2012-04-07

Booze, Fish and Hot Springs.

The end of the school year is a big deal. Another year complete. For better or worse, we we got the job done and (hopefully) gave our students enough XP to level up. To congratulate ourselves on a job well done, we go up to Ikaho for our big overnight enkai (drinking party).
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Because we were spending the night at a hotel there was no need to worry about taxis or transport. As a result, we did drink a fair amount. Unlike all the other ALTS (who come from countries with shitty beer) I find the local brews sub standard by African standards. No worries. While they have not been making beer all that long here, they sure as hell have been distilling rice for centuries. Local is lekker, and especially at these higher end venues, the shochu and nihonshu are phenomenally tasty.
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The food was also good. The overnight enkai especially  has some really nice food. Small amounts but a large selection.
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There are however a number of strange ass items on the menu too. I have been pretty adventurous since coming here, but my general dislike of seafood unless raw and presented in an aesthetically pleasing manner means that even though the dish was rare and supposedly tasty, I couldn’t bring myself to eat one full fish, with it’s eyeballs seared white from the cooking.
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I do like how we get to cook a good deal of the food ourselves at the table. This party was the first time I have ever seen mini rice cookers that we use to cook our own rice right at the table. Even though I have absolutely no use for one… I WANT ONE!
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After consuming a goodly deal of food and booze at the main party, we went to one of the rooms (the one I was sleeping in) broke out more booze and snacks, and went for round 2. an hour or so later as the group started to disipate the others who were in my room and myself took a midnight stroll to a ramen shop where we got our drink on again. The others ate ramen too, but I just enjoyed the booze and gyoza.
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With that our year came to a close, we ate , drank, drank, drank, drank AND made merry.

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