Party Season

Now that “Party Season” is over (or nearly over), I thought I would post this to give everyone a little window into one aspect of living here in Nishiokoppe. In the past, I’ve talked a bit about various parties and what they are like. Since I was so stunned by “Party Season”, I decided to explain a bit more in detail.

In Japan, it is customary for people to be moved from job to job. I don’t know if it’s the same in the business world, but for teachers and some government jobs, it is the usual course of business. For example, after seven years in the Retirement and Benefits Division of the Nishiokoppe Village offices, my friend Fusae was moved to the Cashier’s section. The result is that in April, many things change. Often there are many new people that need to be welcomed and others that need a “farewell party”. Therein lies the heart of “Party Season”. Because of my position in the village, I am invited to more than usual. Here are the ones I was invited to, and their cost (just to give perspective)

March 13: lunch party for graduating middle school students, their parents, and teachers; 1300 yen.
March 13: Dinner party for the above, minus the kids; 3500 yen (I didn’t go to this one)
March 24: Middle school “farewell” party; 7000 yen
March 27: Pre-school parent (i.e. mother) “farewell” and graduation party: 4000 yen (I tried to skip this, but couldn’t – it was Ridge’ s teacher who was retiring.
March 30: PTA party for middle school and elementary school teachers and PTA members (“good-bye” party); 3500 yen for first party, 2000 yen for second party
April 3: Yakuba “welcome” and “farewell” party; 2000 yen
April 4: Middle School teacher “welcome” party: 4000 yen
April 12: Board of Education “welcome” party for new teachers: free (thank goodness!)
April 14: PTA party for middle and elementary school teachers, and parents (“welcome” party): 3500 yen for first party, 2000 yen for second party
There’s also bound to be a “welcome” party for the pre-school parents, but it hasn’t been scheduled yet. I’m trying very hard to convice Aaron to go to that one!

Yen spent: 29,300 yen
Dollar equivalent: I don’t want to think about it.

The parties usually go one of three ways:
Big parties are in the larger meeting room at the hotel. People make speeches, say hello or goodbye, every one toasts, and then we eat. The women usually cluster together as much as possible and drink as little as possible. The men get drunk and smoke a lot. After either one and a half hours or two hours, depending, someone stands and announces the party if finished. We stand, clap once in a very ceremonial manner, and then adjourn to Second Party.

Smaller parties at the hotel are in the Japanese Room (“washitsu”) and we sit on cushions on tatami floors. Speeches are made, a toast is made (or two or three), and then everyone eats. Because we are all on the floor, people tend to move around a bit after the first half hour or so. Some Junior High School Parties are held in the washitsu located on the second floor of the school. It took a little time for me to become accustomed to the idea of people drinking and smoking on school grounds, but it saves money on renting space and paying for hotel food (though, usually, large patters of food are ordered from the hotel on these occasions).

The pre-school mother parties are similar to the Jr. High School parties, somewhat. The first one was in one of the cabins available in the center of town, usually used by tourists or campers. The second one was in the hotel’s washitsu; they even drug a portable karaoke machine into the room for us, since the bar was already booked.

In all three types of parties, it’s common for people to speak, make a toast, and then everyone eats and drinks. Often there is a game, as well. Sometimes it’s as simple as bingo, other times the games are more elaborate. In this one, the point was to NOT do what the sign on your head says. (Click here for picture) The others tried to trick people into doing what they are not supposed to do. I played a round where some of the words were English, and successfully got someone else to say, “No”. Frequently, prizes are awarded. If that is the case, it is usually done in such a way as to insure that everyone present leaves with something. Mostly its things like ramen or other goofy things from the 100-yen store.

Also, there will inevitably come a time when someone (always a sober person) will stand and announce that “time’s up”. At first it seemed strange to me, but now I can appreciate it as an easy way to leave a party and go home. As I mentioned before, most parties at the hotel then adjourn to “second party”.

What in the world is “second party,” you ask? Well, it’s definitely a Japanese phenomenon. After the main dinner, many people declare themselves finished and leave. Those who wish to continue the fun, adjourn to the bar for drinking and singing. Here’s how it works.

