Thanks to crappy weather, my parents and I returned to Numazu a few hours early after 4 days and 3 nights in western Japan. One of the things that surprises visitors to Japan is the amount of walking that they end up doing while sightseeing. In the past few days my parents and I had walked around two castles, an aquarium, temples, shrines, and deer filled parks, not to mention around several very large train stations. By the time that we returned to Numazu, they were understandably tired.
We got a quick bite to eat, and my mom decided that she was ready to call it an evening. My dad was still interested in exploring, but my mom couldn’t be convinced. It was then that I had a fantastic idea: beer! I asked my dad if he would like to go for a beer at an izakaya with me. He was very excited by the idea, so we dropped off my mom at the hotel and set out for the nearby Ryoba.
Ryoba has become the regular izakaya of choice for English teachers. If we are going for a drink after work, usually we got to the branch south of Numazu station, which is conveniently close to NOVA. There is also a branch north of Numazu station, which is conveniently close to Hotel Miwa and the apartments where most of the teachers live. Just as we were about to enter the building, we saw my fun coworker Vivian coming up the street. I introduced her to my dad, who invited her to join us for a beer.
North side Ryoba has some tables, but I wanted to give my dad the full experience, so we proceeded to the tatami floor area with low Japanese style tables. The table next to us was full of businessmen unwinding after a long day, ties loosened and ready to become headbands later. We enjoyed some delicious beer and meat on sticks, and my dad seemed impressed by the small bowl of snacks that came with our first drink order (a great Japanese tradition). Vivian and my dad are both outgoing people used to talking to anyone, so the conversation flowed easily. In the end, my dad picked up the tab for all of us.
It was cool getting to take my dad out for a beer in Japan. Even though we have seen a lot of cool things, this might be one of my personal highlights of my parents second visit.
Drinking in Japan 