Monthly Archives: June 2012

Agriculture, Bento, 美食, 農業, Food, Food Health, Gastronomes, Gastronomy, Japan, Japanese Gastronomy, Shizuoka, Shizuoka agricultural products, 弁当

Today’s Bento/Lunch Box (12/27): Canned Mussles Bento!

4 Comments

Any time we travel to France or New Caledonia, our two main foreign destinations on long holidays, we acquire as much canned food as possible as it is invariably cheap and so easy to accommodate back home in Japan!

The Missus has a special fondness for Spanish recipe escabeche-style mussles. It is difficult to find the small variety in Japan and she buys them always with a thought for “mazegohan/mixed rice”!

The rice box is no great difficulty and the idea can be expanded at will:
After steaming the rice she adds the whole contents of the can/tin, oil included, and mixes the lot while the rice is hot.
She adds the finishing touch with finely chopped thin leeks for more color and vitamins!

A closer look will prove it is very appetizing indeed!

But eating all these vegetables in Japan back from some heavy food in France is certainly a blessing!

Salad consisting of red, violet and yellow potatoes from the Missus family’s garden, black olive, corn and ice plant on a bed of lettuce and cherries for dessert. Plenty of colors there!

Two more salads to help me recover from the beautiful terrines and pies back in France:
-Chicken breast fillets (leftovers), tomatoes, sesame seeds and cucumber.
-Lightly stir-fried pimentoes of three different colors.

I could have called this bento, “The Link Between France and Japan Bento”! LOL

In any case very colorful, tasty and satisfying!

RECOMMENDED RELATED WEBSITES

Tokyo Food File by Robbie Swinnerton, Green Tea Club by Satoshi Nihonyanagi in Shizuoka!, Mind Some by Tina in Taiwan, Le Manger by Camille Oger (French), The Indian Tourist, Masala Herb by Helene Dsouza in Goa, India, Mummy I Can Cook! by Shu Han in London, Pierre.Cuisine, Francescannotwrite, My White Kitchen, 47 Japanese Farms Through The Eyes of Its Rural Communities, Foodhoe, Chucks Eats, Things that Fizz & Stuff, Five Euro Food by Charles,Red Shallot Kitchen by Priscilla,With a Glass, Nami | Just One Cookbook, Peach Farm Studio, Clumsyfingers by Xethia, PepperBento,Adventures in Bento Making, American Bent, Beanbento, Bento No, Bento Wo Tsukurimashou, Cooking Cute, Eula, Hapabento , Happy Bento, Jacki’s Bento Blog, Kitchen Cow, Leggo My Obento, Le Petit Journal Bento & CO (French), Lunch In A Box,
Susan at Arkonlite, Vegan Lunch Box; Tokyo Tom Baker, Daily Food Porn/Osaka, Only Nature Food Porn, Happy Little Bento, The Herbed Kitchen, J-Mama’s Kitchen, Cook, Eat, Play, Repeat, Bento Lunch Blog (German), Adventures In Bento, Anna The Red’s Bento Factory, Cooking Cute, Timeless Gourmet, Bento Bug, Ideal Meal, Bentosaurus, Mr. Foodie (London/UK), Ohayo Bento,

Must-see tasting websites:

-Sake: Tokyo Through The Drinking Glass, Tokyo Foodcast, Urban Sake, Sake World
-Wine: Palate To Pen, Warren Bobrow, Cellar Tours, Ancient Fire Wines Blog
-Beer: Good Beer & Country Boys, Another Pint, Please!, Beering In Good Mind: All about Craft Beer in kanzai by Nevitt Reagan!
-Japanese Pottery to enjoy your favourite drinks: Yellin Yakimono Gallery

Advertisements
Crustaceans, 由比, 美食, 静岡市, 観光, 魚海の幸, Food, Gastronomes, Gastronomy, Japan, Japanese Gastronomy, Sakura ebi, Sakura shrimp, Shizuoka, Shizuoka Cuisine, Tourism, Yui, Yui Harbor

Sakura Ebi/Cherry Shrimps Catching in Yui. Still Hard Work!

