Twice a year, during Lent and Advent, I "abstain from the sauce AT HOME." Those last two words always make my students laugh! I suppose they imagine old sensei slipping out of the house, grabbing a beer from a nearby convenience store and hanging out in the park to drink every single day while observing the letter if not the spirit of the practice!
However, I am not half as convivial as it was my wont to be in former times, and since the booze up at the Rhiga Royal hotel that I blogged about a few days ago...
https://liketu.com/@hirohurl/free-flowing-l-ve-b-ze-at-the-2025-graduation-party
...I had not gone out to eat drink or be merry for TEN WHOLE DAYS! That is, I had only gone out to teach or to shop for groceries and the like, and wended my way homeward without visiting any of my accustomed watering holes OR the refrigerated beer shelves of any convenience stores or supermarkets. Nope. I had wended my way homewards, put on the kettle and wound down with a pot of camomile tea.
The purpose of this biannual practice is to check up on myself and make sure I can answer this question on the favourable side:
"Do I drink for pleasure or am I addicted to the sauce?"
Testing the Waters and the Nappy Ale at my Local Spa
About once a month I hang out at my local spa, "Honoyu" with my good old chum "The Don," which is exactly what I was up to yesterday.
And since Honoyu is NOT HOME, after enjoying the spa waters and the sauna, I treated myself to my first beer in ten days, which, thankfully, was NOT Asahi!
You can order Sapporo draft beer, or bottled Sapporo, or bottled Kirin Ichiban Shibori at Honoyu. I usually opt for the bottled Kirin, but since it was Happy Hour for draft Sapporo when we arrived at the spa restaurant, I went for the draft Sapporo, which I also find to be a bit lighter than the Kirin.
A plate of chips, a set meal of sashimi, tempura, rice, soup, and some side dishes, and three beers later, I wended my way homeward, past the local convenience store WITHOUT going in, put on the kettle, and made myself a nightcap of camomile tea to round off another pleasant day!
Cheers!
David Hurley
#InspiredFocus
Spa photo source: https://www.honoyu.jp/rakurakuen/
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