This week's drinkin' stories

We've got a couple of business trip visitors here this week, so of course we had to have a party. Party stage 1 was at a restaurant in the sort of red-light area, but it was starting later than normal at 8:30. I had taken one of the guys (Chris) to a restaurant when he got here Sunday. I think I may have mentioned this place before, where the owner was so excited to see American's in his shop that he forced the waitress who could speak English to sit down and talk with us. Well, he did the same thing this time, and invited us back, said he would give us free beer and gyoza when we came. He started naming days we should come back, "Monday?, Tuesday?". I told him as politely as I could in Japanese that maybe we would come. We finally settled on maybe Friday. He looked at Chris and asked if he would come, too, and Chris said "Absolutely".

Now, I don't want this guy thinking that Americans are liars, especially because of something a Canadian said, so we started off the night at stage zero, this restaurant, for 1 beer before we go to the party. No sooner does the waitress (who is surprised to see us) put the beers down then the owner tells her to bring more. So we got our free beer, but were already 2 ahead of the pace when we went to the party.

Pretty standard Japanese party, lots of food and beer. I learned both that the word for cuttlefish is "ika" and that it's delicious. Probably drank a little too much, but I pushed through to stage 2, the hostess bar. I heard one guy on the phone negotiating letting Americans in, and we were off.

It was your normal hostess bar, girls being especially friendly to me. Whether this is because I'm American, or because I'm single, or because the Japanese guys said something to them, I don't know. I must be learning something, because I was able to make a little small talk with girls in Japanese, and to tell them Chris is a movie star.

I don't know if it's a good sign or not, but I've learned enough Japanese to get myself into trouble now. I tried to tell the girl next to me that she's tall, which I though was funny since the word for tall is the same as the word for expensive. Clever Japanese play on words with the girl I'm paying to be my friend. However, my pronunciation was a little off, and I guess I said it it a way that made her sound like an evil giant. She seemed a little hurt, did the playful hitting thing, and told me "Not takai, ookii". This just confused me more, since ookii means big, and even I know you don't tell a girl she's big. Got into a big discussion, mostly of me apologizing and trying to figure out what the right thing to say was.

We stayed there for the usual amount of time, but since the party started late, it was almost 4 before I got home and passed out. I felt surprisingly OK this morning, but when I saw Chris this evening, he apparently didn't fare quite as well. Anyway, sorry no pictures this time. We're going to Tokyo tomorrow, so maybe I'll have some then.

Baby's first haircut

I was in dire need. I haven't gotten a haircut since a few weeks before I left, and I needed one bad. I was little nervous, since I don't know how any barbershop talk like "A little off the top" or maybe "did you see that game last night?". Here's the before picture:
I had a few errands to run, so I figured I'd walk around doing those and stop in if I found someplace that looked inviting. I picked a place near the station, with both the largest number and biggest size barber poles I saw. Turned out to be a good choice, they were pretty easy to communicate with and seemed like they could handle not black, not straight hair.

They pointed me to chair 7 (out of 20 or so) and as soon as I sat down, a girl came over and asked "Shave suru?", which I just learned Friday is the plain form of "shimas", so I totally understood. I looked around, saw that everyone else was getting shaved, and figured what the hell. She started to lather me up, and then gestured to the edges of my eyebrows and the area a unibrow would be if I had one and said "koko?". I thought I said "no", but I must have said "No, don't skip those areas" because she proceeded to lather them up and shave them too. She did a nice job, lots of hot towels later, a guy came up to cut my hair. I had studied before I went and now know "Mijikai" means short. So I pointed and said "mijikai", and he replied "Sho-to?" (short) and I got my haircut. Here's the after, but I wore a hat all day today, so it may not do it justice.
I also finalized my winter vacation plans. I get a week off for new years, and I decided to go to Kyoto. I finally got a hotel booked, so the next step was train tickets. I was a little nervous about getting the right kind of tickets for the right day, but I think it worked out. I'm going to bring my tickets to class tomorrow and have my teacher reassure me.

