Monday, August 14, 2006
Day 2 (June 19, 2006)
Part 2
I stumbled out of bed to the sounds of a wake-up call. 6pm already? I took a hot shower while wondering about where we were going to be brought for our dinner. Another bus brought us back into Roppongi, where we were told our restaurant would be. Stepping out of the bus, we were greeted by the sight of what looked like a very traditional Japanese inn. A very LARGE Japanese inn. The restaurant was called Gonpachi, and it was housed in a recreated kura, which was basically a traditional Japanese warehouse. We were told that it had served the likes of people like Bill Clinton and Quentin Tarantino. Walking in, I heard someone mention that this restaurant is where Quentin Tarantino got his inspiration for the design of the restaurant in Kill Bill Vol. 1! We had an 8-course meal, which was peppered with sake tasting, and the freshest, crispest beer I've had in a long time: Heartland Beer (and yes, the jokes about it coming "fresh from the fields of Hougang" have been done to death already).
Damn was I buzzed. But wait, the evening wasn't over yet? What else was in store for us? KARAOKE? Well, it is a Japanese institution, so I wasn't entirely surprised. We were being brought to this place called Lovenet, which was apparently one of the more upscale Karaoke clubs in Tokyo. It has 34 uniquely designed private suites, each different and designed with a famous world resort in mind. We were going to be in the "Monaco Suite". Don't you just love the sound of that? :)
This suite was big. I'm telling you that it housed all 30 of us quite comfortably, with quite a lot of room left to spare. And what's this? More food? Ugh, I couldn't. But wait, there on the side in pitchers big enough to put my head into? Asahi Beer baby! Yet another trustworthy Japanese institution :) So, we're in a Karaoke room, with a free flow of beer. You guys can pretty much guess what kind of stuff would happen with a combination like that :)
This was wrapped up at around 11-ish pm, with abundant embarrassment, and plenty of photo evidence :) I heard one of the other groups shouting about a party in one of their rooms, but Denise and I were interested in hanging out with Kiran, and meeting her Japanese boyfriend Kosuke. We had another beer in a quaint (albeit cramped) bar in... Jesus, I had no idea where we were at that point of time. After a couple of beers there though, we decided to head back to the hotel to drink some more. We made a stop at a 7-11 near our hotel to pick up some alcohol and snacks. That's when I realised that I had to pee badly. Almost as if someone had heard me in my time of need, I saw in the corner of the 7-11 a door. A door to a TOILET! That's right boys and girls; they have toilets in 7-11s there! And just as immaculately clean and high-tech as the other ones we had seen everywhere else in Tokyo. I couldn't have been any happier :) It would have made for a good story to have peed in my pants in Tokyo though...
The rest of the night was simple. A few more drinks, some more chatter, and Denise and I dragged ourselves back to our room, where the afternoon's nap routine was followed. Stumble, bed, and unconsciousness...
Coming soon, Day 3! Be patient my lovelies! :)
Part 2
I stumbled out of bed to the sounds of a wake-up call. 6pm already? I took a hot shower while wondering about where we were going to be brought for our dinner. Another bus brought us back into Roppongi, where we were told our restaurant would be. Stepping out of the bus, we were greeted by the sight of what looked like a very traditional Japanese inn. A very LARGE Japanese inn. The restaurant was called Gonpachi, and it was housed in a recreated kura, which was basically a traditional Japanese warehouse. We were told that it had served the likes of people like Bill Clinton and Quentin Tarantino. Walking in, I heard someone mention that this restaurant is where Quentin Tarantino got his inspiration for the design of the restaurant in Kill Bill Vol. 1! We had an 8-course meal, which was peppered with sake tasting, and the freshest, crispest beer I've had in a long time: Heartland Beer (and yes, the jokes about it coming "fresh from the fields of Hougang" have been done to death already).
Damn was I buzzed. But wait, the evening wasn't over yet? What else was in store for us? KARAOKE? Well, it is a Japanese institution, so I wasn't entirely surprised. We were being brought to this place called Lovenet, which was apparently one of the more upscale Karaoke clubs in Tokyo. It has 34 uniquely designed private suites, each different and designed with a famous world resort in mind. We were going to be in the "Monaco Suite". Don't you just love the sound of that? :)
This suite was big. I'm telling you that it housed all 30 of us quite comfortably, with quite a lot of room left to spare. And what's this? More food? Ugh, I couldn't. But wait, there on the side in pitchers big enough to put my head into? Asahi Beer baby! Yet another trustworthy Japanese institution :) So, we're in a Karaoke room, with a free flow of beer. You guys can pretty much guess what kind of stuff would happen with a combination like that :)
This was wrapped up at around 11-ish pm, with abundant embarrassment, and plenty of photo evidence :) I heard one of the other groups shouting about a party in one of their rooms, but Denise and I were interested in hanging out with Kiran, and meeting her Japanese boyfriend Kosuke. We had another beer in a quaint (albeit cramped) bar in... Jesus, I had no idea where we were at that point of time. After a couple of beers there though, we decided to head back to the hotel to drink some more. We made a stop at a 7-11 near our hotel to pick up some alcohol and snacks. That's when I realised that I had to pee badly. Almost as if someone had heard me in my time of need, I saw in the corner of the 7-11 a door. A door to a TOILET! That's right boys and girls; they have toilets in 7-11s there! And just as immaculately clean and high-tech as the other ones we had seen everywhere else in Tokyo. I couldn't have been any happier :) It would have made for a good story to have peed in my pants in Tokyo though...
The rest of the night was simple. A few more drinks, some more chatter, and Denise and I dragged ourselves back to our room, where the afternoon's nap routine was followed. Stumble, bed, and unconsciousness...
Coming soon, Day 3! Be patient my lovelies! :)
