About halfway through interviewing Tom Ainsworth, co-owner of Kyoto Beer Lab, an unpretentious craft beer pub that looks out over the Takase River canal, one of its regulars dropped by.
In fact she forced herself in — the bar was still closed. Ainsworth, 32, didn't mind in the least: He just scooped her up and tickled the soft part under her ears. Fuji-chan — devoted canine regular — loved every moment of it, almost as much as the pieces of fried bacon from Hiro, a renowned victualers and yakiniku meat restaurant. (It is, without doubt, some of the best bacon you'll get in Kyoto.)
It's a pity Fuji-chan can't drink, because Ainsworth and the team at Kyoto Beer Lab have been brewing up a great range of beers since 2018.