After being dropped off by Julie, I met Tatsuya at the beer garden on the roof of the Orient Hotel. A beer garden (in my experience, at least) is typically a buffet with all-you-can-drink beer, and some other alcoholic drinks. You pay a flat fee and have a certain time limit for eating and drinking. I think the entire softball team was there that night; at the game I went to, I only met 10 of the 18 members. This time around they had won all of their games, so they had plenty to celebrate.
Once I had gotten some food, I took a seat near the end of the table. For the better part of the evening I talked with Tatsuya, one of his teammates, and his teammate's wife, whose name was Mizuho. They seemed very nice. Mizuho was the only other woman in the group, I think, and she seemed glad to have someone to talk to. Unsurprisingly, most of the group was talking about softball, and Mizuho said she doesn't really understand the game that well. So instead we talked about me being a foreigner (the usual topic of conversation when I first meet someone). Gradually the conversation shifted from my gaijin-ness to my relationship with Tatsuya. Some of her questions surprised me a little, but I appreciated the fact that she might've been putting some ideas in Tatsuya's head, as well. Like when she asked, "Do you talk every day?". It's actually more like once or twice a week, but I tried to be a bit diplomatic and just answered, "Not every day..." She also told him that he should take me to look at the fireflies. I rather like that idea.
At the beer garden, I didn't drink a whole lot, mostly because it seemed like Tatsuya didn't want me to. I get the feeling that the more I drink, the more he has to drink. And since he doesn't like alcohol, he doesn't drink often and has a very low tolerance for it. Unfortunately for him, there are a variety of occasions where he really has no choice but to drink. Work enkais are one, and apparently team nomikais are another. More than once I saw a teammate give him a thump on the back or scold him if he wasn't drinking fast enough. There's a lot of pressure for men to drink. It doesn't apply quite as much to women, though you will get a lot of questions if you aren't drinking at all.
Although it was a bit before closing time, the softball team decided to leave the beer garden when a fight broke out. One table over from us, I saw a woman throw her beer in another woman's face. That woman reciprocated, and then they started fighting, and then the guys who were with them started fighting. Some members of their own party stepped in to separate them, but it didn't really look like they were calming down all that much. So it was time to go. We reconvened downstairs to say goodbye (or so I assumed), but most of the group went on to drink some more at a little izakaya right next to the hotel. I had nothing important to do that evening, so I went along with them.
At the izakaya, the group was a little smaller, so it was easier to talk to people. I even learned a few names. Tatsuya sat to my left, and next to him was a very nice guy named Hayato. On my right was Mizuho and her husband. Across from me there was a middle-aged guy who could form coherent sentences in English some of the time, and who had traveled to a surprising number of places outside of Japan. There was also a 24-year-old guy named Youhei who was being pretty ridiculous; he was definitely the clown of the group. It seemed like he was flirting with me, but I'm guessing that's just how he interacts with women.
A while after we arrived, an old man who I think must've been the team manager showed up. He seemed very important; everyone stood up when he arrived. They called him Micchan. In Kochi there is a drinking tradition called the "hempai". It's where you pour a drink for someone, they drink it, and then they pour for you. It doesn't necessarily have to end with one round; I'm not exactly sure how you avoid getting stuck in a loop. So, many of the team members were pouring small glasses of beer for Micchan. Hayato and Tatsuya gave me a glass, told me to drink a little and then give the glass to Micchan for a hempai. It wouldn't have occurred to me to do on my own, but it was a very good idea. Micchan thought it was awesome (or possibly hilarious) that I was pouring for him. It was awkward for me because my hands were shaking even worse than usual (I'd had an espresso that afternoon, assuming I would not need my fine-motor skills that day). I didn't spill any beer, though. After I'd accepted my drink in return, I wasn't sure what I was supposed to do with the glass, and ended up being given seconds. I would've been fine to drink it (it wasn't that much beer), but the guys made Tatsuya drink it in my stead.
Earlier in the evening, I'd been asked if I had a nickname. When I replied that some of my family called me "Andy", that became my name within the group. Everyone called me Andy. Micchan seemed to have misheard it as "Annie", because he made a reference to "Annie Get Your Gun", which apparently only I recognized. Incidentally, the Japanese translation of the title seems to be, "Annie, Jyuu wo Motte". That remark rather endeared him to me, until he went and compared the shaking of my hands to a vibrator. He was probably just looking for an excuse to make a dirty joke, so I didn't take it all that personally, but I can't say I enjoyed it. He left not long after that; I think he had just showed up to put in an appearance. Tatsuya explained to the guys at that end of the table that my tremor is a sickness that I have. At the time I was upset because I felt like he was apologizing for me, but looking back it's more likely that he was signaling them to drop it. Not that it was necessary; none of the other guys had any interest in making fun of my hands. But I guess Tatsuya was defending me the best he could. Being a junior member of the group, it's not as if he could've said anything to Micchan.
For the rest of the evening, it was more talking with everyone. Mostly they told me what a good guy Tatsuya is, and to take care of him. It's a pretty standard line of conversation. Hayato told me to marry Tatsuya, but I think that was mostly the beer talking. I was disappointed to find that Hayato was married; since he seemed like such a great guy, I was hoping to introduce him to Julie. Oh well. There's always the obnoxious Youhei; he was fairly good looking, but I suspect Julie would tear him to shreds once they got to bantering. Anyhow, it was a pretty fun night. I felt like a minor celebrity, since everyone wanted to talk to me, and two guys wanted to take their picture with me. They even dedicated the final toast of the night to me. I've been invited to the next tournament, but unfortunately it's the weekend I'm going to Osaka with the girls.
Anyhow, that's about where the weekend ended. I'm looking forward to the next time I can go watch a softball game, or join them for the post-game nomikai. Tatsuya's team members seem very friendly and good-natured, so I'd like to get to know them all better. Hopefully there will be more opportunities in the future.
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