The first thing which struck my colleague and I as we
journeyed by train from Kansai Airport, through the vast urban sprawl that
makes up Osaka, towards our final destination, Kyoto, was how clean everything
was. We saw no buildings disfigured by the ugly scrawls of graffiti that
despoil so many European and North American cities; neither did we see, once
having alighted from the train, any litter. Everything was clean, tidy and well
ordered. The people were calm and polite, with none of the pushing and shoving
one witnesses in towns and cities in the UK. The
trains, of course, were spotlessly clean and ran exactly to time, and our centrally located hotel
was the height of sophistication.
For most of our time in Kyoto, we were looked after by people
from our parent company When I say “looked
after” we were very well looked after, as the Japanese are fantastic hosts, who
are proud to show their country off to foreign visitors, and with good reason
as they have much to be proud of. We spent three very full days engaged in
meetings, fact-finding tours and various other discussions at head office, and
in the evenings our hosts took us out to dinner. We visited a variety of
different restaurants, ranging from modern Japan meets South
East Asia fusion type places, to a traditional Japanese
establishment, where we had to leave our shoes downstairs and sit on cushions
on the floor at a long, low table facing our hosts. I won’t pretend the cuisine
was my favourite, but I tried virtually everything that was placed in front of
me, although I did baulk at the raw octopus!
Whilst there might be considerable differences between the
palates and preferences of Japanese and Europeans, one thing we do have in
common is an appreciation of good beer. Everywhere we went, beer seems to be
the preferred drink, and is enjoyed by men and women alike. I don’t know much
about the history, or indeed tradition of brewing in Japan (although I expect Tim Webb and Stephen Beaumont's World Atlas of Beer will have something to say on the matter, once I get round to looking it up), but there appears to be a strong German influence
on the type and styles of beer drunk there. This was manifested in an
establishment we visited on our last two evenings in Japan; Kyoto’s Beer
Restaurant.
Unashamedly styled on a Bavarian Beer Hall, the Beer
Restaurant is sited in the basement of a tower block, just outside Kyoto’s sprawling central; station. As well as serving locally brewed Asahi, one of Japan’s
best known brands, the Beer Restaurant also offered draught Löwenbräu,
bottled Export Bass plus a couple of bottled Belgian beers whose names escape me. I opted for the Asahi Kuronama, described as Japan’s favourite dark beer. Brewed from three
types of roasted malt:-Dark, Crystal and Munich malt, the blend of these three
types of malt maximises the goodness of each and creates the distinct richness
and smoothness of the beer. I have to say it really was very good, and served
in three sizes – small, medium and large I ended up over-indulging on our first
visit there, consuming three "medium" sized mugs of this excellent beer. Fortunately the following day was our final one in the country, and was reserved for sight-seeing rather than business.
This particular
visit was our first evening without our Japanese hosts, which was the prime
reason for our choosing a European style restaurant, rather than a more locally
themed one; and the following evening we returned there again, having been
joined by a more senior colleague who had just flown in from England. This latter individual is a seasoned
visitor to Japan and after a meal in the Beer Restaurant
he suggested we move on to a bar housed in the maze of shops and commercial
outlets below Kyoto station. The Man in the Moon Pub is
themed as an Irish bar, and whilst it does serve Guinness, it also has a number
of more locally brewed beers. The first of these beers, Yona Yona Ale was
presented in a can, and is one of a range of beers brewed
by Yoho Brewing based in the small town of Karuizawa, near Nagano. The
company promotes itself as producing Japan's best
selling craft beers, and their portfolio includes an IPA, a Black Porter and an
Organic Ale.
The Yona Yona was very good and I was all set to order
another, when my colleague spotted a row of interesting looking bottles
arranged on a shelf above the bar. They had English labels, and included an
IPA, a Pale Ale, a Pilsner and an Imperial Stout. Enquiries revealed they were
from Minoh Brewery, based in nearby Osaka, but
unfortunately the bar only had the Pale Ale left. Two of us gave the beer a
try. It was bottle-conditioned, but the bar staff were not aware of this, so we
ended up with a cloudy glass of beer. Despite this, it was rather good with a
strong citrus flavour from the Cascade hops used to brew it. I wisely made that
my last drink though, as we had an early departure the following morning.
Nevertheless, after a week on the “regular stuff” it was good to sample some
Japanese Craft Beer.
So what of the “regular stuff”? Well, again I have to report that this too
was pretty good, and with 30 degrees of heat to contend with outside, provided
some welcome and cooling liquid refreshment. Of the big Japanese brands we
sampled Asahi’s best known brand – Extra Dry, sold in large (600ml?) bottles
and tasting considerably better than the UK
version, which is brewed under licence by Shepherd Neame. We also sampled beers
from Kirin, Suntory and Yebisu.
All are pilsner style beers, and served in substantial tapered glass mugs. From memory, the
Suntory and Yebisu beers stood out above the Kirin, although I later found out that Yebisu beers are produced by Japanese brewing giant Sapporo, and are positioned as the the company's "Premium Brand".
Finally, a word or two about takeaway beer. In Japan it
seems the can is very much king, with precious little beer sold in bottles.
Living on a crowded island, the Japanese are very keen on environmental issues
and claim that because cans are lighter and easier to transport, and also
easier to collect and recycle, beer packaged in this fashion is the way to go.
I brought a few cans back with me to try, and also to see how they would
survive the long flight home, (ok as it happens). There’s nothing that exciting amongst them, but
they are something to wet my whistle at the weekend, and also something to remind me
of a fantastic trip to the Land of the Rising Sun.
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