Monday, June 23, 2008

Saturday Night Sushi

It was a boring weekend for the most part, with the exception of Saturday night. I had to work all day Saturday for parent's day but after work I decided to go to a sushi restaurant near my train station.

I read somewhere online that being a foreigner in Japan is like being a C-List celebrity and that's probably true. Before I even took a seat at the bar to order, people are already trying to talk to me. When I first arrived, there was a middle-aged couple to my left and an older woman at the far end of the bar who I had talked to last time I ate there about 2 months ago.

For some decent sushi I paid about $6, one beer was $6, and a decent size bottle of sake (Nihon-Shu) was $7. After about an hour and half or so I was ready to leave until the older woman wanted to buy me drinks so, since I don't have much money these days, of course I obliged.

Image

People came and went as the old woman and I put down a bottle of Shou-Chu. It was the first time I had ever had it. It was hard liquor, but instead of shooting it you mix it with water and ice and perhaps a lemon. It was pretty good but I don't really plan on drinking it again anytime soon.

There were tons of characters that came in throughout the night like a guitar player, a really old lady who tried to correct my kanji, a young couple who wanted to take me to Costco, and another guy who was worried that his daughter was going to marry a foreigner or something. Many cell phones numbers were exchanged and many a story told. The sushi chefs were all about 20-30 something years old and would join in the conversation for awhile too if it was interesting.

I spent yesterday and today just watching movies and David Letterman that I downloaded. Friday I'm going to Shinjuku after another teacher's meeting and then I'm playing a show in Shibuya on Sunday night.

I got some weird notice in the mail from the electric company, all in Japanese of course, and I have to figure out what the hell it says. I hope my electricity isn't going to get cut off.


No comments: