On October 19th of this year, I had the very great pleasure of attending The Berkeley-Sakai Sister City Associations 40'th anniversary banquet at the Righa Royal Hotel in SakaiCity,, Japan, located smack-dab, dead-center at the terminus of the Marinouchi subway line from the Osaka train Station.
Sakai is a justly famous, and an historically important city in th Kansai Area, (or "Kinki" area), known principally for early contact with Chinese traders in the 7th century, and later, with the Portugese in the 17th Century. Sakai was know nationwide since the midaeval period, for fine laminated steel knives, iron work, the very best samurai swords, and in ancient times, as the center of Imperial power, and the largest key-hole shaped burial mounds, (or "Kofun"), in all of Japan.
In fact the great "Nintoku Tumulus", or burial mound, a part of the great Mozu Kofun area, is symbolic of Sakai City, and has a baseline exceeding that of the Great Pyramid of Khufu (or Cheops), on the Giza plarteau, in Egypt.
Khufu, Kofun?
Hmmm...
Omoshiroii desune?
Anyway, Sakai City did us proud, they put on a huge banquet, with lots of the most delicious foofstuffs from sush i to sashimi to gyoza and Chinese food, sukiyaki to petit-fours.
What the Japanese don't know about feasting, really doesn't matter, as far as I am concerned.
I stood at a small table wirth several jolly Sakai citizens, each vying with his or her fellows to top up my beerglass, before it was 1/2 empty.
(As far as I know, most Japanese have not really discovered "microbrews", the way we have, but their mainstream brews, Kirin, Asahi, Sapporro, ansd Ebisu beers are really quite excellent.)
Then the tumblers of whiskey were sent around...
Sakai City had provided the best desserts and the best coffee for us.
Omedetto Gozaiimasu!
Kerry Drew BSA 510-677-6912
(I'd like to talk with anyone abvout Japan.) kerryika@gmail.com
Sakai is a justly famous, and an historically important city in th Kansai Area, (or "Kinki" area), known principally for early contact with Chinese traders in the 7th century, and later, with the Portugese in the 17th Century. Sakai was know nationwide since the midaeval period, for fine laminated steel knives, iron work, the very best samurai swords, and in ancient times, as the center of Imperial power, and the largest key-hole shaped burial mounds, (or "Kofun"), in all of Japan.
In fact the great "Nintoku Tumulus", or burial mound, a part of the great Mozu Kofun area, is symbolic of Sakai City, and has a baseline exceeding that of the Great Pyramid of Khufu (or Cheops), on the Giza plarteau, in Egypt.
Khufu, Kofun?
Hmmm...
Omoshiroii desune?
Anyway, Sakai City did us proud, they put on a huge banquet, with lots of the most delicious foofstuffs from sush i to sashimi to gyoza and Chinese food, sukiyaki to petit-fours.
What the Japanese don't know about feasting, really doesn't matter, as far as I am concerned.
I stood at a small table wirth several jolly Sakai citizens, each vying with his or her fellows to top up my beerglass, before it was 1/2 empty.
(As far as I know, most Japanese have not really discovered "microbrews", the way we have, but their mainstream brews, Kirin, Asahi, Sapporro, ansd Ebisu beers are really quite excellent.)
Then the tumblers of whiskey were sent around...
Sakai City had provided the best desserts and the best coffee for us.
Omedetto Gozaiimasu!
Kerry Drew BSA 510-677-6912
(I'd like to talk with anyone abvout Japan.) kerryika@gmail.com
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SF Bay Area
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Re: Berkeley-Sakai City's 40'th Anniversary Sister City Celebration.
Wed, December 19, 2007 - 1:51 AMHai, omoshiiroi desu.
