Izushi Blueberry Beer

It's been a long week and will get longer from here. For only the second time during my year and a half stint in Japan am on medication. It's nothing major, but it is kickin my butt and making me drowsy. I'm doing my best, but have been basically stumbling around throughout the day like a zombie. I suppose tomorrow will probably be no better.

This week is also a week of Halloween parties. As we come closer to the big day this Saturday, there are 3 parties at my school that I have to dress up for and help execute. Between field trips, zombie-like medicated stumbling and Halloween parties, there will be no You Tube videos this week.



I came across this picture this evening and wanted share it. During the summer, I visited the small town of Izushi, located in Northern Hyogo Prefecture. the town is known within japan for it's amazing soba noodles and beautiful scenery. While there I picked up this craft beer. This blueberry beer is made by the Izushi Shiroyama Beer Company.


I saved this beer in my fridge for a few months and had it in September. It was quite good. It had a very full and solid taste with a hint of fruity sweetness. In this picture you can see the one blueberry that was inside the bottle. I think I would have preferred it if there was a stronger berry flavour. This is a nice summer beer. Years ago, when I was living in Moncton, New Brunswick, I was a regular patron of the Pump House Brewery. They had a great blueberry ale there. I suppose to this day, i always compare any blueberry to that one and most normally come nowhere close.

BusanKevin on Seoul Podcast website

A few months ago I won some stuff from the Seoul Podcast, a weekly podcast I listen to. I made a vid about it. I just noticed today that they posted it here, on their site.





Oh yeah...I posted several videos today:




Last night I went with some friends to a rooftop beer garden. It was the first time I've been to one in Japan. It was a great time.

Cold Combat and Ankle biter Damage

Yep! I'm not feeling well. I've been fighting a cold all week. Not so much a cold as a tease of a cold. I've been on the cusp of a full blown cold for days now. I've been self medicating (not a fan of medical systems anywhere when an ailment is minor) and I think it's almost licked. The complete lack of energy I have makes work hard though. Contending with little ankle biters is demanding enough when you are in top fighting form. When you are weakened, they sense the opportunity to pounce...and they doTo tell you the truth, one of the main reasons I've gotten back into my old hobby of serious weightlifting has been to make my job easier. I've found that if you are in good shape, being an elementary school teacher is much easier to do.


I came across a picture I wanted to share with the world. Since I've come to Japan, I've become a huge fan of ramen noodles. Not the instant Cup Noodle shite! I hate that stuff. It always leaves me with a serious case of gut-rot. I mean the good stuff from a restaurant. A few weeks ago, I dragged my wife to yet "another" ramen joint and had some REALLY spicy stuff. Check it out:


Note the mound of red chili pepperon top of it. The reason why the broth is red is due to all the hot peppers as well. it actually reminded me of Korean food. Good stuff indeed!

Beef Soup and North Korean Missiles

This will probably be my last post about my recent trip to Korea. I'm of course back at home here in Kobe and it's time to start filming different aspects of life in Japan again. I'm having a lot of fun filming and editing "food" videos these days so I'll probably make another one Saturday. Tomorrow, I'll be hiking a mountain between Osaka and Nara Prefecture. I think it's called Nicosan. It will be my first time there and I'll be hiking with fellow You Tube vlogger, spydermurphy.

I posted my last Korea food video today. My wife and I ate something called "gook bap" 국밥 (soup with rice) one night will in Busan. the restaurant we at at was right behind the Save Zone store in Haeundae. We actually had "sogogi gook bap" 소고기 국밥 whcih is beef soup with rice. It was great and of course at 3,500 won, cheap. Lots of veggies and not greasy at all. Also, just a little heat (spiciness).


Sogi gook bap 소고기 국밥 in Busan (Haeundae Beach area).


Here's my latest food video about the gook bap.

Asia Eats: Kevin eats Sogogi Gookbap 소고기 국밥

You can see the original here.


Oh, and of course, in non-Kobe related things, people all around Japan are getting a little freaked out since North Korea (sworn enemy of Japan and vice versa) are planning to test 2 missiles within the next few days. These long range missles will probably be launched over Japan. Some cities in Northern Japan are actually conducting emergency drills since they expect falling debris from the missiles!

Read more on JapanToday and Canadian CTV News.