Last week, I asked the guy who would know what the thing to do in Utsunomiya on a Saturday night is. He said he was entertaining visitors, but I should go up to the Lion's Head Pub and meet anyone who speaks English. So that's what I did. I figure it would be dead until 10 or so, so I started off at home with dinner, beer, and tequila. Here's a picture I though was funny after an hour or so of that. It's tequila and takos, get it?

I went up to the bar, and it was all guys, but I met some people that I have a feeling I'll be seeing around, so it was an OK night. It started raining while I was walking there, but I managed to give the taxi driver directions.

Today, I rode my bike around for a few hours, looking around town. It's just a lot easier than driving and finding parking here. I stopped at the "Hard Off" second hand shop, just to look around. The DVD section had a couple of shelves of American movies in Japanese. I bought Star Wars. Hopefully, I'll learn some Japanese from it. I'm sure it will come in handy being able to say "That's no moon". The thing that kills me isn't so much the language, it's the voices. C-3PO and Darth Vadar just don't sound right. And they keep saying "Lu-ku" when they mean Luke.

Bonen-kai (SONNA-NO KANKEI-NE!!!!)

Friday was the department bonen-kai, end-of-year party. I didn't really know what to expect. It was at a really fancy hotel, but I also know how every party I've been to here has been, so I wasn't sure how to play it. Nothing prepared me for this.

I got there right on time and was told to take the elevator to the "Grand Ballroom" on the top floor. I saw a few people I know on the way in, so I could tell that I was dressed right. Or so I thought until I got off the elevator and saw 4 guys at the check in table wearing superhero costumes, most of them the younger guys, but one was sort of a big dog, so I was more confused than I normally am in Japan.

I went in and sat down with a guy I know and, of course, they started pouring me beers. My boss came over to pour me a drink, and he was already pretty hammered. Then, according to Japanese tradition, I tried to pour him one. First, thought, to be culturally correct, I was told that I had to finish mine. OK, no problem there. Then, according to the ritual, my boss gave me his beer to finish before I could refill his. It was shaping up to be a rough night.

The guy I was sitting with (Sato-san) explained that all the new guys hired this year had to put on a show. He kindly gave me a warning that this always involves the new guys in speedos. This was also the only party I've been to that included the secretaries, so they got to size up the new guys, too.

Earlier in the week was some things I could say that would make people laugh. Basically punchlines from Japanese comedians, to help me make small talk. First, they taught me "Obei-ka?" with a sweeping hand gesture. It means "are you western?", and I guess you say it if they do something western, and then people laugh. I didn't get a chance to use it, though.

The second thing I learned was "Sonna-no kankei-ne!!" with downward fist pump. It's the catchphrase of a guy named Yoshio Kojima. Means something like "What does it matter?". The didn't, however, mention the standard presentation of this. Which brings me back to the new guys show. They did a whole routine based around "Sonna-no kankei-ne!!!". Here's a video of Kojima, so picture 5 guys doing this. Sorry I couldn't figure out how to embed it.

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2nyza_kojima_fun

After the show, there was a little mingling time, then it was time for BINGO!!! Turns out, I'm not good at bingo. They had good prizes, like a TV and a Wii, and some crappy ones. I didn't win any of them. I got to practice a lot of Japanese, and some guy promised to set up a "meeting girls party". I don't remember the word in Japanese, but it's basically a party where they arrange an even split and hope everyone pairs off nicely. It sounds like that's the normal way here in Japan, since all the bars are hostess bars.

