The year-end office party

I’m going to deviate from my normal reports on our family life to talk about a phenomenon that happens for most people in the Japanese workplace at this time of year; the bonenkai, or “end-of-the-year party.” It’s the chance for all staff members to go out to a nice restaurant and enjoy a nice meal along with liberal amounts of drinking to loosen up the conversation and merriment. Drinking together as a group in Japan is often seen as a bonding time, in which frank descussions can take place that social norms would not allow in regular situations.

This past Friday as we’ve done in the past few years, the staff of my board of education headed to our prefectural capital of Morioka for the party. After checking into our hotel, we made our way to a nice restaurant which specialises in fish dishes. We dined on a variety of fish, some raw (sushi and sashimi) as well as various hot dishes. One nice treat in particular were couple of party platters filled with steamed giant crab from Hokkaido, Japan’s northern island. The drink of choice for many is beer, but I’m fortunate that the head manager of my office loves to drink red wine. The restaurant brought us a nice French bottle of Pinot Noir. I had to chuckle at that, as I’d recently watched the movie “Sideways” with my mother, in which the main character extols that particular vintage. Alas, I had no one to share in my laughter, as Sideways never made it to threatres in my area. It was a nice wine, which perhaps suggests that my palate may be improving with age. When I first started drinking wine years ago, I found most Pinot Noir too “earthy” for my tastes. Our second bottle however, ended up being a 2005 Beaujolais Nouveau, a wine I find far too young and fruity. Perhaps it’s because it’s rushed into production only six weeks after harvest. It definitely is very popular in Japan though. If you care to read up on it, here are some links.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beaujolais_nouveau

http://www.wineint.com/story.asp?sectionCode=1&storyCode=2011

After our “first party” was finished, we marched off to the “second party” or nijikai, which was at a small karaoke bar. We enjoyed a few hours of singing popular songs, then it was decided we were headed to a “third party” at a famous late-night sushi bar. More food and sake, along with several “frank” conversations between some of the senior staff. A final trip to a nearby ramen (Chinese-style noodles in broth) shop ended the evening. We finally made it back to the hotel around 3:30am. I skipped breakfast, waking up at 10:00, and slowly made my way back home in my car.

All in all it was a fun evening, but not something I care to do very often. :)