Dining Out: Catch Of The Day!

Posted on November 23, 2006 by tokyofox

Had a day off on Wednesday so my girlfriend and I went for a quick wander around Shinjuku Gyoen (garden) which features three garden types: England, France and Japan itself. However it was still a bit too early to see a big change in Autumn leave colours with only a small percentage being yellow and red and the remainder still red.

After that we went to a fish restaurant on the west side which is set out like a ship with the surrounding waters being full of fish. You can catch the various fish and have them cooked for you at a slightly cheaper price than those who can’t be bothered to go rod in hand and dip their tackle in to see what bites!

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The only time I have ever been fishing was in Nelson in New Zealand where I caught one straight away and then instantly quit while I was ahead. This time was a little different though and not just because I wasn’t actually at sea. It won’t surprise some of you to know that I was trying to catch the cheapest of fish but inevitably and inadvertently ended up attracting the most expensive one available. We had part of it fried and the rest given in sashimi style and very nice it was too.

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Three Year Japanniversary

Posted on November 20, 2006 by tokyofox

* Wed 19th Nov 2003 – Left England

* Thurs 20th Nov 2003 – Arrived in Japan

* Sat 22nd Nov 2003 – England beat the Aussies to win the Rugby World Cup

Can it really be three years since the above events happened? Its not so long but it sure seems like it! When I met up with some other N*va recruits at Heathrow I had no real idea what lay ahead as I had never taught anything and didn’t know too much about Japan either. Arriving late at night I was driven to my new home in Matsudo (which was in the middle of nowhere as far as i was concerned back then) in the pouring rain and must have wondered what I was letting myself in for. The following day was just about settling in and trying to navigate my way around the area and working out the train system to go a few stops away to apply for the ‘alien’ card which all foreigners have to carry in Japan. The kind of thing I take for granted now but at the time it wasn’t so simple.

The day after that was the ‘must-see’ Rugby World Cup Final for England against our sporting rivals from Australia. I saw a magazine advert for the game being screened at an Irish bar so I made my way down to Roppongi to ‘Paddy Foleys’ where I witnessed one of the great moments in English sporting history when Jonny Wilkinson slotted the winner in the dying seconds of extra-time.

How things have changed since then!! England’s rugby team has been on the slide ever since and it feels like I have been here for ages but there are certainly enough times when it is not such plain sailing which keeps me on my toes and still makes it an interesting experience to live in Tokyo.

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A Shrine Time at Meiji Jingu

Posted on November 19, 2006 by tokyofox

As I was in the vicinity and at a bit of a loose end I decided to go to the Meiji-jingu Shrine last week which was one of the first touristy spots that I visited when I first arrived in Japan at the end of 2003.

Tokyo’s biggest and most sacred shrine is a nice, quiet and peaceful place just a stones throw away from lively Harajuku. To say I’m not too strong on religious things like temples and shrines is probably an understatement but this shrine is interesting for the grounds that surround it. The cypress tree-lined path from the main entrance provided a pleasant leisurely stroll to the shrine itself.

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There were a few young girls wearing special ceremonial kimono being taken there by their parents for their Shichi-go-san (literally translates as “seven, five, three”). I’m not sure if this is why they were there but i’ve heard these three ages are very important in a child’s life and that a shrine visit around this time of year marks the growth of their children…or something like that!

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Dining Out: Yokohama Ramen Museum

Posted on November 14, 2006 by tokyofox

Some of you may have noticed a lot of food related entries here lately with most of them involving ramen which is kind of the unofficial national dish here living in the shadows of sushi. For those who still don’t know, ramen originally came from China and is noodle soup consisting of noodles, sauce, broth and toppings which have created endless variations. I can’t really tell the difference but food is an important part of Japanese culture and they can supposedly taste such minimal differences.

