Senshi's Japanese Pipe TobaccOdyssey

Just read this thread all the way through. Really good description of a journey from Pipe newbie to a Pipe smoker.
I'm jealous of the pipe store you found. I certainly have nothing like that near me -- most places are cigar stores that have a grudging shelf of pipe tobacco and accessories. One of these days I need to drive an hour to Boston and go to Perettis.

Anyway, thanks for inviting us along on your trip -- and keep updating the thread -- it's fascinating to hear about the differences in culture. pipe and otherwise.

I told ya’ll I was gonna update it, and I never did. Forgive my insolence (this is Japan after all) I have an off period now and have some time to write this up.




Well, the main reason I went to Tokyo was for the UFC event in Saitama Super Arena (still haven’t informed the guys in the MMA thread). It was awesome! But this is the Brown Leaf, so let’s get to it!




I “met” an american pipe smoker online who is living in Tokyo. His name is Tony and just moved here about two months ago. I suggested we meet up while I was down there and he agreed. He’s the one I bought the Kajun Kake for. There is also a pipe maker, Kuwahara-san. He’s only been making pipes for a little over a year but has some very nice work. He won the Tokyo Pipe Show pipe making contest for beginners with a nice Liverpool last year. I follow him on Instagram (K’s Pipes) and he and I have been in contact for some time. I also offered to meet up with him while I was down there.




It turns out that the only times that Tony and Kuwahara-san could meet were on Monday at the same time. Neither of them had a problem meeting the other and Kuwahara-san said he was brining a friend, Kimura-san (whom I also follow on Instagram Kimuzo777).


I can’t tell you how excited I was to finally meet some pipe smokers in Japan. Brown Leafians, don’t get me wrong, I love you guys but there are some needs you just can’s satisfy




Tony and I met up in Ginza and went to Kikusui. You might remember this as the place that I bought my Stanwell and the Robert Lewis 123. This time he and I were just looking because the pipes are a little pricey. But I did settle on the MM Mark Twain. Tony ended up picking up some tins of Dunhill Flake and two tins of FVF. From there we headed to Asakusa (Kaminarimon).




At first it was a little awkward meeting Kimura-san and Kuwahara-san. It felt like a group of men on a blind date. Tony was also nervous because he doesn’t speak Japanese too well (heck, he’s only been here 2 months!) but I told him not to worry and that I would translate for him. Kimura-san is actually from the Asakusa area and took us out of the “touristy area” and brought us to a really nice Izakaya. He used to live in LA many years ago for work and speaks decent English.




We all sat down, got beers, shochu and nihonshu, loaded our pipes and had an awesome time. Everyone brought so much tobacco for everyone to sample and just left it on the table. This is just a taste of what was available but I got to try some very good blends for the first time. Two of them being McClellands 2035 and GQ’s Swamp Flower (I think Cursethis might enjoy that one)




Tony




Kimura-san




Kuwahara-san







Tip of the iceberg

One of the waiters at the izakaya was actually a pipe smoker and was saying how he wished he could have sat down with us and smoked a pipe! Topics included, tobacco preferences, pipe shows, pipe making, Japan and America and a plethora of other things. We drank and smoked for what felt like an eternity but was probably closer to 3 hours. Tony had some plans but before he left he gave me a tin of 2014 Xmas Cheer for the tin of Kajun Kake (was not expecting that!).

The gang





Kimura-san and Kuwahara-san wanted to hit up another place. Their friend “Harry” or Harisenbon (Japanese for porcupine fish) because he kind of looks like one, met us and we went to a Chinese restaurant. Turns out Kimura-san also speaks a little bit of Mandarin because he used to live in China with his wife.




"Harry"







Yup, you’re right, more booze and pipes. I’ve wanted to buy a pipe from Kuwahara-san for sometime and have had talks with him about a commissioned pipe. Well he is a really awesome guy and presented me with this.











It’s a short little eyebrow singer but it smokes amazingly well. He recommended using it for Vapers as he doesn’t think Latakia would do too well in it. I can’t tell you how moved I was to receive this from a person I just met. All of these guys were so nice and down to earth. It’s either a self-fulfilling prophecy that pipe smokers are genuinely wonderful people, or some weird coincidence.

The communal tobacco didn't really surprise me because Japanese people tend to love the "pot luck" style dinners.

But two things struck me as odd. They would pack a bowl of something, smoke it half way down and then put it to the side and pack a bowl of something else. When we got to the Chinese food place Kuwahara-san would take out his half smoked bowls, bring them out and finish them off and then pack a bowl and only smoke half of it.

The other thing that is very un-japanese is sharing pipes. A lot of them would start smoking a bowl and then pass it to the next guy for tasting/impressions. This comes from a country where people wear surgical masks on a daily basis as to not get a cold from someone nor give theirs to another. One of the guys asked to smoke my pipe (watch it! ) and I said sure.

I guess one more observation is that none of them use any form of softy bit or rubber bit on any of their pipes and were a little confused that Tony and I were.

Awesome. Don't ever finish this thread. It'd be like finishing a well loved book. Look at that pipe he gifted you! I don't believe in karma but you've given away some nice gear in the past so this is icing on your cake. Enjoy that little beauty.