When the party wrapped up, my well-lubricated boss grabbed me and said we should go to a bar, and he recommended going to one that doesn't have hostesses. I accepted gladly, and we went to a place that was sort of English-pub-style bar, with live jazz. They go by the bottle keep system (you buy a bottle and leave it there, and whenever you come in, you drink from it). We mostly went with individual drinks, though. I asked (in perfect Japanese) if they had tequila, and then what kind it was. With one other guy, I had my first shot of tequila in Japan (Sauza blanco, but I can't be picky). The other guys liked the ritual involved and wanted to join in, so they immediately ordered more shots. They didn't get the idea of waiting between drinks. Before I knew it, we were 5 shots in and not slowing down. No, you can't get the tequila on the bottle keep system. I had to pay 4000 yen for the big party, but for some reason I didn't pay anything at the bar, even though I was ordering all the drinks. I hope it keeps up like this.

I stopped at the 7-11 on the way home and bought a sandwich, since I hadn't really eaten anything, and went home and went to sleep.

EARTHQUAKE!!!

Breaking News....I was about 75% asleep, and a pretty big earthquake just hit of the coast of Japan, about 100 miles away. It was 6.2 on the Richter scale, pretty darn big. That's a 4 on the Japan scale. From what I can figure out, that felt like a 2 here in Utsunomiya. I could hear it, which I didn't expect. Just a low, groaning noise. Messes with a half awake mind. I have a feeling if I was standing or sitting or doing anything but trying to fall asleep, I might not have felt it at all. As it is, I had to check with the authorities before I posted this, in case I dreamed it.

From the USGS: http://earthquake.usgs.gov/eqcenter/recenteqsww/Quakes/quakes_big.php

And from Japan's equivalent: http://www.jma.go.jp/en/quake/

I'm going to try to go back to sleep, but I can't stop thinking about what I'm supposed to do if a bigger one hits. I'm on the 5th floor. I guess if I hear screaming I'll run towards it, assuming it's people who are trying to get my attention.

Anyway, everything's fine here, nothing fell down, I still have all my plates and liquor on the high shelf is still in it's bottles.

Home Sweet Home

I know you've all been dying to see what my apartment looks like with stuff in it. It took me this long to get all the stuff I need and take some pictures. They aren't all great pictures, but they work. First, the view. When you look straight down from my East windows, you see this nice little dirt park. They don't seem to want to spend time caring for grass, so the parks are mostly this kitty litter dirt. Still, it's nice. There's a public restroom in the park, but they don't have the same reputation here. If you look up from the park, you see this weird European churchy-looking building. I didn't know what it was for a while, and if I had it may have influenced my apartment choice. It's some sort of giant wedding chapel. I'm thinking of trying to crash some of the parties. I think I'll blend in.

My apartment is what they call a 1LDK. That's one bedroom, and another room that covers living room, dining room, and kitchen. Here's some pics of the LDK. Yeah, that's grandma's afghan and a family picture.

The LDK has sliding doors that open it up into the bedroom. Makes for one big room, but since there's no central heating or insulation, you keep doors closed and only heat the room you're in. I didn't make the bed, sorry, but I did pick out the curtain. There's no carpet, so it automatically matches the curtains. Also, I forget which day is cardboard garbage day, so there's still a bunch of boxes in there.

I've also got a walk-in closet that's bigger than I expected my apartment to be. Notice the convenient poles. They only go up about 6 feet, but girls are short here.

Besides the entry and the shoe closet, there's 2 more rooms. One is the combination laundry room, bath/shower room. The shower head doesn't actually go in the tub, you just stand in the middle of the room and wash up. The tub fills itself up automatically, if you know how to set it. I don't, and don't know when I would learn.

The shower is off the laundry room, where they have one 100v/50hz ungrounded outlet for the washer and dryer. Seems safe. Takes forever to dry clothes, but everyone hangs their stuff out.Finally, there's the room I affectionately call the shitbox. It's just a little room with a toilet. The toilet does everything you think it would. I'll get into that another day.

Otherwise, things are going good. I finally got my car and I'm happily zipping around town. It's not really fun to drive, but I laugh every time I walk up to it. Partly because I walk up to the wrong door, but mostly because it's ridiculously small.

