While we sat talking for a few minutes, I was surprised to notice a bottle of absinthe behind the bar. It was a reasonable ¥800 (~$8), so I ordered a glass. If you haven’t had absinthe before, it has a very sharp anise flavor, somewhat tempered by the sugar cube with which it’s traditionally served. I like the flavor of black licorice (but not licorice itself- strange, eh?), so I rather enjoyed the flavor, but not so all of my friends to whom I offered a taste.

That very same night, my friend Alex was using his comedic skills to warm a crowd for a local band, so I stopped by there to see how his evening was shaping up. Our conversation turned to our shared Japanese teacher (three of my friends also share the same private teacher as I have), and I learned that she’s been putting out feelers trying to find me a taiko teacher. A while back, she suggested I get involved with a traditional Japanese art. I guess when I replied that I was interested in taiko, she asked Alex’s shamisen teacher to find me a good taiko teacher.

Matsuyama is pretty small, so I guess I shouldn’t be so surprised, but unexpected connections like that still catch me off guard.