Japan Trip: Tokyo, Kyoto & In-betweens. Vol.2 Tokyo

The view of Tokyo Skytree from Senso ji

If you read the Japan Trip: Tokyo, Kyoto & In-betweens. Vol. 1 Kyoto in the previous post, you know how our trip went. Okay, to be honest, I feel that I probably missed many opportunities to possibly get a great shot, but really, did I miss that life-changing shot? Not really! Instead, I was thankful that I had special moments with my family who I only get to see every 5 years or so. However, as I go through my photos in order to share them as a piece of my memory here, I wish I could’ve done more, especially with food scenes. Granted, I was almost too ill to even look at food during most of the trip, which is very unlike me. Luckily, we have gained the weight back in no time and our lives go on. So there you have it, my version of Japan.

Word of caution: If you are looking into traveling in Japan, there are a lot of services closed during New Year’s Day. So, be sure to check the calendar to ensure that the places of interest, businesses, etc. that you want to visit will actually be open. I will definitely go back in spring next time to enjoy the cherry blossom season!

 

Harajuku and Shinjuku

On the way to Meiji jingu from the Meiji jingo mae station, we encountered numerous food vendors in and around the station. The danish vendor fills the subway hall with a buttery sweet scent. If you’re looking for something savoury, try takoyaki, in which a piece of octopus is cooked in a batter and doused in BBQ sauce topped with green onions and mayonnaise. Burned your mouth? That’s how hot you want them to be. There’s no need to go to France for your favourite Queen Aman or French sweets; there are dozens European-style pastries at dozens of good bakeries in the city! The Japanese do very well with them.

Meiji jingu was nice place to stroll and observe the architecture, forest and people.

I enjoyed getting lost in Omoide Yokochou just a few steps from the North side of Shinjuku station. Most vendors sell yakitori (grilled skewered chicken), a hotpot with beef or pork offal cooked with vegetables here, and this fact goes back to around the time of the World War I. At that time, flour was controlled by the government, and many noodle shops and the like had difficulty sustaining their restaurants, so they began serving meat instead, and this tradition has endured to date. Izakaya’s structure was very narrow; there were 10 seats or so max at every place, and it was packed with people who drop by from work on their way home. Don’t even think of finding non-smoking restaurants. It was impossible! At the second izakaya, Juttoku on the West side of Shinjuku station, we finished the long walk with a refreshing Nigori zake with sashimi, fresh oyster hot pot and fried oysters. The food was beautifully presented and everything was delicious!

Meiji jingu

Food vendors: danishes, takoyaki and pastries

Cake shop at Odakyu Shinjuku

Hair dresser in Harajuku

Jewellery store

Shinjyuku

A man at work

Omoide yokochou

Yakitori izakaya

Stairs at a izakaya

"'Directly shipped from Shibaura"

Omoide yokochou

Nigori zake

 

Tsukiji fish market

Sadly, the tuna auction section in the fish market was closed for visitors due to the fact that we were there during the busiest season, which includes New Year’s Day. And double sadly, we had just missed, by a scant few minutes, the timing to go inside the market. So all the photos were taken “outside market” as they call it. We will definitely go back again one day.

There were many sushi restaurants in the outside market area with long lines plus produce vendors with their seasonal vegetables. You can find every ingredient for your New Year’s feast here.

Workers at Tsukiji market

knife store at Tsukiji market

Workers at Tsukiji market

Restaurants, produce vendors and businesses at Tsukiji market

Entering a restaurant

restaurant at the Tsukiji market

Seagulls

Around the Tsukiji market

 

Asakusa

We found a wonderful tempura restaurant right next to Kaminarimon. The food pleased all of our palates due to the wide variety of tempura dishes they offered. Sansada had a tatami room upstairs and a very nice lady, Ms. Arai, served us. My tempura don with prawn, fish and eggplant was delightful!

Passing under the large red lantern, you’ll find the corridor filled with food vendors all the way to Senso ji temple, where you can sample or simply gaze at dozens of traditional Japanese treats to your heart’s content. Among them is Ningyo-yaki, the signiture sweets of Kaminarimon, which are sponge cakes filled with sweet red bean paste. They are baked in a doll shaped mould until they turn a caramel colour. By the time you get to the temple, you are full, guaranteed! It was so refreshing to see kids’ toy stores in this day and age. I especially loved the stuffed animal (dogs!) store. Businesses around the temple still have a somewhat traditional and old school feel. Want to have your destiny foretold, anyone?

Rickshaw

tempura don at Sansada

Obi, wig, ningyou-yaki, dango shops behind Kaminarimon

Children and stuffed animals

The view of the old and the new at Senso ji

Photographer at Senso ji

purifying

Rickshaw driver

Bag store, palmistry and a restaurant in Asakusa

Shoe shopping

 

Machida

This is where I grew up. However, the city looks completely different from my memory. More often than not, I dream about the places where I used to play as a kid but when I revisit, I find that they have turned into buildings or parking spaces. Some things are just better left in my heart.

