I'm with a friend from university tonight - he was two years above me on our Japanese Studues degree at Sheffield Uni.
We're eating at a little 'shabu-shabu' restaurant in Shibuya; shabu-shabu is basically hot pot, where you cook your own meat and vegees in the pot of boiling water in front of you.
The chef in the background is fanning some fish cooking on the grill.
There was a big scandal in 1998 when some bigwigs from the Ministry of Finance were caught frequenting a 'No pants Shabu Shabu' restaurant in Shinjuku (for a $100 tip the waitresses would slip off their panties).
My image of Shabu-shabu has long been tainted by that news story, although the reality tonight didn't quite reflect the outdated idea I had. Both the waiters and waitresses kept all of their clothes on.
...And luckily for my old (male) friend, I did too :p
The restaurant was packed with people on their 忘年会 (bounenkai, end of year party).
Anyone else going to an end of year / Christmas party this week? Will you keep your pants on?
Joseph
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