"Each single day is short, yet when you come to count them you find that time's strange process has forged them all together into years"

Hey guys,

It's been a while, huh?  I'm sorry, and I knew this was a risk.  As discussed previously, once I got out of the habit of posting it slid precipitously all the way to nothing.  Although in my defense, that post also mentions how terrible I am at early mornings, and the fact that my last post coincides with the start of a gig that has me teaching at 9am 2-4 times per week . . . probably not a coincidence (it's a fun gig, and the consistent money is great, but that 7:30am wakeup just doesn't jive with me)



But this is worthy of a post.  Today, August 12th, marks one year since I landed here in Tokyo (I actually thought it was the 15th, only to look it up tonight to realize that it was actually the 12th!  Huh, memories are funny like that).  One year

On one hand, I cannot believe that it has already been a year.  It absolutely seems like just yesterday, last week at the earliest, that I rode in from Narita on the Keisei line, looking out at the fields and farmhouses and thinking, "welp, this is it.  This is what I've always wanted."  And yet . . . when I think of everything I have done, everything I have learned, everything I have experienced, I can't believe I managed to fit all of that into a year:



A year ago, I had never experienced from-scratch toripaitan ramen, hotaru ika tempura, or top-quality gyukatsu

A year ago, I had never drunk sake out front of a liquor store in the middle of old Tokyo, nor canned chu-hi out front of a convenience store in downtown Tokyo

A year ago, I had never celebrated my birthday in a foreign country (and this year, I did it twice hehehe)

A year ago, I had never been to an international Costco!

A year ago, I had never experienced the Saikyo train en route to Shinjuku station at 8:30am (not saying I'm glad to have done so now, though, god that is a miserable experience.  The Saikyo line from Akabane to Shinjuku makes the Keihin-Tohoku line from Omiya to Akihabara look like the Inokashira line from Shibuya to Kichijoji--hashtagTokyojokes)

A year ago, I had only been to the touristy parts of Akihabara

A year ago, I had only been to the touristy parts of Shinjuku

A year ago, I had only been to the touristy parts of Ueno

A year ago, I had never met any JRock stars, Japanese actors, or Ikebana masters

A year ago, I didn't know what it was like to be a regular at a salaryman hangout yakitori bar (now I'm a regular at two)

A year ago, I was not able to look myself in the mirror and know that I have the ability to pick up my life, move to a foreign country with little language skills and no job, and make a life work



It's been a hell of a year.  And those things I mentioned are . . . just things.  Just things.  When I think of all the people that I know and love now, people that I had yet to meet a year ago . . . it boggles my mind

It's hard to definitively say something like "best year of my life", because I've had so many amazing, wonderful things happen in my life.  But I will say this much:  The snapshots of my life on August 12th 2014 and August 12th 2015 are incredibly, mindblowingly different.  One of the biggest possible changes you could find with any gap of 365 days for my entire life.  And honestly?  It's been the best change I can think of.  Point A to Point B, this has been the best 365-day change in my life.  And this has been one of the best decisions I ever made




Thank you to everyone that has supported me, rooted for me, or at least stood on the sidelines and offered a polite golf clap every once in a while.  I hope you'll all stick around with me going forward into this next year

Oh, and I'm going to keep this blog on hiatus, but as soon as I'm able I'm going to make a real effort to go back to updating this blog.  Stay in touch, I'll be around.  Call it a New Year's Resolution :D

Noah out

Tsukemen: The old curmudgeon in me fights it, but my taste buds don't lie

Hi guys,

Wow there is so much I need to write up!  Friends visiting me, adventures had, all sorts of stuff like that.  But first, it has been waaaay too long since I put up a food post.  And let's be real, I don't know about you guys but that's what interests me the most about this blog (if you're interested in something other than food posts, maybe this just isn't the blog for you to be reading)

So today we're going to talk about Tsukemen.  I'm going to feature two different shops that specialize in this type of ramen.  This is a relatively new style of ramen, one that has gotten very popular in recent years.  Although Tsukemen can be made from any style of broth (miso ramen, which we've previously discussed is usually my favorite style, is very commonly found as tsukemen), because it's at its root a Tokyo phenomenon I chose two different places that specialize in broths from here in Tokyo

