Stand Up and Eat

When you've had a long day walking around Nara and hiking.  The last thing you expect to do is eat dinner while standing.  However, I did ask for recommendations from other Japanese people and from two different separate sources both recommended this place so I had to try it.  Located just outside the train station, this was a traditional Japanese 'bar'.  Where you go to drink Sake and eat small (think tapas) type foods.  Often for business men before they go home to deal with the wife.

Nara was actually the birthplace of Sake.  The first people used to chew uncooked rice & spit it into a jar & let the saliva enzymes break it into alcohol.  Before they figured out fermentation.  Disgusting neh?  So, I had some sake.  And some various food types.  Wouldnt rate the food but the sake was great.

But the best part about all this whole experience was how I was probably the only foreigner to ever set foot in this little shop.  It's like those old Western movies where a cowboy strolls into a dimly lit tavern and everyone stops what they're doing to eye the new person.  No one spoke any English so it was all up to my Japanese.

It wouldn't have sounded pretty, but it worked okay.  In the end I managed to have some sake, some food and had a clunky chat to a gentleman who owned a kimono retail centre.  All with limited Japanese, and in the cases of utter loss of vocab; google translate.  Was very fun and glad I ventured out of my comfort zone to try it.