You are learning late-night dining: you will read the scene it happens in, learn 10 words and phrases, take apart the pattern behind them (describing simultaneous and varied actions), hear them in a conversation, rehearse them, and finish by saying one thing out loud to be graded.
Navigating the smoky alleys of Omoide Yokocho (思い出横丁), Shinjuku — the post-war drinking alley where tiny yakitori stalls seat six people and the night never really ends.
Omoide Yokocho — Memory Lane. The name is generous. Locals call it Shonben Yokocho (Piss Alley), a name earned in the post-war years when the alley had no plumbing. Today it has plumbing, barely. What it has in abundance: smoke, noise, life.
The stranger pushes through a red noren curtain into a stall that seats six. The counter is the width of a cutting board. 「ビールを飲みながら焼き鳥を食べましょう。」
The master grills chicken over binchōtan. Smoke rises through a vent that doesn't quite work. 「乾杯！」 Beer glasses clink. The stranger orders tsukune, negima, kawa. Each skewer costs 150 yen.
After three skewers and two beers, they move to the next stall. 「はしごしましょう。」 This is Tokyo's hashigo culture — hopping from stall to stall. 「食べたり飲んだりしながら、夜を楽しみました。」 The last train is at midnight. The alley doesn't care.