Japanese people like things that are cute, #2

Hiya guys,

Been under the weather this week, so not too many adventures.  But this picture was in my camera and needed to see the light of day

Somebody please call up Haagen Dazs (it's a made-up word anyways, I'm not going to bother trying to figure out how to add the umlaut) and tell them that they need to track down this anonymous Japanese 7-Eleven employee and get her to do their international campaign

Ok, so it was a totally sexist and racist thing for me to assume that the artist here was female and Japanese.  But based on my experiences of tiny, cute Japanese girls and their art skills (I'm looking at you in particular, Kyoka) I think it's a decent gamble

Noah out

We all knew this post, or one like it, was coming . . .

Hey guys,

It goes without saying that the longest, most involved, and most passionately written posts on this blog will be about food and/or booze.  Because duh.  So why, then, has it been this long without a post about the Tokyo drinking scene?

Well, a couple reasons.  The first being that when I'm out hanging out with friends at a bar I am much less inclined to take pictures than during the day when I'm in full-on tourist mode.  The second being that drinking out falls into two categories for me--drinking for the drink, and drinking for the friends.  While I've done plenty of the latter, I can't pretend it will be too interesting for you guys to read about.  As for the former, my budget has somewhat restricted that--they respect cocktails here in Tokyo, which is awesome but means that the top cocktail bars make Los Angeles cocktail bars look cheap.  But don't worry, that's all coming

So what's left then, if I am to share my indulgences of the culinary palette available to bartenders and consumers of alcohol alike?  Fortunately, I was down in the Southwest of Tokyo for a job interview today, so I got to stop by Akasaka to visit my favorite liquor store in the whole city

This post has already gotten very long-winded, so I think we should switch to question-and-answer format in hopes of constraining my verbosity.  Strap in, it's gonna be a long ride

Q:  Well let's start in the obvious place, how's the sake selection?
A:  I could drink a bottle a day and still not be done by the time my visa runs out

I want it all

Q:  Ok that's nice, but I prefer my sake cold.  Do they have a decent selection chilled?
A:  You know it.  Check it out:

Four coolers

Q:  Huh?  I thought you said they had a decent amount.  That doesn't seem like very much
A:  That's because you are assuming those are 750s.  Nope, 1800mLs, so delicious

Thank god it's just a wall of coolers instead of a walk-in; otherwise I'd crawl in and never leave.  I already considered it with these tiny coolers

Q:  Haha ok, I get it.  What if I want something a bit higher proof?
A:  How do you like Shochu?

Many others available, but I had to take a picture of the five different kinds of Iichiko

Q:  How are the prices?
A:  Oh you're gonna be mad at me for this.  Bottle of Iichiko standard?  $10

Thank god they don't keep these in the cooler, that would be dangerous

Q:  Ok fine, I get it, awesome sake and shochu selection.  Should I then assume that their Japanese whiskey selection is equally extensive?
A:  I think that would be a fair assumption, yeah

Suntory, Nikka, and a full line of Ichiro's as well.  Glorious, glorious

Q:  All well and good, but do they have anything with aromatic character and tender, woody flavor?
A:  You'd better believe it

Mars Whiskey.  I'm not saying it's distilled on Mars, but I'm not saying it isn't . . .

Q:  Hmm, anything with a humorous picture of a Scotsman on it?
A:  Yup

He seems like a cool dude

Q:  Ok I get it, they have lots of cool, special whiskeys.  But I'm having a big party, I need quantity.  Do they have anything that comes in a 4 litre bottle?
A:  Count 'em, four different kinds

All for around $40 each

Q:  Fine, Japanese whiskey.  But I hear Japanese like scotch as well, do they have any of that?
A:  Haha you're cute
Q:  Ok, I get it, they like scotch.  But it's mostly highland stuff, right?  Japanese can't handle the more peaty stuff?
A:  Very cute

Laphroaig Triple Wood, $60??  Yes please

Q:  Fine, fine, fine.  But we know you, Noah, you're definitely a whiskey patriot.  How's their selection of American?
A:  Bourbon-licious, my friends.  Bourbon-licious

God bless America

Land that I love

Q:  Ok, but it's probably pretty expensive, right?
A:  Hahaha 700mL of Jim Beam white is $10
Q:  Bastard.  But do they have premium bourbon?
A:  From Basil to Blanton's

Oh, and did I mention that they're charging $30 for it???

