Keeping it Aussie!

Posted on June 4, 2007 by Angie Davis

If there's one thing that will never change for me, it’s my choice of Beer. I've been living in Japan for 2 years now, am used to canned beer, and have developed quite a palette for Kirin and SapporoThe largest city in HokkaidoThe Northernmost of the 4 major islands of the Japanese archipelago. and the fifth largest in Japan by population. It is home of the famous Sapporo Breweries and hosts the annual Yuki Matsuri (Snow Festival).....Asahi doesn't even find its way into my fridge. But as much as I have almost convinced myself that Japanese beer is actually good, I will always stay true to my roots and continue in my search to find a better beer than my beloved Home Bevvie; Coopers Pale Ale, born and bred in South Australia.

For any of those out there that, like me, miss dearly a cold pint of pale or that special treat of a long neck on the way home from work, I will share with you my new found secret...it's here, in Japan, and it’s bloody well priced!

Costco, my friends, the international supermarket warehouse in Makuhari, ChibaOne of Japan's 47 prefectures. Located just East of Tokyo and home to such well known sites as Narita International Airport and Tokyo Disney Land., sells amongst a heap of other great stuff, Coopers Pale Ale by the box. Last time I went there, it was around 4,300Yen. This is surprisingly cheap-I recently went home and a case is about $36-$38 Aus these days, with a stubby at a club about $6.

To make my life even better, the local bar down the road from my house in Ichinomiya, sells Coopers Pale by the stubby for a mere 600Yen, and they are so kind that they even let me do take-aways! How good is that!

Believe me, I have accustomed myself to almost everything Japanese. Seeing as I am marrying a Japanese guy who speaks almost no English, I can honestly say that I do my best to live the Japanese way when it comes to most things. But I am an Aussie through and through, and there are just some customs that need to be continued, despite the distance between where I live now and my homeland. Drinking Coopers whenever possible is one of those; along with Tim Tams, Cadbury Choccie, and of course Vegemite.

If anyone can tell me where I can buy weet-bix in Japan, I'll buy them a beer-as long as it’s a paley!