With my latest interest in this dish we stopped off in Yokohama on the way back from the previously blogged Kamakura trip. This city on the outskirts of Tokyo played host to the 2002 World Cup final but on the menu for us on Sunday night was a trip to the Ramen museum which isn’t so much a museum as we know it but a food court set in a 1950s style Tokyo serving ramen dishes from different places around Japan.

An entry charge of 300 yen (about £1.50) took us inside where we could see the history of ramen noodles in Japan and some rather dull displays on the noodles, soups, toppings and bowls used as well as how the noodles are made.

Once downstairs from there we started with a very tasty Kyushu ramen dish sampler called Komurasaki and followed it up with Hachiya from Hokkaido before my stomach started doing cartwheels! That however didn’t stop me from picking up some chocolate ramen from the gift shop on the way out which i have just tried. Not as disgusting as it may sound but nothing too special either.

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Tokyo Daytripper: Kamakura (2006)

Posted on November 13, 2006 by tokyofox

Never did I really think that I would go back to Kamakura so soon after my first visit in the summer of 2004 with my sisters. It’s not because I thought it was bad but just because I didn’t think I would feel like returning. However, when a friend asked me if I wanted to go with her I thought why not. Arriving in Kita Kamakura on Sunday luchtime we started at Engakuji Temple.

We didn’t want to get templed out (there are about 70 in total!) and we certainly didn’t do that as we only went to the aforementioned place as well as Kotoku-in Temple which is famous for its 13.35 metres tall Great Buddha.

Instead we spent most of the afternoon taking one of the hiking trails for an hour or so amid the greenery which lies between the two. We did stop en-route though at a cafe set in the woods where I fell sucker for some rather expensive Kamakura brewed beer. The marketing mans dream I certainly am! If I am being cynical it was probably just a cheap dark beer with a fancy Kamakura label on it!

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It was nice to have the mid-afternoon sun shining on us as we followed a trail which was occasionally steep before we encountered the crowds at our destination. Having visited the Great Buddha before (as well as other notable ones in Nara and Hong Kong) there wasn’t too much excitement when we got there, and like many many others I spent more time looking away from the bronze statue in the name of getting my photos taken in its foreground.

Posted in Action & Adventure, Japan Travel, Tokyo Daytripper: | Tagged , , , , , | 7 Comments

Perth Re-union 5 Years On

Posted on November 11, 2006 by tokyofox

In November 2001 I was sound asleep in my dormitory bunk bed in Perth when I was awoken by the arrival of three noisy Japanese people. One disappeared without trace but I got chatting to the other two (Shinji and Hikaru) and we exchanged the usual travel questions before moving on to the more serious matter of rude words!! This was very amusing to us and so my first words in Japanese were bad ones and cannot obviously be mentioned here as swearing unnecessarily is a f*cking cheap way of getting a laugh!

To their credit they did teach me some more useful stuff such as greetings, numbers and the days of the week but needless to say they didn’t have as much of impact on me. I’d like to think that some of the moments we shared were part of the reason for me getting interested in Japan which in turn lead to me coming here.

Although I have seen them both individually recently this was the first time the three of us had been together since late 2001. We met up in Shinjuku last Sunday and went to a cheap Japanese restaurant for something to eat followed by a visit to British pub ‘The Hub’ and caught up with each other and inevitably reminisced about our short time together in room B10 at ‘The Globe’ in Perth.

After that myself and Shinji went for more food; this time I tried yet another ramen type place in the form of ‘Bankara’ in Ikebukuro where I had a pork and noodles dish.

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Toilet Day In Japan??

Posted on November 10, 2006 by tokyofox

Today is November 10th and unofficial toilet day in Japan which I think is an excrement occasion! To get to the bottom of the matter it’s because the numbers 11/10 (for Japanese use the American way of writing the date with the month coming first followed by the day) can be read in Japanese as ii to ire (いいといれ) which means good toilet (toire). If you think I am joking then I can ass-ure you that I am not taking the piss!

