Monday, June 23, 2008

British Pubs

British pubs are all over the world, and no matter how un-British they might be, they are still very popular with locals and expats.

This evening I had the chance to go to one with a colleague from Gaba, as a sort of farewell because my last day there is Sunday.

We went to one called 'Hub' (a big chain in Japan) in Ebisu (恵比寿), near Gaba's headquarters.

The first thing we did was order drinks and food. My first fish and chips of the trip! They were okay, not as greasy and fatty as you expect from real British chips but they were good all the same.

Despite following obvious stereotypes for the design, it actually looked quite authentic. And because people are allowed to smoke in there (which is now illegal in the UK), it had the older style atmosphere, which was surprisingly nice!


One of my drinks...
I was surprised that there were only four other foreigners there, the rest were all Japanese, and it got very busy at about 7pm, after people finished work.
For Y100, you could select a song from this computer. There are only English songs, and there was a really good selection. I think there were over 5,000 songs!
Because I've become a karaoke-fiend, I arranged to meet a few colleagues for karaoke on Friday afternoon. I think it's strange to go in the afternoon, it should be an evening thing, but apparently it's significantly cheaper if you go on an off-peak period.

I liked the British pub. I expected it to be full of cliches and stereotypes, and perhaps it was, but I was too blinded by the handpumps, barstools and wooden floors to notice.

8 comments:

Darth Geekier said...

wow. I wish I had access to english pubs! lol XD

Titichu said...

Wow what a cosy place. I'll be sure to visit it once :)
I've actually arrived in Tokyo three days ago and went though all the boring procedures of bank account opening, Alien registration and so. I must say that your blog really helped a lot in the process even though I still had my own share of struggle.
I'm currently staying at Ayase and will be at Gaba Ebisu tomorrow for the signing contract session. It seems you'll be leaving just before I start, that's too bad.
I quite sympathise with you in the parting process you had to go through as the same happened to me countless times as I travelled around for my studies, but hey, life still go on and eventually you get to see those people again, and then meet new people. That's what makes life so great and exciting (and makes you want to keep on travelling around).
It'd be great to have a drink with you, but if our ways don't cross, all the best for your remaining holidays :)
Cheers.

Unknown said...

Hey how are you?
I've been reading some of your posts in the past working as an English teacher in Japan. I was curious, about the Foreign Instructors Center (FIC) you talked about in the past.

How reputable is this organization from your experience?
I can't seem to find a website, telephone number or even an address for them anywhere?, all email inquires direct to a "linda@water.sannet.ne.jp" just curious if you could check your old records to see if that was the same email address you communicated with in the past for the FIC. Thanks

Miles said...

Hi, thank you for your question.

Yes, "linda@water.sannet.ne.jp" is the email address that I used for FIC.

I think it's strange too that there is no website or anything, but my lessons were arranged with no problems and my pay was always correct, and it arrived on time in my bank account.

So don't worry about using them.

Good luck!

Miles

Unknown said...

Thanks for the information, strange there is not even a website, I'm curious how the students come into contact with that company. Anyway thanks a bunch!

Unknown said...

linda@water.sannet.ne.jpm is this FIC safe to send your personal information ???? Or is it a fraund? Thanks

Miles said...

Yes, it's totally safe! It's not a fraud! : )

Miles

Unknown said...

thanks ! :)