nude highway driving

So Saturday night I went out with some of The Expats and we began our evening at Train Bar, because it rules. I showed Roy, esteemed owner and barman, the photos from the previous night’s AC/DC performance.

“That guy down there,” Roy said pointing to another wiry Japanese guy, “he likes AC/DC, too. He works for the guy who got on the bar last night.”

Soon an AC/DC song came on the stereo and Roy started clearing bottles off the bar. Sure enough, Japanese dude at the end of the bar starts pumping his fists into the air and banging his head. In no time at all he’s up on the bar, doing the Angus Young thing, kicking his legs and banging his head and sliding down the bar on his knees. The gaijin in the bar are raising fists in support. The two quiet Japanese girls next to me are smiling nervously, trying to look like they’re down with this scary man.

For his finale he lept off the bar and ran out into the crowded sidewalk to do a final guitar solo and share the love with drunk people passing by. Roy informs me that this guy and his boss, the performer from the night before (who in my opinion is a way better Angus), are Japanese police officers. The beauty never ends here.

The song ended, the crowd calmed down, people started putting their beers back on the bar. Then a live track came over the system, and all we hear is some stadium chanting “Angus! Angus! Angus!” The Japanese guy perks back up and starts chanting with them, and before the song begins he’s back on the bar.

The moral of the past two nights is that when visiting Tokyo, make sure you carry some AC/DC with you at all times. If you’re ever in trouble with the law, just crank up “Highway To Hell” and kick back. There’s a chance you’ll see some nightstick air-guitar action and you’ll be able to slip out while the heads are a’ banging. Of course, there’s also a chance you’ll be beaten on the spot … but at least they’ll beat you very politely.