My uncle’s friend Mr. Nakazato has invited me to his traditional Japanese mochitsuki ritual every time I come home around New Year’s Day. The ritual is cherished by many of his family friends, and they work as a team in order to savour this traditional food. Everyone works together to store the extras for later use so that we can rest from cooking after New Year’s Day. And this is also the perfect time to catch up with each other. While men pound mochi, women prepare condiments that will be served with the mochi, and complete the mochi dishes. You hear lots of chatting and see graceful hand movements. I always enjoy looking at hands expertly pressing rice and molding it into balls. It is the art of work. The ritual goes like this; soak sticky rice overnight, steam it the next day, pound it with a mallet in a wooden mortar (two sets of hands are needed to pound), then turn and wet the mochi in the mortar. Eat the fresh mochi with various condiments like ground daikon with soy sauce, fermented soybeans and sweet red bean paste. And some sticky rice is made into onigiri too. Spread extras in prepared plastic bags and flatten to harden for later use. There was no better way to finish this tradition than with a bottle of sake with specks of gold flakes that my uncle’s friend Dr. Sato served.

Food scene in Machida; fake paffe, fast food, yakitori shop, oobanyaki shop and long standing coffee shop Rosse

A young woman who works at Oobanyaki

mochitsuki

fresh mochi

the best part of freshly made mochi

Steamed sticky rice pounded into mochi; condiments: ground daikon & soy sauce, fermented soy beans and sweet red bean paste; finished mochi flattened to a sheet; sticky rice made into onigiri

my cousin's eyelash

mochi potluck

Sake with gold flakes

 

Shibuya

I could spend all day watching people at this intersection.  No, we were on our way to visit my auntie and uncle, and receive the much-awaited Mamiya!

Shibuya

 

Ninomiya and Odawara

This is where my sister’s family live. Before this trip, I never knew why they had moved here a long time ago. It seems far away from everything. However, I decided that this is one of places where I want to retire, followed by Onomichi, if I only consider Japanese towns. Or if you know any better places, I’d love to hear from you! Ninomiya is one of the coziest places in the Kantou area, with its Mediterranean like climate, the beach and the view of Mt. Fuji from the top of a hill. Perhaps because the neighbouring city is a resort, this place has a laidback countryside feel. Oranges, lemon trees and olive trees grow here. Now I remember that my sister is an Italian chef! As a matter of fact, I was very surprised to see the number of commuters pushed out of a train at Ninomiya station at night. It takes 1½ hours to reach Shinjuku, which is not bad if you can get a warm comfy seat and a good book or a drink. In Japan, you are even allowed to open a bottle of beer in public!

My wish came true to revisit the famous local bakery. If you can overlook the fact that the employees there are not so friendly, go to Moriya Bakery near Odawara station and wait in a line to purchase some traditional decadent anpain, or buns filled with good old fashioned peanut cream and/or the jam of your choice. Just do not touch the bread!

Ninomiya

lemon tree

Rose of Sharon

The view of Sagami Bay from the top of Azumayama in Ninomiya

My sister's chocolate Labrador

Sunbathing or playing with toys?

New Year's dish

"Do Not Touch!" at Moriya Bakery in Odawara

Anpain from Moriya Bakery

Camellia

 

En Route to Vancouver

I probably shouldn’t load a series of sky views, but I like them all. There is something magical about photographing from inside an airplane, plus it helps me stay calm during take-off!

View in and around the airplane

Shadow

Snow crystals outside of window on the airplane

Snow capped mountain via Portland en route to Vancouver

En route to Vancouver

 

Japan Trip: Tokyo, Kyoto & In-betweens. Vol.1 Kyoto

Gate at Kiyomizu temple

Our much awaited, for 5 years to be exact, trip to my hometown Tokyo turned into a bit of chaos from the get go. It happened when my partner Pascal and I, along with our friends a couple who traveled with us, came down with a terrible cold on the 4th day into our trip. I had a high fever that was passed on to Pascal, then our friends, and onto my 91 year old grandma, my niece, nephew and so on. It was quite an ordeal, which included me having to call an ambulance and being instructed to closely monitor the shallow breathing of my unconscious friend, sleeping for an entire week while recovering, thus missing all the New Year’s feasts that I had dreamed for a LONG time, and rescuing Pascal from a gravely ill condition with another emergency visit where I also had to receive an intravenous drip around 3 am. I had never imagined that my trip would be so eventful when the destination was Japan, not some exotic, unfamiliar foreign country.

However, what we learned from this experience came out to be a priceless gift. Pascal and I ended up spending a lot of time with my family members, and that period was filled with a lot of warmth, a great deal of chatting, pots of green tea and countless Japanese mandarins. Reconfirming the strong relationships that had become obscured over the past years due to the physical distance was very assuring to me. We will definitely need to return again soon, this time during the spring so we can see the cherry trees blooming, because it was quite chilly during this trip since many Japanese homes are not insulated– inside most of the houses we visited, it was only 10 degrees C– LOL!

I am truly grateful for the trip, although we only managed to do a small portion of what we had initially planned. However, I had accomplished the most important missions of this trip, which were to see my grandma, and to bring back the Mamiya RB67 camera that my uncle had passed down to me. Although I couldn’t finish tracking down my mother’s whereabouts as I had planned to do, I have always believed that life always tells and gives me what’s needed at the proper moment, and I think this belief was confirmed during our travels. I was definitely fulfilled with the precious time we had with my family, friends and even my old high school classmate’s new-born baby.

