[lycheed]

So, does abm stand for "Aikido Bad Man"?

Going out as a group and getting drunk and laid is very much part of the norm here, as you say. It usually goes:
1. dinner and heavy drinking - 100USD per head
2. "kyabakura" a hostess bar where you flirt with girls - budget 300 USD per head for this
3. "tittybar" - everything bar penetration - 200 USD per head
4. "soap land" - the full nine yards... - 300 USD per head

Total cost of the evening: 900USD per head
Cost of the experience: "Priceless"...

I usually drop out after the dinner and drinks. I rather like to carryout stages 2-4 at home.

I too love it over here - the mountains and the endless tight winding roads are everthing to me. Where were you staying when you were over studying Aikido? Did you get a chance to ride at all over here?

 

[lycheed]

So you are a seasoned pro! It is great. All the Brit ex-pats prefer HK (one long selection of bars) or Singapore (even better tax system) but the combination of the birds :wink: and the money, and the countryside make this one of those "hard to leave" countries. This is my second stint too, I'm on the commercial side of technology, and the market is nothing like how it used to be back in the late 90s boom - the remuneration back then was unbelievable.

Drink until the first train at 5am, go home, change clothes, and be back in the office by 9am? Crazy. Normal.... No doubt genetic, aided and abetted by the "eiyou dorinku" or nutrient drinks that can cost up to 20USD per shot. You can't buy drinks with this sort of potency over the counter in the US or UK.

Ah, the birds - say no more.

The roads, the mountains, the white sand beaches - perfect. An outdoor freak's paradise. A rider's paradise. A driver's paradise.

No traffic police presence outside of the cities. If the lights and sirens go on behind you, pull over - these nutters ride VFR800s with Ohlins shocks. They don't hang about, and are widely known to be the guys that couldn't stand the thought of covering the bike at the weekend, and putting the suit on to go to the office. They humble even the seasoned nutter with their skill. Don't mess...

I spent a short amount of time studying Nihon Kempo - full contact contact sport. It was fun until I began to have headaches during the day time... I also did a bit of Aikido at University in UK, and thought about picking it up again here, but on meeting the gorilla-looking single interest aikido guys over here - complete with cauliflower ears - I aborted the mission.

Are Jewish men especialy good at Aikido or something? The reason why I ask is that I know a guy who came to Japan twenty years ago for the same reason - he stayed and built a real estate business. He looks as if he can still handle himself.