Mendokoro Musashi Bukotsu has a classic setup, a small, low-ceilinged room with a counter around the kitchen

Fu-unji on the other favors the long and narrow approach, the entire kitchen strung out so that everyone can watch the show

Here's a picture of the *other* side of the restaurant, yeah that back wall is pretty much constantly full.  More on that later

The first is Mendokoro Musashi Bukotsu, one outlet of the Musashi chain of ramen shops (each with a different style, of course).  To get technical, they have a pork-bone based broth but, typical to Tokyo ramen, they add in a strong fish broth flavoring to give it depth

The second is called Fu-unji, which rose to prominence behind its rockstar-styled head chef and its slew of awards.  No seriously, they got awarded "Best Ramen in Tokyo" three or four times in the last few years--hence the giant crowd in that photo up there.  Most tsukemen places stick with a pork broth, but they blend in chicken broth to lighten it up as well as dried fish powder to really give you a punch of flavor

Let's take a look, shall we?

Musashi Bukotsu,  tsukemen (large size)

Fu-unji, tsukemen (large size)

WAIT A MINUTE.  Something has gone terribly wrong here!  They forgot to put the noodles into the broth!!!

Yup, that's what tsukemen is.  Rather than mixing the two together, the broth and noodles are served separately.  The broth is much, much strong than its more traditional cousins, to compensate for the fact that you don't get as much in each bite.  In turn, the noodles are usually a little bit thicker in order to stand up to the presence of strong flavors

So, what do I think of tsukemen?  Well, as I mentioned in the title of this blog, the old curmudgeon in me doesn't always approve.  A lot of the old guard, both diners and chefs, think of tsukemen as kind of a cop-out.  New wave, trying too hard to be cool, a way of avoiding having to do the delicate balancing act of placing noodles in soup while still maintaining the proper texture and strength of broth.  So yeah, a lot of me doesn't approve.  But on the other hand, I gotta admit . . . having a small amount of very strongly flavored broth to play with and mix with noodles to my own palette?  It's not bad

And places like these two do their broth pretty goddamn well, so I'm not gonna complain too hard if they want to go overboard and really punch up the flavor.  The pork flavor with Musashi Bukotsu is strong but the broth is not heavy, which is an amazing balancing act of controlling the level of fat.  Throw in stewed pork to add richness and raw onions to cut the strong flavors, and this plays very well.  Similarly, the fish powder floating on top of Fu-unji's pork and chicken broth mix would be overpoweringly strong in a traditional presentation, but here it works pretty damn deliciously to make for a very smooth and rich experience

I still like my traditional ramen, still respect that as the trickiest and most impressive presentation of broth and noodle.  But hey, I won't turn down good tsukemen.  Plus, not to be too much of a wimp, but as the weather gets warmer and warmer every day here in Tokyo, I gotta admit the slightly lower temperature consumed with tsukemen can be kind of nice . . .

Noah out



I've decided to start adding an "in this post" section to provide information about all these places that I visit.  I realized that I've benefited from others' blog posts in the past, and I think it's only right to pay it forward (plus, bizarrely, a friend discovered that some of my posts actually come up if you Google the English names of some of these places.  This is weird).  And hey, if I get really ambitious I'll even go back and add this to my old posts

In this post:

Menya Musashi Bukotsu
Tokyo, Taito-Ku, Ueno 6-7-3 (on the Southwest corner of the block)
11:30-22:00 daily (although they occasionally open up a bit earlier)

Funji
Tokyo, Shibuya-ku, Yoyogi 2-14-3
11:00-15:00; 17:00-21:00
Closed Sundays and holidays

Happy Mother's Day!

Hi everybody,

One last post from my mother's visit.  I think I'm a little late getting this up in time for Mother's Day, but I wanted to post it regardless.  Here's the deal:  My mom is awesome

And while she loved going on our little adventures together, she also had a goal:  She wanted to help me out getting my apartment together.  She wanted to get me the little things to make my apartment more comfortable, more homey.  We walked around (which wasn't easy for her after foot surgery) Ikea and Costco, neighborhood places and big department stores.