This trip consisted of two major parts. During one part, we spent time around the Kyoto and Nara areas, and the second was spent around the Tokyo area, where I grew up. In-betweens are the places we stayed and visited briefly. We very much enjoyed the fact that a couple of train rides and some blisters could get us pretty much everywhere in these areas. I particularly like the act of walking, not just because of the physical exercise but also because it allows me to observe details of everyday lives, particularly interesting when visiting unfamiliar places (oh, a long walk also spikes my hunger too!). Despite getting sick, we were able to overcome, recharge ourselves and got energized thanks to the sunny weather throughout the trip. And this was something I had missed the most: soaking up the sun in the cold crisp air.

We hardly bought anything from Kyoto, or Tokyo in that matter; only a couple of bottles of shichimi spice, yuzu salt and a kitchen knife with my name engraved on it. Instead, we absorbed the culture right there in the moment. After all, we had received so much from our family and friends in the form of hospitality and thoughtfulness. We were able to arrive safely at home with the long lasting memories to remember this trip by.

Okay let the photos speak for themselves… I will post Vol. 2 Tokyo as soon as I can. Look forward to hearing from you!

Kiyomizu temple, KyotoDoragon chouzuya in KiyomizuKiyomizu templeomikujiJizous at Kiyomizu templeCamelliaThree story pagoda at KiyomizuNinenzakaGion areaNishiki marketGold fishPickle store at Nishiki marketCharcol grill for eelNishiki marketLady who plays CrosswordKnife store Aritsugu at Nishiki marketProduce vendor at Shijo OhashiA young lady at Shijo OhashiPonto chou areaBamboo groveArashiyama area and lunch with assorted sea bream at Hanana restaurantAdashino nenbutsujiHozu river, ArashiyamaEbisu matsuri on Yamatoohji StreetFrench fries vendorVintage storeMarishison tendouGion areaCafe Cattleya on Shijo StreetKasugataisha, NaraA family of deer at KasugataishaDeer at Nara parkOmikuji and arrowsNigatsudou at Toudaiji templeA woman at NigatsugouOmamoriNigatsudouToudaiji templeDaibutsu at Toudaiji templeHouryujiFive story pagoda at Houryuji Red gates at Fushimiinari taishaFushimiinari taishaCraneKanzashi shopMuuta the performerShijo bridgewagashi from Tsuruya

 

Denman Island

beach

It is always a treat when our dear friend Brian invites us to his family cabin on Denman Island off Vancouver Island. It’s a two ferry ride trip but it is worth the time when we see the gorgeous view emerge as we get closer to shore, and feel the sense of tranquility surrounding the island.

tapas and the view from the cabin

Today, I’d like to jot down some food ideas for lazy summer days in a cabin or such. Preparing the right food to pack can make a trip much more enjoyable, especially when you go into a remote place. Little things like tucking away a jar of cane sugar, homemade sauce and pre-cut fresh vegetables in a cooler will help a great deal.

turnips and snap peas served with goma ae vinegar sauce

I have found that living with foodie friends for a few days is always an eye opening experience, and always helps me better develop my palate. Last week when we were there, we ate great food, chugged a lot of gin and tonics with a refreshing twist of limoncello, walked, photographed, ate some more, visited a farm, breathed the freshest possible air, and ate again till late.

The view at the cabin

Here are some of the delicious food we devoured:

Freshly picked snap peas and turnips served with goma ae vinegar sauce.

Tapas platter of organic turkey salami, prosciutto, pickled tomato and mixed olives from Whole Foods.

Raincoast crisps and St. Benoit Ermite blue cheese.

Crab cakes served with pepper jelly, and fresh shrimp from a local fishmonger in Buckley Bay.

Homemade pizza Margherita and a big bowl of green salad from my garden.

A slice of buttermilk pound cake served with freshly picked local strawberries, vanilla ice cream and a glass of Grand Marnier.

Cheese & dill scones, soda bread and Italian bread from Savary Island Pie Company.

French toast made with Italian bread served with make-do Grand Marnier orange syrup (with this, one can almost do without maple syrup!) and organic pork sausage on the side.

Grilled asparagus.

Slightly overcooked roasted sirloin tips and roasted vegetables in tomato sauce served with a loaf of the soda bread.

Homemade rhubarb bars and a bowl of fresh fruit with a big dab of mocha yogurt.

All of the above food we managed to eat in only three days!

Grand Marnier

If you are still reading this, you may be wondering what else happened. I don’t have a satisfactory answer, since everything else seems to have  faded into fuzzy memories thanks to my indulgence in more than one warm glass of Grand Marnier.

Wool products from Sandstone Farm at a farmer's marketMs. PFrench toast breakfastFrench toast with nectarinefarmhay in a barnbridge to the beachcrab and a dogplaying in the waterbuildingbeach in the morningrhubarb bars and cherriesMr. Mtable tennis racketscabinferrylifesaverferry in the sun