This weekend was the Saijo sake matsuri. In addition, this weekend there was an aikido seminar with Fujita Shihan (8th dan, one of the few surviving uchi deschis of O’sensei) and my aikido sensei coming back from Tokyo for the weekend. So all round busy weekend.
The Sake matsuri is quite amazing. This matsuri is quite famous and has people from all over japan coming to it. There were sakes from all over japan here including okinawa. It’s 1500y to get in and all you can drink. So this means a lot.. A LOT.. of drunk people. As I had an aikido seminar to go to Saturday night and sunday morning, I couldn’t drink TOO much. So L2 and I went on Saturday around 12:30. In order to maximize our enjoyment, we decided to drink only the daiginjyo (大吟醸) grade sake. This is the premium stuff.. the 30 year single malt scotch of japan.
At the matsuri, there were maybe 14 or 15 of these.. maybe about 11 of which were still available when we arrived. We spent about 2 hours drinking our share of sake, enough me to realize that I would have fun training that night. We decided to leave and get some food.. me, chicken on a stick. Absolutely fabulous! 
(Almost all japanese matsuri food is on a stick by the way.)
After that we headed back to the apt so I could rest for 15 minutes before I was picked up for aikido.
Since my aikido sensei (Sugihara) doesn’t make it back to Saijo very often, it is a special occasion. Of course this means drinking.. a lot of drinking. Right after the seminar was over, we headed straight to 711 and picked up liquor… after that dinner and wine. And after that we went back to his house and continued to drink… till 4:30 in the morning. Shochu, Chuhai, Vodka.. all. And some aikido thrown in for the hell of it. I also learn a new japanese saying.. ‘Ichigoichiie’ which is like carpe diem..
So we got up at 7.. ate breakfast and headed to Hiroshima for the second half of the seminar. From 9:30 to 12:00.. ugh. After that, lunch with the shihan, more beer, chinese shochu.. After that we went to see the shihan off from the shinkansen station. After that, more beer!
I was finally returned to Saijo and my sensei went home. I met L2 again at the sake matsuri and we walked around watching people.
Fun time, but I don’t think I have ever drank so much in a period of 48 hours… well maybe.. 
Pictures can be found on my flickr page.
yay! hot chick on a stick…i miss fast eddies bonaire. fish, go eat some hot chick on a stick for me.
oh yeah. I’ve had Fat Eddies 3 times this summer. Mmmm, stick-related-food.