There was no green beer last night at the two bars we visited. But there was lots of Guiness. Those of you who know me, know I don't like beer, a minor character flaw overshadowed by my other redeeming qualities, like my fondness for the Irish and seasonal affinity to whiskey. I drank Four Roses on the rocks.
Russell and I met our friend Rich at an Irish Bar in Roppongi, and for the first time since being in Japan, the Westerners outnumbered the Easterners. It almost felt like home except the "Irish" pub menu had dishes that resembled Chinese food: "deep fried chicken chunks with a sweet chili sauce served with rice." My Irish aunt never served me that with her soda bread. They did, however, have a rather tasty lamb stew and shepherd's pie, which we made short work of, along with, you guessed it, an order of potatoes.
We met a gaggle of Australian guys who had come to Tokyo "on holiday". Some holiday. They were there to watch a football (soccer) match which was subsequently cancelled after the quake. I told them to look at it this way, at least the bars are easy to get into. Rich had been at this very bar last St. Patrick's Day and said it was so crowded you couldn't get in. Not the case this year. There was about 40 people there and more coming in as the band was just setting up.
Everyone told their quake stories. It was cathartic and made us realize how lucky we all are. Apparently Rich's apartment was not unscathed like ours. Several dressers and book shelves fell over including the one with his TV. The TV was fine. I think he was rather hoping it wouldn't be as it's a 1993 model and I think he would liked to havvvve to replace it. His ten bottles of tequila were not so lucky.
They all crashed to the ground - a tragedy.
He had been in a taxi when the quake hit. He said he started to feel sea sick (sounds like a NY taxi ride - those guys always make me nauseous). The cab was rocking crazily. Then the cab driver pointed to all the cars and they were rocking too. The quake lasted so long Rich was able to pay the bill and step out. But he fell over right away because the ground was shaking so much. The cab driver got out too and fell on top of him. It would have been funny if it wasn't so deadly. Rich said he looked up, he was in Roppongi Hills, and he could see the Mori Tower 48 floors overhead, lunging precariously from side to side. He was amazed it held up.
The next bar we went to is popular with the military crowd but we were the only patrons. Well, except for a tiny Japanese girl with red leopard skin leggings and gigantic dreadlocked hair. The proprietor is a jolly Asian fellow from Brazil. (Don't ask.) He's a large man with a heart to match. He was very optimistic about the situation and does not think there's any reason to leave Tokyo. But his mom in Brazil is very worried. Because trains, buses and taxes weren't running after the quake he hosted twelve stranded Tokyo-ites all night in his bar. He said they watched movies. Amazingly, he only lost one bottle to the quake. Rich was envious.
Meanwhile, back at the nuclear power station. They raised the nuclear incident level from four to five on par with the 1979 Three Mile Island incident in the U.S. The difference between four and five indicates an accident with wider consequences, whereas level four is assigned to accidents with local consequences. And I was under the impression it was getting better. I mean firemen arrived today. And everything is always better when firemen show up.
Russell is getting more worried. He's not as impressed with firemen I guess.
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