I didn't take a picture of everything, because most of the great stuff she got me were just little things (a dish rack, a board to place over my washer for extra counter space, a hall tree).  But here are a few of the things that make me smile to look at them, because they came with thoughtfulness and love!

A lamp, because she wants me to be comfortable sitting on my couch reading a book

A car rug, because every damn apartment is better with a rug that allows you to pretend that your feet are cars

She even tracked down a table that's the *perfect* height for my couch!

Oh, and she actually dragged out two of my pots, a skillet, and a massive heavy pan *on the airplane*.  Because she is my mom

That's my mom, she's pretty amazing.  She outfitted my apartment, both with things she bought and things she brought over



This last one I wanted to post, however, isn't something my mother got me.  It's something she instructed me to purchase once I moved into my apartment (and actually, my friend Brittani beat me to it by getting it for me for my birthday!).  It's a toaster oven, and I have it for a very specific reason

"Do you have an oven?"
"No, just a stove"
"You should pick up a toaster oven"
"Nah I don't think I need one"
"No, you should pick up a toaster oven"
"How come?"
"Because at some point, you're going to want to make nachos"

. . . how do mothers get to be so wise????  It's amazing



This is a post about my mother, and how she worked to do the little things to turn my house into a home

Noah out

NoahandMominTokyo 2: The Sequel (Hatonomori Park, Sendagaya)

Hi all,

Continuing from my last post, another post featuring my mom!  I didn't take a lot of pictures, we were too busy running around for me to photo document it a lot.  But one more thing I wanted to share with you all

We headed on back to Sendagaya, the neighborhood our family lived in when she was born.  And we headed to Hatomori Park, which my mother remembers playing at when she was only 5 years old.  I know, I know, you guys are probably tired of seeing yet another little park in Tokyo, regardless of the emotional value for me and mine ;)

But this one is pretty cool.  It's famous for its Fuji-zaka hill, which is to say a miniature model of Mt. Fuji.  Complete with tiny models of some of the shrines on the mountain, it's a great little landmark that's popular with both tourists and the ubiquitous little kids running up and down it (my mother used to be one of those!)

Guide map and everything, so you don't get lost on the trek up.  Oxygen tanks not provided, sadly

Remind me to come back later in Spring and Summer, when the flowers are blooming!

Great view from the top, too!

A very nice little day hike, all things considered!

As for the rest of the park, I don't know if it would necessarily be a spot for every tourist coming to Tokyo, but it's a very pleasant way to spend a warm Spring afternoon.  There's a wonderful little shrine and even a stage for Noh performances on summer evenings.  Nice little spot, for sure

Wash your hands before paying respects, of course

A small donation is customary, I like to think of it as fee to get to ring the bell

A beautiful setting for a neighborhood park

Anyways, nothing major to say.  One of my favorite parts of living in Tokyo is participating in the generations of my family's history that have taken place here.  This one is a pretty recent bit of family history, but just as precious!

Noah out

NoahandMominTokyo (Coscto adventure!!!)

Hi everybody,

I would like to introduce the most special of special guests:  A wonderful lady, who has gone by many names in her life, from Your Honor to The Reverend Irene . . . but I prefer "Mom"

In order to celebrate the anniversary of her nativity, my mother flew out here to Tokyo.  Although she's visited many times, this was her first time celebrating her birthday in the city of her birth since her 5th.  A very special birthday, for a very special lady!



So what do Noah and Mom do in Tokyo?  Well certainly there are the standard touristy things, as well as taking her to meet my friends at all of my favorite eating establishments and watering holes.  But my family has another fun hobby whenever we have an opportunity while travelling:  Checking out Costco to see what different stuff they have (mostly food.  Let's be real, almost entirely food.  If this blog didn't give you a hint, food is pretty important in my family)

Hawaiian Costco sells all sorts of great Asian products that mainland ones don't.  Costco in the American South sell chicken coops (which totally counts as a food product, if you're patient).  And Japanese Costco?  Awesome

"Even the Hawaiian Costco doesn't have shoyu [soysauce-simmered] pork!"

"These prawns are amazing!  They're not even from Japan, they're from Argentina, why don't they have these in other Costcos???"

