Japtastic national holiday

Japan is ace! This weekend I made it out to Shibuya and Roppongi Hills in central Tokyo and my horizons were broadened in terms of finding decent friends. 95% of the people in Shibuya look amazing. The rest are fat Americans wearing baseball caps and ill-fitting shorts with matching bum-bags.

I went out with Steven and Karen Saturday and met up with some of Steven`s friends. We went to an izukaya in Shibuya which told us it was kicking out at midnight. At 12.03 we were shuffling out of our slippers and into our outdoor shoes, heading to Roppongi for some more excitement. We went to a bar that played hip hop and was packed with sturdy Americans dancing badly and natives trying to catch the eye of female gaijin. I felt like Miss Wickhambrook in there.

We then went to a club, although I had carelessly forgotten to take my passport out with me, so without ID we got refused. The boys I was with were kind enough to pretend it was a dress code issue, but once drunk, let slip that it was entirely my fault. Inside we bumped into some of the better Shane teachers; Sarah and Pamela and met more gaijin-crazy Japs. I also met an ex-Shane teacher who was sacked for persistent lateness and now works for the Japan Times. Apparently, they will employ anybody, so I am to give him a call once I am more settled and have the energy to pitch ideas (not yet - my head is racing, so I`ve had a total of seven minutes sleep since I`ve arrived - I expect to pass out in class some time this week).

Sunday Rachel came to visit. As her sports day interfered with our plans, I just took her to the local English pub to meet the wonky freaks I work with. Sadly, due to a Shane event, most of the teachers out were all very `genki` and she ended up being jealous of my colleagues. Fortunately, the sex offender was on hand to demonstrate the worst element of my job. Rachel tried to rescue a young Japanese woman from his grasp, but she stupidly ran straight back to him, before her mate finally got her out of the door. We stayed too late drinking with George the landlord (he`s commissioned a portrait of himself in royal garb and full ermin to match the pub`s moniker: the King George) and singing the Smiths. I harassed a Nova teacher and his far-too attractive girlfriend couldn`t stop hugging me and Rachel for being mouthy to boys.

This weekend was a small national holiday, so I got Monday off and we went to Asakusa to get some temples and history and make amends for spending the previous evening in the ex-pats pub. We saw possibly the best-looking man in Japan on the train and squealed about whether he was famous as he ought to be. We then realised, as he and his girlfriend laughed as they got off the train, that they understood English.

Two minutes out of the station we walked into a packed bazaar and had to contend with bouncing off badly dressed tourists (Japan is such an uncool destination!) and quickly ducked out onto an open street. I misread a map (north and south are the wrong way round here so everything is, to me, upside-down) and took us on a tour of the business district before we found the temples 20 paces from where we`d left the bazaar. It was twilight and far less busy, so much more enjoyable as a result. We got massively over-excited at seeing three `good-looking` gaijin in close capacity before heading to an izukaya and having to point at the plastic food in the window to order. Waiting on the train platform to head home, seeing the high-rises cutting into the crepuscular sky made it dawn on us how surreal being there together was. Then we ate crisps and chocolate and pointed at sleeping salarymen on the train.

Now sat in the internet cafe before work. Just seen a salaryman heading for a private booth. It`s all very dodgy. This particular one is in the seedy area of Omiya - there are lots of hostess bars (which I, somewhat naively, thought were strip clubs) and love hotels. You can pay about GBP15 to spend a few hours with your beloved before they have to head off to their parents` house. Rooms even offer games consoles apparently...