One of the most famous hot springs in Japan can be found in the town of Kusatsu, Gunma Prefecture. As it is impossible to describe adequately the exquisite pleasures of total immersion in the waters therein and the salubrious effects, both physical and psychological, the experience seems to impart, we will encourage our readers to … Continue reading Initial
On the spur of the moment we bought this nihon-shu at the main market in Aomori City. The market should be a stop on any tourist’s list of things to do there. In addition to fish and other foodstuffs for sale, there are a couple of restaurants of note. We enjoyed a delicious and very … Continue reading Kurako (蔵子): A Sake Purchased in Aomori’s Main Market
Winter When icicles hang by the wall And Dick the shepherd blows his nailAnd Tom bears logs into the hall And milk comes frozen home in pail,When blood is nipp'd and ways be foul,Then nightly sings the staring owl, Tu-whit;Tu-who, a merry note,While greasy Joan doth keel the pot.When all aloud the wind doth blow And coughing drowns the … Continue reading Sannohe-no-Donberi (三戸のドンベリ)
A few years ago we published a book entitled Drinking Japan: It’s NOT Just Sake, a fact that we believe has been well established by the current popularity and price of Japanese whisky. This week we would like to employ a similar subtitle to the subject of hops, whose ubiquity in beer production has eclipsed … Continue reading Hops: It’s NOT Just Beer
There were times when certain university students invested their energies in questionable pursuits. In the somewhat distant past, for example, there were some who felt compelled to swallow goldfish. In the first half of the twentieth century the situation got so bad at Temple University that “Fraternities stationed volunteers near the fish tank in the … Continue reading The Asia University Hop Project (AUHP) Comes to Fruition: Behold, The Beer–Asia Beer
Exhibit at the Nebuta Museum, Hachinohe Hachinohe is a city in Aomori Prefecture, northern Honshu. As Steve Miller would probably put it, there are a couple of things there that one might want to reach out and grab, after making payment, of course. One is a visit to the Nebuta Museum, which is conveniently located … Continue reading Hachinohe Shuzo Co., Ltd.’s V1116: “I Wanna Reach Out and Grab Ya”
Kaminari It is interesting how alcoholic beverages of a certain caliber have very distinct and even poetic names, apparently irrespective of the country of origin. Consider, if you will, the American wino wine MD20/20. The “MD” does not, of course, stand for “Medical Doctors,” who are unlikely to recommend it, let alone savor its less-than-subtle … Continue reading A Sake Named “Kaminari Sandai” (Thunder the Third) @ ¥100: A Down-to-Basics Beverage for Curbside Kiplings
Drinking Japan 