Coffee or Garlic?

Thursday, October 17, 2024 (Tokyo, Japan and Busan, South Korea)

I enjoy coffee but don’t worship the coffee bean or its culture. I’m very much a 1950s type of male who needs coffee to get entirely out of bed and onto the world. It’s more of a meditative practice than an enjoyment of a taste. Still, I was shocked to hear from friends in Tokyo talking about coffee served in parts of Indonesia. There is something called civet coffee or Kopi Luwak, where they use coffee beans eaten by a creature (cat-like) that goes through its digestive system, and eventually, once pooped out, someone picks up, cleans, and roasts it as a coffee bean. The chemical composition of the beans changes, so the coffee has a specific and different flavor. There is also Black Ivory Coffee, but the animal or beast is an elephant this time. My first thought is how this is legal. Those who produced this type of coffee seem to use animals in the wild and their natural habitats, but still…

As mentioned in previous posts (from last year), Lun*na and I are working on a new film here in Japan based on her various shows in people’s homes (their closets) throughout the Japanese landscape. We decided to add more footage and will focus on shooting at a record store today. Last year, this time, I had a breakdown that led to a panic attack, so to revisit those good old days is not exactly something I’m looking forward to doing - but then again, this film is important to us. I genuinely think we will make a cinematic masterpiece. But of course, time will tell.

It is unlikely I will forget Busan, not only because it is my first time in South Korea but also because I got very ill one night after eating an oversized garlic. Within ten minutes, I felt the effect of garlic, and my body reacted without my brain operating the process. I spent the entire evening (to dawn) at our hotel toilet, and its architecture and high-tech techniques of using its water flow system will be a memory to look back upon. Being ill on a trip and knowing the next day will be a huge traveling day is not something good for the nerves. But everything worked out, and one can feel confident that one is surrounded by high-quality toilets and restrooms whenever you are in Tokyo. I’m thinking of making a book or website listing all the accessible (and hassle-free) toilets in Tokyo.