Monday, July 31, 2006
Japan 2006, Pt. 1
"14 Hrs. on a Plane"
It's torturous, but to go to Japan makes it worth the lengthy journey. Luckily for me on this same flight I would have a friend from work along w/ her boyfriend. That kind of gave me an excuse to get up and walk around to the other side of the plane and say hello from time to time, and i think that made the flight go a little quicker.
The key to surviving such a flight is to immediately adjust your watch to destination time, and follow that schedule. If you miss meals, etc., because you have to sleep, so be it.
Thankfully there is a Brooklyn Beer Garden next to the gate, so you can have a good beer or two before boarding. The flight departed at 2:30am Tokyo time, so I promptly set my watch upon boarding the plane and fell asleep as the alcohol took its effect. The airplane shuts off the lights at certain points during the flight but they usually do this on New York time, which will only screw you up if you follow their lead. When they did this it was actually time to wake up in Tokyo, so I stayed awake, turned on the light above me and brushed up on my Japanese.
"Arrival in Narita"
Narita Airport is located in Chiba Prefecture, and is not actually in Tokyo. It would be the equivalent of landing someplace in the middle of Connecticut to travel to New York City. In other words, it is out there in the middle of nowhere. Arriving here as a foreigner is apparently the same as arriving in the US as a citizen. When I return to JFK from abroad, you see a long line of foreigners while the US citizens get moved through the queue with hardly any wait. Here in Japan the foreigners went through quickly while Japanese citizens seemed to be held up in a huge line.
After retrieving my baggage I exchanged my money (do it here to get the best rate) and took some more out from the ATM (Citibank). Then I went down the escalators to the JR Line NEX (Narita Express).
The train ride to Tokyo is comfortable and takes a little more than an hour. By the time the train pulled into Ikebukuro, I was the only one left in my car. I got out and checked into the hotel, then cleaned myself up and took a stroll around this part of town, where I hadn't been in almost 16 years.
"The Kill Bill Place"
One of the first nights, I went to dinner at Gonpachi in Roppongi. It is said that the interior design of this restaurant served as the inspiration for the location of the final scenes of Kill Bill Vol. 1 (where the massive swordfight takes place). Check my Flickr gallery for the photo.
The atmosphere is really cool here, though every other patron is a foreigner. The food is really good as well. I stuck mostly with the yakitori menu and everything was very tasty.
"Sapporo Beer Museum"
Hmm... that looks interesting...
Those were my thoughts as I looked at my pocked map of Tokyo and saw a little dot on the map of Ebisu marked "Sapporo Beer Museum."
After researching it a little on the Internet, I decided that would be my first stop of the day. I headed down into the subway and took the Yamanote Line down to Ebisu.
To get to the Yebisu Garden Place (where the museum is) one has to take the skywalk. Its a huge enclosed people mover that has at least 4 parts to it. This dumps you out at the entrance of the Garden Place, a new complex of public space, shops, restaurants, and new office towers.
When I saw the huge beer cans guarding the entrance to the museum I was in the right place. You walk through the doors and are greeted by the enthusiastic shop staff. "Irashaimase!"
Admission to the museum is free but everything is in Japanese. I was really only here for the tasting, so I kind of breezed through the displays, mostly of old equipment and memoribilia. There were also basic displays of the beer making process, but I don't see how anyone could really learn anything here.
By far, and I mean BY FAR the most fascinating part of the tour was right at the very end. There is this long glass display case with a house on one end, and a creepy looking mansion and forest on the right. There was also a single shiny red button on the panel in front of it. So what else is a foreigner to do but PRESS THE RED BUTTON!
The display lit up and these holographic actors came into the picture. I couldn't understand what they were saying but all of a sudden a fairy appeared at the top and poured these two guys a beer! But suddenly, an evil wizard appeared in the dark forest and he drained the beer and KIDNAPPED THE BEER FAIRY!! This had to be seen to be believed. And if they didn't have a "no photography" sign in English you bet I would have taped this.
At that point I backed away from the display and went around the corner to the Tasting Lounge.
Instead of going up to the counter, you need to first purchase your ticket from the vending machine. There is a display case so you can see what is available, then you put your money in the machine and you get a plastic ticket which you then bring to the counter.