This past weekend, some of the guys at work invited me to a "Bowling Convention". I don't know what word he was looking for, but convention wasn't it. I told them I wasn't any good (the truth) and then went out and won the first game by 20 pins. Must have something to do with not having a beer in the other hand. I got back to my normal skill level after that. Also did a lot of shopping. Anything in these pictures that could be called a shelf, I bought on Friday. I think the people at the store must have laughed their asses off after I left. They played charades with me for 40 minutes until I got everything I wanted, and the were really good sports about it.

Pics from the Tokyo Motor Show

Two weekends ago, I went to Tokyo for the big Tokyo Motor Show. The place was packed. We couldn't even get close the the crazy concept cars. The first thing I saw when we walked in was a brand-new, 2008 1980 Honda 750. They still had all the old dies and things, and people still want them, so they started making them again.

We kept moving and saw all the crazy cars and bikes and scooters, and I took pictures of them.

There was a crazy crowd in front of every booth, and I think 2 people looking at every car. There was a huge paparazzi frenzy in front of every girl. I couldn't help getting caught up in it. Finally, after taking all those pictures for Adrian, I stopped and took a picture for Dad at the Dodge booth.

Back in the Blogosphere

After a week or so of no internet, I finally got it hooked in my apartment. I know you missed me.

I'm pretty well settled in at my apartment. I thought I'd tell you about it, take pictures and stuff, but I realized I may run out of things to say, so I'l do it one step at a time and take longer. So I'll just describe where it is. I'm about 0.8 km South of the train station on the East side, as if that means anything to you. I guess the important stuff is I'm about 12 minutes walking to the station, about 4 minutes from 2 supermarkets (in Japanese, it's called a "suu-paa-). About 4 minutes from the hyaku-en-shoppu (100 yen shop). It's amazing how important the dollar store is here. That's where you buy just about everything. The quality seems better, and 100 yen is only 85 cents. They must save on shipping from China. Guess where I'm doing my Christmas shopping?

Last weekend, I had 2 nomikai (drinking party) to go to. I was introduced to the term nomihoudai (all-you-can-drink) and tabehoudai (lots of food). They set a time limit, usually 2 hours, and keep bringing the beer/sake/shochu and about 8 courses of dinner. My plans on getting skinny in Japan are taking a hit.

Friday was with my group at work at a chunko-nabe restaurant. That's sumo weight gain stew, and it's really good. If you retire from sumo and don't go into coaching, you open one of these joints. They fed me more than I could eat (including a big prawn that you have to clean yourself) and as much as I wanted to drink, which I kept in check knowing I had to do it again the next day. I didn't eat this that night, but a few weeks ago I ate the other one that was in the bowl before I took the picture. Mmmm, raw baby squid. Looks bigger in the picture than it actually was.

Saturday night was a going away party for one of the OAPs who's going back. I suppose I should define my terms better. OAP is Honda-speak for "Overseas Assignment Program". Anyway, he's a little older and had 2 kids, but still wanted to go to Roppongi for the night. That's the foreigner (and girls looking for foreigners) packed bar/nightclub area of Tokyo. One of the guys arranged the tabehoudai/nomihoudai at T.G.I. Friday's, which nobody thought existed. Best damn potato skins I ever tasted. Beer flowed freely. There were only 4 of us there, and we estimated (since we couldn't count) about 8-10 pitchers. I learned the phrase "itsu-mo futatsu kudasai", which means "always 2, please", and there were always 2 pitchers on the table. It was a hard night of drinking (in western style bars for a change), some dancing, and learning my way around. We dropped the older guys one by one (there were 2 of them) until me and the other younger guy called it a night around 3. Went to a conveniently located hotel that gave a discount to Honda employees and passed out until we rushed to catch the 10 AM shinkansen back for a OSU-Mich party.

Oh, and I bought some curtains.