On Feb. 1, 2011 I suddenly had a cancellation of my 9:00 p.m. man-to-man lesson so I quickly sent out invitations to many of my students. Of course I knew that, being such short notice, I would not get many ‘takers’. But happily three of my students joined me. We had a very nice time at a local ‘watering hole’ called Konan High Ball in Okamoto. This bar is really my favorite so far in Japan. The owner who also is the bartender is such a friendly guy and the atmosphere at this bar is great. It is brightly lit, they serve the gamut of cocktails and have some great beers such as Vedette Extra White which is a Belgian wheat beer.
This bar, which has been in business for about 30 years, is popular among all ages. Young university students usually sit at big tables far back in the bar while the regulars sit at the bar and the working crowd sit at tables near the door.
On this evening we got a table near the window and door. We ordered some drinks and food and settled in to have some fun conversation. Konan Highball has a menu of seasonal dishes that are usually just 300 Yen each. They had raw oysters, fried oysters, Scallops Carpachio, house-made roasted chicken, oil-sardines with crackers, cheese fondue and house-made pizza and many other great dishes. So we had a wide choice of dishes to choose from.
If you are ever in Kobe-Okamoto near the Settsumotoyama Station in the evening, drop by Konan Highball for a fine time.
Al Bartle (Smith’s School of English – Okamoto)
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