First, and this is important, if you are smart you’ll hang around the main dining room a little extra long to see if you can snag any leftovers. The servers always include plastic boxes and bags for just such thing and there is no shame in scavenging the room to pick out choice bits of uneaten food. Afterwards, you mosey on over to the hotel bar. The bar is small and usually arranged with long tables and couches. Unless the price of second party was included in the initial cost of the party, you then fork over anywhere between 1200 yen and 2000. This entitles you to drink as much as you want for the duration of the party. Parties can last 2 to 4 hours depending on the occasion. The main alcoholic beverages are: draft beer (one kind), shochu (a Japanese liquor), occasionally sake, and an occasional “Purple Fizz” (I don’t know what it is, only that it tastes like grape soda). I think that the bar also stocks one kind of gin, whiskey, and scotch, but I’m not sure. Most people stick to beer or shochu. The shochu is mixed with ice water, and some people like a little lemon juice. The “bartender” (she mainly cleans up after people) will refill your beer if you bring it to the bar. The Japanese have a great custom of keeping their neighbors glass filled; though it also means you have to really watch how much you are drinking. People don’t pour out for themselves, mostly just everyone else.

So, everyone announces if they are having shochu or beer (or tea – green and oolong are available) and drinks are made. The shochu is left on the table along with ice and water, so the “bartender” mainly just deals with beer. I should mention that even if you are only drinking tea because you happen to be one of the drivers, you still pay the price for the party. Snack trays are set out. They usually consist of edamame, various bits of dried seafood (I’ve developed a taste for dried scallop gills – go figure), a chocolate candy of some kind, and chips of some kind. I have never seen peanuts. Anyway, folks settle in, someone makes a toast, and everyone chats for a while. You can be sure, though, that within twenty minutes someone will begin passing out the machine for making your song selections. The singing usually continues until someone closes the party. Yes, I’ve sung – I’d have to be a party pooper to say no. I’m careful, though, and usually pick songs that are a little popular in Japan. So far, the songs I most commonly pick are YMCA and Hotel California (an Eagles song). I’ve recently branched out into Yellow Submarine (they loved it, for some crazy reason), and Livin’ La Vida Loca, by Ricky Martin. Occasionally I get suckered into ABBA or the Carpenters, but I try to avoid them.

So, singing, drinking, and being silly are what it’s all about. If you get up for some reason, plan on losing your seat. It’s all part of the game. People move over and when you return, your drink is somewhere else. It’s quite good, actually. This way, different people mingle and talk with each other instead of forming cliques. There’s really a distinct lack of cliques within the different groups. It’s all good fun and I haven’t seen anybody get really stupid, yet. It seems to be true, though, about the Japanese low tolerance for alcohol. One teacher friend of mine inevitably ends up in the lobby, sleeping on a chair until the party is over. When the time is up, everyone either walks home or gets a ride with their appointed driver. The DWI laws here are truly brutal, so everyone is super careful about not touching a drop if they are driving. On rare occasions, there is a third party. I think this is not always the case, though, and two of the three times I have been aware of the third party, it was at someone’s home.

So, that’s what the parties are like. Not at all like what you would find in America, but enjoyable all the same. I can see how these welcome parties really help the new people to bond with the already established teachers. It’s just too bad (for me, especially) that they are so expensive!

On a final note, here are some shots from the junior high school teacher welcome party. People get really silly when a camera pops up!

Me and the new music/art teacher. She was cold. Notice it's required to make the "peace" sign when being photographed

Mr. Issei, singing as usual

Mr. Terada (a very funny science teacher) and the new Japanese teacher, whose name I haven't learned yet. I think she teaches Kanji.

Me and the music/art teacher again, with the Social Studies teacher, Mr. Yamada, next to me. He never drinks.

Mr. Terada, the new vice-principal (Mr. Watanabe) and the P.E. teacher (Mr. Miura)

Ms. Kimura, the home ec. teacher. Next to her is Mr. Kanou, the building caretaker


Ms. Kimura making a song selection