Japanese-Mexican food
Yesterday we had a half-holiday at Toshiba, so I had lunch with three of my acquaintances from Toshiba.  We went to a Mexican restaurant in Daikama, which is a ritzy little station near Shibuya.  I actually expected the food to taste completely different from Mexican food in Texas, and although it was served very differently, it tasted quite similar to Mexican food in America.  Here they don't serve entrees with rice and beans like we do in Texas.  Instead there is rice underneath the entree, and we were served a salad and a cup of squash soup.  For dessert we had mango cheesecake.  It was delicious and a fun lunch!

During lunch I was given a detailed explanation of the doki social system.  Your doki are the people who entered the company the same year as you; with doki you eat lunch, hang out, and consider them to be your "work friends."  Senpai are your seniors, so anybody older than you or entered the company before you.  To your senpai you speak in keigo (formal language) to show respect. Last there is kohai, people who entered the company after you. To these people you speak in casual language. Generally people in the company do not consider senpai or kohai their "friends," although they may spend social time together.  I have come to the conclusion that the way we define and use the term friend, is different in America than it is used in Japan.    Even just one year of age difference is very important and determines the senpai-kohai relationship between people. In Japanese culture there is a lot of importance placed on age.  Apparently, you are expected to use keigo with people older than you, even if you have a higher in rank within the company. However with friends from outside the company, in many cases age does not determine the language you are expected to speak with, and you can speak more casually. 

I ate enchiladas, a little bit different than how they look in America!

In the evening I went to Ebisu with one of my Toshiba friends.  We went to the Ebisu Beer Garden, which is a little restaurant famous for serving factory-direct, fresh Sapporo beer. The area in that station is also very fancy and pretty at night.