Tama no Hikari & Basashi (horse sashimi)

Landed in Tokyo a few hours ago, freshened up and headed out to meet old friends N. and A. at my favorite Tokyo izakaya, run by the Tama no Hikari brewery. This trusty place belies its location in the bellows of Tokyo Station, consistently delivering superbly delicious delicious. Tonight was no different, but the basashi - horse sashimi - stole the show.


Easily the tastiest horse I've ever tasted. Better than Uzbeki horse sausage, better than Sicilian horse steak... just, yum. As K. once related in a story about eating horses, what kind of horse was it? "The loser." R. was not impressed.


To wash it down, my favorite Tamo no Hikari offering, "mizore" - this unique sake, when poured into a chilled glass, turns into slush. Mizore is clean, crisp, and refreshing. I simply love this sake. No visit to Japan is complete without it. R. was impressed. I'm hoping I can wangle a visit to the brewery in Kyoto in a couple of days time, but it isn't looking good at the moment, so I'll have to get my fix here. Yes, striking out hard for a week's R&R.