"Well it makes sense that they don't have shiokara [fermented squid] at other Costcos.  White people don't usually like this"

"Oh man, we need a picture of this.  Grandma pays like $10 for a tiny, tiny jar of this"

"Ochazuke no moto!  [Japanese comfort food, green tea poured over leftover rice and other seasonings.  Probably worth a post later, huh?]  This is it, I want this for my souvenir picture from this trip!"

Every family is different.  Every family has different things that are important to it.  My family?  My family is about the food--what to eat, how to prepare it, and of course where to get the ingredients.  That's how we roll :)

Noah out

[Reblog] Tony drops some knowledge all up on y'all

Hey guys,

So, as you know, I make every effort I can to ensure that this blog is both entertaining and educational.  And when my own knowledge has a gap, I have no shame in directing you to other places where you can learn

Courtesy of my friend Tony, important knowledge about sushi:

http://tonyisboring.blogspot.jp/2015/04/sushi-and-sashimi.html

Who knew such an ancient cooking form used so much molecular gastronomy?

Noah out

Shimizudani Park: Keep your head on a swivel, you never know what you might find

Hey guys,

I've said it before, I'll say it again.  Tokyo is perhaps the greatest city in the entire world for wandering (and yes, I include Budapest, which is a damn fine city for wandering itself, in that assessment).  Go on a long walk, I promise you won't be able to go far without discovering a fun shop, a gorgeous statuary, or in this case a gorgeous park :D

Shimizudani Park, located just North of Akasaka, was an absolute treat to stumble upon.  I probably never would have found it if I hadn't meandered from Ichigaya to Akasaka the other day, but I'll make a point to do that meander more often if it means a chance to visit this park (although it is relatively near Le Tour D'Argent, the nicest French place in town, so obviously I would have discovered it next time I dined there :P)

Let's be honest, I'm usually pretty easy for sun shining through trees onto wooded paths . . .

Throw in classic-style Japanese architecture, and I'm a total sucker

I could make a point about "reverence for monument to the past" and junk, but really I just like cool statues.  Like I said, I'm easy

As I mentioned in my first Kourakuen post, my favorite part of all of these parks is the fact that, even in a city so famous for the preoocupation of its inhabitants, people make an effort to take some time out of the days to appreciate it.  And really, there's no better way to take a break from a stressful work day than relaxing beside a pond in the middle of a heavily wooded park

And, well, if said lovely little park happens to be only a block away from an office plaza where you can find a number of food trucks parked every lunchtime, well then . . .

I love this city!

Noah out

I get philosophical about liquor prices at 2 in the morning

Hi guys,

As someone whose formative cocktailing years were spent at the mercy of Washington's State-run liquor stores, the breadth of liquor pricing here in Tokyo is astounding.  I have an entire section of my Tokyo Pictures folder devoted solely to photos snapped of liquor prices, each one labelled for organizational purposes (e.g. "Nishikawaguchi Donqui, Cointreau, 1885yen").  Disparities of 500 yen are not uncommon even on the cheap items, and for the big-tickets items the savings can be very significant.  Naturally, I consider this to be a very poignant metaphor for the capriciousness of life . . .



Listen kids, sometimes life sucks.  Sometimes you fly halfway around the world and, while still temporally and spatially disoriented, you need to work from early morning until late at night--a hell made all the more poignant by the inalienable knowledge that you will be doing the same thing tomorrow, except starting even earlier

But sometimes, sometimes, you pop quickly into one of your favorite liquor stores to check out their bargain corner, a mysterious land in which bottles are dirt-cheap even when the exact same bottle is on the shelf for full price on the other side of the store.  And sometimes you find a bottle of Fernet Branca (already preposterously cheap, by US standards, at $20) in that section . . .



