Takunomi. – 10

It’s the end of the year, and Kae is going to Okinawa with a colleague, reminding Nao of the time they went together so Kae could get over a heartbreak (both have embarrassing pics of one another from that trip). Nao is too busy at work to go, and eventually becomes burnt out, so Kae, with Michiru and Makoto’s help, arranges a way restore Nao’s spirits.

That results in an Okinawan-themed dinner and drinking party, which immediately cheers Nao up. Okinawa is a relatively small island, so it stands to reason they use every possible bit of the pig in their cuisine.

In a neat fact not mentioned in the ep, some of the pork Nao and Kae ate when they went was likely descended from the pigs shipped to the island by Japanese Americans in Hawaii after WWII to help deal with the food shortage.

The perfect beer to wash down the rich, fatty pork is Orion beer, which like all beers brewed for tropical locals, has a light, clean, refreshing taste, a sensation that comes through in the precise animation of the characters drinking.

Makoto managed to find Orion beer at a store a little further out of the way, prompting Nao to embrace her sister, pronounce her love, and beg her to never find a man so they can be together forever (Makoto is understandably noncommittal).

The quartet also remarks how they’ve been together a whole half-year, and it’s been so much fun they should all go to Okinawa together next year.

As it is, Michiru is headed home to spend New Year’s with her mom, but due to all the Okinawan celebrating, she oversleeps and nearly misses her flight; another reminder that part of mastering drinking is making sure you can meet your scheduling obligations afterwards. Still, lots of good food, beer, and fellowship this week.

Takunomi. – 09

I never thought I’d see a young Shidare Hotaru cameo in Takunomi, but I shouldn’t be surprised, as this week is all about dagashi, or junk food. In Japanese dagashi means “futile snacks”, as in it’s futile for Michiru to try to shed those Winter pounds when there’s dagashi around, courtesy of Nao.

Of course, since this is a show about booze, Nao presents the best alky for pigging out on cheap snacks: a Sapporo Otoko Ume Sour drink, a pre-mixed canned drink based on “Manly Pickled Plums.” Pouring it into a mug with ice, a salted rim, and some real pickled plums compounds the effect.

From there, Michiru (and Kae, who is drawn in) give in to the all-too-easy-to-consume empty calories, which fill the various holes in their souls. As Michiru looks on in pity, Nao and Kae salute the fact that while they may not have men, at least they have manly plums in their life!

Takunomi. – 08

From slice-of-office-life, history and life lessons, to the usual drink and food pairings, Takunomi. has a little bit of everything this week, which made me inclined to offer my first “recommended” score after seven straight “watchables.”

We dive a little deeper into Michiru’s office experience as she’s chosen to head up a client presentation the same day she dreams about it. Things don’t go as smoothly as she imagined, but she wins the client over, netting her her first work victory.

It’s a special occasion, which necessitates a special beverage: the venerable Suntory Kabukin (亀, tortoise) Whisky. Around since the 30s, it’s the first whisky by Japanese for Japanese, and still going strong. While it says Kabukin nowhere on the bottle, it’s always been called that because of its tortoise-shell bottle design.

The whisky goes perfectly in a 4:1 highball, though I might want to try it neat or on the rocks. It’s also the perfect drink to go with freshly fried chicken karaage.

But with Michiru’s work victory come a slew of new responsibilities, and in an attempt to keep up with the breakneck pace, she simply overworks herself—not a tenable strategy if one wants to live a long life.

After showing up late for a meeting, Michiru works right up to the time of the after-work office celebration meant to celebrate her. She’d have worked through it to, were it not for her 5-year veteran co-worker Hanamori, who has her back, doing the remaining work for her at hare-speed.

She also has advice for Michiru at the pub: young workers should expect to keep up with the hustle and bustle, they have to be more like tortoises, focused on getting it done, period, without worrying too much about how fast they can get it done. It’s what their boss said to Hanamori when she started out.

Michiru takes to that mentality, pulling her coat over her head to show her boss she knows what he was talking about, and takes care of business. The speed will come in time.