Hakata/Fukuoka!

We visited Hakata last weekend to meet up with David, who was visiting from Korea.

We got sushi!

... and Takoyaki (balls of fried octopus) from a street vendor:

David loved them!

Then wandered through Canal City shopping mall and found a 50% off sale and 70% off sale (couldn't resist picking up some fall/spring sweaters with such a heavy discount)... and caught this water symphony show:

Hark! Yamaguchi Brewery!

Discovery of the Week!

Chocolate Stout
(courtesy of a generous, thoughtful student and Izutsuya Department Store where she bought it)

The brewery... looks like it's in the German countryside!

Behind the brewery, a gorgeous waterfall and interesting Japanese rock carvings.

So, after the Chocolate Valentine's Beer post a few weeks ago, one of my students realized I had a thing for Chocolate Stouts, and brought me a new one from our local Izutsuya department store. It turns out that they beer had a website on the label, which in turn had a map to the brewery, which happened to be about a 10 minute drive from our apartment.

So now we can visit our own local European-style brewery/restaurant... plus an extremely scenic waterfall just behind it. They brew and serve 6 different beers: pilsner, stout, porter, pale ale, chocolate stout, and weiss. They also offer tasty, handmade pizzas, pastas, beef cutlets, a fountain of chocolate, etc.

So, next time I'm getting a 6-pack variety box.

So.

:D

http://www.yamaguchi-jibeer.com

Microwave Oven...

All of the buttons on our microwave are in Japanese! We don't know what most of them mean.

We got some local help figuring out what all of them mean!

:)

Valentine's beer: Chocolate!

I just discovered this Sapporo-Royce Chocolate malt at Lawson's, one of our many "conbini"s (convenience stores). Delicious!

(Update: It's also available at grocery stores like The BIG.)

Dinner: Fresh Sand!

"Please make your best choice of fresh and delicious."
(says the small print on the packaging... the white text on the black background)

This sandwich is one of those more humorous examples of daily 'Japanese-English' that we encounter here in the fine land of Nihon. I like having an egg and tuna "sand" from time to time, I just wish they wouldn't use mayonnaise! At 185 yen (about $2) from convenience stores like Popular, 7-eleven or Lawson's, sandwiches aren't super cheap, but they're tasty and filling in a pinch between classes.