A Night Out!

After two weeks, John and I decided to venture out on Saturday night and explore the nightlife in Yokosuka. Nightlife in Yokosuka happens on the streets nearest the base in an area called The Honch. The Honch holds numerous bars, eateries, and small shops. The makeup of the people there are an even combination of Japanese and American Navy personnel along with some foreign tourists.

Bars in The Honch stay open all night, but at 2am, Shore Patrol comes and cleans all the Americans out of the area. Shore Patrol is a kind of police force manned by the various Navy ships stationed in Yokosuka. It's a little out of control because each boat has their own Shore Patrol force. So, when you walk out at night, you see many uniformed people identified by their armbands as Shore Patrol. They frequent the spots where sailors are known to get into trouble. If trouble should breakout (fights or over drinking) they haul the offender directly back to the base and let the system deal with them.

So, our night began when we met one of John's work friends for dinner at a Chinese restaurant in the Honch. I know, Chinese....but it was delicious and you used an electronic bell at your table to signal the waitress you were ready to order. We were the only Americans in the restaurant. John and I ordered gyoza and it was better than any I had tasted in the US.

After that, we headed to get chu-hi's. Chu-hi is the drink of Yokosuka. It's a special type of liquor mixed with any juice you can imagine. They're cheap and delicious. There's two special chu-hi stands in the area. Both have no sitting space inside and patrons are left to mingle on the sidewalk. We went to both of the stands to check them out.

Now is the time to note that drunk in public is NOT a crime in Japan. If an American is drunk in public, then Shore Patrol will deal with you, but for the Japanese, there is no such law. So, we saw many extremely drunk Japanese people stumbling down the sidewalks. Additionally, the Japanese have no open container laws, which means you (by you, I mean the Japanese, because the Americans are still expected to adhere to American law) can have open beverages and walk down the sidewalk. Also, passengers in a car can drink as long as the driver isn't drinking. Weird, I know.

After the chu-hi stands, we walked to a bar that was six stories above the bustling Honch scene. The bar said it was named Rogic (their best guess at the spelling of Logic), but inside it had a different name plastered everywhere. The cover charge was $10 and we got a free drink. We got to watch many Japanese people dance and John played beer pong with a Japanese DJ type person. He spoke no English, but we got along just fine by pointing, laughing, and just generally being friendly. John's Navy friend also introduced us to a girl from Tokyo and we enjoyed talking to her during our stay at the club.

After a few hours, John and I decided it was time to go home. We walked back to the base making a stop by a falafel stand. The owner of the falafel stand in from Pakistan and he was blaring his native music and singing and clapping while he made John's falafel.

Overall, it was a great night. The best time to practice your Japanese is at night with the bartenders. You don't even have to be drinking, but because of the nature of their job, most are very friendly and enjoy helping you work on your Japanese. In addition, your guaranteed to make a few new Japanese friends and they enjoy helping you as well.

Today John and I have done some shopping. We bought a fan for our hotel room because a/c is nowhere near as cold here as it is in the US. Tonight we're going to the base theatre to see whatever they're showing and to enjoy some popcorn and hotdogs!