Leave a comment

Large painting of a sakura shrimp at the Yui Harbor Fisheries Association Building in Yui, Aoi Ku, Shizuoka City

Yui fishermen will tell you that life has become a lot easier with the advent of technology including motorised boats, radar, radio, machine-cotrolled nets and syphons, but they agree it is still a toil to go out every evening during the two seasons in Spring and Autumn.
Now, how hard was it not so long ago?

pulling the nets by hand!

Now, if you stroll along the street running along the shore of Yui, you will discover some vending machines adorned with copies of all paintings on the life of Yui Cherry Shrimps Fishermen which will give you a good idea of the hard toil local fishermen had to go through!

Pulling up the nets full of sakura shrimp.
It has always been a team work!

Pulling the boats to shore by hand!

Unloading the baskets full of Cherry shrimps.
The fishermen used to spend half of the night separating the shrimps from small fish.
Only ten years they started syphoning up the shrimps directly from the nets inti the the boxes.
A lot of damage to the quality as they dropped baskets inside the nets and shoveled their contents into boxes.
Now the job is far more efficiently done with very little damage.

Every morning after the cheery shrimps had been sorted out the fishermen had to auction their catch.
Now it is all taken care of by the Association and fishermen can hit the sack after midnight!

in the old days, fishermen gathered around food and drink before sleeping in daytime!
Now, they can sleep between midnight and noon!

Now the habor is completely walled in and the ships do not have to pulled upshore everyday except during the off seasons when they are being scrapped and repaired.

And now the Association is taking care of allotting the departure times and destinations everyday!

If you happen to be in Yui make a point to visit the new Yui Harbor fisheries Association Building where you will discover some interesting photographs!

It is located the new part of the harbor!

People there are shy but I’m sure you will find an old hand willing to relate old times!
All these pictures were taken back in 1963!

Pulling the boats upshore!

Unloading the Cherry shrimps!

Boats coming back to harbor!

Unloading the catch!

Blood, sweat and tears!

Traditional Fisherman’s gear!
Now they wear what they want under waterproof overalls and boots!

The beavhes have now been replaced with a safe harbor!

But for all the great improvements my old samurai friend will be the first to tell you this is still bleedin’ hard work!

RECOMMENDED RELATED WEBSITES

Tokyo Food File by Robbie Swinnerton, Green Tea Club by Satoshi Nihonyanagi in Shizuoka!, Mind Some by Tina in Taiwan, Le Manger by Camille Oger (French), The Indian Tourist, Masala Herb by Helene Dsouza in Goa, India, Mummy I Can Cook! by Shu Han in London, Pierre.Cuisine, Francescannotwrite, My White Kitchen, 47 Japanese Farms Through The Eyes of Its Rural Communities, Foodhoe, Chucks Eats, Things that Fizz & Stuff, Five Euro Food by Charles,Red Shallot Kitchen by Priscilla,With a Glass, Nami | Just One Cookbook, Peach Farm Studio, Clumsyfingers by Xethia, PepperBento,Adventures in Bento Making, American Bent, Beanbento, Bento No, Bento Wo Tsukurimashou, Cooking Cute, Eula, Hapabento , Happy Bento, Jacki’s Bento Blog, Kitchen Cow, Leggo My Obento, Le Petit Journal Bento & CO (French), Lunch In A Box,
Susan at Arkonlite, Vegan Lunch Box; Tokyo Tom Baker, Daily Food Porn/Osaka, Only Nature Food Porn, Happy Little Bento, The Herbed Kitchen, J-Mama’s Kitchen, Cook, Eat, Play, Repeat, Bento Lunch Blog (German), Adventures In Bento, Anna The Red’s Bento Factory, Cooking Cute, Timeless Gourmet, Bento Bug, Ideal Meal, Bentosaurus, Mr. Foodie (London/UK), Ohayo Bento,

Must-see tasting websites:

