Tonight we welcomed a new teacher to the Numazu / Fuji / Mishima area. He had arrived in the morning from New Zealand, so he was already tired when we started the party. He went home early, and the rest of us continued enjoying the evening in his honour.

Instead of hitting up one of our usual izakayas or karaoke rooms, we went to a small cocktail bar named Farao. The few staff were all wearing white tuxedos and the bartender can make pretty much any cocktail that you can imagine. Watching them make drinks is a treat – I asked for a martini and enjoyed watching them chip away at a crystal clear block of ice with shiny silver tools. The ice and premium alcohols were combined into a shiny silver shaker and expertly mixed before being poured into the nicest martini glass I had ever seen. They weren’t just creating a strong drink, they were creating art.

My roommate Palmer is friends with the owner so all of the teachers got discounts. We took full advantage of this situation and enjoyed a few more drinks than we would have at full price. Farao is the classiest place I have ever gotten drunk!

Also, martinis are strong!!