Nocturnal Adventures

I've had a bit of a rough week since spring break ended. Work is mounting up, people don't seem to have time for each other, and once more I've been left feeling like I don't what this year is for. So, come the weekend, what do I do to let off steam?

Picture the scene. Midnight, at the river in Makino, on the large stepping stones set in the riverbed, a classmate and I swinging at each other with sticks trading exaggerated samurai-movie-style grunts. I gots to get my kicks somehow.

Our little group wandered along the river from our dorms to Makino, a little suburb which doesn't really have much except a train station, a karaoke place, and a bowling alley. We went to the bowling alley, but having a near-terminal indicisiveness about what we wanted to do, just hung around in the arcade at the front. I went on the taiko-drumming game, which is easily one of the best arcade games ever. Whack at a model taiko drum in time with the coloured dots that flow along the screen to the tune of various J-Pop classics, and let your wildest Keith Moon fantasies run riot.

No karaoke, no booze, no arguing over politics. It's not the kind of socialising I usually enjoy. But like I said, I needed to let off some steam, and I had a fun night.
"I got a fever. And the only prescription...is more taiko!"