Yabusame & Yakitori:
There are Those Who Shoot and Those Who Simply Eat Shoots

Yabusame is one of "the things" to do in our area. I'm sure it's quite a sight to see if you get off your butt and get to Kamakura at least five hours early so you can sit in front. We arrived an hour and a half before the ceremonies and the only thing we saw was a blur as the contestents zipped by our twenty foot gap.

With achy feet and a four-foot Ma Chan who could only see treetops and armpits, we decided to go get food and drink satisfied with the "been there done that" bragging rights.

This is the runway. In between contestents, people were allowed to cross it. Unfortunately, this is the best view we saw of the competition.

We decided to step outside our comfort zone of chicken hearts and knee cartilage and try this special raw liver. The chickens have some sort of diet that makes their livers really white. Verdict: Not too shabby. This is the ONE and ONLY time I've slightly enjoyed liver. Of course, anything is great when you have a nice draft beer to wash it down!

Rainy season is here and that means lots of bamboo shoots are springing up everywhere! It's a lot like the artichoke: You work your butt off for this little gem of a morsel burried in the middle but damn if it ain't worth it! These shoots were quartered, speared and grilled over charcoal and touched with a little miso (secret) sauce before serving. Delicious!

What it's like to be a dish in a Yakitori restaurant.
(ooooh....artsy!)

Snapped during a very colorful session of "Pick on Tomo," Ma Chan's boyfriend. (If I have to explain the joke to you, you're too young, too naive or simply not a friend of mine.)

One of Tomo's Many Shirts with Great "Engrish"
He's got another with the same phrase plastered across the front of a bright yellow tee. I guess he showed up to go with Ma Chan to the Yokosuka open base event and she gasped in horror and made him buy another shirt before entering the base. ha-ha!
(Hideyoshi Yakitori, Kamakura)