Tuesday 8 January 2008

It's too loud, I'm too old

This new years eve I went clubbing in Shinjuku.
It's been a long time since I've been clubbing. It's something I really enjoy, although most people wouldn't expect that from me. I'm not cool enough I guess.
So my friend Peter and I arrived at Shinjuku station at about 9pm, after having drunk several cans of chu-hai (girly sugary booze drinks) on the train. We were to meet two of his friends at the station but of course they were late, 'cause women are always late.
Their names were Emi and Guri (not her real name, her real name is Midori, which means green, so she got the nickname Guri, which is short for Gureen, which is how Japanese people pronounce the colour.) Anyway, immediately I got the cold shoulder from Guri, and Peter stuck to Emi as they knew each other already.
So we get to the club, pay the 4000yen entry fee (ouch) take off our warm winter jackets, and put them into the lockers with my glasses. One drink in and a few songs later, Guri says I look much cooler without my glasses.
I think that's only half the story though. I'll let you in on a little secret. I can dance. Techno-raver dancing, not proper ballroom/salsa dancing like my brother can. It's obvious who'll be getting more in their thirties.
So yeah, I think my dancing (and the dim lighting, and the booze) made me a tad more attractive and we danced and talked together. About three hours later and I'm pretty drunk. The club has filled up, the new years countdown is over, and I fight my way past at least ten Japanese people wearing sunglasses to get to the toilet. Why people wear sunglasses at night, let alone in a dim club lit only by green neon and the occasional flash of strobe, I'll never know, but it's a goddamn epidemic in Japan. Next time I see someone wearing sunglasses in a club, I'm gonna stab 'em in the face. They won't even see it coming.
I get to the toilet, and being too stingy to pay 600yen for water, I have drink from the sink's tap. About halfway through I look down at the hand that I'm drinking off of, and see a spattering of cigarette ash everywhere except for the path the water has made to my mouth. I don't even care, and don't stop drinking.
Anyway, a few more drinks and some more dancing later, it's 4:30am and I decide to leave the club. I get Guri's mobile phone email address, and walk through the cold winter air to get the train home.
To be honest, I don't think anything will happen between Guri and me, if only because of the fact that she can't speak any english. It's ok to shout at each other and have half a conversation at a club, but outside that I fear the communication barrier will be insurmountable, and unfortunately so will Guri.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Nice work. I'm gureen with envy (ba doom doom tish).

If you can understand her in a club then you can understand her anywhere. Just think of it as an opportunity to practise your Japanese.

P.S. Get ready for a tecnho-raver dance off when I get down there in august.

franzy said...

"They won't even see it coming."

Give 'em one for me!