You are learning toasting and social japanese: you will read the scene it happens in, learn 10 words and phrases, take apart the pattern behind them (japanese social expressions — beyond the textbook), hear them in a conversation, rehearse them, and finish by saying one thing out loud to be graded.
A rooftop bar in Shibuya, the city lights spread below. Friday 9pm. Your Japanese colleagues raise their glasses. This is the social Japanese that earns real respect — the phrases no textbook teaches first.
The rooftop bar in Shibuya looks down over the crossing — the famous scramble intersection where 3,000 people cross simultaneously every two minutes. At night, the neon grid of the city extends in every direction and the sound is a permanent low roar that Tokyo never turns off.
The stranger is with Tanaka-san and two colleagues from her company. They've been at the izakaya for two hours and have moved here for the nijikai — the second party, typically a bar. Drinks arrive.
Tanaka-san raises her glass: 「お疲れさまでした！今夜のために乾杯！」 — Otsukaresama deshita! Konya no tame ni kanpai! Good work today! Cheers to tonight!
The stranger responds: 「乾杯！本当に楽しかったです！日本が大好きです！」 Everyone laughs. 「すごい！日本語が上手！」 It's encouragement again. But this time, the stranger believes them a little more.