1200th Post - Sake Tasting in Daimon

I am not a big drinker, and before I came to Japan I had only had sake (pronounced sar-kay) hot. Over here there are Tabehoudai restaurants where you pay to go for, say, 90 minutes and during that time you can eat as many things on skewers as you want and also drink beer or sake to a reasonable extent along with it. Not drinking beer, the first time I went I opted for sake and it was served ice cold. Suddenly, I was liking sake a whole lot more. This discovery ultimately led to yesterday's outing to Nihon-shu, a sake tasting venue near Daimon station.

This is the kind of place we don't have in the uk. It was halfway between a bar and an off license, without being remotely like either. We went in and the staff were very nice with enough english to work it all out. You basically choose three bottles from the 100+ in there. Each one has a label in both japanese and english giving the price per glass and per bottle, the acidity, the sake meter reading (basically how sweet or dry it is) the type of sake, the prefecture it was made in and the percentage of polished rice used. You take the bottles back to your spot and the staff pour you a shot glass full of each one (full to the brim, not like an english measure) and you pay before getting down to the tasting.

There is absolutely no sales pitch - the staff just pour and go - which was rather nice as it leaves you to chat to whoever you're with. The others there were mostly salary men (office workers) in ones and twos. Most were men but there were a few women.

I generally drink the house sake (which there usually is on a restaurant menu along with the house red or white) and had no idea what the different numbers would translate into. So with a fairly random approach we chose three.

Going from right to left, the Cowboy one was actually divine and we ended up bringing a bottle back with us. The middle one was a lot sweeter which I imagined I would prefer (you know me and sweets) but actually I didn't at all. The final one I found quite bland. Now at this point your intrepid heroine was feeling a little bit light headed. Three glasses of 14-18% sake is as much as I would usually have in an evening and this had taken about quarter of an hour. I was longing for some french bread, or even a slice of mother's pride, but all we could find were rice crackers and some admittedly lovely smoked mackerel, but neither of these are that well known for their absorbant or stomach lining properties. I took a tight hold of myself, and the table, and got ready for round two.

Pooch picked the two blue ones while, after having a good look, I decided to stick with the Cowboy since I really did like it that much. As you can see from the glasses the pale blue one was unfiltered meaning it still had some of the rice's natural starch in it and some bits of rice husk, leaving it looking like watery yoghurt - not exactly attractive and the kind of thing where I needed to be already three sheets to the wind before I tried it. Fortunately I was, so I got stuck in. The consistency was a bit like a watered down fruit smoothie and the taste was actually very mellow, although not something I particularly loved. The middle one was a lot yellower in appearance than those of the first round but still the Cowboy stayed as my favourite.

At this point I was firmly clutching the table with one hand and trying not to drop my rice crackers as six glasses of sake is really not my average night. I was all too aware that I might not be looking as sensible as I had been when I set out.

Pooch, however, is Mancunian and made of sterner stuff. Plus he was wearing trousers so no one would see his pants if he fell over. He went in for round three, No photos exist of this third round, of which I have only vague memories, but we still came away with just the Cowboy bottle so I guess none of them grabbed him.

I thought this was a perfect place for an after work drink but not somewhere to plan to spend more than half an hour or so. If you were visiting japan it would be a great way to try some unusual sakes (most were 200-300 per glass so less than £2 but some were more than twice that) and find something you really like. It's a shame that the uk's drinking culture prohibits this kind of place from working there but here it works really well.

Teacher Byrne #2

My original bit of teaching for another organisation didn't work out as no one signed up. I have therefore branched out on my own and created a meetup group called "Tokyo Craft". So far I have listed a tour of the craft shops in Shinjuku, learn to knit, make a kanzashi flower and sashiko for beginners - and I have people signed up for each one! I thought I'd have a practise for the Kanzashi one and whipped up these.

The tweedy one is using traditional japanese fabrics while the other ones are patchwork off cuts. All have vintage button centres.

Two brooches and a pendant/charm. Those all use the same petal shape, and the one I think is the prettiest, but I've also been looking at the more delicate ones made differently using satin and silk. There are some beautiful examples and good tutorials on Pinterest. I've collected some here in case anyone wants them.

