Office Parties

I wrote about graduation, but I haven't talked about the enkais. An enkai is an office party. Some schools (and businesses) have them all the time. A friend has been to three or four in half a year. Both my junior high and elementary schools' only enkai was in connection with graduation.

I was picked up at my apartment on both occasions by an English teacher. The junior high school's enkai was held in the upper room of a popular Chinese restaurant. Not every teacher came, but most made it. Unlike American office parties, no spouses or other guests were allowed. The point of an enkai is to allow everyone a safe place to get drunk and speak freely so office tensions can be eased. Beer and other alcohol flow freely at these events. Each person pays about 50 dollars to attend, which provides for the private room, the immense platters of food, and the limitless drinks.

Part of the etiquette of an enkai is to never let a glass go empty. It is also rude to fill your own glass. The proper thing to do is grab a bottle of beer or a pitcher of tea and circulate the room, ready to top-off anyone's glass. Even a full glass means little. I had teachers tell me to drink from my full glass so that they could refill it. It was a fun and boisterous evening.

To close the party we all stood and some teachers made short speeches. Then the teachers began a series of rhythmic clapping. I had no idea what was going on. Apparently, this is a normal way to end a party in Japan.

It was, however, not the end of the night. After our first enkai, the party went on to second enkai. The women and men split up for this. I have no idea what the men went on to do. Probably something fun. The women went to a brightly lit chain restaurant for ice cream sundaes. It wasn't quite the second enkai I was expecting, but it had its own charms. I've heard of some schools continuing on through third and fouth enkai, but since people were tired ours ended after two rounds.

The enkai at my elementary schools was pretty much the same as at my junior high school. We went to an Italian restaurant instead, and more people got drunker. While the jhs stuck to beer only, the elementary school teachers also brought out wine and sake. Perhaps that explains the oddest moment I've had yet in Japan. I was eating some spaghetti early in the evening when a third grade teacher who I hardly interact with tapped me on the shoulder and handed me a piece of paper. He then requested that I sing a song with him in front of everyone later in the evening. I was surprised, but I couldn't say no. I looked down at the piece of paper he'd handed me. The song we were to sing? Puff the Magic Dragon. Later in the evening our turn to entertain arrived. The teacher pulled a guitar out from nowhere. Then he unfolded a music stand from his bag like he were Mary Poppins. It was professional. He called out in English, "Ladies and Gentlemen! Boys and Girls!" People looked at him amused. I wondered if he was crazy. He started to strum his guitar and we started belting out Puff the Magic Dragon to a group of drunk teachers. It was surreal.