However, if you think this is just a cheap excuse for me to deposit some toilet humour then fear not as I will be plumbing to such depths and bowel-ing you over with the lowest form of sh*t, I mean wit! People of a sensitive nature had better not dare show their feces around here!

I’m getting all flushed just thinking of these wee-k gags but I’m not gonna get bogged down by them. I just had to get them out of my cistern and now I can put the lid on the matter!

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Tokyo Daytripper: Seeing the World in Miniature at this Quirky Museum North of Tokyo

Posted on November 4, 2006 by tokyofox

The Eiffel Tower, Big Ben, The Statue of Liberty, The Pyramids, Angkor Wat, Taj Mahal, Forbidden City and the Great Wall of China as well as dozens of other archetectural structues. 102 of them in total and I managed to see them all yesterday but how did this happen I hear you ask! Well, that’s because my mate Gideon I went to Tobu World Square in Tochigi-ken which is a few hours north of Tokyo. All of these world wonders have been scaled down to 1/25 of their original size.

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I was really impressed with the attention to detail though I’m not sure if the snap-happy Japanese noticed so much of this in pursuit of getting their photos taken in front of the world famous monuments. This is the type of place they just love and in some ways is similar to Madame Tussauds in London. All completely fake but its as close as many will get to the real thing. Sad to say, but in some ways the birds-eye or panoramic views of these architectural works and ancient monuments will be sufficient for some.

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The European and Asian zones were the best for snapshots but I liked the Japan zone for detail (but not for photos) as it was more ‘model-railway-like’ than the rest. These many Japanese historical building structures showed the traditions and cultures of the country and how life is lived compared to the tourist traps featured in the other zones.

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I didn’t click here too much as I have been to or can go fairly easily to them given my location. The masterpiece though had to be New York City as this showed so much attention to detail with the little people (that’s the plastic figures and not the actual Americans!) living their normal lives and just going about normal business.

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The Changing Of Seasons

Posted on November 2, 2006 by tokyofox

Into November now and the temperature has definitely changed here over the last month or so with the hot humid summer weather being replaced by a fair few showery spells, a lot more cloud and the occasional outbreak of sunshine and high temperatures.

However, I still think its just about warm enough to wear short sleeves but I can’t help feeling (even) more isolated when most other people are donned in jackets and scarfs. The Japanese tend to change their wardrobe based on the calendar rather than the actual temperature.

I have heard that its their custom to make such a change at the start of September or October and this may also be due to there being less space in their rabbit-hutch like homes so a decision has to be made when to make the switch and I can’t blame them for wanting to get the most wear out of their new seasonal clothes.

I also find that the heating inside places is far too hot and similarly the aircon is too cold in the Summer. For me theres not too much difference in what I wear from season to season with a jacket or jumper being the only addition as the temperature drops and that moment may not be too far away now.

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Dining Out: Umemoto In Zoshigaya

Posted on October 31, 2006 by tokyofox

Yet another food story I’m afraid. Since I started jogging (over 3 months now and counting!) I have seen a lot more of my local area and on the days when I have ran in daylight I have often been past a tiny little ramen restaurant called ‘Umemoto’ which typically for Japan has a long line of waiting customers outside the entrance by the side of the road. Luckily when I went to this place last Sunday lunchtime there was hardly anyone there which was surprising given the time of day and the fact that it only holds about 15 people at one time.

Like a couple of days before the dish was ordered by machine (this kind of thing is one reason why very little communication is done at times in this country) and I then went in and sat down at a low table in a small room decorated with hundreds of customer photos and messages from Japanese celebrities who have eaten at this famous restaurant.

‘Umemoto’ is a place of character and I really liked the feel of it compared to the soulless chain restaurants and my negibuta (literally translates as long onions & pork) ramen dish was very tasty. I have been living in my current place for 18 months and this restaurant is only a two minute walk away so its a little sad that I had never been there (excuse: its on the side going away from the station so I rarely have reason to be walking that way) but I will make more of an effort to return there soon.

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