2014 Dohyo Matsuri, Sumo Tournament Opening Ceremony

Last Saturday was the opening ceremony of the current Sumo tournament. There are 6 each year - 3 in Tokyo and 3 in other major Japanese cities. I missed the June one so as soon as the tickets went on sale for this month I was online. Pooch and I are going this weekend so this opening ceremony was a kind of warm up for me! The venue is next to Ryogoku station, which is therefore suitably decked out with the appropriate face cut out.

The venue itself is surrounded by these very brightly coloured flags, fluttering in the breeze.

Once we got inside it is a bit like any big stadium - lots of muddy coloured corridors with snack vendors dotted about and then double doors taking you into the main arena. Wow! It was pretty impressive.

The roof suspended over the ring resembles a Shinto shrine, emphasising the serious nature of the event. This isn't just fat guys grappling - this is a serious profession with many spiritual elements.

As the place filled up the ringside seats were taken by very serious looking men in dark suits. The presumably less important men (equality, never exactly advanced in japan, has not yet reached Sumo and absolutely everyone involved is male) were cross legged to one side, behind the Priests.

On the other side sat a row of Sumo wrestlers. I would have liked to know how they were chosen but can only speculate.

In all there are 47 training stables which contain roughly 640 wrestlers. The most junior have to get up at 5am and as well as training are servants to the senior ones. Wrestlers of any rank are only allowed to wear traditional japanese yukata and wooden shoes and have to obey a huge slew of rules. According to wikipedia, after one top guy was in a bad car accident they were forbidden from driving their own cars. That might be testicles but it could equally be quite true.

The three Priests processed in and sat down before the ceremony started. The Priest on the far side didn't have his own bit of ceremony to perform and just assisted the senior one.

The Priest nearest me was the first to get up and waved the bamboo branches to all four sides of the square and said some things before sitting down again. There was a lot of bowing going on. The two junior Priests wore very beautiful white silk outfits.

The bright spotlight over the ring meant they looked very angelic and almost seemed to be glowing. Their hats looked a bit like armadillo shells with black glitter on while the senior guy had an amazing hat - almost egyptian in appearance - which included a part that bent over the top of his head and boinged up and down as he moved.

He had a bit more colour to his outfit and some beautiful purple pantaloon type things on underneath.

I was itching to get a better look to see if they were woven, embroidered or printed! His part of the ceremony involved some lengthy chanting and overseeing the blessing of all four corners of the ring and the ring itself, assisted by the other two. Once the Priests had finished there were some big japanese Taiko drums carried around the ring twice by some younger guys.

And then just as suddenly as it had started it was over! All that remained was for the crew to fill in a post hole in the middle of the ring and use that huge wooden croquet mallet type thing to smooth and compact the surface.

Back outside there was a display of some of the trophies given to the winner. The main trophy is pretty impressive and stands about 3 feet high.

However, it isn't just the one trophy. Coca Cola gives a huge silver coke bottle. The Czech Republic gives a large crystal bowl. Lots of people give other bits and bobs. Everything in the case represents the trophies for just this tournament (I think - possibly for the year. It's difficult to be certain when all the labels are in japanese.)

It all adds up to a prize more like Supermarket Sweep than the FA Cup.

After a quick look around the onsite Museum (no photos allowed) we had a tour of some local Stables. These ranged from the quite impressive...

(Sneaky peak inside until the wrestlers saw a group of about 40 Gaijen peering in and closed the doors)

...to ones that looked more like a Scout Hut.

I have oodles of Sumo facts to share but I am going to save those for when I blog about the actual wrestling. I am really excited to be going!

A Present of Sashiko

I mentioned in Thursday's post that I had made another 'Sew Beautiful' bag using some sashiko embroidery. Sashiko is the japanese word for 'little stabs', not to be confused with 'chiku chiku' which is the onomatopoeic phrase for sewing - chiku is said to be the noise the needle makes when it goes in and out of the fabric to form one stitch. The japanese are very keen on onomatopoeia. When I had finished the fabric I intended to use for the outside I had a strong urge to leave it as it was and frame it or something.

I really like how it turned out. I didn't use any traditional patterns so the embroidery is a bit random. I used scraps of traditional japanese fabrics and used the embroidery to secure them to a felt backing.

The finished object...

This will be making its way to england in time for my step-dad's birthday.

How To Talk to Your Cat About Gun Safety

Last week I ordered this zine from Etsy, and I am so glad I did.

The cats of Ebisu were woefully ill-informed. I held a number of emergency one-on-ones, and one one-on-two, but one of those was cleaning their foot the whole time so I don't think that counts.

