WIT Life #254: Denver’s Japanese influence
Food & Drink, Translating/Interpreting, Uncategorized, WIT Life, Writers 
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WIT Life is a periodic series written by professional Writer/Interpreter/Translator Stacy Smith (Kumamoto-ken CIR, 2000-03). She starts her day by watching Fujisankei’s newscast in Japanese, and here she shares some of the interesting tidbits and trends along with her own 
observations.
My interpreting travels bring me again to Denver, and earlier in the fall I posted here about the city’s amazing History Colorado Center, currently showing an exhibit about Japanese American internment during the war. It is still running, so make sure to check it out if you are in town! My clients and I spent the first week of our three-week journey in DC, as these Department of State programs always do. There I spent some time at the Memorial to Japanese-American Patriotism in World War II. It features two Japanese cranes caught in barbed wire on top of a tall marble pedestal, and it was created by Japanese-American sculptor Nina Akamu in 2000. It sits in a landscaped plaza surrounded by a granite wall with inscriptions of the battles that Japanese Americans fought in, as well as the names of the 10 internment camps where over 100,000 Japanese Americans were placed. I found it to be a very contemplative place, particularly when reading inscribed quotes from former internees and civil rights activists.
This time ar
ound in Denver my clients and I opted for more hoppy pursuits, a visit to the New Belgium brewery where Fat Tire and other beers are made. A local JET friend recommended this tour over the more generic one at Coors, as you get to drink throughout and you finish by going down a slide from the second floor to the first! Sure enough, it did not disappoint. We learned how the founder started with home brewing in his basement, and how over the years this grew into his now large-scale company, albeit one that has kept its local roots. The name Fat Tire came from the mountain bike he rode around Belgium when he went there to study their beer, and every employee receives a Fat Tire bike for their one-year anniversary at the company!
One of the many beers we sampled was the bold and citrusy Yuzu Imperial Berliner Weisse, which I loved. Following the tour I also had fun trying the Coconut Curry Hefeweizen which was on tap, a spicy treat which I have never tasted the likes of. We capped off the night at Izakaya Den (next door to Denver’s famous Sushi Den), where my clients got to enjoy some tastes of home such as gyoza, agedashi tofu and nasu dengaku.
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