Great story.

Thanks for making me add yet another blend to my wish list. Bonus points for it only being available by a specific tobacconist.

Edit: I read up on it and realized it was right in my wheelhouse. Order incoming for 50g of Swamp Flower, 25g of Clementine's Nip, and 10g of Chocolate & Vanilla.

Robster said:

Awesome. Don't ever finish this thread. It'd be like finishing a well loved book. Look at that pipe he gifted you! I don't believe in karma but you've given away some nice gear in the past so this is icing on your cake. Enjoy that little beauty.

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^What he said.

Sounds like a fun time!

First bun bun now this- this thread is full of greatness.

Senshi said:

Everyone brought so much tobacco for everyone to sample and just left it on the table. This is just a taste of what was available but I got to try some very good blends for the first time. Two of them being McClellands 2035 and GQ’s Swamp Flower

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Mmmmm... 2035, the beef jerky of tobaccos.

cwf71 said:

Mmmmm... 2035, the beef jerky of tobaccos.

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Which reminds me- I need to crack that tin of Drew Estates Meat Pie that withthegrain sent me.

Wow...just Wow.

I would be very honored (and I'm sure you are, very much) to have been presented a pipe by someone like that.

As for sharing a pipe...back when I was...never mind.

There wasn't the fanatical worry about things like that then. We even passed a liquor bottle around. Alcohol kills the germs, right?

Congrats. on the herf, and I'm sure you made some friends for life.

I'm jealous, the only one I get to smoke a pipe with is my Maneki Neko, Cocoa. She's a stray, most likely dumped, that showed up on my front porch during a rainstorm this summer when she was about 8 weeks old.

cwf71 said:

Mmmmm... 2035, the beef jerky of tobaccos.

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It was so good. I will absolutely be ordering some of that next time!

@Simon1

I don't see a problem sharing a pipe, that's why they invented shirts. To wipe off spit.

Senshi said:

It was so good. I will absolutely be ordering some of that next time!

@Simon1

I don't see a problem sharing a pipe, that's why they invented shirts. To wipe off spit.

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I enjoy 2035, 2015 & 2010. All excellent IMHO.

Well, today marks a year since I started this thread. The Nicotiana-maru is still sailing strong through the open Brown Leaf sea.

I was in Tokyo over the weekend for a very good friend's wedding. The reception happened to be held a 15 minute walk from a friend's apartment. That friend is Tony from the other post.

I stopped by his apartment before the wedding to hang out for a bit and smoke a bowl. Let me say, after living in my dump for five years, I was extremely jealous of his pad. I didn't want to appear too stalkerish and take more pictures but he has an amazing three floor beauty of a house. On the third floor he has his little office where he keeps "some" of his pipes. Needless to say, I was drooling.









It was nice to sit and chat about various topics and enjoy someone else's company while sharing a bowl. He let me sample Esoterica Dunbar for the first time and it was quite tasty. He also let me paw through his pipe collection as well. Nothing like inspecting another man's pipes

After that I went to the wedding. My friend Shoin is essentially the reason I came to Japan. He went to the same university as me and I met him through an international club. The club kind of fizzled out. But we decided to continue meeting up after that and I helped him with English and he helped me with Japanese. After getting to know him and learning about Japan, I knew that I had to come here eventually. And if it wasn't for him I would have never met Akina, my fiancée. Interestingly enough I indirectly introduced him to his wife, Nozomi. I brought him to a friend's party and that's where they met for the first time. Life is interesting like that.

The wedding was really nice and the MC kept calling me the Gaikokujin Cupid for having introduced them. They even interviewed me in front of everyone and I got to take some jabs at Shoin for everyone to laugh at him

During the party's open bar I got to enjoy my favorite rum, Ron Zacapa with some Burley Flake #3 in my Morta Rhodesian. I got a lot of positive comments on the pipe as well.






I just want to say thank you to everyone who has expressed interest in this thread and for encouraging me to keep updating it.


Pipe smoking is a wonderful hobby as it is, but when you have a group of people like the Brown Leafers around, it makes it all the more special.


Although there was no bun bun in Tokyo, I present to you without further adieu, bird poop on the jacket of a man who was waiting for the bullet train

You have successfully addressed every question or comment I could have made. You are oppressing potential discussion!

Hmm...let's see...so it seems like pipe smoking may be more common in Japan than in the US. Thoughts? Is that just the nature of reading a thread about pipe smoking in Japan?

captaincaveman said:

You have successfully addressed every question or comment I could have made. You are oppressing potential discussion!

Hmm...let's see...so it seems like pipe smoking may be more common in Japan than in the US. Thoughts? Is that just the nature of reading a thread about pipe smoking in Japan?

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I believe smoking, in general, tends to be way more common in Japan than it is in the US. I guess they don't have those awful TRUTH commercials/campaigns in Japan like they do here.

cursethis said:

I believe smoking, in general, tends to be way more common in Japan than it is in the US. I guess they don't have those awful TRUTH commercials/campaigns in Japan like they do here.

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That guess presupposes that that awful advertising campaign actually works.

captaincaveman said:

That guess presupposes that that awful advertising campaign actually works.

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You have a point.

Happy Thread Anniversary!