I ordered the sampler, and a glass of the Edel Pils. Everything else I had tried already.
You give your tickets to the bartenders and with robot-like efficiency they pour two beers each at the exact same rate of speed and place them on the little tray. You get a bag of Sapporo Beer Crackers for the purpose of refreshing your palate.
Clockwise from top left: Sapporo Weiss, Sapporo Edel Pils, Yebisu Beer, Yebisu Black Beer, and Sapporo Ale.
The first beer I had off the tray was the Yebisu beer on the top right. It is made with 100% barley malt and aroma hops. As such you only get the hoppy character when smelling the beer and the taste is very malty. I actually really like it so I took a can home with me.
219) Sapporo Edel Pils - I went with the big one next. The flavor profile of this was bitter all around. The finish was dry and lingering.
220) Sapporo Weiss - Like the pils, I have never seen this before anywhere else, so I assume it is only available at the museum and maybe at their restaurants. This is on the top left of the picture above. This is top-fermented using 100% wheat malt. The tasting notes indicated a little bitterness but I didn't really get much of that. Maybe that was because I just tasted the very bitter Edel Pils and those characteristics got drowned out. Very easy drinking but I thought it was rather bland.
221) Sapporo Ale - Bottom left of the picture. Again, this is a rarity. Tasting notes indicate this is in the British style. Color was a reddish orange. Medium body with a crisp finish.
Ended this session with the Yebisu Black Beer, which I had on my last trip to Japan. Coffee bean aroma. It's quite flavorful with coffee and chocolate hints. They should sell this here in the states.
"Late Night Run"
Later that night I stopped at the Am/Pm and picked up a few cans I hadn't had.
222) Asahi Gubinama - This is basically a beer flavored soda. That's what its like. There is no malt in this, instead I believe it is made with soybeans and sugar. It's nasty.
Fake beer.
That's the end of Part 1. In the next part, I will review more beers, talk about some places around Tokyo, and some of the things I ate. If you're keeping count we are at 222 beers down and 143 to go. I have 6 more to review from Japan plus 2 more since my return, if you want the latest stats.
It's torturous, but to go to Japan makes it worth the lengthy journey. Luckily for me on this same flight I would have a friend from work along w/ her boyfriend. That kind of gave me an excuse to get up and walk around to the other side of the plane and say hello from time to time, and i think that made the flight go a little quicker.
The key to surviving such a flight is to immediately adjust your watch to destination time, and follow that schedule. If you miss meals, etc., because you have to sleep, so be it.
Thankfully there is a Brooklyn Beer Garden next to the gate, so you can have a good beer or two before boarding. The flight departed at 2:30am Tokyo time, so I promptly set my watch upon boarding the plane and fell asleep as the alcohol took its effect. The airplane shuts off the lights at certain points during the flight but they usually do this on New York time, which will only screw you up if you follow their lead. When they did this it was actually time to wake up in Tokyo, so I stayed awake, turned on the light above me and brushed up on my Japanese.
"Arrival in Narita"
Narita Airport is located in Chiba Prefecture, and is not actually in Tokyo. It would be the equivalent of landing someplace in the middle of Connecticut to travel to New York City. In other words, it is out there in the middle of nowhere. Arriving here as a foreigner is apparently the same as arriving in the US as a citizen. When I return to JFK from abroad, you see a long line of foreigners while the US citizens get moved through the queue with hardly any wait. Here in Japan the foreigners went through quickly while Japanese citizens seemed to be held up in a huge line.
After retrieving my baggage I exchanged my money (do it here to get the best rate) and took some more out from the ATM (Citibank). Then I went down the escalators to the JR Line NEX (Narita Express).
The train ride to Tokyo is comfortable and takes a little more than an hour. By the time the train pulled into Ikebukuro, I was the only one left in my car. I got out and checked into the hotel, then cleaned myself up and took a stroll around this part of town, where I hadn't been in almost 16 years.
"The Kill Bill Place"
One of the first nights, I went to dinner at Gonpachi in Roppongi. It is said that the interior design of this restaurant served as the inspiration for the location of the final scenes of Kill Bill Vol. 1 (where the massive swordfight takes place). Check my Flickr gallery for the photo.
