A few nights ago I found myself "out on the town" in Imari. Imari is a great place. I like the pottery and love the people but I have never really found the night life all that riveting. There are a few decent Izakaiyas and the beef is, of course, famous all over Japan but I haven't found many places that I really enjoy going after the meal.

So, the other night after eating at a nice yakitoriya a friend and I found ourselves wandering the downtown area of Imari looking for somewhere to pop into. The first place we stopped at was closed and the second was full, our prospects looked bleak.

But we pushed on. Japan really teaches a person a) how to work hard, and b) how to play hard. We were not going to so easily be denied a good time on this night. Before too long we happen on a local ceramics maker I have been friends with for some years now and I informed him of our little predicament. He quickly suggested a place called "A-Train" and seemed surprised when I told him I had never been there.

He gave us some directions and soon we were there. A~Train is a great little place. There was live blues, jazz and rock coupled with friendly staff and customers all crammed into a tiny space. We were there for hours, taking in the music and having interesting conversations with just about everyone in attendance.

I wonder how many more hidden treasures are left for me to discover in this low-key but talented and enormously creative corner of Japan.

Mark

SURFS ... down

The other morning I woke up early(ish) and hit the road. But this time it wasn't about the yummy yummy squid. With board, wax and wet suit in tow, I took off for the beach. I drove an hour and a half to Keiya on Itoshima. Sure there are closer places to surf but this is my favorite point. A beautiful cape with 33.3 Km of shoreline, most of it sandy beach. One of my favorite places in Japan now that I think about it. The weather man had told me it was going to be warm and sunny. The oceanographers told me there were going to be waves.

I had the day off and I was determined to make it a great one!

I don't know where my sun, warmth and waves went but would like to make abundantly clear that I saw nothing of the sort. It was gray. Gray and damp. I would compare it to the drizzle of London in the fall but I have never actually been to London. Ok... umm... it was not unlike the drizzle of London (Ontario) in the fall.

The one good think to come out of this fools errand was I got to go to Natty Dread. Natty Dread is a hand made beach side restaurant that can't even boast running watter amongst it's charms. But what it can boast is, what has to be Japan's finest Jerk Chicken. A spicy, smoky, slow cooked over an open flame piece of heaven.

Mark

Life is Change, Squid is Good

Living in Japan will change a man. Perhaps living anywhere will change ya. Perhaps just living changes all who are blessed to go on doing so.

Yesterday before sitting down to watch a day of sumo I drove out to my favourite squid place. A little BBQ place near Karatsu. It's on a secluded beach on the far tip of a peninsula that darts deep into the Tsushima Strait at the very bottom of the Sea of Japan. Sure there are closer places that sell squid. Hundreds I suppose. But this place is my favourite and the long drive through mountains and farm land is just part of the experience.

How strange this would have seemed to me a few (well ... it may actually be a few more than a few) years back. I had eaten squid before I came to Japan. It was a dare. Now I have a "favorite squid place". I recommend it to friends and when I haven't been there for a while I find myself missing it. "Life is change. Growth is optional." Indeed.

Mark