This morning I spotted a woman who was drinking with an old pal of mine: the trash bin.
Garbage binsare great drinking buddies. They always take your crap without complaint, and they never suggest that you might have a problem. They even take the evidence of any such problem out of your hands just as quickly as you can down 500 ml. Which is quick.
She is an otherwise normal looking woman who appears to live in this exclusive part of town. The only item in her hand that's not a homemaking supply is the large sized can of Sapporo.
The legality of drinking in public makes for an interesting dynamic here in Tokyo. Japan is a country in which alcoholism is every bit a spectator sport. When we are too embarrassed to drink in front of our family or friends, we drink in front of everyone else instead, alone with the trash.