The atmosphere is really cool here, though every other patron is a foreigner. The food is really good as well. I stuck mostly with the yakitori menu and everything was very tasty.
"Sapporo Beer Museum"
Hmm... that looks interesting...
Those were my thoughts as I looked at my pocked map of Tokyo and saw a little dot on the map of Ebisu marked "Sapporo Beer Museum."
After researching it a little on the Internet, I decided that would be my first stop of the day. I headed down into the subway and took the Yamanote Line down to Ebisu.
To get to the Yebisu Garden Place (where the museum is) one has to take the skywalk. Its a huge enclosed people mover that has at least 4 parts to it. This dumps you out at the entrance of the Garden Place, a new complex of public space, shops, restaurants, and new office towers.
When I saw the huge beer cans guarding the entrance to the museum I was in the right place. You walk through the doors and are greeted by the enthusiastic shop staff. "Irashaimase!"
Admission to the museum is free but everything is in Japanese. I was really only here for the tasting, so I kind of breezed through the displays, mostly of old equipment and memoribilia. There were also basic displays of the beer making process, but I don't see how anyone could really learn anything here.
By far, and I mean BY FAR the most fascinating part of the tour was right at the very end. There is this long glass display case with a house on one end, and a creepy looking mansion and forest on the right. There was also a single shiny red button on the panel in front of it. So what else is a foreigner to do but PRESS THE RED BUTTON!
The display lit up and these holographic actors came into the picture. I couldn't understand what they were saying but all of a sudden a fairy appeared at the top and poured these two guys a beer! But suddenly, an evil wizard appeared in the dark forest and he drained the beer and KIDNAPPED THE BEER FAIRY!! This had to be seen to be believed. And if they didn't have a "no photography" sign in English you bet I would have taped this.
At that point I backed away from the display and went around the corner to the Tasting Lounge.
Instead of going up to the counter, you need to first purchase your ticket from the vending machine. There is a display case so you can see what is available, then you put your money in the machine and you get a plastic ticket which you then bring to the counter.
I ordered the sampler, and a glass of the Edel Pils. Everything else I had tried already.
You give your tickets to the bartenders and with robot-like efficiency they pour two beers each at the exact same rate of speed and place them on the little tray. You get a bag of Sapporo Beer Crackers for the purpose of refreshing your palate.
Clockwise from top left: Sapporo Weiss, Sapporo Edel Pils, Yebisu Beer, Yebisu Black Beer, and Sapporo Ale.
The first beer I had off the tray was the Yebisu beer on the top right. It is made with 100% barley malt and aroma hops. As such you only get the hoppy character when smelling the beer and the taste is very malty. I actually really like it so I took a can home with me.
219) Sapporo Edel Pils - I went with the big one next. The flavor profile of this was bitter all around. The finish was dry and lingering.
220) Sapporo Weiss - Like the pils, I have never seen this before anywhere else, so I assume it is only available at the museum and maybe at their restaurants. This is on the top left of the picture above. This is top-fermented using 100% wheat malt. The tasting notes indicated a little bitterness but I didn't really get much of that. Maybe that was because I just tasted the very bitter Edel Pils and those characteristics got drowned out. Very easy drinking but I thought it was rather bland.
221) Sapporo Ale - Bottom left of the picture. Again, this is a rarity. Tasting notes indicate this is in the British style. Color was a reddish orange. Medium body with a crisp finish.
Ended this session with the Yebisu Black Beer, which I had on my last trip to Japan. Coffee bean aroma. It's quite flavorful with coffee and chocolate hints. They should sell this here in the states.
"Late Night Run"
Later that night I stopped at the Am/Pm and picked up a few cans I hadn't had.
222) Asahi Gubinama - This is basically a beer flavored soda. That's what its like. There is no malt in this, instead I believe it is made with soybeans and sugar. It's nasty.
Fake beer.
That's the end of Part 1. In the next part, I will review more beers, talk about some places around Tokyo, and some of the things I ate. If you're keeping count we are at 222 beers down and 143 to go. I have 6 more to review from Japan plus 2 more since my return, if you want the latest stats.
# posted by Nick @ 10:19 AM 