Q:  But surely they don't have rye for a good price . . .
A:  Jim Rye, one of the most underrated products on the market

$13?????

Q:  Ugh, not fair.  But do you have anything for, you know, special occasions?
A:  Ten steps ahead of you, my friend.  Wild Turkey 101

Oh Kentucky, you land of mystery and wonder

Q:  Ok, I get it, you're not lacking for whiskey.  What else have they got?
A:  Equally good selections of Rum, Vodka, and Gin
Q:  Tequila?
A:  Tequila

Tequila

Q:  Fine, base spirits abound.  But you're a cocktail guy, Noah, all of these are well and good but not the same without liqueurs and aperitifs.  How's the selection there?
A:  Oh they have liqueurs.  And the prices?  Amazing

Campari, Aperol.  750mLs.  $13 and $14.  Yeeeeeeah

Green and Yellow Chartreuse.  $30 and $40

Becherovka.  $26

Even Grandma, 750mL for $25.  Japan is amazing

Q:  Ok that's amazing.  But bitters!  I've got you there!  No way they have a bitters selection enough to satisfy you
A:  Nobody does this side of DeLaurenti in Pike Place Market.  Fortunately, I thought of that ahead of time  . . .

They say fortune favors the prepared

Q:  Ok, I get it.  This liquor store is awesome, Japan's liquor prices are absurd, you're the coolest person ever, Noah
A:  Why thank you
Q:  And yet, I just can't seem to put my finger on it but something's missing.  Something's lacking.  Something just doesn't seem right . . .
A:  Oh don't worry.  Got that one covered too

Twenty.  Dollars.

Excellence knows no oceans.  No frontiers

Noah out

Sentou (public baths)

Hey everybody,

So if you've been paying attention to my comments on other posts (which dear god I hope none of you are bored enough to do) you've noticed that I've been going to the public baths almost every day.  For good reason:  Because they are amazing

Here's how it works:  You go in there, pay a mere $4 (government-mandated) which gets you unlimited time and a locker.  A bunch of old dudes are already in there.  There are two rows of seated showers, and I've taken the hint from all the old dudes and starting bringing shampoo, shaving kit, etc.  Shaving while sitting down, revolutionary.  Then you go get in the hot pool (42C) with jets and wonderfulness.  Then you go sit in the really hot (84C, yes that does indeed say eighty-four) sauna for as long as you can stand it (I am a wimp, so this is only like five minutes at a time).  And then you go dunk yourself in the ice cold pool and your blood rushes through your veins and you feel the heartbeat of the universe as you understand that it is one with your own.  You feel alive like you never have before.  And, if you're like me, then you go do that circuit a few more times

As I mentioned above, 410yen not free but it's certainly not breaking the bank.  In fact, I've been using it as an incentive to keep to my daily budget.  See, I make the cutoff point for my budget dinnertime.  That way I know I can burn every yen left on my favorite meal of the day; plus it means that if one or two drinks turns into three in the evening, I have the whole day the next day to make sure I'm on budget.  Soooo, if I finish dinner with money to spare, I get to head over to the sentou as a reward.  Hooray responsibility!

Anyways, yup, sentou is amazing.  Obviously I can't take a picture.  But here is a selection of artists' renderings:

Well, except for the talking, because it is Japan and no one talks in public.  But you get the idea.  It's so great

Cheers,

Noah out

NoahandMasonandXiaoandCheinTokyo Resurrection (Ginza and Yurakucho)

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

Hi everybody,

Part 4!  The final installment of our quartet, in which Our Heroes took the subway on down to Ginza, "The Fifth Avenue of Tokyo".  Burberry and Tiffany's, Hermes and Armani and Cartier, you'll find them in Ginza.  Glitz and glamour, in every direction (including up)

UniQlo's flagship store, twelve (!!!) stories tall

Of course, amidst the high fashion and French cafes, there's all sorts of cool unexpected stuff as well!  The surprising fan favorite was a shop specializing in traditional paper crafts: Mason picked up a ton of origami paper, Xiao bought a set of brushes for his younger sister (who, like mine, got the whole share of artistic talent), and Che found a very cool paper sphere desk ornament--prompting the other two to spend the rest of the evening looking at trinkets in every shop, "because I want something cool to put on my desk too!"

