A night out in the Honch!

I took some photos of our recent night out in the Honch. The Honch is the area right outside of base full of bars and restaurants. It's a mixture of Japanese and American clientele. There's a lot of American people that turn their noses up at hanging out in this area ("Oh, there's too many Americans!") but the truth is, they just haven't dug deep enough to have any fun. I've had a blast every time I go out and meet plenty of Japanese and Americans alike who are friendly and good company. I'm sure in the near future, we'll venture farther into Japan, but for now as we still live at the Navy Lodge, the Honch is good enough.

Our first stop of the night was TGI Friday's...yes, I know...but I went with friends and it was their choice, not mine. One of the features of this Friday's menu was "small plates." They cost about 480 yen and are half the size of the regular plate. I ordered fish and chips. As you can see, the plate came with four tiny pieces of fried fish, maybe 13 french fries, and was no bigger than the size of my hand. This was not a kid's menu or an appetizer, it was a full dish meant to be dinner. I wish they had more things like this in the US as portion control is a key to weight management.

The next stop of the night was the Chu-hi Stand. I've mentioned this place before in my blog and its quickly becoming one of my most favorite hang out spots. The chu-hi's are cheap (about $4-$5) and strong. The owner is a salty Japanese guy. The above sign hangs in the window of the stand. Some cocky Americans have tried to correct the English, but even more cocky Americans went behind them and further corrected the English.

These are chu-hi drinks. The liquor that goes into them is called "so-chu" and then it's mixed with any flavor juice you want. I like the coconut one the best. John had the banana and our friend had great grape. Chu-hi's are in no way good for you, by the way. So-chu is a brown sugar based liquor and fruit drink mix is mostly sugar. 

The Chu-hi Stand is in a residential area, off the noisy bar area of the honch. There are only a few chairs and for the most part customers gather out on the sidewalk with their drinks. The above two pictures are of the residental area flanking the Chu-hi Stand.

The above three photos are just some gratuitous shots of us enjoying a night out.

After the Chu-hi Stand, our friends left, so John and I decided to explore some of the small bars in the Honch area. This one had a saucy waitress who overheard John playfully tell me to "Shut up." and she stepped in and said, "Don't tell her to shut up!" (To be honest, I was probably being annoying about something...I usually am.)

The final stop of the night was the taco/flafel stand. The Navy people in the area call this place, "Taliban Taco" which is more than a little racist and makes me grimace in distaste. The place is owned by a Pakistani family and only opens after 9pm. It's in a small little shed on the corner of the Honch. To be fair, the place really does have no name. The owners blare their Pakistani music louder than any of the clubs in the area and dance with enthusiasm while making your falafel/taco. Their food is delicious and a must-stop at the end of the evening. They have any number of sauce mixes you can put on your taco that make it delicious. These tacos are meant to be eaten while you make your way back to the gate of base.