Even Bruiser stopped hating everything generally for a moment to specifically focus his hate on this zine.

In his case I suspect he's now thinking about where he can find a gun. He is one big furball of angry.

There is another publication by the same people, called "How to talk to your cat about evolution", but I'm saving that for next term.

Around the World Bloghop

With my recent travel malarkey and corresponding jetlag-from-hell I got a bit behind on my emails and so thought I had been nominated for this, whereas I had left it too late to reply, but by then I had nominated someone and she in turn had nominated someone and so I was left a bit unsure about how to continue. SO...to bring everything up to speed I hereby nominate myself for this bloghop, and therefore inflict my answers on you unfairly. Only the brave will read on.

This bloghop, as I am sure you will all have read on other blogs by now, asks you to answer four questions. And so it begins...

(Babylon 5 joke there. Bit geeky. You can read about it here but basically don't worry about it.)

What am I working on?

It's probably quicker to say that I am not spinning anything, nor do I plan to. Other than that I am someone who has a little bit of everything going on all at once. I sometimes claim to have a short attention span but if I'm finding something interesting I will work on it for hours, days even, until it is done or I stop finding it interesting. When I first read about 'flow' (wiki link) I knew this is what I long for in creating things. So for instance, I am in the middle of planning a cross stitch of some graffitti lettering, this morning I have made one skirt from 2-way stretch fabric and cut out the outer fabric of a cotton circle skirt for which I made up a pattern. Yesterday I bought more fabric for my Lucy Boston 'Patchwork of the Crosses' EPP patchwork and made a load more fussy cut and random cut pieces for it. I have a huge quilt in progress for a friend. I have a pair of cabled socks on the needles for no one in particular, but probably a christmas present, plus I am about to start a knitted hat for my sister. I just finished another Sew Beautiful bag which is a birthday present, but I only included one zipped pocket since it's for a man and they have fewer little things of stuff in general. I also keep picking up and putting down some weaving strips as I really want to give that a try and start making proper baskets but I'm a bit nervous about ballsing it up, but then I do have some ribbon on order to make a woven ribbon piece to then use in a metal frame purse. The only times my mind isn't twitching from one idea to the next is when I'm experiencing flow. I guess that's why I like it so much - it gives me a real rest.

How does my work differ from others in my genre?

I think there are two things - the breadth of crafts I blog about and my writing about when it all goes wrong. The example of the latter which comes most readily to mind is my blogpost containing the words "malformed buttocks" used to describe a felted mobius basket I made. The pictures of that post don't seem to have made it through from 2010 so I reproduce here, just for you, this poor article in all its glory.

More recently there were these purses. Ghastly.

Why do I write/create what I do?

It is definitely a compulsion - both to make things and then to blog about it afterwards. Although I write as if I'm writing for someone else most of the time, I really just blog for myself. It's both an outlet and a record of what I've done. And like a real diary, there is a paper copy.

Except now of course there is a 2010, 2011 and 2012 volume. In fact I only finished the 2012 volume when I was in england last month as I had got a bit behind. I still have 2013 to do. I use a company called Blurb who have a process they call 'slurping' which pulls down all your blog posts between a specific date range, and the photos, and pre formats a book size of your choosing for you. It's then up to you to go in and tweak it.

Going back to the 'making' compulsion...it is something I have had since I was a child and I don;t really understand it. I don't like sitting still and watching television, or listening to the radio, or even just doing nothing. What I do like is doing these things with a project in my hand. I think that explains the diversity of projects. There are some that need a sewing machine, or strong daylight, while there are others I can easily transport and do in a dark corner. When I cannot think what to make next I get very frustrated and uncomfortable.

How does my writing/creative process work?

I am not a terribly creative person. I rarely come up with some stupendous idea by myself but...I am very good at taking what someone else has done and adapting it to my own ends. I don;t consider this to be creative because it is essentially just 'copying with variations'. This means that Pinterest has been the greatest internet invention ever, as far as I'm concerned. I belong to this group on Facebook that I was invited to join by the Pinterest company themselves and I quickly realised that most of those people invited were pinning as a way to raise their own profile or drive business. Me? I am pinning for myself. That's right.

39 boards and more than 4,000 pins, all for me! I do seem to have a lot of followers and I've got the 'follow me' thing up on the blog but it's not something I check on or work to promote. I have a 'secret' board (one only I see) called 'Imminent Makes' which are things that are inspiring my thoughts at the moment. One of these is a crocheted circle bracelet, for which I bought these last week.

