my first japanese pub brawl

in the country of placidity and suppressed emotions violence has erupted. we went to a local hangout which i guess is kinda seedy, as the clientel is mainly drunks, hostesses and gaijin (foreigners). Despite this, it is one of the more atmospheric bars in little goi and thus from time to time lures me to its electronic darts boards, overprices beers and the potential for fun.

tonight was a standard night, with the usual mix of gaijin, hostesses and some random japanese. one girl, perhaps a hostess, was outrageously drunk and was clumsily floating about, falling over and attaching herself to whichever guy was nearby. not surprisingly, with my handsome build and rugged good looks, she decided i was a prime candidate for her nonsensical conglomerate of japanese, english and slurring. one of the unknown japanese took particular offence to her flirtaciousness and threw her against a wall. a small kerfuffle ensued and the barstaff seemed to have the situation under contol. the guy was being calmed down by his friends and the girl flopped into a seat two from me next to the wall. out of nowhere, some quick words were exchanged and the guy hurled a glass at the girl, which shattered on the wall above her head. all hell broke loose. the hurler was going mental, screaming at the girl and one of our posse had kinda lost his mind and needed to be held back to stop him throttling the japanese guy. rei, the nicest (and possibly only) finnish-japanese bartender you'll ever meet cut his eye in the melee and after everyone calmed down, the guy left, the angry gaijin quietened down and I continued to stand around looking helpless. although it was hardly life-threatening, the glass wasnt miles from my head and I stole a quick prayer to Allah for sparing me. after that, the mood was kinda destroyed and everyone made their own way home.

so there. that was my brief dance with death. perhaps these japanese are a little more dangerous than i thought.