-Sake: Tokyo Through The Drinking Glass, Tokyo Foodcast, Urban Sake, Sake World
-Wine: Palate To Pen, Warren Bobrow, Cellar Tours, Ancient Fire Wines Blog
-Beer: Good Beer & Country Boys, Another Pint, Please!, Beering In Good Mind: All about Craft Beer in kanzai by Nevitt Reagan!
-Japanese Pottery to enjoy your favourite drinks: Yellin Yakimono Gallery

ファッション, 観光, Fashion, Fashionistas, Japan, Japanese fashion, Shizuoka, Tourism

Japanese Ladies Fashion in Shizuoka 44: Tall and Blue…

Leave a comment

That young lady, probably a university student over 20, was not particularly tall but she did look so thanks to a combination of colors very much in vogue here in Japan: plain and deep blue, black and white!

She was waiting for friends who came shortly after for an obvious evening out but in a fairly casual but still elegant manner. I’m sure it was an only girl affair, though…
Pity as men should keep their eyes open!

RECOMMENDED RELATED WEBSITES

Tokyo Food File by Robbie Swinnerton, Green Tea Club by Satoshi Nihonyanagi in Shizuoka!, Mind Some by Tina in Taiwan, Le Manger by Camille Oger (French), The Indian Tourist, Masala Herb by Helene Dsouza in Goa, India, Mummy I Can Cook! by Shu Han in London, Pierre.Cuisine, Francescannotwrite, My White Kitchen, 47 Japanese Farms Through The Eyes of Its Rural Communities, Foodhoe, Chucks Eats, Things that Fizz & Stuff, Five Euro Food by Charles,Red Shallot Kitchen by Priscilla,With a Glass, Nami | Just One Cookbook, Peach Farm Studio, Clumsyfingers by Xethia, PepperBento,Adventures in Bento Making, American Bent, Beanbento, Bento No, Bento Wo Tsukurimashou, Cooking Cute, Eula, Hapabento , Happy Bento, Jacki’s Bento Blog, Kitchen Cow, Leggo My Obento, Le Petit Journal Bento & CO (French), Lunch In A Box,
Susan at Arkonlite, Vegan Lunch Box; Tokyo Tom Baker, Daily Food Porn/Osaka, Only Nature Food Porn, Happy Little Bento, The Herbed Kitchen, J-Mama’s Kitchen, Cook, Eat, Play, Repeat, Bento Lunch Blog (German), Adventures In Bento, Anna The Red’s Bento Factory, Cooking Cute, Timeless Gourmet, Bento Bug, Ideal Meal, Bentosaurus, Mr. Foodie (London/UK), Ohayo Bento,

Must-see tasting websites:

-Sake: Tokyo Through The Drinking Glass, Tokyo Foodcast, Urban Sake, Sake World
-Wine: Palate To Pen, Warren Bobrow, Cellar Tours, Ancient Fire Wines Blog
-Beer: Good Beer & Country Boys, Another Pint, Please!, Beering In Good Mind: All about Craft Beer in kanzai by Nevitt Reagan!
-Japanese Pottery to enjoy your favourite drinks: Yellin Yakimono Gallery

フランスレストラン, フランス料理, 美食, 野菜, 観光, 農業, Food, French Cuisine, French gastronomy, French Restaurant, Fujieda City, Japan, Japanese Gastronomy, Restaurants, Shizuoka, Shizuoka agricultural products, Shizuoka Cuisine, Tourism

French Gastronomy with a Japanese Twist: Foie Gras Matured with Mirin White Lees, Chouchou Farm Kankankan Musume Corn Vychissoise at Pissenlit!

2 Comments

Service: Excellent and very friendly.
Facilities: Great cleanliness overall. Superb washroom (mouthwash and toothpicks provided!)!
Prices: Reasonable to slightly expensive, very good value.
Strong points: Interesting wine list. Great use of local products, especially organic vegetables and Shizuoka-bred meat.

When it comes to French gastronomy in Japan, great chefs in this country have a welcome tendency to experience with local products and ingredients to create entirely new delicacies that would have gastronomes running back home, in France!

