The Dog Bar - Masuya

During our 2006 trip to Tokyo, we would often walk by this Izakaya on our way home from the train station. During the day, a dog would always be sleeping out front of the shop when we passed by. Because we didn't know the actual name of the place, a few of us started referring to it as the "Dog Bar" because of the ever present sleeping dog. Turns out the place is actually called Masuya which has nothing to do with dogs, go figure? Well, for one reason or another we were never able to stop off for food and drinks here, but vowed to visit during our next trip to Japan. In 2007 we kept our promise and finally went for a visit. If you look real good you can see Timmy standing off to the far right of the picture with a beer in hand as usual.

If you haven't already noticed from my previous postings, we like to drink outside. Here we are standing outside Masuya in the crisp night air, good friends enjoying a tasty beverage together while watching the world walk by. Sightseeing and culture aside, this is the reason we enjoy traveling to Japan! In a previous 2006 posting about Akitaya, I mentioned how they stacked table tops on beer crates outside for us. At Masuya, they used these cool blue 55-gallon drums instead.

The food was pretty good, and the sake was even better. Timmy in his usual fashion had quickly made friends with our bald headed waiter named Kenji. Kenji-san took very good care of us, which was probably due to Timmy's good looks and "boyish" charm. We ordered some sake from Kenji and he poured for us like it was free! Now it is pretty common for Japanese restaurants to place your sake glass into a wooden masu and purposely over pour the sake until it overflows from the glass into the masu. It's a sign of hospitality, and that little bit of over pour makes you feel that you are getting your money's worth. Well Kenji-san not only overflowed our glasses, he also overflowed our masu onto the table. Using some quick "bar math" we came to the conclusion that each of us had received the equivalent of three glasses of sake each. If you don't believe me, take a look at the picture above.

Masuya's location afforded us a beautiful view of Tokyo Tower which you can see in the background of this picture. Oh and that shady looking character in the background is Timmy. When I first took this picture I was pretty pleased with myself, having positioned my mug of beer against the night sky with a beautiful full moon and Tokyo Tower behind it. It was only when I looked at this picture the next day that I realized that my beautiful full moon was actually the glowing sign of the Chinese restaurant next door. I guess Kenji-san really did pour us a lot of sake that night!

Yoshinoya - Breakfast of Champions

I've been wanting to do this post since our 2006 trip to Tokyo and finally got around to it. Welcome to my "ode" to Yoshinoya!

My younger sister once teased me because I liked eating at Yoshinoya when we visited Japan in 2006. "Why would you want to eat there?" she asked when I mentioned having breakfast there a few times. Established in 1899, Yoshinoya is the name of the largest "gyudon" or beef bowl restaurant chain in Japan. Considered "fast food" in Japan, a beef bowl or gyudon is basically a bowl of rice covered with pieces of thinly sliced beef and sometimes onion. The beef and onions are usually kept simmering in their own sauce which allows them to be served quickly when an order is placed, hence the reference to fast food.

There was a Yoshinoya located about a block from our hotel, and we ate there a few times for breakfast. (I understand there are over 1,000 locations alone in Japan.) While they definitely don't serve the same kind of food, I guess my sister puts Yoshinoya in the same category as a McDonalds, which is why she was amused that I would fly all the way to Japan to basically eat at a fast food joint.

In the United Staes you can even buy gyudon in your frozen food section (well, in Hawaii at least). Just pop it in the microwave and you're good to go.

I truly enjoyed having breakfast as Yoshinoya during our trip. I've always been a breakfast guy who prefers something savory as opposed to sweet. No pancakes or fruits for me, give me a plate of salty breakfast meats, eggs and rice and I'm a happy camper! Throw in some miso soup and some pickled vegetables and I'm in heaven! (As a side note, ironically all of us had some type of "pork bowl" as opposed to a beef bowl at the time of our trip. It turns out that Yoshinoya was not serving any beef while we were up there. Apparantly Yoshinoya buys the majority of it's beef from the United States. When Japan banned the import of American beef in 2003 due to mad cow disease, Yoshinoya was forced to stop selling beef bowls. I understand that the ban was lifted in 2005 or 2006, and that Yoshinoya has resumed selling beef bowls but on a very limted basis. Go figure?)

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.