Picture: Junichi San at his bar in Hirado, very memorable!

Food and entertainment were another pleasant experience in Hirado. Since coffee is not a Japanese tradition, it is difficult to find a cup of latte in town so we went across the Hirado Bridge where there might be a nice place on the waterfront to get some coffee. Biking several miles for a cup of latte reminded me a cigarette commercial in the 60's, showing a hole in the sole of a man's shoe as he said, "I walked a mile for a Camel." Anyway, riding on the Hirado Bridge was a thrilling experience, especially since we could get a good view of all the turbulent water we had experienced only a few days before while sailing under the bridge. The bridge is painted red and in my opinion resembles the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. There is a wide walking and bike path, which was perfect for us! Anyway, we did find a restaurant with ambience; however, the coffee was from a do-it-yourself coffee machine. On the other hand the Italian seafood chowder and the whole grain sour dough bread were delicious. The bread was a treat because it is difficult to find whole grain bread in Japan.

Local beef in Hirado is like "Kobe beef" (named after the Kobe region), but actually it is called "wa-gyu", meaning Japanese beef (we are told). Basically the beef is choice, grass-fed and organic. The meat is absolutely divine. The fat of the beef is soft, unlike regular beef fat, so it melts easily in the skillet. It is "marbled" or interlaced within the beef so when it is cooked (often barbecued), it sears and absorbs into the lean meat, creating a tender, juicy and flavorful morsel. I mean "morsel" in the sense that the servings are like miniature steaks. I only bought six small pieces because it was so expensive but it was worth every penny.

Another specialty of this area is the fish cake (Kawachi Kamaboko). They have been using this process for preserving fish since the Edo period. The fresh fish is ground into a paste and then wrapped in small wheat straws (nowadays plastic ones) to create a corrugated effect around the outside. Before use, I give it a little twist in the center and then peel the straws off. They are quite tasty in soup, sauté, fried or even eaten raw. Not wishing to cycle all the way across the bridge again we finally found a coffee and wine bar in the vintage street, about a five-minute-bike ride away from the boat. The owner's name is "Junichi Seto". We found that Japanese names seem to have a meaning; "Jun" can mean "pure" and "ichi" is "number one". "Seto", his family name, means "channel" in the marine sense. The bar is decorated with classic 60's and 70's era artifacts as well as numerous posters of the Beatles and Eric Clapton and other entertainers. Junichi San told us that he attends Eric Clapton's concerts every time he comes to Japan. He also attended Paul McCartney's concert last year in Tokyo. Junichi spoke only a small amount of English but we communicated very well. Another patron, Matsuse Yutaka, his friend and high school classmate, speaks English very well and interpreted for us when we could not understand. The third evening we visited the bar, Matsuse San gave us a copy of his published poetry book called "Hirado Junrei, A Poetical Journey to the Place of My Mind". He also gave us some fish cakes as a departure gift. Spending three nights in Junichi's bar, drinking beer, eating appetizing meals, watching Eric Clapton concert videos and talking to Junichi and Yutaka were one of highlights of our time in Hirado. The days we spent in Hirado were exciting, fun and educational. We would go back in a heartbeat!