Neil Duckett

Even though Christmas isn’t that widely celebrated by the Japanese the month of December is full of drinking parties and celebrations to see out the end of the year and get ready to bring in the new one. I’ve never attached that much importance to Christmas but having all these year end drinking parties does atleast give me some kind of feeling i used to get back home in the lead up to Christmas, even if the  purpose of them differs somewhat. 

In a busy week full of Bonenkai , a Japanese tradition which means “forget the year gathering”, the local Karaoke bar i often frequent has decided to close it’s doors and re-open in the new year as an Izakaya Restaurant.

Tonight it’s on again as Mama-san closes the doors on Sudo 1, a local Karaoke bar than if nothing else was great Japanese practice for me. Late nights in a bar frequented by typical Japanese Salary Man types is a great way for me to practice my Japanese communication skills and on the odd occasion a spot of Nampa. Actually, last night at my local Sushi bar, as the clock struck 11, it dawned on me i could justify my many hours of drinking each night by calling it “Japanese Conversation Classes”, so from here on in, i will.

The system at Sudo 1 is as basic as it gets, lots of drinking and eating for a set price. This system is widely spread in this sort of bar in Japan. It kinda makes it hard to stop if for a lazy 2 or 3 drinks when you know you need to stay for 7 or 8 to get your money’s worth, so be it, i usually shoot for upwards of 10 so i come out on top, although it makes for a long day playing up on a school night.

I’m not sure of the meaning behind Sudo 1 with regards to the Sudo bit, but the 1 is easy seeing as there’s Sudo part 2, 50 metres down the road, and Sudo part 3 a further 800 or so metres. With both these Karaoke bars in such close proximity and many more at the turn of every corner i’m sure i’ll be able to satisfy my urge to sing badly whenever i want.

“Sudo” すど, was the first Japanese writing i was able to recognise and put my reading skills into practical use, when trying to find the place in a slightly inhebriated state, during my first few weeks in Japan. A little over a year later and many more enjoyable / drunken nights it does hold lots of fond memories. One thing is for sure, there’s never a dull moment in Japan, with guys like these trying to bring  their bike into the bar rather than leave it outside, “Henna Nihonjin” へんな　にほんじん (Crazy Japanese)

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