The Doppelgangers

We started swing dancing about a year ago. Around that same time, one of the faithful Osaka dancers who had returned home to Australia previously, returned to Japan. From the first day he met us he was convinced that we were the twins of a couple that had left Japan only about a year earlier. He brought this up often and referred to us as the Shelbyville version of his friends. He kept pointing out the similarities to other people who had known the previous couple and he generally got nods of agreement. It was driving him crazy that we couldn't meet each other.

Finally, his friends (Canadians) decided to come back to Osaka for a visit and to see a favorite band perform. The stage was set to get us together. Our friend was pretty sure something cosmic would happen if both of us were together in the same place. We arranged to meet at Captain Kangaroo (a foreigner bar in Osaka that boasts excellent chicken burgers, fries and even better selection of international beer).

The result? Nothing cosmic, but there were clearly some similarities in appearance and as our friend pointed out, both couples had come to Japan as a couple, which is something of a rarity. Our doppelgangers were certainly lovely people and we had a good night out.