Tripping Far Side

So, on Friday night last week, after Masumi, the coworkers and I went to another restaurant. The night was kinda fuzzy, so I remember bits and pieces. Like, I remember where we sat because there were some cool cushions.

Anyway, I had blazed out forgetting my gloves. So on Sunday, I went around the neighborhood south of Kyoto Station to search for the restaurant. Something to do, yes, but also, as I've heard the Japanese say, a "cha-ren-ji". Most places were closed for lunch thankfully, and I found it pretty quickly. It's this restaurant called Miho, and when I walked in, my gloves were neatly placed on the bench, in convenient view.

In fact, there was no one in the restaurant for lunchtime, and the waiter was really friendly. I explained that I was drunk on Friday night, and that was all that needed to be said. :) I made a step out the door before I asked if they were serving lunch. He said yes, so I asked him what he recommended. I can't read and I didn't understand, so you can just see the pic.

While I was eating, I heard a tune that I had heard at karaoke before. I think Laura picked the song, and I remember it distinctly since there was a shamisen, an Okinawan instrument. I actually liked the song back then, but never knew the name. When I asked the waiter, he brought over the CD case, said the song was Okinawan. In fact, I saw that the album was Okinawa Best Song Collection as he served an Okinawan dessert. It's called Shimanchu nu Takara, or the Islander's Treasure. Cool song, check it out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZ96S9mYEnE

Now that I found the video, I found the translation and trying to memorize it for karaoke. Interesting cultural flavors to experience. I heard that Orange Range is a more modern Okinawan band, so I'd like to check them out.