Fresh Seafood Dinner

Friends Ishikawa, Muroi, and Ishihara, dropped by for dinner yesterday evening.
Ishikawa-sans parents had shipped him a pretty large chest of fresh かに (Crab) and 貝(Shellfish) from where they live on west coast of Japan. The crab was fresh and really tasty, while the best description I can give for the shellfish would challenging? This was our first experience with this type of shells and they are nothing like clams, or oysters, which I can usually handle if they are cooked or buried in a soup. I tried them 3 different ways, Raw, Broiled, and Boiled, and I just couldn’t find a way I preferred them. For me they were a tad on the bitter side, very slimy, and I required a heavy dosing of Kirin after each attempt, to make the taste go away. Did I mention how wonderful the Crab was? Anyhow Heather was a bit of a puss and wouldn’t even attempt the shellfish, but she did surprise me by partaking in the traditional drinking of the Sake and "Crab Parts" mix from the shell of the crab. This was actually sweet and quite good. Heather prepared some Shrimp Pasta, the guys brought a Baskin and Robbins ice-cream cake, and of course we washed it all down with a lot of Kirin and Shochu whiskey.

Kirin Beer Factory Tour

Yesterday we took a tour of the Kirin beer factory located a few train stops away in the burg of Shimotsukehanaoka. We were provided with our own personal tour guide, Ishii-san who gave us a great tour of the facility, which was capped off with a pouring demonstration and product tasting session. Kirin is the current company in Japan licensed to make Budweiser, and while we were happy to sample thier Bud, we found that we still prefered the Kirin brand products. No pics allowed in the Kojo, so these were the only two we were able to take.