I pin my own photos sometimes too, to remind me of what I've seen and what it made me think of at the time.

Other than acting on inspiration I tend to make things on demand. For example, it is someone's birthday...I have made several Sew Beautiful bags as presents recently...would they like one...yes, I'll make one. But even then I make it special for them and combine a technique or two I've been thinking about. In this case Sashiko.

I rarely make things without an intended recipient.


So there you have it! I hope those of you that read for this long (well done, madam) found that interesting. I am nominating just one person - Nickerjac. I have nominated her for several reasons. First off she is an amazing crafter with the same sort of diversity in her interests as me so I can discuss all sorts of things with her and be inspired by what she's doing. Secondly she is someone I met, at first online, through blogging back in 2005 (I think) and we have been friends ever since! Lastly, I will be very interested to read what she says. She will be blogging on or around Monday 15th so I sincerely look forward to that!

August Makes

First of all, thanks for your kind comments on my last post. I've edited it to give the rest of the saga so you can find it here if you're interested.

I was crafting on the go in August since I spent the whole of it in England.

From top left,

1. A brown cowl for my sister. I used Drops Merino Extra Fine and really liked it. It is DK and was less than £4 for 50g so not bad. 
2. A cardigan for Jasmine, followed by...
3. A beanie hat for Jasmine. She looked so cute in it!
4. Smocked peg bag for Mum
5. Cross stitch for a book cover.
6. Dress for Mum

Only one thing for myself on there - which this morning I turned into this:

I really love it although if I do another I'll make the flaps that the covers go into extend further. 

On this one they only go about half way so I have a feeling they'll often fall off with this notebook. It has frosted plastic covers and you can see the lining through it so I used some tape measure fabric I just got hold of. So pretty!

Sometimes Incredible Things Happen

(3rd Sept - Edited to add the end of the saga)

The title of this post is something a cleaner we used to have once told Pooch and I when asked where some missing items had gone. It is a phrase much used in the Byrne household ever since. On Friday, an incredible thing happened. I'll give you my timetable.

Friday 29th August

• 9am: Cab arrives to take me and my very heavy suitcase to St Pancras
• 9.45: Train to Gatwick
• 10.45: Check in with Vietnam Airlines for 13.10 flight to Hanoi, where I'll transfer to a Tokyo flight, due to arrive the next day at Haneda at 3pm Tokyo time (8 hours ahead of the UK). 
• 12.10: Due to be given gate number for departure. Departure board changes to "next update 14.00" with no reason given.
• 14.00: No update
• 15.30: Told flight is delayed (no reason given) and we are being put up in the Hilton (really not as grand as it sounds) and they'll phone if we can take off tonight. Otherwise a letter will be put under our bedroom doors telling us what to do next. 
• 16.30: Finally get to hotel after fannying about at security and collecting suitcase. 
• 17.00: Still queueing to check-in at hotel, who want us all to share rooms. 
• 17.30: Get to own room. 

Saturday 30th August

• 06.10: Wake up, no letter under door. Call reception who give me a copy of a letter saying the airline is doing all it can to get me to Australia. 
• 08.00: Get correct letter which says to check out at 10am and come back to the check in desks at the airport. Try to find a phone number to see what is going on and find Vietnam Airlines's offices are not open at the weekend. 
• 10.00: Transferred to Ho Minh Chi (Saigon) flight, due to take off at 13.10. They refuse to book me onto a transfer flight as they cannot guarantee we will land in time to make the connection. They promise this will be sorted out when we get to Vietnam.
• 12.50: Gate number finally given, board plane.
• 14.30: Flight finally takes off.  

Sunday 31st August (Vietnam time - 6 hours ahead)

• 05.00: Idiot english guy on plane has drunk too much and vomits 2 rows behind me. Plane smells of vomit and the shoes of the poor woman who was sat next to him are no longer wearable. 
• 09.00: Land at Ho Minh Chi. Transfer desk is swamped - half the plane are there and irritable. 
• 10.00: Told we are being taken to another hotel as there is no flight until 00.10, and that it is only going to the airport way out of Tokyo, not the central one scheduled. It will get in at 8am on Monday Japan time (2 hours ahead of Vietnam), but it will take me another 2-3 hours to get home. 
• 11.30: Finally get to hotel

So here I am. I wasn't expecting to see Vietnam and I don't consider I have really, except some impressive traffic. 

