Going out to Hard Rock Cafe in Roppongi

Activity > Tokyo > Partying > Roppongi

"C’mon, Sherry! Don’t be such a slowpoke!" I resisted the urge to groan like a brat as my roommate, Keiko, wound effortlessly walk through the crowd, her purple highlights disappearing in the sea of people. Left to my own devices in a busy city like Tokyo, I was practically as helpless as an infant in the woods.
"Keiko-san, yamete kudasai!" I called to her in my stilted version of the language. If I lost sight of Keiko now, I could probably still make it to the Hard Rock Cafe in Roppongi... In forty years or so.
I felt slender fingers wrap around my wrist and tug me forward. I looked up and found my roommate grinning at me. "Such a slowpoke," she clucked.

I glared at her and followed her down the street. The lights danced off the purple highlights in her hair. If GoGo Tomago from Big Hero 6 ever decided to come to life, she would look exactly like Keiko. Petite and slender, with her short hair and its purple streaks, she bore a startling resemblance to the movie’s speed junkie.

We made our way to the restaurant and I was thankful there wasn’t any heavy metal blaring from the speakers. Keiko had brought me here for the sole reason of meeting up with a guy and some friends. I strongly suspected this was a gokon, the Japanese equivalent of the group blind date but decided not to sweat it. Hey, at least they would be considerate enough to leave me with someone to talk to when they start pairing off.

The Hard Rock in Roppongi housed several memorabilia of famous rock stars in history, like a Japanese bowling shirt favored by Freddie Mercury and a gold and blue necklace worn by Jimi Hendrix. Some time ago, from what I gathered, Harajuku Park had once been the center of the rock n roll crowd here in Tokyo but as things started to tone down, it was still a popular place for young people to get together and have some fun.

We settled into a booth and Keiko introduced me to a guy named Shigeru, who was a friend of the guy she was going googly-eyed over. He looked nice enough, a little scruffy, though, which I liked. He smiled at me and handed me the menu and I inwardly sighed in relief when most of the items were familiar to me.

"I’ll just have the BLT," I told him.

"Not a salad?" he grinned.

I rolled my eyes. "I’d be hungry again in an hour."

He laughed and I decided I liked the sound of that laugh. His deep brown eyes were the perfect shade to get lost in. I stowed a reminder in the back of my mind to thank Keiko for this later on, when she wasn’t busy getting close to Yamato.

We spent the night talking and having fun. I have to admit, Keiko’s friends are pretty awesome and the food in the restaurant was just right for the light mood. The great thing about a gokon is that although it might be a little frustrating for couples who want to level up their relationship, single friends like me and Shigeru don’t get left out of the fun.

"That was fun," I told Keiko as we walked back to our apartment.

Keiko grinned. She had Yamato had spent the night eyeing each other but still managed to join in the camaraderie. "Shigeru been nice to you?"

"You would have scared him outta his mind if he so much as did something offensive," I answered wryly, wrinkling my nose.

She laughed again. "Yeah, I think this was a good idea. We should do this again."

I thought about Shigeru and his easy manner, the way his brown eyes twinkled when he laughed, the way he took things in stride.

"Yeah, I think we should do this again."

"C’mon, Sherry! Don’t be such a slowpoke!"

I resisted the urge to groan like a brat as my roommate, Keiko, wound effortlessly through the crowd, her purple highlights disappearing in the sea of people. Left to my own devices in a busy city like Tokyo, I was practically as helpless as an infant in the woods.

"Keiko-san, yamete kudasai!" I called to her in my stilted version of the language. If I lost sight of Keiko now, I could probably still make it to Hard Rock.

In forty years or so.

I felt slender fingers wrap around my wrist and tug me forward. I looked up and found my roommate grinning at me. "Such a slowpoke," she clucked.

I glared at her and followed her down the street. The lights danced off the purple highlights in her hair. If GoGo Tomago from Big Hero 6 ever decided to come to life, she would look exactly like Keiko. Petite and slender, with her short hair and its purple streaks, she bore a startling resemblance to the movie’s speed junkie.

We made our way to the restaurant and I was thankful there wasn’t any heavy metal blaring from the speakers. Keiko had brought me here for the sole reason of meeting up with a guy and some friends. I strongly suspected this was a gokon, the Japanese equivalent of the group blind date but decided not to sweat it. Hey, at least they would be considerate enough to leave me with someone to talk to when they start pairing off.

The Hard Rock in Roppongi housed several memorabilia of famous rock stars in history, like a Japanese bowling shirt favored by Freddie Mercury and a gold and blue necklace worn by Jimi Hendrix. Some time ago, from what I gathered, Harajuku Park had once been the center of the rock n roll crowd here in Tokyo but as things started to tone down, it was still a popular place for young people to get together and have some fun.

We settled into a booth and Keiko introduced me to a guy named Shigeru, who was a friend of the guy she was going googly-eyed over. He looked nice enough, a little scruffy, though, which I liked. He smiled at me and handed me the menu and I inwardly sighed in relief when most of the items were familiar to me.

"I’ll just have the BLT," I told him.

"Not a salad?" he grinned.

I rolled my eyes. "I’d be hungry again in an hour."

He laughed and I decided I liked the sound of that laugh. His deep brown eyes were the perfect shade to get lost in. I stowed a reminder in the back of my mind to thank Keiko for this later on, when she wasn’t busy getting close to Yamato.

We spent the night talking and having fun. I have to admit, Keiko’s friends are pretty awesome and the food in the restaurant was just right for the light mood. The great thing about a gokon is that although it might be a little frustrating for couples who want to level up their relationship, single friends like me and Shigeru don’t get left out of the fun.

"That was fun," I told Keiko as we walked back to our apartment.

Keiko grinned. She had Yamato had spent the night eyeing each other but still managed to join in the camaraderie. "Shigeru been nice to you?"

"You would have scared him outta his mind if he so much as did something offensive," I answered wryly, wrinkling my nose.

She laughed again. "Yeah, I think this was a good idea. We should do this again."

I thought about Shigeru and his easy manner, the way his brown eyes twinkled when he laughed, the way he took things in stride.

"Yeah, I think we should do this again."