Shiai and Milk - December 10th

I woke up grateful that I decided not to stick around for Karaoke. My wallet and my head thanked me as well. Today, I had two missions: one, to find my way to Meiji University to watch my Karate Circle nakama slug it out in a kumite match, and two, to get pretty and go to the International club coalition party in Ebisu, dubbed "Precious Night." The party is being put together by clubs from schools all over Tokyo, so it's kind of a mishmash of attendees from schools like Todai, Keio, Sophia, ICC, etc. I put on a relatively nice outfit and my sumo socks and made for the door.

I got to the university late, but just in time to watch the last battle between my senpai and Meiji's circle. I got some good photos as I cheered my teammates on, and they won every match. Everyone seemed pleasantly surprised that I showed up, and disappointed that I wouldn't be able to go out drinking with them. I'm really touched at how friendly and open they are with me, and I wholeheartedly promised to make it to the next nomikai.

I jumped back on the train and went to Ebisu, where I met up with Hans, Kaoru, Maho, and a group of other exchange students getting ready to hit the club. The club itself had a sort of twisted, metallic feel to it, as if they hired the set designer from Alien to be the interior designer. There were several small performances set up by the various international clubs, all of which had to be quite embarrassing for everyone involved. There was even a group that got up on stage and taught some para para (Japanese macarena-style dance moves) to the crowd. We stood back and sipped at our drinks. There was a bit of dancing going on, but for the most part, it was kind of a dead scene. We eventually stepped back outside to find a place to eat, and after ten minutes or so of rummaging through bags of coats, we got our jackets and went to hang out at a restaurant. Afterwards, we stopped at a Wendy's for some dessert, and gawked at some of the outrageous outfits some of the other customers were wearing.