KANPAI!

I have told some of you this, but who would have thought that the Japanese don't embrace the sake bomb? In fact, when I asked most of them, they didn't even know what it was! Well, that just would not do. I took it upon myself to teach them.

I'm not sure exactly why this trend hasn't caught on in Japan, but I don't know that they 'bomb' quite as many things as we do. It actually wasn't until I was here that I realized we do that... a lot.

Anyway, after my pharmacy rotation the department wanted to take me out to celebrate, welcome me to Japan, and have me try something new. We went to a yakitori restaurant, basically skewered chicken. The difference--they pretty much utilize the entire chicken. They have skewers of just skin, heart, liver, cartilage, and then other items as well--octopus, salads, etc. The food was good.

This night actually happened a while ago. I believe I was teaching them how to take the sake bomb here. However, based on my face and my empty glass, it appears I have already had one...or two.

All the departments at Kameda are very welcoming and receptive. This reminds me that I need to take more pictures. They also had a visiting intern from the University of Michigan, a PharmD student. She is here observing how the pharmacy department operates in Japan (the education required is quite different from the United States as is the organization and many of the procedures). She will be leaving sooner than I am but it was nice having a fellow American here!