of seafood, chinese medicine
Haven’t had a dinner this crazy since a long time,
with the two mad geniuses that comprise Opitope –
Chihei Hatakeyama and Date Tomoyoshi.
It’s funny how they were the first musicians
whom we performed with at our live debut in Japan
because it seemed like it was only yesterday.
Hmm. That was a whole five years ago!
We took a train to Shinjuku, and where else
but to Chihei’s favourite haunt which literally
translates to “memory lane” where rows
of tightly-squeezed two-storey buildings
house izakaya and restaurants with staircases
steep and rickety.
Of course we laughed alot, and we also cried
a fair share of tears over a heavy cloud of smoke
caused by an enormous barbequed fish that got burnt to
a fine shade of ebony. And then there were also rare
Sazai clams, other exotic fish, sea urchin sushi
and ochazuke, in short, seafood paradise.
Tomo, who’s an ER doctor by profession and an avid
researcher in Chinese medicine, dishing out
satchets of his magic elixirs and powders.
“This can help you sleep well”, he said.
I’ll keeping this one for the nights when my body feels
dead but the mind is stubbornly alive and flickering.
Thanks, Dr. Super Junkie!