Japan: Barbecue Time

I was invited by my new co-worker, Rob, to a barbecue on Friday. It was a national holiday in Japan called “Kempō Kinem-bi” (constitution day), so the place was packed. We headed down at about 9am and I watched Rob wrestle with a gazebo in the wind before he gave up and we started grilling.

The top priority was to claim the beach in the name of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, naturally.

After we’d finished turning Osaka’s beach into a British protectorate, we got to priority number two: liquid refreshment.

People started turning up during the morning so we got to the grilling. Only in Japan would you find rice on a barbecue.

Rob’s baby boy had started to attract a group of nearby girls, so I didn’t realise that my face was slowly being cooked by the sun. I think, having spent most of my life in Hull, I was so shocked to meet girls that could hold a conversation (even in their second language) and not be total über-mega-slut-bitches that I forgot to put on sun-cream. Here’s looking at you Annie Sarj! (There, I’ve mentioned you, now stop bugging me about it!)

Our multi-ethnic barbecue posse.

The strange thing about Japan is that they don’t have a daylight savings time like we do in the UK, so it gets dark at about 6pm. Brilliant sunsets though!

After a full week of sightseeing it was nice to have some time to relax. I met some new people, both Japanese and Western, and I achieved a sun-tan level that can only be described as “bronze”.  Back to work on Monday unfortunately though!