We thought we were pretty much done with spending money for the day, until Mason found the stationary supplies store.  High School Noah would be so proud, I remember I stocked up on pens and pencils every single time I came out to Japan.  Japan has the best office supplies

He started out by just writing his name and suchlike, but then realized "wait, this is how I should test it out"

Sadly, Our Hero is not perfect.  He is human, and fallible.  And after telling the three guys that I was going to take them to Sony's flagship showroom, letting them see a glimpse of the products that are going to hit US shores a few months from now.  Alas, the entire shop is closed for renovations all week long!



I thought about taking the honorable way out, but sadly they wouldn't let me.  Instead, we moved on to the final stage of our exciting, awesome day:  Yakitori with the salarymen.  This quintessential after-work bar didn't seem like the place to pull out my camera and take a bunch of pictures, as much as I would have liked to.  You'll have to close your eyes and imagine the hustle and bustle of a restaurant that is absolutely empty at 7pm but gets packed to the rafters with Japanese people in light shirts and dark suits as soon as they get off of work at around 8.  The beer and sake flow freely, and every few minutes your next order of skewered meat shows up at your table

I stole one shot, a nice idea of the detritus left in our wake.  Empty glasses, bare remnants of meat (and they didn't last long either), and a bunch of empty skewers

Conversation topics included but were not limited to the following:

• Online dating (and the societal implications that can be drawn from them)
• Whether or not the US should just allow Ukraine to fall in order to wake up Europe (Xiao's idea, the rest of us are all just worried about what could go wrong)
• Which animal you would be most willing to let go of if we had to get rid of chickens, pigs, or cows (Xiao: Chickens because they've been domesticated the most recently; Che: Cows, because they are the least depended on in poorer countries; Mason: Chickens, because that flavor is the most easily replaceable; Noah: Pigs, because eggs are useful and cows are way too delicious to give up)

Now that's how you end a day of sightseeing


In case it wasn't abundantly clear, I had an absolutely fantastic day; of course, I'd like to thank Mason, Xiao, and Chun Che for letting me show them around one of my favorite cities in the world.  Not everyone can make it through my entire day-in-Tokyo itinerary, these guys were absolutely a blast.  They were the brave guinea pigs to be my first guests, but if you're reading this blog you're welcome to be next!

Noah out

NoahandMasonandXiaoandChe and the Last Crusade (Sensoji Temple)

Part 1
Part 2

Hi everyone,

Part 3!  We last left our heroes on a boat trip up the Sumida River, where was their destination?  Possibly the most famous sight in all of Tokyo, Sensoji Temple.  The walk up went something like this:

Che:  "Where's this temple?"
Noah:  "You'll know it when you see it . . ."

"I think I found it!"

Although, technically speaking, Chun Che was incorrect--that's not the temple itself, merely the gate to the walkway up to the temple.  In order to get to the temple, we had to brave about a half a kilometer of souvenir shops.  It's amazing, I love it

We have our shop of postcards and keychains next to a shop of traditional woodblock prints next to a shop of plastic action figures next to a shop of kimonos.  A personal favorite of my mother's is the little shop specializing in miniatures  See, I figured out a rule for my mom (which is actually pretty effective with most girls) that if something is smaller than a normal version of that thing, then it is "cute":

That said, I probably could have figured out even without the rule that a tiny statue of kittens fighting is pretty cute

Hopefully you'll be able to make it to the temple itself (without buying too much stuff), and you'll be rewarded.  Hundreds of thousands of people come every year to pay their respects.  I recommend you do as well, it's not hard!

Walk through the second gate, flanked by the gods of wind and thunder

Wash your hands at the spring

Purchase a stick of incense for 100yen

And place it in the burner, letting the smoke wash over you

And then, not technically part of paying your respect, but I think that going to have some nice soba noodles is an indispensable part of the experience as well.  But maybe that's just me.  I recommend Namiki Yabu Soba, which has been hand-making their noodles for generations

I don't want to perpetuate racial stereotypes, but it's worth noting that Mason, upper-right, was the only one that started eating right away because the three Asian boys stopped to take pictures of their food

Not a bad day so far for three Pageboys!

Next up:  Ginza!

