The Good Times

Being a foreigner here in Japan, I am expected to partake in the celebrations of both Japan and my home country. It is the 18th of March today, but at home, many people will be celebrating St. Patrick’s Day. Accordingly, us foreigners here in Iwaki, gathered together at the Irish Pub in town (yes, there’s one in every town – even in Japan) for our fill of Guinness and Kilkenny. There was also some live music, which included some badass fiddle-playing.

The bar itself, like most bars in Japan, is a small hole in the wall with 2 levels. Needless to say, the place was packed with Japanese people and foreigners crawling over each other for another glass of beer. The music was generally upstairs – except for the fiddle-playing, which was downstairs because last year, there was fear of the ceiling caving in with all of the foot stomping.

The day after our St. Patrick’s Day celebration was “White Day,” which in Japan, is the counterpart to Valentine’s Day. In Japan, only the girls give chocolate to the men on Valentines Day, but in return, it is expected that men give the women something in return on White Day. I mentioned to a teacher that White Day didn’t seem to be mentioned on the calendar at school. She said that it’s because White Day isn’t really a holiday and that that it was probably invented fairly recently by the chocolate companies.

In any event, to celebrate White Day, a bunch of us went for Indian food at Baba’s where he served us his special Chocolate Curry Dinner, which among many things, included his famous Chocolate Curry! And yes, it is as amazingly rich and tasty as it sounds – especially with the chocolate coconut nan bread.

Of course, I had to go for another pint last night with our CIR on the actual St. Patrick’s Day. It just isn’t polite to turn down an Irishman on St. Patrick’s Day.

The photo is of an actual pint of Guinness (I haven't seen many of these since I've been in Japan) taken at the bar where we celebrated the other day – except from several months back. You may not be able to see it very well, but there is a shamrock drawn into the foam on top.