After 8

Yesterday was miserable... It was freezing cold, pouring down rain and for a while I felt like I was in a bad James Blunt video clip. As a result, my plans to explore Daimon (the old exchange boys' hunting ground) were not looking good. This alll changed once night fell...

The rain had stopped and it was still cold, but Duck and I made our first moves towards what we call "the kitchen". With prices ranging from about 400 yen to about 900 yen ($6-$13), "the kitchen" is a family run business located in the backstreets of our local area, Yoyogi. There's about three available tables and a little TV to watch. The food is good and it fills the spot. From there, we caught the JR line north to Shinjuku station where we got off and walked to where the party's at, in Kabukicho.

Our first stop was a place called 'The Hub'. It's a charming little downstairs British pub which, unlike most British Pubs in Tokyo, actually has Japanese eating and drinking in it. The Japanese staff made us feel very welcome as we pulled up a couple of stools and ordered our first round of drinks. I thought, since I was in a British pub, I may as well sample a couple of different brews which, until yesterday, remained foreign to my palate. Such brews included the Irish stout Guinness, the malty London Pride and the infamous Chimay. Who would've thought that the first time I'd try these beers would be in Japan? Funny how these things turn out.

Mid-way through my Chimay, one of Duck's mates, also a Matt, rocked up for a couple of quite ones and together we admired what we could of the younger girls hidden behind mountains of young Japanese businessmen keen for a knock-off ale.

After we'd finished our drinks at 'the Hub', we snuk into one more place called St. James. The venue was a 'standing bar', and shortly after arrival we noticed the 'standing' part was to it's detriment. A brief look over the shoulder confirmed that the young blokes in suits behind us were quite sauced-up. So, a couple of minutes later, as if on que, one of them fell backwards into the glass bordering the entrance. This was quite tastefully topped off by a dropped glass before we left.

On the way back home, we finished up in a traditional Ramen bar where we enjoyed three bowls of their finest 'tantan-men'. The spicy soup complimented the thinly cut Ramen noodles which topped what was indeed a good night out.