Tripping Far Side

Today, I met up with two Miki JETs, Gareth and Stephanie. O-hisashiburi! It's been awhile guys! Steph's friend Victoria was visiting Japan, so we went to go party in Osaka for St. Patty's Day. Victoria went to the same college as Steph in Alabama, and how she's working for Thomson Financial. Steph and Gareth are now in their second year as JETs, and cool as ever.

We started off at an Indian restaurant in Shinsaibashi called Akash. Ordering was interesting because they had 15 points on the spice scale. 1-5 being mild, 6-10 being hot, and 11-15 being very hot. Is 15 levels really necessary? I mean Coco Ichiban can justify 10 levels. And most all other restaurants use 5 levels. Gareth had a strong showing with a 15. I ordered a 10. Can you tell from the pic? Doesn't look like my quantity, but the flavor is deep as the curry is thick.

Oh yah, Victoria is from Chicago. She was telling us that Chicago has huge St. Patty's Day celebrations. Even Chicago dyes the river green and has two parades. She even brought green hats and beads on her international flight, in her plan to party tonight. Props!

Afterwards, we went to an Irish pub called Murphy's in Shinsaibashi. Holy sh*t it was packed. Lots of gaijin in green. They were serving green beer too, which was in the spirit. And of course, the Irish music: "What to do with a drunken sailor..." And of course, the Ireland rugby match. The bartender offered a free round of shots for everyone in the bar if Ireland won by some margin. But too bad we couldn't stay long since we weren't in shape to be out until 5 AM. Gareth and I had a lingering hangover from Friday night, and Victoria was still jet lagged.

But since we could drink on the streets, and on the trains, we just left with beer in hand. Ah Japan is cool like that.

A very Happy Merry St. Patty's Day!