To cut a long story short, on Saturday last week I had to visit Chef Touru Arima/有馬亨さん to bring him a couple of souvenirs from my recent trip to France and I just could not escape the temptation to have lunch there in spite of my tired stomach!
For once I skipped the wine and ordered a home-made ginger ale concocted with local ginger!

Actually the very reason for opting to saddle myself with another great meal was the unusual offering on the carte blackboard menu:
杉井酒造さんのみりん粕に着けたフォアグラ！
Sugii Shyuzou san no Mirin ni tsuketa Fowagura
Foie Gras matured with Mirin (sweet sake) white lees (“mout” in French) brewed by Sugii Brewery (In Fujieda City)!
I was simply doomed!

While Tooru was preparing the composite salad (I certainly needed a lot of greens to counterbalance the foie gras!) I was offered a slice of one of his succulent cake sale/salted pound cake created with local organic vegetables!

I did order a “simple salad” and this is what I ended up with!

Seared bonito, home-smoked salmon, inca mezame potatoes and all kinds of local organic vegetables!

It also included tasty scrumptious mushroom and home-made sausage fillings!

Most organic vegetables came from Shizen no Chikara farm in Shizuoka City!

The important detail: the bed of soft couscous!

The star of the day!

The beautiful pain de foie gras with Hungarian foir gras matured in the white lees of mirin brewed by Sugii Brewery in Fujieda City and seasoned with coarse pepper!

The soft pancake made with inca mezame potatoes!

Fig jam and a true beauty of a vychissoise concocted with kankan musume corn grown in Iwata City by Chouchou Farm!
I had a hard time savoring the whole at a slow pace, I can assure you!

For once I just had to skip dessert!

To be continued… (expect more regular visits!)

PISSENLIT
420-0839 Shizuoka City, Aoi Ku, Takajo, 2-3-4
Tel.: 054-270-8768
Fax: 054-627-3868
Business hours: 11:30~14:30; 17:00~22:00
Closed on Tuesdays and Sunday evening
HOMEPAGE (Japanese)
Credit Cards OK
Entirely non-smoking!

RECOMMENDED RELATED WEBSITES

Tokyo Food File by Robbie Swinnerton, Green Tea Club by Satoshi Nihonyanagi in Shizuoka!, Mind Some by Tina in Taiwan, Le Manger by Camille Oger (French), The Indian Tourist, Masala Herb by Helene Dsouza in Goa, India, Mummy I Can Cook! by Shu Han in London, Pierre.Cuisine, Francescannotwrite, My White Kitchen, 47 Japanese Farms Through The Eyes of Its Rural Communities, Foodhoe, Chucks Eats, Things that Fizz & Stuff, Five Euro Food by Charles,Red Shallot Kitchen by Priscilla,With a Glass, Nami | Just One Cookbook, Peach Farm Studio, Clumsyfingers by Xethia, PepperBento,Adventures in Bento Making, American Bent, Beanbento, Bento No, Bento Wo Tsukurimashou, Cooking Cute, Eula, Hapabento , Happy Bento, Jacki’s Bento Blog, Kitchen Cow, Leggo My Obento, Le Petit Journal Bento & CO (French), Lunch In A Box,
Susan at Arkonlite, Vegan Lunch Box; Tokyo Tom Baker, Daily Food Porn/Osaka, Only Nature Food Porn, Happy Little Bento, The Herbed Kitchen, J-Mama’s Kitchen, Cook, Eat, Play, Repeat, Bento Lunch Blog (German), Adventures In Bento, Anna The Red’s Bento Factory, Cooking Cute, Timeless Gourmet, Bento Bug, Ideal Meal, Bentosaurus, Mr. Foodie (London/UK), Ohayo Bento,

Must-see tasting websites:

-Sake: Tokyo Through The Drinking Glass, Tokyo Foodcast, Urban Sake, Sake World
-Wine: Palate To Pen, Warren Bobrow, Cellar Tours, Ancient Fire Wines Blog
-Beer: Good Beer & Country Boys, Another Pint, Please!, Beering In Good Mind: All about Craft Beer in kanzai by Nevitt Reagan!
-Japanese Pottery to enjoy your favourite drinks: Yellin Yakimono Gallery

ファッション, 観光, Fashion, Fashionistas, Japan, Japanese fashion, Shizuoka, Tourism

Japanese Ladies Fashion in Shizuoka 43: CECIL Mc BEE for the Summer?

