Another Festival!

We took Fred and Connie to our favorite place- a festival! This one was at the Yasukuni Shrine. This is a shrine dedicated to Japan's war casualties. Gen and I visited here a week or so before the festival and saw them setting up all the lanterns and decided we needed to go.

A taiko drummer.

This is a dance called the bon odori. It seems like everyone in Japan knows this dance. The women on the stage are the real performers, but all the people on the ground level that are dancing are just random crowd participants. It's a really pretty dance and it's performed at many summertime festivals.

Many people wear yukatas to summer festivals and they look so nice. We bought Gen a yukata a few weeks ago, but he's too chicken to wear it. No, to be fair, he really got a summer kimono (not made of cotton like a yukata) and it's been too blasted hot to wear it. Plus, we don't really know how to tie the obi. If he ever wears it I'll take a picture for you!

Awww, so sweet.

There must have been thousands of these lanterns. The walkway leading to the shrine is really long. Plus they had some outside and there were a ton inside the shrine grounds. There were a few that had been hand painted and were really pretty, but the picture of those didn't turn out.

We're not really sure what the characters on the lanterns mean, but Gen said most of them are names, so the best guess is that they're sponsors.

I liked these fringes that had been hung in the entrance to the shrine.

We didn't get any good pics of the shrine itself during the festival because it was totally packed, but this is what it looks like. There is a flock of white doves that lives on the grounds.

Looking back through the entrance. Poor Fred was accosted by two rather drunk Japanese men who were very impressed with his height. They even gave Fred a souvenir- a fan. Fred, being a gentleman, gave it to Connie and it came in very handy- it was hot and stuffy with all those people. They were absolutely fascinated and let us know that even though their fathers and grandfathers were in the shrine now (via WWII, I assume) that now we're all friends. Spreading diplomacy, one festival at a time!

This is a pretty garden on the shrine grounds. There's a nice waterfall, but the flash didn't pick it up. The pond is full of enormous, overfed koi. All in all, it was a fun festival! We also had some festival food and I accidentally ordered 3 skewers of grilled chicken skin. Just a typical day...

Visitors

Last week, two of Gen's colleagues from High Point came over for a conference. That's Fred and Connie sandwiched between Gen and me. On my left is Inatome-san and his wife. He worked in High Point for 5 or 6 years, but just recently moved back. Fred has been here before, but it was Connie's first time, so we acted as tour guides. Connie and I had one day by ourselves and managed to order lunch by ourselves! So proud. (I usually just eat lunch at home or sometimes at a self-serve bakery- this was a big step for me.)

I LOVED having them here, especially Fred, because everyone stared at him instead of me.

This is on the top floor of Inatome-san's apartment. Isn't it nice? Those hedges are rosemary. It smelled really good. He was nice enough to have all of us over for dinner on Sunday night.

Visiting Meiji Shrine. Fred was our beacon for the weekend. He could never get lost in a crowd.

On a boat cruise to Odaiba.

This was fun- we've only been on the train to Odaiba. I love boats. It was weirdly chilly that day. I actually needed a cardigan. Not much hope of that happening again for a while. It's hot here. Really hot.

This was our lunch on Saturday. We had okonomiyaki (Japanese pizza/pancake) and monjayaki (Tokyo's version of Osaka's okonomiyaki). At this restaurant each table has a griddle and the proprietor comes to you and cooks your order right there at the table. Unfortunately, Connie and I were sitting right next to the steam vent so we were really, really toasty. The food was good, though. We ordered way too much, but managed to eat it all.

Festival in Tsukiji

This was a festival we went to back in June at Tsukiji. That's where the famous fish market is. It was Sunday, so we didn't go visit the tuna. It's on our list of places to go, but you have to get there at 5:00 am, and we honestly just haven't been that motivated. We made it as far as setting the alarm once, but immediately turned it off. Anyway, this was a festival with mikoshi in the shape of lion heads. See it behind my shoulder?

These are traditional sandals made of rope. The paper published the time a little early, so we stood around for a while and took some random shots.

These are the little lions. Before the big lions were brought out, these guys were paraded up to the shrine on little rolling pedestals.

This was a huge deal because this mikoshi is almost never taken out in the parade. It was the 350th anniversary of this festival, so that's why we got to see it. We met some really nice ladies from the neighborhood who explained the history to us.

The lion in the previous picture was carried by all men. This red lion was carried by all women. And let me tell you, it looked heavy. The lady standing up with the wooden clappers was in charge of telling them when to pick it up and set it down. Because it was so heavy they took a lot of breaks.

A few of the younger guys had their heads shaved with kanji characters. I'm not sure what it says, though.

This is a more traditional mikoshi and is brought out instead of the big lion for non-anniversary years.

A dragon detail at the shrine.

This circle thingy is supposed to bring good health. Next we have another video. It's pretty similar to the one we took in Asakusa. I always look so bad in the screen stills before the video starts. Next time I'm going to make Gen do the introduction.

Festival in Asakusabashi

This was from back in early June. We basically just scan the newspapers looking for any random festival. This one was pretty close to our house. These are some guys doing traditional Japanese dance. I'm sure it was telling a story, but I didn't get it.

Oooh, scary.

A lion at the shrine.

Another lion. I think these are taken out and marched through the streets at some festival, but it wasn't on this day.

