Japanese Enkai

Here is a description of a Japanese enkai or office party. I have had 3 so far and they have all been equally enjoyable. The first enkai I had was at my BOE in the party room upstairs. This was to celebrate the fish caught by the fishermen. The second I had was my welcome party and it was held at the golf course which was very nice and a bit more formal. Finally, we had an enkai in Masuda at a restaurant. I will try to give you the main happenings at an enkai.

First of all you arrive (of course) and someone shows you where to sit. Sometimes seats are assigned other times not. By the end of the party everyone has switched seats to talk to the others. There usually is a speech given by someone thanking them for food or whatever the occasion may be. Then comes the kampai (the toast). Someone will pour you a glass of beer and you must wait for the kampai before you take a sip. From then on the night is full of eating and drinking. You must never pour your own drink, but don`t worry there is always someone around to pour you more beer even if you haven`t taken a sip out of your glass. If someone does offer you more beer you kindly take a sip out of your full beer and allow them to pour you more. Needless to say, you can get quite drunk at an enkai. Finally at the end of the night everyone stands up throws their arms in the air and yells "bansai"!