Despite the crazy world, I like to think I'm an eternal optimist. Heck, I still think Joey "Blue Skies" Harrington could have been the Lions savior. So, naturally, I had been trying to maintain a positive outlook despite the seemingly relentless onslaught of bad news lately. You know: the crumbling economy, Keynesian economics, GM in Washington on its knees, global weather catastrophes, terrorists, Iceland going bankrupt, Joaquin Phoenix, the Detroit Lions...the usual hellish threshold type things. Alas, my spirit took a major blow today as I felt one of the brutal realities of a recession - doing without my favorite beer.
One of our favorite things to do on the weekends is take the subway to downtown Nagoya, especially for the International Store there, Yamaya. It is one of the few places that I've been able to find something other than Kirin, Sapporo, or Asahi beer (a.k.a. Budweiser, Labatts, or Miller). At the risk of sounding like a beer snob, I became quite accustomed to the wide variety of IPA's, Stouts, and Ales back in America. Sadly, one of the biggest adjustments for me in Japan is doing without that variety. That is until I found Hitachino Nest beer at Yamaya!Needless to say, walking through the aisles today something didn't feel right. As the pieces of the puzzle began to unfold...the boxes on the floor...the empty shelves...
and finally, the eerily half-stocked beer selection...
...it dawned on me that survival in Japan might have just taken a turn for the worst. The international store was going under and taking with it my favorite option for beer. The economy has really done it this time! Another brutal blow. And with that, this eternal optimist had to face the realization that I would have to deal without...
No more Hitachino Nest Beer..."Oh the Humanity."
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