Cocktail Party

Nick and I.....towards the end of the night

Drinking is one of Japan's favorite pastimes and although it may seem like we partake in this tradition quite often...that is not the case. This is actually only about our 4th time out for drinks.
On Sunday night we had a formal cocktail party at a bar across the street from our apartment building. Two of our co-workers, Brendan and Trevor, organized the event and everyone pitched in to buy the alcohol. This bar is normally an Australian wine bar, owned by a Japanese woman who lived in Australia for 7 years. The bar is closed on Sundays but she was nice enough to 'donate' the space to accomodate all of us.

From left: Mike, two Japanese women we don't know, Nick, Me, Miki, Junko, Heather, Motomi, Trevor and Brendan

We had a chance to socialize with the Japanese staff outside the office. This is a rare event because they work so much more than we do. I even got to teach Motomi a few Salsa steps. There seemed to be sort of a 'Cuban/Latin' theme to the party with the bartenders' outfits, the Cuban music in the background and the drinks (Frozen Margaritas and Pina Coladas). Miki, Junko, Motomi and I were talking about dances and how Japan doesn't really have any types of dances. Motomi said she wanted to learn how to play Salsa so I offered to show her the basic steps. She picked up the steps pretty quickly but found moving her hips a bit difficult. Later that night we were joined by a Japanese woman who will be teaching "Beginner Salsa" starting in April. We are looking forward to the lessons.


Satomi and Izumi (owner of the wine bar)

Two interesting facts about drinking in Japan:
1) There is no government regulated 'last call' therefore bars are allowed to serve alcohol as late as they wish.
2) There is no open container law, so you can walk around with a beer wherever you want. It's common to see business men on the train-ride home with a cold beer in hand.