26 February 2011

After my Japanese class and a swim for Emily, I let Nick have a couple of hours off duty to relax and she and I stayed at home for the afternoon. We made a cake, and then she amazed me by doing several 24 piece puzzles pretty much by herself, with only a couple of guiding suggestions from me if she got really stuck.

In the evening I went off to Roppongi for a farewell dinner with Julia (and her friend Rieko) at a restaurant called Ichii. I think they like to keep it a secret for those in the know, as you would never guess such a place was hidden away in the depths of a very non-descript building off the main drag. We had a succession of superbly-crafted dainty morsels, including some sea urchin mixed with yuba (tofu skin). I had many glasses of yuzu umeshu (liqueur made with a type of Japanese citrus akin to lemon) on the rocks.

A couple of other friends came along to join after we'd eaten, and we moved on to the Oak Door, a swanky bar and restaurant in the Hyatt Roppongi. It was full of loud, self-satisfied gaijin business types puffing fat cigars, with attractive women hanging on their every word. I had one cocktail that set me back 1600 yen (about 12 pounds), which was rather good but as always I did not savour it enough and it was gone within 5 minutes, leaving me without a drink for the remaining hour we were there. Two hookers came in, and they were extremely obvious, with nearly non-existent tight skirts, legs up to their armpits and a lot of cleavage on display (very unusual for Japan). We decided that though they were speaking Japanese they were probably Thai or Chinese. Then we realised that one had a deep voice and it was clear she was a transsexual. I was surprised they would be allowed in but suppose they must pay a cut to the staff or just be deemed to be providing a useful service. Or maybe they were just genuine customers with a taste for the lady of the night look! I was flagging badly and not enjoying myself as I felt very uncomfortable in such exclusive surroundings. Julia was also more than ready to call it a night, so at midnight we made our way home.



Fianlly home just after midnight. Can't hack it these days.