Noah out

Part 4

NoahandMasonandXiaoandCheinTokyo: Judgment Day (Hama Rikyu Gardens)

Part 1

Hey guys,

Part 2!  Next stop:  Hama Rikyu Gardens, less than ten minute's walk from Tsukiji.

The former hunting grounds of a feudal lord in the 1600s, Hama Rikyu is a gorgeous 250,000 square meters of garden right along the Sumida river.  Featuring tidal ponds and duck hunting marshes, plus a gorgeous teahouse on a small island (pictured above), the place is a great way to relax after the bustle of Tsukiji

A lot of guidebooks say that the buildings in the background "ruin" the effect, but I think it's the total opposite.  One of the things I love most in Japan is the juxtaposition between the old and the new, the technological and the natural.  Where else in the world do you get to see skyscrapers on the horizon of a duck pond?

Xiao and Mason mugging for the camera

In addition to the obvious benefits, the reason I love coming to Hama Rikyu is the water bus that takes you up the river!  740Y for a 30-minute trip up the river is a great way to move on to our next stop.  The city, the bridges, the water, and the sky make for great viewing on this short little trip.  Alternately, if that 5am wakeup call was a little early for you, it's just about the perfect length for a nap

The consummate New Yorker, Che nodded off sitting upright.  Mason opted for full and unconditional surrender

Next up:  Asakusa and Sensoji Temple

Noah out

Part 3
Part 4

NoahandMasonandXiaoandCheinTokyo, part 1 (Tskiji)

(because NoahandMasonandXiaoandChunChizzleinTokyo or NoahandMasonandXiaoandCtotheCtothePinTokyo were just too long)

Hey everybody,

Wow, yesterday was stunningly long and exceedingly awesome!  It's going to have to be broken up into multiple posts

First though, let me introduce our special guest stars:  Mason and Chun Che, friends from college; and Xiao, Che's friend from high school (middle school?  Preschool??).  They were visiting all over Japan, and I managed to catch up with them as they spent their last full day in Japan here in the city of Tokyo

One day only, gotta get as much in as possible.  Fortunately, I already have such an itinerary planned and ready to go.  Be warned, just writing about it is tiring.  Living it is fun, but exhausting!

We woke up super early and heading to Tsukiji, the fish market (ok Tsukiji is actually just the name of the district, the official name is something like "Tokyo Central Wholesale Market", which is boring so we all call it Tsukiji).  This is one of the coolest places in the world.  The only drawback?  See it is a working market, which is awesome . . . but all of the restauranteurs and them clear out after like 8am to go to work, so after that the whole place is just filled with tourists.  To get to watch the real market, you have to show up early--just be warned, it is indeed a workign market and if you get in the way of one of the ubiquitous electric carts zipping along through the narrow alleys, he will run you down without a second thought.  And he will sleep well that night

The backs of Mason and Che's heads, a necessary evil in any blog of this nature ;)

Every single stall specializes in only a few things, squid and eels here . . .

. . . delicious-looking crabs and shellfish here . . .

. . . and some very surprised-looking fish here

Like I said, working market.  Faint of heart can just sleep in :)

Of course, there's nothing like looking at all of this fish to work up an appetite.  Now you can follow the guidebook that sends you to places like Sushi Dai, but you're going to have to wait in line for an hour . . .

My choice?  The same place my grandmother took me to, after half an hour of searching and my mother and I both going, "this place looks good, can't we just go here?" a half-dozen times.  Sushi Bun, the best place in the market for the past **one hundred and fifty years**

The website might not be a hundred and fifty years old, but damn near.  But everything else about the place is perfectly realized and magnificently executed.  Sit down, order the C Set (their largest), and enjoy a dozen pieces of sushi and some of the best miso soup you've ever had (the little clams in the soup make it taste like the ocean, in the best possible way).  I have very rarely had sushi this good in my twenty-six years of eating the stuff as often as possible, and I have never had as good of a value.  The best fish available prepared by the best chefs around.  Make it happen



Stop one on my one day in Tokyo tour, and it may be my favorite thing in the whole city.  If you are ever in Tokyo for any reason whatsoever, you cannot miss Tsukiji.  Go, eat the sushi, see the market, buy some souvenirs, get a beer from a vending machine, and enjoy yourself

Next up:  Hama Rikyu Gardens and a cruise up the Sumida River

Noah out

Part 2
Part 3
Part 4