Taiyo, Monzen Nakacho (海鮮立飲み　太陽)

A final joke on my Japanese capabilities, which were mostly a joke anyway, along with a fond farewell to this street leading to Hachiman Bashi, and an even fonder farewell to standing bars that open in the afternoon and getting drunk therein.

My last evening in Monzen Nakacho, and I spent it in Shibuya with Poshand and someone. But first I got hammered at this place, one of the highest-ranked in Monnaka.

What’s the joke? The name evidently means ‘sun’. For years and years I’ve been thinking it meant ‘fat intestine’. I dunno why.

And it’s this kind of place – a much cheaper and somewhat more cheerful Kanemasu. Same really old master who has a hard time hearing you, or at least a hard time caring after all these years. Same snacky food. Same limited selection of sake.

More cheerful, as I said. One patron here is really into the whole experience. The other is wondering what’s going on, and feeling fairly strange in light of the need to leave soon to go to Shibuya and then return to sleep on the floor of an apartment already ravaged by movers.

Also feeling fairly strange in light of pounding several glasses of room-temperature sake. But hey, look at that fish! Sure, I’m writing this about 22 weeks after the fact, but I can tell you without looking that the lighter one at top right is kisu, and you never get that. The other one is probably kohada, don’t you think? Below that is tailagai, and to the left some nice, soft stewed octopus. And Edamami Beans. I wasn’t terribly excited by this, but it’s also quite cheap. Value gets high ratings.

While again, I’m not getting high ratings for friendliness. What can you expect – it’s 5:30, it’s hot as a dog’s nuts outside, and I’ve been drinking warm sake and talking about how I come from America? I do hope everyone else enjoyed meeting a real, live foreigner though.