It has been more than a week since I left Daimon-san and the rest of the brewers at Mukune.  After japan I went straight to Beijing to discover another amazing country.  Now I am back in Vegas, back in the grind.  Everyone asks me about my trip… ‘How was it?”, “Did you drink a lot of sake?” and at that moment I always stop and think… how can I describe the magical time that we all shared at Mukune?  How can I explain how much I learned about sake… working hard, hands on in the brewery every day?  How can I explain how much I learned about the culture… living amongst all the locals, sharing their walks on the streets and the local supermarkets? When thinking of the generosity of Daimon-san and all his staff, the way he welcomed strangers to his kura with open arms and, above all, an open heart…. I realize that there are no words.  I am still amazed of the whole week and although it is nice to be back in the comforts of home, I really do miss it! And I think that is what brought all six of us there from all over the country, we all agreed that with something as technical and precise as sake, there really is no other way to grasp it besides to make the trek that we did and actually make it yourself.  I know that I am blessed to have been able to experience it.  I know for certainty that it has changed me and that my life will take a different path because of this internship.  I am sad to be away from the great company of everyone…some of the most inspiring, charismatic, and adventurous people I have ever met.  I truly hope that all of our paths will cross again in the future.  1 year until Italy!??

To Daimon-san… Thank you for letting us all into your world.  Thank you for staying up late every night to entertain us, for taking us to that ONE last bar, karaoke, or late night noodles, and still being the first one up the next morning (How do you do it??!) But above all, thank you for teaching me more about a true passion of mine, you have truly inspired and motivated me to take it to the next level…and to follow my dreams.

Today we recapped some things we have done earlier in the week… rice washing, steaming, koji, etc.  It was great to be able to do these things twice in a week.  It really helps you get everything down because I feel the first time is kind of a whirl-wind.

I couldn’t help thinking, as we went up the third time today to turn the rice, cool it, and break it up for the koji, that we are like rice pioneers!  I told Daimon-san today that I will never look at a bowl of rice the same again.  We have experienced it raw, milled, finger burn hot, cooled, wet, dry, put great time and effort into washing it, steaming it, lugging it around the kura in bags, running up to the “koji room” several times a day to visit it and baby it (we are talking two shoe changes for this practice alone!), watched it get koji-ed (??) before our very eyes…then hand stirred and loved it some more…backaches, sweat and all.  We watched it change as the koji ate away at the proteins and fats, loaded it into the “Ferrari” and watched it run, took it out of the “Ferrari” and left it in trays in another room to rest for five days, it even made an appearance at last nights ramen noodle run on Daimon-san’s shirt! Whew!  To experience the respect and detail that has been given to this “everyday household grain” is truly amazing!

Okay how do I say this frankly…  ahem…after a wonderful dinner with all the brewers, Daimon-san, and his wife I participated in an outing to the local bathhouse. Let me explain…

We ate at the kura that night..  all gathered around a large table, sitting traditionally on pillows on the floor.  Daimon-san laid out a terrific spread for us… and of course some great sake.  In the course of the dinner we all took turn talking about why we chose to participate in something like this and a little more about our background.  Daimon-san translated to the Kurabitos and they had the opportunity to ask us some questions as well.  One of the brewers wondered..  Why, when we had the whole world at our hands, and even all of Japan, would we chose to come to this brewery in Japan?  It blew me away to think that he did not realize how highly we thought of them and the kura… and how fast all of us jumped on the opportunity to be here.  I think I speak for all of us when I say that we wouldn’t want to be anywhere else in the world.  We have been so graciously welcomed and cared for, have had the opportunity to learn everything we have ever wondered about sake, and have learned life lessons that go far beyond sake production.  Where else would we be?

I had heard talk about the bathhouse or sento all day.  I am the only female on this trip, and have heard only the not so positive things about sentos, so I immediately thought that I would sit this one out.  Although, after hearing all of Daimon-san’s stories during dinner about his wonderful life experiences and the chances he took throughout his life that led him where he is today and, of course, with the courage of sake in me, I changed my mind.  Off to the sento we all went!

Getting there was a blur… it as pretty busy and all I remember seeing were massage chairs.  I took a deep breath, took a last glance  back at all my fellow interns, and went through the doors to the womens section.  Waking in the locker room I was pretty lost, but very excited at the same time.  I undressed slowly and cautiously, until I realized that no one in the locker room was paying any special attention to me, then I finally began to relax.  Somehow I learned that I was to shower before I went into any of the baths…  all of the soaps, shampoos, etc were laid out for you.  Then I went to explore.  First I went into the sauna..  it was so intense and so hot I could only stand a minute.  I wandered through the spa area where the pools were filled with powerful jets.  I saw that there was an outside area and immediately headed that way.  Outside there was a huge progeection TV with Japanese movies on.  There were many group baths or pools with about two to three women in each of them…steam rising up from the heat.  I decided to start in a single heated bath… just room for one.  It was surrounded by lush trees and waterfalls… just like being in an oasis.  Laying under the stars in a heated bath listening to the sounds of Japan, I finally realized I liked this place… I really liked it.  So relaxing.  Time to be alone and reflect, or time to socialize if you wish.  After that I must have looked like a madman traveling from bath to bath…I only had an hour and was determined to experience the different temperatures and different sceneries of each and every bath.  I finally found myself in a cold bath… waterfall trickling down.  It was so cold, yet so refreshing after all the hot baths.  One final dip to experience the powerful jets in another bath….and I was done.  I rushed out to excitedly to tell my fellow interns and Daimon-san about my great experiences… and saw a couple of the interns passed out on the massage chair.  It was a great night.  I put myself out there and learned about something I really enjoyed that I never thought I would experience.

Arrived last night where I was welcomed with a wonderful spread of sushi and, of course, Daimon-san’s sake.  I was very delirious from the long flight from Las Vegas, but immediately “came to” when I arrived to smiling faces and full glasses.  Couldn’t sleep in this morning for anticipation, although I should have.  We spent the morning with challenges that we thought would come second nature: the coffee machine, doing dishes, changing the garbage bags, is this sugar???, where’s the start button???  Followed up with a walk to the super market to view a spread that peaked my jealousy… fresh hot foods, amazing sushi and nigiri, fresh tempura and mochi, perfect fruits and vegetables… some individually wrapped, even a takoyaki stand!  It is going to be a great week!