictures.

A few things to note about where I was. There is a paved high ground above this beach area very near the lab. It is also near the undergraduate dorms where kids that come in for week long marine class come in and stay.

Anyway, I'm sitting there trying to get a decent picture and failing because my camera is not so great at taking night shots, when all of a sudden I hear a male japanese voice yelling. I totally freeze for a moment, not sure what to do. I don't know where the voice is comming from or who it is. All I know is that he is saying joto, joto, indicating that he wants me to wait a minute. It takes the guy a while to appear. It was this young guy (probably an undergrad) and he scrambles up from the beach. He is just wearing a bathrobe. And he keeps trying to talk to me. I eventually say sorry, I don't speak japanese, and then I get up to get out of there because I'm uncomfortable and I don't know what this guy wants.

Then I realize that he is not alone (a fully dressed girl scrambled up after him) and that he is indicating my camera. I finally realize that
A. He and this girl were clearly involved in some extra-cirricular activities on the beach and
B. He thinks that I took pictures of them.

I finally go through the pictures I have and show him that there are none of him and his girl (why I would want random pictures of people I don't know getting it on, I have no idea). He is very apologetic and he and his girl go off back to the dorms in a hurry. At this point I am trying not to laugh at them. I went from freaked out to almost laughing in his face in a few seconds.

Ah, young love (or perhaps more realistically, young lust) the same here as it is anywhere. There is something oddly comforting about that.