Let me phrase it a different way.  Sometimes Life favors you with a devilish grin but then takes advantage of the moment to sucker punch you in the stomach.  And then she kicks you in the teeth.  And then she cackles and says something unkind and inappropriate about your mother

But sometimes, just sometimes, Life sidles up to you, coyly refusing to hold your gaze but then sneaking within your arms to to give you a furtive hug and a featherlight kiss on the cheek.  Sometimes she smiles shyly, playfully buries her head in your chest, and tells you that things aren't always as bad as they seem, and that everything will work out, and that she loves you

At least, that's what finding a bottle of Fernet for 8 freakin' dollars feels like to me.  8 dollars!  Telling you, guys, sometimes Life's not such a bad lady after all.  This town never ceases to ambush me with the most pleasant of surprises

Cheers,

Noah out

Sakura at Yasukuni

Hi guys,

One last sakura post, hope you all aren't tired of these yet ;)

It may seem slightly incongruous that cherry blossoms are so associated with the samurai, a warrior class.  Flowers are seen as effeminate in Western culture (and, for the most part, Eastern), after all.  In actuality, the metaphor of cherry blossoms is very martial indeed.  See, anyone that had their mom send them out to deadhead the garden knows that most flowers wither and die on the plant.  Sakura, however, do not--they fall off the tree while fully in bloom, and the blossoms blowing in the wind are just as beautiful as those crowding the tree.  Thus, the sakura are seen as a metaphor for a warrior's death, a beautiful death in the prime of life

So it's fitting that Yasukuni Shrine should be one of the marquee cherry-blossom viewing areas of the city ("Are the sakura blooming in Yasukuni yet?").  The shrine honors Japan's war dead, millions of names inscribed there.  Thus, the shrine has particularly poignant meaning during the blooming of the sakura

There are many things I could say about Yasukuni shrine as the cherry blossoms fall.  I have tried to write about the shrine, but have yet to find the right words.  Maybe someday I will write up a post about Japan in specific and its complicated history during WWII, or about the all countries of the world in general and the old lie: Dulce et decorum est . . . but those subjects and controversies don't seem fit conversation for a day like this.  On a day like this, suffice it to say that there were once a number of brave young men and that they fell, just as cherry blossoms must fall, and that they should be remembered

As I said, this will be my final sakura post for the year.  The sakura season is beautiful, but short.  Which is, of course, also part of the metaphor . . .

Noah out

Sakura Fairgrounds

Hi guys.

I feel like I didn't express clearly enough in my last post just how big of a deal sakura season is here in Tokyo.  Guys, sakura season is a big, giant deal here in Tokyo

It only lasts for a week, but for that entire week the entire city gets devoted to hanami (flower-viewing).  No seriously, the entire city

Every single place in the city that has cherry blossoms gets flooded with people to view them.  And in turn, at the best sites, be they city parks or sacred shrines, if there's room for it they'll set up picnic tables and food stands to sell to them.  They will turn temple grounds into fairgrounds.  Because that's just what we do in the springtime in Tokyo.  

Special guest appearance by my oneesan (big sister) Teru, who is pretty much the coolest, nicest, best person in the world--and an excellent hanami companion

It didn't hurt that the day was absolutely *gorgeous* . . . I mean, seriously, look at that

Beer, sake, and pretty much anything you could possibly want threaded onto a stick and grilled.  And that's only at *one stand*

Looks like the upcoming generation of takoyaki chefs are here and learning from the masters that came before

Did I mention the awesome amount of grilled things on sticks???  God I love this country

Most of the stalls are just that, little stalls, but every so often someone ponied up for the extra-large lot and had basically a portable restaurant going

I'm pretty sure Japanese people have been cooking fish exactly like this--skewered and stuck into the sand around a fire--for thousands of years.  Tens of thousands.  Because if it ain't broke . . .

Phenomenally fresh shellfish, meet fire and sunshine.  Fire, sunshine, this is some phenomenally fresh shellfish.  I think you will be friends

Like I said, if there are cherry blossoms there will be people set up to view them.  Be it a park, a garden, or a temple, because that is how Tokyo rolls

It's even a family affair!  Mom is cooking takoyaki out front, while son and grandpa hang out in the back

And yes, there are carnival games.  You thought I was exaggerating when I said that they basically set up fairgrounds wherever there are cherry blossoms.  I wasn't

And yes . . . there's even cotton candy.  Because it wouldn't be a fair without it

Listen, I'm still a young man, I get that.  There is a lot that I haven't seen in this world, I will be the first to admit that.  But I am pretty damn confident that there are not a lot of places on this earth where you can go to a shrine or temple, buy a bag of cotton candy with a cartoon character on it, and enjoy it underneath cherry blossoms.  So when you find one of those places, you should cherish it

Noah out