Tonight was an interesting night. While there were unpredictable things that happened (stories to be revealed later in this post), the unpredictability was somewhat predictable for a simple reason: all the new players on the team were required to drink until they vomited. Whereas other newcomers (mostly freshman) were more worried about the individual performance they had to give, it was the effects of excessive alcohol that made me so apprehensive. It is no fun going into the night knowing that you will throw up - the fun and excitement of drinking is pushing the limit while preventing yourself from reaching that threshold. But, perhaps I am getting ahead of myself.

Although I have already taken part in a KANGEIKAI with the team (drinking party), this event was more "formal" in the sense that it was held on campus and was attended by ex-players who have since graduated. The fun kicked off (pun intended) after practice ended at around 19:00 in a private room of one of the university cafeterias. Food was laid out on all the tables, as well as beer and other Japanese spirits. All the new players on the team, numbering seven in total, entered together, and we performed a mock-striptease for the amusement of the elder players. Then, we took our seats at the head table, sitting across from the ex-players.

In Japanese custom, one never refills their own glass. Typically, this poses somewhat of a problem for me because it takes me much longer to get drunk than my Japanese friends, so if they don't pay attention and refill my cup then it can take a while. However, tonight that was not a problem: we had 2.5 hours to reach the vomiting stage, and glasses were constantly being refilled.

The first two hours were fairly uneventful, with the exception of the freshman goalkeeper who was the first to vomit. I had already pounded through three large glass bottles of Asahi beer (seen above), but was feeling no more than a buzz. This worked to my advantage though because I had to make several speeches in Japanese that would have been butchered if I was too drunk.

At one point, I performed a skit whereby I taught everyone "How to pick up girls in Tokyo," or "東京にどうやってなんぺする." The basis of my skit was setting a scene, such as "on a train," or "walking around Shibuya," and then I demonstrated my expert technique. I started with "Tokyo Tech," where I went around the room studying everyone's faces, growing more and more agitated as I progressed. Finally, exasperated, I screamed out, "女の子はどこにいますか？！" ("Where the hell are all the girls?!") This had everyone cracking up (the school is roughly 80% men), as did my final skit, which took place in a foreigner-populated area of Tokyo called Roppongi. Basically, in all the skits I was unsuccessful, so finally I scooted close to one of the players and whispered, "いくらですか？" ("How much money will it cost?").

Below is video from the tail-end of another skit. To this day, I have no idea what he was doing...

Toward the end of the KANGEIKAI it was becoming obvious that I would need to move on from beer to something stronger. So, we were all lined up in the middle of the room while we passed around two 1.5 liter bottles of NIHONSHU (Japanese sake, 25% alcohol), and we could not stop until both bottles were finished. This was the worst part of my night because I had to finish one of the bottles by myself. I knew how dangerous this was, but I came to Japan to be a part of Japanese culture and there was no backing down.

Afterward, I was stumbling, gurgling my words, and seriously ready to pass out. Twelve of the senior players were charged with watching over us for the night, so they shepherded all of us to the team's room in the athletic facility where we all passed out on the floor. Lying on the ground as an unconscious oblivion descended upon me, my night could have ended right here and everything would have been fine. But instead...

The freshman goalkeeper, the one who threw up earlier, puked his brains out AGAIN. This time, he couldn't reach a trashcan and literally vomited all over my right arm and shoulder. I was left with no choice but to pull myself together and head down to the showers on the ground floor. This was the last thing I remember of the night. The rest was later shared by other member's of the team...

Apparently, I passed out naked on the floor of the showering room with the water running. The senior players found me an hour later and dressed me in a team jersey before carrying me back upstairs. However, later in the night I grew thirsty, and apparently decided to walk to a convenience store near campus. Sadly, I never reached the convenience store. Instead, I got lost and ended up on a park bench where I passed out again.

It was on the park bench that I woke up the next morning, completely unaware of where I was or how I got there. And my head felt like it was in the world's worst vice. Since Japan is probably the world's safest country, there was no danger and my wallet and money were all intact. I asked locals for directions until I reached the nearest train station, and returned home wearing the team's soccer jersey - I probably looked a mess! Reflecting back, it would have been better had I thrown up because then I could have cleared my system of all the toxins, but instead I spent the rest of the day overcoming a tremendous hangover.

The most important thing is that neither myself nor the other players on the team will forget what transpired that night, making it all worthwhile!