It seems like traffic lights are obeyed, but roundabouts are a free for all. No wonder bike helmets are being sold everywhere. 

I just really hope the flight tonight does take off when it is supposed to. If it does I'll get back a few hours short of 2 days after I should have done.

UPDATE...

Sunday 31st August (continued)

• 6.30pm: Dinner in the hotel restaurant. I thought this was pretty good but those that had made it to lunch (I slept through it) were surprised to find the exact same food on offer. The buffet style dishes included a large number of variations on 'pig trotters', snails and one dish which was labelled as 'deep fried pig's food'. I didn't try that one. 
• 9.30pm: Coach back to airport. Arriving at the Customer Service desk we are asked for our passports, which Vietnam Airlines had insisted on keeping to ensure we came back, since you need a visa to enter Vietnam and none of us had one. After explaining several times that they had our passports, to the blank faces of the staff involved, someone is reluctantly dispatched to look for them and returns 20 minutes later much to the relief of all of us. However, no one has booked us onto the midnight flight. Are there still seats available? One minute please, says nonchalant staff member. Ten minutes later we find out that luckily we can all get on the plane. By now the 13 of us trying to get to Japan are joined in the feeling that we're caught in a cross between 'Saving Private Ryan' and 'Carry on Vietnam'. We are sent to check in our bags and 12 of us get through but there's a problem - one guy is not on their system. The fact he is standing right in front of them and they've had his passport all day doesn't seem to count. It's now 11.20pm, boarding is due to start in 10 minutes and we've all sworn that 'no man gets left behind' so all 13 of us are standing around the now deserted check-in desk waiting for him to get his boarding card. 
• 11.30pm: In the gate lounge, we are all looking rather the worse for wear. But we're here, and we're alive, and that's what counts in this man's army. We are unanimously expecting this flight to be delayed, or cancelled, but miraculously it takes off, no one throws up during it, and it lands on time. 

Monday 1st September

• 8.30am: We're collecting our bags and saying our goodbyes. It's been emotional. 
• 11am: I get home, 41 hours after I should have done. 

I have since looked online and this treatment by Vietnam Airlines seems fairly common, and they are notoriously awful about compensation. I've sent them a standard letter quoting the relevant EU directive but it could take months to get anything from them, if they give me anything at all. What a company! Please warn your friends that if they are visiting Asia or Australia they should avoid Vietnam Airlines at all costs. 

Goodbye Family, Hello London

Before I shook the dust of the south west off my trainers we had a visit from Dad and my other brother and sister, Piers and Freddie. Strictly speaking F and P are half-siblings and Dad gets all sentimental when we all get together as it doesn't happen that often. Add Jasmine into the mix and he was like a wise owl puffing out its feathers in pride.

After an excellent lunch we found a bench on the village green and watched the cricket.

Piers was outraged they weren't wearing white and Sian was annoyed when they played snippets of pop music whenever someone got a 4, 6 or out. It's all part of the 20/20 scene apparently. Jasmine seemed unmoved but enjoyed all the attention from her family.

With just one more day left together we took Jasmine to Yo Sushi to see if she'd be tempted by a taste of Japan.

While she was interested in the conveyor of food, she pulled the most expressive of faces when I tried her with some salmon sashimi. I think she'd been fooled by the colour and was expecting it to be fruity so I can understand her disgust! Raw fish is clearly some way off. On my final morning with her she got hold of my hairbrush - a nifty device Sian got me for my birthday which cuts through long hair like the fabled hot knife through butter.

One side of her silky soft hair was very well combed in a vaguely sixties look. She seemed very chuffed with it.

Final goodbyes were tortuous as I felt the strongest protective feelings towards her and really did not want to say goodbye to her or my sister. Sian sent me some photos afterwards and I have to admit a tear or two was shed.

My sister has done such an amazing job bringing Jasmine up single handed after her utter shit of a husband went off before she was even 1 year old.

Back in London I am using AirBnB again and am in an admittedly tiny but very comfortable room in East Dulwich (south london).

Yesterday saw me watching 'Guardians of the Galaxy' in Peckham while today I'm going into town to be a bit of a tourist before meeting some drinking buddies tonight. I doubt I'll have a chance to blog again before I go so it only remains for me to say...see you in Japan!