Friday night found me standing outside a train station waiting for my ever-late friend and host of that evening's "goukon." A goukon is a kind of mass date that is popular in Japan where a group of (mostly) strangers meet up for some beer and laughs and then afterwards the couples that clicked call each other for follow-up dates. Such practices are becoming increasingly common and important in a country with a declining birth rate and where working individuals are finding less time to build meaningful relationships. Goukons provide a relaxed atmosphere to essentially date several people all in one evening. I myself had been asked to join this goukon after a couple of the host's friends pulled out. I shifted nervously, hoping my outfit was appropriate; heels, cigarette pants, and a boyfriend blazer. A group of boys standing nearby were jostling each other and giggling; obviously at the start of a big night out themselves and less nervous about it than me.
"How late is she now?" my friend I had roped into doing this with me asked.
"8 minutes."
But just then we spotted her brilliantly bright pink coat weaving through the crowds of dull salary-men suits towards us. Surrendering her ticket at the gate, she jogged over to us, all apologies for being late. Another couple of women who had been standing nearby shuffled over and introduced themselves. To my embarrassment, we had been standing next to some fellow attendees for the same goukon for the past 10 minutes without realizing it. Only our host knew all of the guests. She introduced us all then quickly bobbed away to hug one of the boys who had been jostling with his friends earlier. Oh, God. They were the guys we were here to meet? It was going to be a long night...
