Hip Hoppy

Today I made the mistake of getting a later train home and was caught in the the rush hour (or "rashu" as it's know). Not an experience I'm eager to repeat. But I won't go into that. As promised, I'm going to tell you about the Edo museum and all I can remember of Isakayas.

The Edo museum was alright. The building is impressively big with a lot of open space and some spectacularly detailed models of Tokyo in days of yore. There were some interesting sections explaining olde Tokyo society and post war struggles, but the place failed to give me the bigger picture and the English captions were a touch short. Everyone else who's been there says it's excellent though, so maybe I missed a bit.

The one exhibit that really stuck in my mind was a large column of stratified soil which had been removed from central Tokyo to make way for the foundations of a skyscraper. During its tumultious past Tokyo has been burnt to cinders and rebuilt time and time again- blackened sections clearly marked the Edo fires, the Kantō earthquake of 1923 and the WW2 fire bombing. This constant cycle of death and rebirth may go some way to explaining the "out with the old, in with the new" ethos so prevalent here. Or maybe it's a Buddhist thing?

On the way back home, by complete fluke, I bumped into the American chap who lives in the room next to me. He and a couple of friends were searching for an IPod and so I joined the hunt. When the IPoding was over we discussed what to do next and Isakayas were mentioned. Somewhat rashly I said I'd never been to one and so off we went into the dark heart of Ueno on a new mission.

An Isakaya is a traditional Japanese pub and though they serve the same purpose as English ones, they go about it in a slightly different way. They're quite a bit more cramped than the pubs back home with everyone seated on close packed higgldey-piggldey tables and chairs. Usually there's a grill serving tasty Japanese kebabs and your food and drinks are brought to you by the rushed-off-their-feet waiting staff.

The drink selection was also new to me. While ordering the first drinks someone suggested I should have the tea, which sounded harmless enough! What arrived was a cup of weak Oolong loaded to bursting with strong Shochu (the Japanese vodka). It was tasty but packed a quite punch. I didn't want to spend much and after so after my second Oonlong I decided to call it a night and get my last drink. "Hoppy" was recommended and at only two pounds how could I refuse.

A bottle of "Hoppy" beer and another cup of Shochu appeared. I was shown how to pour a tiny bit of hoppy into the Shochu to create an odd beery cocktail. I finished it off, but still had a lot of Hoppy left. Then another cup of Shochu appeared. I poured in a bit more hoppy and finished it...Then another Shochu appeared. Then another. Then another. It kept coming. The stuff lasted me for over an hour and a half. Never has two quid stretched so far.

On the way home I was a bit more stumbly than I was hoppy, but then I doubt anything called "stumbly" would sell. At least, not without a good advertising campaign.