Leave a comment

This summer in Shizuoka promises to be a real scorcher!
Not only that, but we went through a humongous typhoon yesterday with winds reaching nearly 300 km/h with over 300 mm of rain in a single day!
Now, what could you wear in such a climate and still be fashinable?

CECIL Mc BEE has been very popular for a long time in Japan as they seem to combine practicality and a little chic that the Japanese ladies greatly appreciate.

They cater both for very young and young fashionistas with an eye on improving the general silhouette of Japanese ladies.
For example such a short skirt (always combined with proper underwear hiding the body “correctly”) is designed to lengthen Japanese legs which are generally shorter than Caucasian legs.
Mind you, some ladies in Japan do have interminable legs and such skirts would be a bit problematic! LOL

RECOMMENDED RELATED WEBSITES

Tokyo Food File by Robbie Swinnerton, Green Tea Club by Satoshi Nihonyanagi in Shizuoka!, Mind Some by Tina in Taiwan, Le Manger by Camille Oger (French), The Indian Tourist, Masala Herb by Helene Dsouza in Goa, India, Mummy I Can Cook! by Shu Han in London, Pierre.Cuisine, Francescannotwrite, My White Kitchen, 47 Japanese Farms Through The Eyes of Its Rural Communities, Foodhoe, Chucks Eats, Things that Fizz & Stuff, Five Euro Food by Charles,Red Shallot Kitchen by Priscilla,With a Glass, Nami | Just One Cookbook, Peach Farm Studio, Clumsyfingers by Xethia, PepperBento,Adventures in Bento Making, American Bent, Beanbento, Bento No, Bento Wo Tsukurimashou, Cooking Cute, Eula, Hapabento , Happy Bento, Jacki’s Bento Blog, Kitchen Cow, Leggo My Obento, Le Petit Journal Bento & CO (French), Lunch In A Box,
Susan at Arkonlite, Vegan Lunch Box; Tokyo Tom Baker, Daily Food Porn/Osaka, Only Nature Food Porn, Happy Little Bento, The Herbed Kitchen, J-Mama’s Kitchen, Cook, Eat, Play, Repeat, Bento Lunch Blog (German), Adventures In Bento, Anna The Red’s Bento Factory, Cooking Cute, Timeless Gourmet, Bento Bug, Ideal Meal, Bentosaurus, Mr. Foodie (London/UK), Ohayo Bento,

Must-see tasting websites:

-Sake: Tokyo Through The Drinking Glass, Tokyo Foodcast, Urban Sake, Sake World
-Wine: Palate To Pen, Warren Bobrow, Cellar Tours, Ancient Fire Wines Blog
-Beer: Good Beer & Country Boys, Another Pint, Please!, Beering In Good Mind: All about Craft Beer in kanzai by Nevitt Reagan!
-Japanese Pottery to enjoy your favourite drinks: Yellin Yakimono Gallery

ビール, Beer, Beer Brewery, 美食, 酒, 観光, 農業, Gastronomes, Gastronomy, Japan, Japanese Gastronomy, Numazu City, Shizuoka, Shizuoka agricultural products, Shizuoka Cuisine, Tourism

Bryan Baird’s Newsletter (2012/06/20): Seasonal Release: Shizuoka Summer Mikan Ale

Leave a comment

Baird Beer & Taproom Events Bulletin
bryan-sayuri.gif

Seasonal Release: Shizuoka Summer Mikan Ale

Dear Taproom Friend & Baird Beer Enthusiast:

In the aftermath of a rainy season typhoon we find poetic justice in announcing the release of a seasonal brew that is distinctly summer and sunny — Shizuoka Summer Mikan Ale.

