Sitting in a Sake Shop with the Boys

The Ancient Mariner, Jim, Mike, and our waitress

Jim and Mike were in town for the Fleet Surgeon's Conference this week. They came all the way from Okinawa and Dallas so the Ancient Mariner thought we should take them out to dinner.

The resident restaurant expert suggested the charming place just a few blocks from the Navy base where Etsuko took the Seventh Fleet ladies for a hearty lunch last fall. Etsuko had mentioned that her friends' restaurant became an izakaya at night but that didn't ring any bells at the time.

Now that we have sobered up,we are happy to report that the name izakaya is a compound word consisting of "i" (to sit) and "sakaya" (sake shop) and originated with sake shops that allowed customers to sit at the premises to drink.  The drink - beer in our case - was of the "all you can imbibe" variety and the food, although secondary to the drink, was absolutely sublime.  It was much like a tapas restaurant, with small portions of food served at regular intervals and shared by everyone at the table.  The garlic french fries made an interesting counterpoint to the tuna and avocado morsels, spring rolls, and salad.

The atmosphere was delightful.  We sat on cushions at a low table after stowing our shoes in the cubby at the entrance, a sliding door halfway down a dark alley.  Slippers are provided in the restroom which is papered floor to ceiling with Atom Boy comic strips.

Thanks at least in part to the uncharacteristic copious amounts of beer consumed, the conversation is remembered as highly intelligent and unusually enlightening.  I'll take you the next time you visit and we'll see if we can achieve a similar effect.