In celebration of Greg's new Captain position, his Japanese and American cohorts meet for a party. (It is customary for the Japanese men to go out drinking together after work or to celebrate work milestones.) Along with the male compatriots, we are joined by Sarah, a young American woman that helps to translate and manage the ANK office. We are also joined by our daughters, Adrienne and Reagan, who are visiting us in Tokyo. In their words - and they should know a good party because they are such devoted college students - "That was the BEST party we have EVER been to..." (PS: Sarah took Adrienne and Reagan out to experience "Roppongi," the Tokyo nightlife the night before).
Here is the set up....We take a number of trains to get to who knows where in Tokyo and end up in a maze of little narrow streets. We then proceed to drink hot Sake and beer while we wait inside a tiny restaurant with about 4 tables and no one that speaks English. Keep in mind that I am with "the super-models." Adrienne and Reagan, as you know, are quite tall and blond and stand out wherever we are.... Greg eventually shows up with Seto, from ANK, and we follow them to a door that looks rather non-descript. We go inside and up a steep stairway. It feels like we have stepped into a Shogun movie. The decor is very beautiful ... rough, simple, natural stone and smooth wood. Of course we take our shoes off. We are escorted into a private room with a big rectangular hole in the floor and sliding doors. The table is set down into this hole and we are seated around it on cushions. Then the eating and drinking begins...
We soon find out why the restaurant is called "The Good Chicken." We eat every part of the chicken except the feathers, beak, and the feet for dinner. Two especially interesting chicken parts are the cartilage and the skin. In the US (when you buy a chicken breast with the bone in) it often has the rubbery, pointed cartilage still attached. In Japan, this part of the chicken is considered to be very tasty and good for the skin. It is sliced up into pieces and put on a skewer with bits of chicken in between ... very crunchy. Then there is the chicken skin which is brought out to us in a large, thin sheet. You hit the center of it with your chopsticks and it breaks into pieces that look a lot like tortilla chips ... also very crunchy. I am trying to figure out how all these Japanese people stay so skinny. There is NO low fat food here and lots of fried food. All meat is served with skin and fat ... and they eat the skin and the fat. There is no such thing as a boneless, skinless chicken breast in any restaurant or in any grocery store. The meal goes on forever with lots of courses and lots of alcohol.
About half-way through the meal we notice that the waiters always know when to bring in the next course. There is a big "game-show" sized button in the middle of the table that we can press whenever we need more alcohol but we have not had to press it yet. Then our Japanese hosts point out the fact that there is a hidden camera up in the corner of the room. We all begin to make faces and gestures at the camera and, sure enough, a waiter shows up immediately.
By now, we have imbibed enough Sake to loosen the tongue. This is also part of the typical Japanese celebration...the emotional speeches. Every person gives a speech -including Adrienne, Reagan, and I. At this point, "Bobby" calls. He is working and unable to attend the festivities. Adrienne, Reagan, and I are all asked to speak to "Bobby." Poor "Bobby." There is nothing worse than talking on the phone to a bunch of inebriated people that think they are funny. Then everyone uses their cell phones to take pictures of everyone and we use our digital cameras.
Ishi decides to tell my fortune - to see whether I will have a happy life. I hold my hands out and he puts charcoal on the top of my hands. If the charcoal goes through to the palm of my hand, I will be happy. Somehow the charcoal ends up in the palm of my hand and we all sigh with relief...I will be happy. Then Ishi does chopstick tricks for all of us.
At this point, Greg leaves to try to pay the bill before the Japanese can get to it. He wants to give it as a thank you gift for the support and encouragement they have given him during his transition to Japan. They, on the other hand, are very stressed about this and a cultural argument ensues. From their point of view, it is insulting for Greg to pay. Sarah negotiates a compromise - and when Greg finally accepts cash from them, everyone yells "Roppongi!" intimating that we now have enough cash for another wild night on the town... but really, there is nothing that can top the evening we have just had at "The Good Chicken."
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