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Now it’s a Bounen-kai season. Japanese hold Bounen-kai between the end of November and middle of December (before Christmas) every year. Have you ever heard of Bounen-kai before? If you work at a Japanese company, you’ve probably already been invited to a Bounen-kai I think.
So, what is a “Bounen-kai” (or ‘bonenkai’, or ‘boonenkai’)? It’s a year-end party. ‘bou’ means to forget, ‘nen’ means year, and ‘kai’ means meeting or party. We organize Bounen-kai with colleagues, friends, members of clubs, or even with family or girl/boyfriend. Basically, having a Bounen-kai is the best reason to drink and eat ourselves to near-death. During the Bounen-kai season, the party animals among us often find ourselves (alright, themselves…) totally broke due to the number of Bounen-kais. Also, the “kanji” (person who organizes the party, not a Chinese character!) will be busy finding a nice and reasonable Izakaya (friendly Japanese restaurant)! But once you start drinking, everything seems fine and fun! We forget all our bad memories and talk about the funny things that happened this year with alcohol. That’s the whole point of a Bounen-kai! So, if you’re in Japan for the season (or even if you’re not!) why don’t you ask your friends for a Bounen-kai?
So, what is a “Bounen-kai” (or ‘bonenkai’, or ‘boonenkai’)? It’s a year-end party. ‘bou’ means to forget, ‘nen’ means year, and ‘kai’ means meeting or party. We organize Bounen-kai with colleagues, friends, members of clubs, or even with family or girl/boyfriend. Basically, having a Bounen-kai is the best reason to drink and eat ourselves to near-death. During the Bounen-kai season, the party animals among us often find ourselves (alright, themselves…) totally broke due to the number of Bounen-kais. Also, the “kanji” (person who organizes the party, not a Chinese character!) will be busy finding a nice and reasonable Izakaya (friendly Japanese restaurant)! But once you start drinking, everything seems fine and fun! We forget all our bad memories and talk about the funny things that happened this year with alcohol. That’s the whole point of a Bounen-kai! So, if you’re in Japan for the season (or even if you’re not!) why don’t you ask your friends for a Bounen-kai?