We're Back!

The boys are back in town! After a one year hiatus, we're finally back in Tokyo again. Our trip actually took place a few months ago in October, but I've basically been too lazy to post anything until now. Here's a picture of us toasting our return at one of our favorite Shiba haunts, Akitaya Yakitori!

Now although I haven't felt much like "blogging" recently, you'll be happy to hear that my friend Dean has picked up the slack with his Bura Bura Blog! So far he's chronicled this past trip up through our visit to the Ghibli Museum. He's really put a lot of time and effort into his blog, so please check it out when you have some time.

As for me, I still plan to do some "spot" postings of our trip, but nothing like last year. I'll do my best to write about some items of interest when I can, and leave the tough stuff to Dean.

Good Beer

Dean has come to my rescue with a guest posting to my blog. Enjoy! Beer is a big part of culture in Japan. I think that having a beer with a meal is more common than Americans having a glass of wine with their meal. When you visit Japan, one notices the proliferation of beer ads throughout the city. In the summer, part of the weather forecast is a measure of how good your beer will taste. Depending on the temperature and humidity, the number of beer steins range from 1 to 4. With the more steins meaning that the beer will taste better that day. What I have come to realize is that this really means that it will be hot humid day.

In either case, I have a few favorite beers that would like to share today.Last year, I came across Sapporo Winter's Tale (Fuyu Monogatari) beer. As you sink down your first gulp, you realize that this is not a chugging beer rather something that should be sipped to enjoy the subtle flavor. It is rather heavy for a Japanese beer. However, a lot lighter than your US micros. http://www.sapporobeer.jp/product/beer/winter.html (5.5% Alcohol)

My favorite beer of choice in Japan is Yebisu Black. Not to be confused with the Black Label Lagers this is a dark beer. More porter than stout, it is very smooth with rich but not overbearing flavor that is perfect for the Japanese social drinking seen. It is clean going down with no after taste or burp factor. Perhaps more notable is the fact that this beer is not as heavy as it seems. This is a relatively light beer for a porter. Nonetheless this is my staple as I look for it everywhere I go. No the rumors are not true this is not available in the states. This beer is a limited distribution in Japan as well. (5.0% Alcohol) Ahh, roasted barley and hops...http://www.sapporobeer.jp/product/beer/yebisu_black.html
Posted by Dean Sakata

Grand Sumo Tournament in Hawaii 2007

SORRY FOR THE DELAY IN POSTINGS BUT I'VE BEEN BUSY WITH WORK RECENTLY. Picture this . . . two half naked sweaty men, each weighing over 300 pounds, grabbing each other's underwear while doing pelvic thrusts together. Sound like your idea of a good time? Probably not, unless you're watching the Grand Sumo Tournament in Hawaii 2007! The Japan crew attended the Grand Sumo Tournament a few weeks ago, the first time since 1993 that the world's top sumo wrestlers faced off in Honolulu, Hawaii. While there were no Hawaii wrestlers in this tournament, it was still pretty exciting to watch.

For the uninitiated, Sumo wrestling is the national sport of Japan. It involves individual matches between two rikishi or Sumo wrestlers. The wrestlers are dressed in mawashi which look like colorful thongs attached to really big belts. They wrestle each other in a small dirt ring, doing their best to push the other wrestler out of the ring or make them fall down using hand thrusts and throws. One of the more popular foreign Sumo wrestlers right now is Kotooshu from Bulgaria. (That's him in the above picture on the right.) In a relatively short amount of time, Kotooshu has already attained the rank of Ozeki, or "champion" which is the second highest rank in Sumo, just below Yokuzuna.

Usually Sumo tournaments are held for 15 days, with the winner of the tournament being the wrestler with the best winning record overall. Because the Grand Sumo Tournament in Hawaii was held for only two days, it was conducted as two separate nights of "sudden death" elimination matches. Lose your match and you were out, win and you continued on. The two semi-finalists on Saturday night, Asashoryu and Hakuho, each wrestled four matches before finally getting to wrestle each other for the championship. The Grand Tournament ended it's first night with Asashoryu wining the event. In the above picture he is awarded the Mayor's Cup by Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hanneman.

Let the Countdown Begin!

IT IS OFFICIAL! Start your countdown clocks and set them to T-Minus 4.5 months. On October 14, 2007, we will be returning to the LAND OF SMILES! No my friends we are not traveling to Thailand, we are heading back to TOKYO JAPAN! Most of the original group got together for dinner recently at Chiba-Ken. Missing from the picture are the Oregon bunch (Matt, Brad and Mary) Mark, Mrs. Sakata and Ryan, who was actually there but unfortunately got cut out of the picture. Sorry Ryan!

The herd has thinned this year as only four of us have committed thus far. Quite a bit less than the fourteen of us who went last year. This is mostly because another bigger and longer trip is already being planned for 2008, and not everyone is up to going to Japan three years in a row. I see this as a "glass half full" situation since this really means there will be more sake for me to drink in Tokyo since less people are going!

Let's Give it to Timmy . . . He'll Eat Anything!

POP QUIZ: What is Timmy doing in the above picture?

A. After digging for days, Timmy is proudly showing off the granddaddy of all boogers!

B. Timmy lost a bet and must now swallow a super sized maggot.

C. Timmy is happily enjoying his dinner in Ginza.

If you answered C, you are correct. What looks like a giant maggot is in fact a raw shrimp with it's "brains" attached. Most people pull the head off their shrimp and just eat the body. A few people will sometimes suck the "brains" from the head as well. However, this is the first time I have seen anyone manage to successfully pull the brains out from the head of a raw shrimp while still keeping it attached to the body. Leave it to Timmy to pull off the impossible. .

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This feat of greatness took place during dinner in Ginza and involved one of the biggest raw shrimps I have even seen. Most of the time you think of raw shrimp as the small "ama ebi" you see on sushi. This shrimp was no tiny ama ebi, this sucker was the Godzilla of shellfish. While the above picture does not do it justice, if you look good you can see the shrimp with its head still attached on the sashimi boat.

And now for the money shot! Timmy slurps this monster down in one swallow for the camera. Impressive yet disgusting at the same time. You can see Rae in the background, cringing in terror at this horrific sight! According to Timmy this was the best raw shrimp he had ever eaten. Giant raw shrimp with their brains attached . . . one more reason to visit Japan.