Guess who’s of legal age, Backers?? 

But before we imbibe, Josh takes his family on an unfortunate visit into the mind of Swiss surrealist H.R. Giger at his eponymous museum; a retrospectively bad idea. Will his son be scarred for life? Can one separate the alien from the artist? Time will tell! 

Yes indeed, The Back of Japan turns 21, and in honor of this auspicious episode, we’re hosting and hoisting mugs of cold frothy beer from straight from Niigata. As a prefecture synonymous with sake, alcohol is in this region’s veins, and is even the home of Japan’s first microbrewery. We’ll stumble through the nation’s history with beer, cover the origins of craft breweries and make it for last call at some of the finest drinking holes in Niigata. 

A special thanks to Chiho Takagi, the founder of Tsumari Beer, and Takeru Miyagawa, founder of Otama Brewing for their help and the good times. 

Cheers and may all your glasses be full! 

Josh 🍻⛩️🍺