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Last month my hubby and I went to see our friends to have a nice dinner at a French restaurant near our house. I knew we had to pay over 7000 yen (about US$70) per person for the dinner. Most of the time I fix meals and we do not spend much money to eat out, except for some special occasions. That day was one of the special occasions that is called “Bounenkai” sort of end-of-year party.The french restaurant was very small and we were the only customers who stayed there at that day. That was good, if only there were no kids.

That was a big surprise to me when I found some of the friends brought their kids and a baby to the restaurant. I knew they had kids but I thought they would ask someone to take care of the kids when they eat at a good restaurant. I was so shocked and unhappy to this matter. The meal was good, but the conversation was focused on their kids world! Someone sings baby songs, 4-year-old boy crawled under our chairs, and the baby parents even change diapers in the middle of the meal, not at the rest room but at the bench on which they sat. A daddy had a boy on his shoulders and played with another boy speaking like a baby words, when a mommy scolded her kids making noise with the cutlery. These activities were made while we had a dinner at a nice French restaurant.
Can you believe that?

That was a nightmare!
I was appalled and didn’t even feel like getting furious at them.
I just couldn’t believe what I was watching. Instead I kept myself drunk & quiet.
The friends of us are nice people, but from this aspect I would never regard them as my “friends” from the bottom of my heart and I realized I dumped the money, prescious time of my own, respect to the foods and friends at that night. I was looking for this occasion since some of the friends were for the first time in long time absence. But I was just so shocked and swore I’d never have such dinner again in my life.

On the way back to our house, I asked my hubby how he’d feel about this situation.
According to him, in Japan it’s quite normal to bring kids anywhere, and kids are always at the centre of the topic, which does not matter even if we also have kids or not. That cannot be helped because parents wouldn’t think as I do. They are just happy talking about their kids, bringing them to anywhere they want to.

WHY? I saw parents eating cold meal after taking care of the baby. They shouldn’t be happy with that. Let alone, how about the people like us who were involved in that?
In fact, there was no fruitfull talk among adults and that was also great disappointment to me. The price of the meal should not be just for the meal. It should include a good opportunity for nice conversation in a good atmosphere.

I’m still confused with this incident.
Am I wrong? Do I think abnormal?
This is something like non-spoken rule, or common sense.
So I just write as I feel.