24/03/2025 - 30/03/2025 Week Two in Japan

Let it be known that Sake is lethal.

It was Monday evening and we (Chloe, Joey, Louise, and I) left ALT training with a pack of demo lesson supplies, worksheets, and instructions to prepare for a twenty minute lesson plan to present the following day. Knowing that the chances of us returning home much before 8pm were slim, we decided to pick up some pizzas on the way back to fuel a night of prepping and practising. On the train back I decided to peruse the Dominos menu and found an exciting addition of 'Pickle Pizza' and, after showing Joey the image, we decided that that would be our pizza of choice. We hastily ignored the fact that the pizza could only be ordered in an XL, agreeing that we both LOVE pickles so much that an XL would be easy work for us.

Collecting the pizza was the first warning sign for me: the pizza was absolutely MASSIVE, easily doubling the size of the other medium ones, but still, our excitement kept growing. Back at the apartment, we cracked open the pizza box, our anticipation piquing, and stared in awe at the Pickle Pizza. It was exactly what it said on the tin: a massive, XL pizza base topped with thick cheese, and genuinely about 100 pickle slices. The pickles were loaded up, flopping over the sides, and sticking to the top of the pizza box. Joey and I shared an apprehensive look but dived straight in, grabbing a huge slice each and taking a massive mouthful. Honestly, it was disgusting. The pickles were flavourless and the cheese was thick, gooey, creamy stuff BUT, with neither Joey or I wanting to admit defeat, we munched our way through the first slice with mumbles of 'mmmm, it's not too bad!' and 'definitely interesting!!!'. However, by the second slice, neither one of us could lie: the pickle pizza had ruined us and even just looking at it caused us to gag.

If you are ever in Japan and decide to order a Dominos, NEVER order the pickle pizza. EVER,

Still recovering from the Pickle Pizza Incident, Chloe, Joey, Louise, and I headed into Chiba city the next day for the final training day and our demo lessons. Nerves were running high, but, we all smashed it and, when leaving the final training session, we got invited out to All You Can Eat and Drink that evening by Omar.

After a quick turn around at home, we hopped on the train to Funabashi, pushing through our tiredness and got ourselves hyped up for a fun night out.

Little did we know what would happen next.

The night started out great, eating delicious food (noodles, fried chicken, salted cucumber) in a typical izakaya, and getting merry on unlimited drinks. However, I then decided that I wanted to try Sake, a traditional Japanese rice wine, usually drunk warm. This is where the night changes. Wanting to make the most of the unlimited drinks in the time limit, we order about 5 bottles of sake and start throwing it back. It was really tasty, very warming and very drinkable, and by the time we left the restaurant, we were all pretty tispy and giggly. In typical Japanese fashion, we then headed into an arcade across the road and started drunkenly trying to win stuff on the claw machines. Chloe, Louise, and I stayed up there while Joey and Omar ventured downstairs to the rhythm machines. After winning a snoopy toy on my first go, Chloe and I decided to explore and watched some Japanese teenagers impressively playing arcade games but ultimately, we realised we were sobering up and ferried the rest of the gang on.

By this time the last train had left, so there was no choice but to commit to an all-nighter.

In Japan there are konbini (convenience stores) on genuinely nearly every corner and they stock everyday essentials, from clothing to stationary to food. They also stock a lot of alcohol. We decided to pop into the local konbini (a FamilyMart) and grab some alcohol and we all left clutching drinks. After stumbling around the streets, we decided we needed to experience a true Japanese night out and headed towards a karaoke bar. I can't lie, from here, it is a blur. What ensued was about 3 hours of singing AWFULLY in a dark, private room while ordering more and more unlimited drinks. We were all smashed at this point and the thing I remember most is just asking to sing Taylor Swift constantly: typical me. I think I butchered my way through a solo and a duet to Love Story with Chloe. When our time ran out, we made our way to the station to wait for the first train back, and it is here that things went rapidly downhill. I will spare you the details but just imagine the four of us plastered on a train back to Mobara as the sun rises and the workers commute begins. It must have been a rough sight to see.

About an hour later, I feel Chloe gently shake me awake and through blurred vision, I hear the dreaded words: 'we are on the wrong train'. In our drunken state, we had gone an hour in the wrong direction, and we had to stumble our way to the right route home. By the time the four of us got home, the sun had fully risen and at about 8am, we flopped into bed.

The next day was probably, no, definitely, 100% the worst hangover I have ever experienced. It was about 5pm before I could even form a coherent thought and it was only the next day that I could even think about the night out. Now, I can look back and laugh. It was a great night out, a typical Japanese drinking experience, BUT let it be known that Japanese alcohol is not for the weak. I think it might be a while before I drink sake again.

The rest of the week has been quiet, I have had a few days off training and so it's been nice to relax and get the flat sorted out. We celebrated Louise's birthday and ventured around the local area in search of some cherry blossom! The weather has been pretty wet here but it's been nice to have a few relaxing days. We popped over to the local beach and found Tamasaki Shrine: it was lovely to explore a traditional Japanese shrine and I look forward to seeing many more during the rest of the year.

See you next week!!! :)