Fake Chinamen in Nagasaki

When I arrived into Nagasaki, by a lucky coincidence, it was the third day of the lantern festival. The Lantern festival is a lighting up of the streets of the city, carried out by the Chinese residents until 12 years ago, but now embraced by the whole city. My driver was a member of the Lucky Group and we felt especially lucky because he was dressed a fabulous red Chinese outfit.

He wasn't entirely happy to be wearing it. The suit belonged to the company but he had to pay for the cleaning cost himself and it was pretty hot during the two weeks of the Lantern Festival. It wasn't strictly complsory to wear the suits, but most of the drivers in his group did. Probably that peer pressure thing again. For the week around Christmas, they don Santa suits but don't go as far as stick-on beards.
Our driver was a jolly chap, and despite his lack of weight, I think he would make a fine Santa. He looked young, but perhaps that was just the jolly Chinese suit.

He had only driven a taxi for 8 months. Before that he had worked for thirty years and a company before it had hit hard times and he had to leave. Luckily, he had earned his pension, so he wasn't that upset. It was a shock, but it was possible to move on.

Move on to a job where he gets to drive and wear funny suits. It sounds a little like a regular salaryman.