New Baird Beer Seasonal Releases:
*Shizuoka Summer Mikan Ale 2012 (ABV 5.5%):

A summer mikan (natsumikan) is a grapefruit-like citrus fruit that is tart and sweetly sour in flavor and wonderfully aromatic. The only fruit to make it through the doors of the Baird Brewery, of course, is fresh whole fruit recently plucked from the land. Our summer mikans are Shizuoka-grown, right in the Heda orchard of our carpenter-partner-friend, Mitsuo Nagakura. The bounty of fruit is painstakingly hand-processed by the Baird Brewery team before its introduction into the brewhouse and cellar. You can taste the freshness and wholesomeness of the natsumikan fruit in each sip of this extraordinarily zesty brew.

The refreshing citrus character of Shizuoka Summer Mikan Ale is not supplied by fruit alone, however. The natsumikans are complemented beautifully by deft additions of four citrusy-spicy American hop varieties: Summit, Simcoe, Cascade and Ahtanum. This year, in a departure from past versions, we fermented with our house Belgian yeast strain rather than our Scottish ale strain. This has contributed another layer of subtle spiciness. The quenchingly brisk and tart result is summer paradise in a glass! Who cares if its grim and cloudy outside!

Shizuoka Summer Mikan Ale 2012 will be available on draught and in bottles (360 ml) beginning Thursday, June 21. Please visit a Taproom pub or local Baird Beer retailer while quantities last.

Please note: We have abandoned the 630 ml bottle for seasonal beers. Henceforth, all seasonal bottle beer will, like the year-round brands, will be of the 360 ml size.

Cheers,

Bryan Baird

Baird Brewing Company
Numazu, Japan
HOMEPAGE

RECOMMENDED RELATED WEBSITES

Tokyo Food File by Robbie Swinnerton, Green Tea Club by Satoshi Nihonyanagi in Shizuoka!, Mind Some by Tina in Taiwan, Le Manger by Camille Oger (French), The Indian Tourist, Masala Herb by Helene Dsouza in Goa, India, Mummy I Can Cook! by Shu Han in London, Pierre.Cuisine, Francescannotwrite, My White Kitchen, 47 Japanese Farms Through The Eyes of Its Rural Communities, Foodhoe, Chucks Eats, Things that Fizz & Stuff, Five Euro Food by Charles,Red Shallot Kitchen by Priscilla,With a Glass, Nami | Just One Cookbook, Peach Farm Studio, Clumsyfingers by Xethia, PepperBento,Adventures in Bento Making, American Bent, Beanbento, Bento No, Bento Wo Tsukurimashou, Cooking Cute, Eula, Hapabento , Happy Bento, Jacki’s Bento Blog, Kitchen Cow, Leggo My Obento, Le Petit Journal Bento & CO (French), Lunch In A Box,
Susan at Arkonlite, Vegan Lunch Box; Tokyo Tom Baker, Daily Food Porn/Osaka, Only Nature Food Porn, Happy Little Bento, The Herbed Kitchen, J-Mama’s Kitchen, Cook, Eat, Play, Repeat, Bento Lunch Blog (German), Adventures In Bento, Anna The Red’s Bento Factory, Cooking Cute, Timeless Gourmet, Bento Bug, Ideal Meal, Bentosaurus, Mr. Foodie (London/UK), Ohayo Bento,

Must-see tasting websites:

-Sake: Tokyo Through The Drinking Glass, Tokyo Foodcast, Urban Sake, Sake World
-Wine: Palate To Pen, Warren Bobrow, Cellar Tours, Ancient Fire Wines Blog
-Beer: Good Beer & Country Boys, Another Pint, Please!, Beering In Good Mind: All about Craft Beer in kanzai by Nevitt Reagan!
-Japanese Pottery to enjoy your favourite drinks: Yellin Yakimono Gallery

Agriculture, 美食, Drinks, 酒, 観光, 農業, Gastronomes, Gastronomy, Japan, Japanese Gastronomy, sake, Sake Brewery, Shizuoka, Shizuoka agricultural products, Tourism

“Shizuoka Rice Comes of Age”-On Shizuoka Sake by Marcus Grandon

Leave a comment

All pictures and Article by Marcus Grandon.

