SunSun Organic Beer - by Yo-Ho

Yo-Ho - SunSun Organic Beer (Lager) - Nagano Prefecture - 5% - 350 ml can @ Nagano Sake Village:
Taste: All malt taste here, very sharp, accustomed metallic bite, hops aren't established enough, grassy.
Smell: Hops are a little more noticeable here, some whiffs of malt as well.
Look: A clear light golden, carbonated, weak head.Verdict: Unimpressed with this beer, period. Okay it's organic... so? I can't even recommend this over certain macros. My opinion - if you want an all malt premium beer and don't want to support the big guys, go with an Echigo Ikinama -- actually scratch that- get yourself a Coedo Ruri- at the moment it's easy to find and so much better!

Minamishinsyu - Golden Ale

Minamishinsyu - Golden Ale - Nagano Prefecture - 5% - 330 ml bottle @ Nagano Sake Village:
Taste: Fruity upfront, malts and hops lay dormant here.
Smell: Very nice fruity aroma is present, but again not much else.
Look: A very golden look, clear and carbonated, with a bright white head which settled at a somewhat leisurely pace, leaving some lace in its wake.Verdict: This is a very drinkable beer, with more of a fruity taste than bitter or earthy. This is probably the best of the lot I've had from Minamishinsyu, but still would appreciate it more if they just gave it a little more umph! I could consider this a session beer, and would definitely recommend it to those who are not into bitter beer and are also not fond of all malt beers.

Minamishinsyu - Dunkelweizen

Minamishinsyu - Dunkelweizen - Nagano Prefecture - 6% - 330 ml bottle @ Nagano Sake Village:
Taste: Roasted wheat grain, sourness, not really hoppy in character, taste in general is subdued.
Smell: Sweetness from the roasted grain.
Look: Dark brown, poured without head and not much lace trailed.Verdict: The third Minamishinsyu I've now tried and the third I've came away from mainly unimpressed. This has to do with the intensity of the flavor, not the flavor; the quality is fine for sure, its just that nothing stands out in particular, its well balanced for what it is (a dark wheat beer) - they just need to pump up the volume!

Aooni IPA - by Yo-Ho

Yo-Ho - Aooni IPA - Nagano Prefecture - 7% - 350 ml can:
Taste: Sharp bitter hops, not enough malts - this is unbalanced, fruits are here though, fizzy, pine-y, spicy, and soapy; quite dry- leaving a fair amount of bitter aftertaste.
Smell: Fruity (pineapple, grapefruit) & hoppy aroma.
Look: Golden orange, quite beautiful, semi-opaque, head in place, nice lace too.Verdict: I was really looking forward to drinking this beer; gotta say I feel pretty let down. After having three great beers by Yo-Ho - I've been stung twice in a row now by some average-at-best beers -- first was the SunSun Organic Beer and now this. I see what they are trying to do, make an intense West Coast style IPA... but this is a miss. Not enough malts, nor fruit to balance the amount of hops here. Cannot recommend this one unfortunately.

Menya Musashi (Shinjuku branch) - Ramen shop

Ask anyone (in Tokyo) to name their top five favorite ramen stops and your bound to get Menya Musashi in at least 95% of those lists; yeah this place is popular! Don't believe me- check out my pics, the line was about 40 minuets long, and this was on an ordinary day in the early evening. But there's reason for this madness- their ramen is tha bomb!
This was a joint that I had been meaning to hit up since I got here, but as I've learned- there's always another ramen shop on the radar and so it takes patience and persaverience to make it to the ones you want. I'm very glad I made it here; Fu-unji had been sitting high on my "best of ramen" list for far too long, it was getting lonely there all alone, but no longer. Menya Musashi, welcome, you just placed a very close 2nd - but ultimately your just a tad too expensive to overtake my reigning champ.
Musashi’s ramen is served in a light, shoyu (soy sauce) based broth and upon placing your order you'll have a choice to have your ramen either kotteri (heavier flavor) or assari (lighter flavor). This depends entirely on your preference and neither is "better" than the other - however I went kotteri-style, which is what is pictured here.

Think your man enough to handle this?!

I can't end this post without a shout-out to their chashu- cut rough and in large chunks the fat was fully intact and in-force! As large as these pieces were they literally melted in your mouth, an amazing sensation here ;-) The egg was half-boiled (nice!)- but for Y1000 I want a whole egg dammit! MM is a tad expensive- but worth every yen.

Seasonal 2009 ESB - by Yo-Ho

Yo-Ho - Seasonal 2009 ESB - Nagano Prefecture - 6% - 350 ml can:
Taste: Bitter, IPA like, sweet sharp maltiness, pine, subtle underlying fruitiness- peach, orange & grapefruit.
Smell: Fruity aroma, malt is at the forefront while hops stay in the background.
Look: Clear deep golden color, carbonated, weak head, and no lace.
Verdict: Another great beer by Yo-Ho - this time in their ESB, a perfect take on this American style. Tastes like an IPA; similar to their Yona Yona but a little more intense. Not a overly complex flavor, but hits the important notes very nicely. Highly recommended.

Miyama Blonde - by Shiga Kogen

Shiga Kogen - Miyama Blonde - Nagano Prefecture - 7% - 330 ml bottle:
Taste: Citrus, floral and fruity flavors, malt stays in background, medium amount of hoppiness here; crisp, dry finish that is sharp rather than sweet. Body was not light (as is associated with blonds)- more of a medium body, some wheat-like notes and a hint of pepper.
Smell: Lemon is apparent, hops, sour fruity aroma.
Look: Light golden, carbonated, poured with strong head and lace is abundant and holds well, this is in between clear and cloudy.
Verdict: I've always enjoyed a good blonde, in-fact my drinking buddies can attest that I usually go for a Checker Cab when I reach my hop-boiling-point (get it?). Puns aside this is the best blonde I've come across in awhile; and I especially like the uniqueness which Tamamura Honten brings by adding Miyamanishiki (home-made sake rice) into the pot. You see, sake rice is of higher quality than rice used in macro produced beer, and thus is not intended as a cheap substitute to barley, but rather it imparts its own flavors - the quality can be tasted immediately! This saison comes highly recommended.