ItalianoGACKT too experiences “blindfolded” dining in surprising darkness！「SPECIAL.T In the Dark」held at Asakusa’s Ryokusenji
On December 9, musician GACKT appeared at the pre-experience cum launch event of the Nestle × Kurayami Gohan presents「SPECIAL.T In the Dark」held at Tokyo Asakusa’s Ryokusenji.
「SPECIAL.T In the Dark」is a collaboration between Nestle’s capsule-style tea-only machine「SPECIAL.T」and「Kurayami Gohan」which is held once a month by Ryokusenji. It will be held from December 19（Sat）～ 21（Mon）for 3 days at Ryokusenji.
On this day, GACKT, “the man who knows the difference”, experienced dining in the dark, and shared his thoughts. From the provided menu which was created for this event, GACKT tasted「Gyokuro × Black Bean Kinako」and「Genmai Cha × Kabocha no Keiran」.Incidentally, all the 7 varieties on the menu have the rest of their contents undisclosed to provide a surprise for the participants.
GACKT said,「（With the sense of sight closed off）that parts that become sharper than usual are interesting. I can feel the flavours deeply, I can focus on how they change in my mouth」, and with regards to the marriage of tea with food, he said「When you hold the tea in your mouth after eating, to be able to feel the astringent taste and the umami flavours, and the sweetness mixing together is really enjoyable」.
Sounding like he was particularly into the「Gyokuro × Black Bean Kinako」, he expressed sincerely「The harmony of the sweetness of the black bean and the unbeatable deep flavour of the Gyokuro is great. This is delicious. I’m kind of shocked」.
Also, with regards to the event, GACKT invited laughter when he said「For me as well, normally I don’t do this except on『Kakudzuke』」with reference to the special program「Geinoujin Kakudzuke CHECK」（Asahi Broadcasting）which he appears on and wears an eyemask to differenciate flavours. According to GACKT, it appears that people overseas have the habit of dining in a dark space, and he appealed「As Japan doesn’t have such a culture, by all means, I hope that people come and taste it」.
In addition, based on an explanation by the Mr. Aoe Satoru-Ho from Ryokusenji, which hosts「Kurayami Gohan」, the participants will be tasting 3 dishes in unaccustomed darkness and confusion. Unable to hide his surprise at the umami flavour of the Gyokuro, he exclaimed「What on earth was the Gyokuro that has been produced until now!?」. As one loses track of time when blindfolded, when they tell participants「45 minutes have passed since the start of the experience」, there are those who say「Eh？So fast？」. From Mr. Aoe’s words, he said「I hope that they can pass the time in a relaxed manner with their vision sealed」.
In this “first experience”, the image of「food」that you have until now will be changed, and with realisations of「Ah, so this has such a flavour!」, the enjoyment of having a meal will be taught again. Also, Mr.Aoe’s unique story is pleasing to the ear. For interested parties, please do have a look at「SPECIAL.T In the Dark」’s website.
「SPECIAL.T In the Dark」
Date：2015年12月19日（土）～21日（月）
Time：19:00～21:00
Venue：Ryokusenji（Tokyo, Taito ward, West Asakusa 1-8-5）
Host：Nestle Japan・Kurayami Gohan
Capacity：16 people a day（Application form then first-come-first-serve basis）
Note：Participation is free
Source: Entameplex
Translation: GACKT ITALIA Team
Translation © GACKT ITALIA