365 Days of Beer

"Tokyu Food Show"

So I was strolling around Shibuya, amped up after having 2 iced coffees. I wandered down into the Metro to look for the train to Shimo-Kitazawa, not realizing I was in the completely wrong place.

I strolled past shop after shop in the underground and finally pulled out my map, trying to be self-reliant and not have to ask for directions.

So there I was, looking at down at my map, walking slow so as not to bump into anyone or trip. Subconsciously, my nose was following various enticing aromas... where were they coming from?!

I walked into a dead end and looked up. What did I see?



"Oh..." I thought to myself, then casually walked inside, forgetting about the map and getting lost and everything else.

There was all this food laid out in front of me. Look below to get a sense of what this all looked like.



Now, I found that this is actually a permanent setup, which is why it is so awesome, but I still wonder why we don't have such a thing here in the US. Instead we get crappy mall food courts with disgusting fast food.

The entrance I came in through happened to be the sweets and breads section. I don't remember the names of all these vendors but some of them are in the photos. As you can see, there was a huge amount of choices available!



Just about anything you could want for dessert was available here. I feel like such an idiot for not trying something but I was full from the two iced coffees which I now regret having.



The great thing about this, is you have all these vendors competing for business, so they give you high quality stuff and plenty of choices. It's not like here in the US, where department store eateries like to have the monopoly on food. And if there are other competitors they are banished to another floor entirely. STUPID!

Beyond the sweets, there was ACTUAL FOOD... if you are into that sort of thing. Just about every Japanese delicacy was available here. Take a look!




I don't know what else to really say but the pictures do all the talking anyways. If you don't know what everything is above... shame on you! I wish I had tried something so I could maybe describe the food to you. Oops...

"Shimo-Kitazawa"

I had read that Shimo-Kitazawa was a pretty cool part of town. Like Shibuya, but on a smaller scale and a little more quiet. Plus there was a beer bar there that I wanted to visit (they have 2 in this section of town).

Finally I found the right train line and arrived at Shimo-Kitazawa. Right away I loved the atmosphere of the place. Small, quiet streets, yet lots of activity and cool shops. I really felt like if I was to move to Tokyo I would setup shop here, and I even looked at the window of a local real estate office to check the rent prices, which I thought were pretty decent for Tokyo.



Initially I planned on staying here only about an hour, but I made a whole afternoon of it, and walked through a significant amount of the commercial area of the town.

I walked past a French restaurant called Trocadero. Apparently the entire building was moved from France to Japan, to keep that authentic feel. Take a look:



Next time I will eat there.

"Kura Kura"

After roaming the streets and taking it all in, I felt it was time to find one of these beer bars and have a drink or two.

Not far from the station is Kura Kura, a cozy beer bar serving a variety of Japanese microbrews as well as imported selections. The decor is modern, the atmosphere is very chilled out, and the owner is a nice guy who definitely loves his beer.



I went inside, chose a table and flipped through the menu, selecting one of the microbrews I have never seen before. Take a look at the welcoming committee:



And the interior:



225) Fujizakura Kougen Hefeweizen - Served in the proper glassware, it pours a cloudy yellow with a thick head. Aromas were a little more dominated by the spice side rather than the fruit side. The flavors were quite complex with a hint of apples in there. Pretty impressive and unique take on the style.



All that walking around made me hungry so I ordered a plate of mixed sausages to go with the beer. It was an excellent accompaniment.



226) Baird Teikoku IPA - This is not really a typical IPA. As you can see it doesn't have that golden color usually associated with the style. It is described as a cross between an English pale ale and an American pale ale, and those characteristics are clearly evident here. Aroma was a malty caramel with a touch of hops to it. Body was pretty full with a bitter finish.



The owner was nice enough to let me purchase a selection of bottles to take home. He even gave me a specially lined bag to keep the bottles cool, which I will definitely reuse. I gave him my email address and the URL for my website, so hopefully he will come take a look.

If you love beer, if you are ever in Japan, in Tokyo, take the trip to Shimo-Kitazawa, enjoy a quirky neighborhood that not too many foreigners get to see, and stop by Kura Kura for a few quality microbrews from Japan. You will not be disappointed.

My friends, beyond the Sapporo's, Kirin's, Asahi's and watery happoshu's there is a whole world of beer waiting to be discovered in Japan. Over the next several weeks, I will make those discoveries as I gradually open all the bottles I brought back with me. Hopefully over the next several years the word will get out that some quality stuff is being produced here.

"The Last Night"

After my visit to Shimo-Kitazawa I met up with my cousin for dinner. I felt bad because I had finally hit the wall and could not keep up with him in drinking, and I nearly passed out. He was surprised to see me and had good news that one of my other cousins had gotten married.

The last day of my trip I kept things rather low-key and didn't venture too far. I picked up two more beers from the am/pm and polished them off as I packed for my departure.

227) Kirin Classic Lager - Typical Japanese pale lager maybe slightly better than the usual version and maybe most of the American macros as well.



228) Sapporo Namashibori- The last beer I had in Japan I drank really quickly, and forgot to get a photo. I think this is another happoshu, and it takes like they soaked popcorn in water for 6 hours in the sun, cooled it, carbonated it, and canned it for all the world to drink.

So I'm going to leave it at that. No teary goodbyes or dramatic conclusions to my trip. 228 beers down and 137 to go. I made more progress than I intended to while in Japan on the beer front, and up next, I will run down the 4 new beers I had since my return.

To all those I met in Japan... ja, mata ne...