Sake • Fireworks • Pico Iyer

Sake

In the US, Sake is what we call Japanese rice wine/liquor. In Japan, the word sake means alcohol—as in any kind of alcohol. If you specifically want rice wine/liquor, you should ask for Nihonshu. Nihonshu is most often served cold in Japan. That way you can taste the various flavors better. 

Hanabi Matsuri/Fireworks Festivals

I’m not a big fireworks guy. They’re kind of exciting at first, but there are crowds (which I don’t like), not much variety in the types of fireworks, and, yeah, 20 minutes later, it’s over. So, I wasn’t super excited to go see a Japanese fireworks festival when my friends invited me, but I couldn’t have been more wrong.

These things are events. The inventiveness and variety of the fireworks displays are incredible (Take a look here). Plus there is food! Tasty food. Yakitori, Yakisoba, dumplings, ice-cold beer, and other Japanese treats. A well-fed me is a happy me. And these festivals last for hours. 2-3 hours! Somehow I was not bored, I was overwhelmed with the excitement and beauty of the moment. I highly recommend seeing a Japanese fireworks festival. They put American ones to shame.

PICO IYER

If you want to unlock some of the mysteries of Japan and gain a deeper understanding of Japanese people, I highly recommend:  “A Beginner’s Guide to Japan: Observations and Provocations” by Pico Iyer (not an affiliate link).

Pico Iyer has tremendous insights into Japan, its people, and their culture. This book will tell you so many things you never knew you even needed to know.

Here’s the description from Amazon:

“Arguably the greatest living travel writer” (Outside magazine), Pico Iyer has called Japan home for more than three decades. But, as he is the first to admit, the country remains an enigma even to its long-term residents. In A Beginner’s Guide to Japan, Iyer draws on his years of experience—his travels, conversations, readings, and reflections—to craft a playful and profound book of surprising, brief, incisive glimpses into Japanese culture. He recounts his adventures and observations as he travels from a meditation hall to a love hotel, from West Point to Kyoto Station, and from dinner with Meryl Streep to an ill-fated call to the Apple service center in a series of provocations guaranteed to pique the interest and curiosity of those who don’t know Japan—and to remind those who do of its myriad fascinations.