Sometimes the rain arrives at exactly the right time. The downpour hit just as I was walking through the heart of Ginza. I ducked into the nearest doorway — well, the nearest doorway of a gothic bierkeller.
Rainy season refuges don't come any better than the Lion Beer Hall. I hadn't been inside for years, probably a decade or so. But it looks no different to the very first time I was brought here, back in the latter years of Showa. It was a one-of-a-kind then, and it still is today. Now, though, they even have a non-smoking section. And the beer selection is considerably better: Edelpils on draught. Jawohl!
And just to keep my beer company, a side order of crispy deep-fried gobo (burdock) sticks with a mayo dip. Beat that Bavaria!
But really these photos fail to do justice to this magnificent place and its cracking atmosphere. So here's a short vid showing what Tokyo gets up to on a Saturday afternoon in the middle of ritzy Ginza...
The sky lightened and the rain lifted before too long. But that was just long enough to savour a couple of small glassfuls — and to replenish my memories of this timeless Ginza classic.
The link for Lion Beer Hall is here... And there's a map link here...
There's a larger version of the vid over on vimeo here...
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