I know I've done a fair bit of griping here about Nihon-jin not sitting next to me on trains and such, so it's time to set the record straight. Every time I've gotten my courage up to go out and talk... well not talk 'cause my language skills are so bad... but meet and grunt at people, I've been so rewarded. Japanese people can be so warm and open hearted and friendly. Man, and you gotta beg 'em to stop from pouring liquor down your throat.

Went out to a little izakaya known for it's oden tonight. Oden is kinda like a stew, with various things cooking for days in a broth. You order chunks of good stuff from the big kettle of stew and they serve it to you with some hot mustard and such. So good! And the people I met were so cool! This one guy was making a stop over on his 2 and a half hour commute from Kyoto. He was drinking warm sho-chu and water with beer, and before I knew it so was I. Naturally our conversation turned to liquor. When asked about my preferences I confessed a prejudice for American beer and whisky, but admitted a fondness for Japanese sake and sho-chu as well. And his favorites? Sho-chu was his first and second, sex his third and beer his fourth. He later revised this assay to put beer over sex.

Here's one for the working man.