Liver Sashi with a little Raw Horse on the side...

I and two friends indulged last night in another bit of a "girls night", this time just at a local izakaya to unwind and have a relaxing chat. Our favourite izakaya - Ryoba- was closed, so we sauntered over to a true local place. Yuzu (the izakaya) is also in Susono and only about a five minute walk from home, but it is not part of a chain (like Ryoba), so it really did have more character. They're also less accustomed to gaijin guests, and when we three women walked under the noren and into the bar, the only customers at that hour, three older men, gaped openly and began chatting in Japanese about how interesting it was that some gaijin women were there. They continued to talk when we started drinking shochu and nihonshu, and then, noting our gentle laughter, they figured out that we understood what they were saying! They were very pleasant, chatted with us a bit and really, that's something I really love about going out to the local places - meeting the locals!

The highlight of the evening came when we finally decided that we ought to order some food, so we opted for a variety of sashi (raw) food - tuna sashimi, basashi (raw horse meat) and reba sashi (raw liver); this of course was not exactly keeping a low profile and lead to more conversation and really, in the end, a good time was had by all.

As for those who are wondering what raw liver tastes like, I can say that I genuinely enjoyed it -dipped in a lovely sesame sauce, it was cool, refreshing and perfectly complemented by the imojochu I was drinking. It's also worth noting that I detest cooked liver - the smell alone is enough to drive to the the porcelain throne, but raw liver, now that I can eat every day!