After a tiring day of classes yesterday I met up with two of my students and someone new to go grab some sushi for dinner. It turned out that we did in fact go to the sushi place I occasionally visit for lunch. The owners recognized my students and then saw me and their eyes lit up. The wife of the sushi master came out and took our drink order, and dropped in now and then to join the conversation. She could have been my mother the way she told the other members of my culinary adventures in their shop – detailing my favorite dishes and listing my sushi credentials. My dinner companions were suitably impressed, and nobody commented on my chopstick skills. At the end of the dinner the sushi chef even sent over a plate of my favorite sushi rolls (shisomaki) on the house.
After dinner one of my students wanted to head to Sannomiya for another stop, which turned out to be down a slightly shady road in the heart of downtown. The place was run by an older couple, and they both worked hard to entertain us and keep the drinks flowing. We had a deep expense account with us last night, and like any good shopkeeper they sensed that and made us very comfortable. The karaoke came out, and again I was called on to sing in English. Last night’s selection – “Honesty” by Billy Joel, “I Left My Heart in San Francisco”, and “My Way” by Frank. I am still finding it hard to like karaoke, but as one of my students said, sometimes you just have to do it.
This was another opportunity to see the hidden part of Japanese business, and see how important these kinds of restaurants are to the social system in Japan. There are thousands of these kinds of places hidden away throughout Kobe, and getting to see how they operate firsthand is always interesting.
We wrapped up the party around 10:30, and I got home around 11:30 – so it wasn’t too late a night. Today I have no special plans after work, but I am looking forward to meeting Kuniko at the airport tomorrow.
