![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farm8.staticflickr.com\/7012\/6502995479_1ef45da805_z.jpg?resize=426%2C640\" "\\"Mike")
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Barman, chef, English teacher, student of go, boxer, bouncer \u2013 Mike Charron certainly has a diverse CV. The proprietor of Oyafuko-dori\u2019s The Craic and the Porter first came to Japan 25 years ago, where the easy pace of life suited him well.The former Asian Studies major soon started to study go full time and, although the pressures of supporting himself eventually forced him to quit, he still keeps a board in his bar, should anybody want a game.\u00a0For a man who has dedicated many years of his life to pulling pints, it comes as a surprise that Mike actually enjoys cooking far more than pouring beer, as evidenced by the eclectic menu in his bar. He is also a keen jazz enthusiast and likes to get musicians in as often as possible.<\/p>\n
In the true tradition of all good Irish publicans, Mike\u2019s stories are best shared across the bar over a pint of Guinness. Fukuoka Now settled down with him recently for a quiet drink…<\/p>\n
What is your Irish heritage?<\/strong> You opened your first bar, Michael\u2019s Pub, nine years ago in Tenjin 5-chome. What led you to move on from that?<\/strong> It looks like it\u2019s just yourself working here \u2013 how many hours do you put in a week?<\/strong> Speaking of bellies, what\u2019s your favourite Irish drink and food?<\/strong> And which is the better Irish stout \u2013 Guinness or Murphy\u2019s?<\/strong> How has Fukuoka changed since you\u2019ve got here?<\/strong> What\u2019s the buzz like in Fukuoka compared to what it was when you got here first? Was Fukuoka always such an international city?<\/strong> What\u2019s your best memory of working here?<\/strong> You were a boxer?<\/strong> I\u2019ll be sure not to start any brawls at the bar, then. Have you got any interesting events coming up at The Craic and The Porter?<\/strong>Beers for Books are an organisation that sends books to children in third world countries. So, they get a bar to put on an event and I give a hundred yen from every pint I sell to them. I take a hit but it\u2019s worth it. That will be held on March 27\/28, which is a Monday and a Tuesday.<\/p>\n On April 5, I have my fourth year anniversary party, so come around for some \u00a5500 pints. Identity: Barman,The Craic and the Porter
\nMy ancestors came over during the famine. My mom\u2019s side is all Irish and on my dad\u2019s side, there\u2019s French somewhere along the way, hence my surname. On my first trip to Dublin 30 years ago, people were saying, \u201cOh, you\u2019ve got such a beautiful Irish name\u201d but I think they misheard me and thought it was Shannon (laughs).<\/p>\n
\nI was so far off the beaten track at the time and in the spring time it rained every day. People wouldn\u2019t come down to my place. Business just got so bad that I got another job.\u00a0I worked at a place called Beers Bar. It was my dream bar. The guy there was a friend of mine at the time and said to me \u201cI want you to take over my bar.\u201d He wasn\u2019t a great businessman \u2013 he hired staff that robbed him blind and he just couldn\u2019t figure out how he was losing money. He said, \u201cGive me the key money and everything\u2019s yours.\u201d So I gave him a third of the key money and he screwed me over. He went to the boss and said, \u201cI\u2019m out of here.\u201d Then his boss wanted all of the key money. I found out the next week that when he said \u201ceverything is yours\u201d he also meant the bills.\u00a0I had trouble buying beer from companies for years after, so that\u2019s why I changed the name to The Craic and the Porter. It was a good thing I did because I wouldn\u2019t have had connections with certain beer companies otherwise.\u00a0Two months after taking over that place, I moved to my current location. That was about four years ago.<\/p>\n
\nI work seven days a week. If I do get out early, it\u2019s because I\u2019m so tired that I just need a break. I\u2019m also trying not to drink so much because (slaps belly) I\u2019m putting the weight on (laughs).<\/p>\n
\nDrink \u2013 I would say John Powers [whiskey] on the rocks. Irish food? Colcannon I would say is my favourite.<\/p>\n
\nGuinness, of course, you\u2019d drink nine times out of ten. Murphy\u2019s is nice \u2013 I carry it on draft here sometimes. Guinness is the best there is, though, you can\u2019t improve on it.<\/p>\n
\nThe food is so much better now \u2013 everything is so much cheaper. People seem to forget quickly how much things have changed. When I got here, everything you wanted was cheaper overseas. Electronic products that were made in Japan were half the price to buy in America that they were here. Food was so expensive here. There was very little Western food. People are healthier after the market opened up \u2013 eating better food and getting more health-conscious.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>It\u2019s so transient now \u2013 you don\u2019t see a lot of the people you used to see. I guess when you get married and have kids your life changes but the foreigners used to go out every night of the week \u2013 you\u2019d teach until nine or nine thirty and then you\u2019d all go out together and that doesn\u2019t happen like it used to. Now, when you go out, the foreigners are all from out of town and no one knows anybody here.I feel like you come to Japan and you don\u2019t feel like you get any older. You go home and see people your own age and it\u2019s shocking. There\u2019s a youthful kind of atmosphere here.<\/p>\n
\nI think if I lived anywhere else, I\u2019d speak better Japanese (laughs).<\/p>\n
\nThe Irish under-21s rugby team was here two years and we had a great time. I\u2019ve had a few great musicians in here too \u2013 Mike Price [jazz trumpeter] is a friend of mine and whenever he comes to Fukuoka, he stays in my house and we have a little jam here in the pub. I\u2019ve had a few Irish musicians in as well.Back in my first pub, this Irish mate of mine used to always get me drunk after work and I remember one morning riding home on my bicycle and a cute girl walked by and I turned my head and I hit a cast-iron handrail \u2013 it hit me right on the cheek. I used to be a boxer, but I was never hit as hard as this \u2013 I was hit almost senseless. The girl just smiled and kept going.<\/p>\n
\nI was a boxer for five years. I fought a few pros, but it was mostly amateur. I mostly boxed in upstate New York. At Off Broadway, I worked as a bouncer a few times. Here in Japan, everything is so peaceful, though \u2013 it\u2019s the easiest place to live.<\/p>\n
\nThe Craic and the Porter
\n2F Kusano Building, Oyafuko-dori.<\/p>\n
\nHometown: New York, USA
\nText: Hugh McCafferty
\nPhotos: Nobu Tanaka<\/p>\n