Gaijin Smash

A good fellow from the squadron is PCSing back to Dyess AFB in Abilene, Texas this week so we held him a going away get-together at the Ozawa Sake Brewery about an hour north of here near the city of Ome. It's a really neat place that sits along the Tama River in a small mountain valley.

We start off upstairs, sampling their 10 different kinds of Sake for a couple dollars a piece. You get to keep your sake glass.

You then purchase a bottle & food downstairs for between $15 and $30...

This particular bottle tasted like gasoline.

I don't know about the women, but the men have a pleasant view of a lemon/orange/grapefruit tree from the bathroom window.

You can either enjoy the heated indoor seating or outdoor patio garden

A walking trail runs along both sides of the river...

...with stairs to a buddhist temple...

...scenic views...

...and a statue of a not-so-well-endowed naked japanese man.

They also rent kayaks during the warmer months.

Gaijin is the Japanese word for foreigner. We call it Gaijin Smash when a large group of us are drunk & indifferent to the naturally quiet japanese culture. It's nothing to be proud of but it happens on rare occasions.

This, for instance, is Gaijin Smash. Although, in our defense, there were plenty of intoxicated locals joining our fun & dancing along with us in the train. This poor lady wanted to copy our lead and do gymnastic flips with the handles. Epic fail.