Things on the Train

Welcome to my morning commute.

I'm sure you're aware of the Japanese penchant for decorating things -- themselves included -- with random bits and phrases of random western languages, English being the language of choice. Being random, these fragments of language are mostly empty of any real meaning ("GET! For the most and always."). Like the Oracle at Delphi, however, occasionally a tidbit of wisdom appears.

This morning I caught a glance of a t-shirt calling out -- in the proper font -- Frutiger 66.

I think the Gods are trying to tell me to revisit my typeface selection.

Cock o' the Walk

Cock o' the Walk
Originally uploaded by gogakuhei

A coworker introduced me to Cock o' the Walk recently. It's a nice British Isles-style pub near in Roppongi, not far from work. They have a pretty good selection of beers on tap and in bottles (see below), and offer full pints for 600 yen during happy hour. Full pints can be a bit rare in Japan, and 600 yen (about $6) is not a bad price for that much beer.

There's live celtic music on the occasional evening (first Wednesdays, maybe) with an older British guy on what looked like a banjo and somewhere between 4 and 8 Japanese on a variety of instruments, including tin whistle and Irish bagpipes. It was good music and a good time.

Beers on tap:
Shepherd Neame 1698 Celebration Ale
Shepherd Neame Bishops Finger (Kentish Strong Ale)
Shepherd Neame Spitfire (Kentish Ale)
Westons Old Rosie Cloudy Scrumpy Premium Cider
Guiness
Heineken

Bottles:
Young's Special Ale
Fuller's London Pride Ale
Fuller's Golden Pride Superior Strength Ale
O'Hanlon's Port Stout
Fuller's Discover Blonde
Fuller's ESB
...plus a few that I couldn't quite make out from my barstool.

They also have a pretty nice looking menu, but I haven't had much off there yet. I've heard a few people rave about the bangers 'n mash, and the fish 'n chips at their sister pub, The Warrior Celt, are supposed to be worth the trip to Ueno.