Shizuoka sake has always had a a special place in the hearts of sake fans both foreign and domestic. Every year, a group of Shizuoka producers hosts a dinner party to showcase their latest offerings. This year is no exception, and marked the 20th consecutive year for the gala event, which for the first time was held in the Aoi-tower in downtown Shizuoka City.

Oumuuraya Brewery sake!

The party, attended by over 500 guests, contained a choice selection from a virtual who’s who of sake makers: Hatsukame, Shidaizumi, Isojiman, Kikuyoi (Aoshima Brewery), and Oumuraya (Wakatake) Breweries.

Oumuraya Brewery

While each and every sip from the various makers pretty much melted into the palate like liquid gold one after another after another, a very big piece of news emerged from the event this year. Shizuoka sake is known as the Champagne of Sakes for good reason. One of the key ingredients in making sake is water, and water in Shizuoka Prefecture is among the purest in the entire country. However, usually the rice used in the brewing process for Shizuoka sake comes from a different prefecture.
The Oumuraya sake company wanted to use local rice to create a 100% local product, and in recent years began experimenting with using local rice in their sake. Conventional wisdom says that it takes ten years for sake makers to produce high quality sake with a new rice. Wouldn’t you know that this year is the tenth year for Oumuraya to be making such sake? And guess what? It’s the bomb! I was able to taste the sake in this bottle, and it was a smooth as any sake I’ve ever had!

Ten years is the charm! People flocked around that bottle like white on rice (Sorry, but I just had to). The sad thing is that I missed the really good stuff:

Oumuraya Brewery sake!

By the time I got here, this bottle was all gone. Not to worry though, it can be had at local department stores for ¥10.500 per big bottle. Not cheap for sake, but certainly worth the price for a 100% local product.
My suggestion? Get it while you can!

RECOMMENDED RELATED WEBSITES

Tokyo Food File by Robbie Swinnerton, Green Tea Club by Satoshi Nihonyanagi in Shizuoka!, Mind Some by Tina in Taiwan, Le Manger by Camille Oger (French), The Indian Tourist, Masala Herb by Helene Dsouza in Goa, India, Mummy I Can Cook! by Shu Han in London, Pierre.Cuisine, Francescannotwrite, My White Kitchen, 47 Japanese Farms Through The Eyes of Its Rural Communities, Foodhoe, Chucks Eats, Things that Fizz & Stuff, Five Euro Food by Charles,Red Shallot Kitchen by Priscilla,With a Glass, Nami | Just One Cookbook, Peach Farm Studio, Clumsyfingers by Xethia, PepperBento,Adventures in Bento Making, American Bent, Beanbento, Bento No, Bento Wo Tsukurimashou, Cooking Cute, Eula, Hapabento , Happy Bento, Jacki’s Bento Blog, Kitchen Cow, Leggo My Obento, Le Petit Journal Bento & CO (French), Lunch In A Box,
Susan at Arkonlite, Vegan Lunch Box; Tokyo Tom Baker, Daily Food Porn/Osaka, Only Nature Food Porn, Happy Little Bento, The Herbed Kitchen, J-Mama’s Kitchen, Cook, Eat, Play, Repeat, Bento Lunch Blog (German), Adventures In Bento, Anna The Red’s Bento Factory, Cooking Cute, Timeless Gourmet, Bento Bug, Ideal Meal, Bentosaurus, Mr. Foodie (London/UK), Ohayo Bento,

Must-see tasting websites:

-Sake: Tokyo Through The Drinking Glass, Tokyo Foodcast, Urban Sake, Sake World
-Wine: Palate To Pen, Warren Bobrow, Cellar Tours, Ancient Fire Wines Blog
-Beer: Good Beer & Country Boys, Another Pint, Please!, Beering In Good Mind: All about Craft Beer in kanzai by Nevitt Reagan!
-Japanese Pottery to enjoy your favourite drinks: Yellin Yakimono Gallery