Another mikoshi.

This was the heaviest mikoshi in the area. A nice lady at a yukata store told me about it. It's over one ton. I feel sorry for the guys carrying it. Although they were probably all pretty drunk. Sore the next morning, I bet!

Look at that tuna head! This was great- grilled tuna with green onions. Most fair food is pretty similar, but this is the only time we've seen the tuna. It was yummy. I also got grilled corn on the cob, one of my favorites! Now that corn is in season I'm basically using it in everything. I'm big into salads with corn. I just wish we had a grill! It's just not the same boiled.

Here's a guy making okonomiyaki, one of Gen's favorites. I find it a little heavy, so we don't get it often.

Aren't they adorable? This was the first of the summer festivals, so a lot of the girls were decked out in pretty yukatas (summertime kimonos). We're going to a fireworks festival next weekend and the girls in my English class say I should wear a yukata (it's traditional at fireworks festivals) but I think I would look ridiculous.

I just think this is a cute picture.

You know those games at fairs when kids fish for plastic goldfish and then the prize is a real goldfish? Over here they actually use real fish for the "fishing" part and then the kids take whatever they catch. This is crawfish, but same principle.

Japan-ified American Food

Sometimes I get the giggles walking through the stores, looking at the Japanese version of American junk food. This is a blue soda Kit Kat bar. Kit Kats are really popular here and there are all kinds of varieties. I've tried green tea, tiramisu, and the blue soda. Tiramisu was good, soda was so-so, green tea not so much. The flavors seem to be seasonal. In June I saw a strawberry flavored one and now there are some very confusing apple- and lemon vinegar flavors. I don't get these. Are they actually vinegar or more like apple/lemon juice? I'm too scared to find out.

A Japanese-American soda smorgasbord, courtesy of our downstairs 7-11. The green tea Coke tastes like regular Coke Zero. There might have been some hint of green tea bitterness at the end. The shiso Pepsi is, um, interesting. Shiso is sometimes called Japanese mint. It's kind of like a cross between basil, mint, and maybe some licorice. It's good. When you get sushi and they put that little plastic green leaf, that's supposed to be shiso. It's often served with sushi and sashimi because it helps digestion of raw fish, especially freshwater fish like salmon. Shiso Pepsi tastes like carbonated shiso sugar water. Okay for a sip or two, but there's still a half bottle left in our fridge.

So we finally broke down and went to McDonald's. But it took 6 months to succumb to the siren call, so no judgment! This is Shaka-Shaka Chicken. I love it, mostly for the name. It's just a chicken patty, and you get a choice of spicy garlic, black pepper, or cheese flavoring.

Then you add the seasoning and shake it up!

Delicious! The menu is mostly standard, but the workers are a whole lot friendlier and they make everything to order, so that's kind of cool. Hot fries are the best. They have a few different things, like Shaka-Shaka. Also, McPork and something called a bacon potato pie. I don't know, maybe they have that at home now too. It's basically the apple pie crust filled with bacon mashed potatoes. It looks intriguing, but also possibly disgusting. I'll let you know if I ever try it!

Date Night

I hope everyone had a fun 4th of July! While you were all eating delicious BBQ and hamburgers and playing with sparklers, Gen and I had a fancy date night in Tokyo. When we decided to have a fancy date, we perused the Tokyo Michelin Guide (a gift from one of Gen's colleagues) and picked Morimoto XEX in Roppongi. Morimoto sold his stake earlier in the year, so it's now Omae XEX. Definitely check out that link- there are some great interior shots of the restaurant that wouldn't show up on our camera. Even though it's no longer the Iron Chef's restaurant, it was great!

The restaurant is three levels, teppanyaki on the basement floor, sushi on the first floor, and a dessert/cocktail lounge on the second floor. There's also a nice looking bar on the first floor, but we got a little lost (of course) on the way there and didn't have time for a drink. We ate on the teppanyaki floor. Teppanyaki is where the chefs cook the food in front of you on a flat-top grill. Think Benihana, but nice (no throwing of zucchini or drum solos on the grill).

We both ordered the lobster and steak prix fixe menu. Now I'm going to bore you with all the food details. The amuse bouche was a tiny cone of beef tartare and a coin of eggplant, fresh mozzarella, and salami with herb sauce. The appetizer was a bagna cauda with organic vegetables. Bagna cauda is a warm dip generally made with anchovies, but this one was made with crab liver (called crab miso over here). I didn't think I would like it because crab miso does nothing for me, but it was really good. Then we got the lobster. It had been killed right when we ordered it and placed in front of us, so during the amuse and appetizer, the poor split lobsters were waving their little claws at us from their bed of ice. The lobster was steamed with Dom Perignon (!) and then sauteed on the grill. It was served with saffron-orange sauce and asparagus and drizzled with chili oil. Seriously, the best lobster ever. Maybe it was the Dom, I don't know. The main course was the steak. I ordered sirloin and Gen got filet, but the chef split it 50/50 for us. We both agreed that the filet was the way to go. The beef was served with a roasted onion and some corn that had been dressed with soy sauce and butter. I don't know if it was the way they cook it or that all the veggies are organic, but it was the best corn in the world. On the side we had wasabi mashed potatoes. The second picture from the top was the main course. In the front are all the sauces. There was a black bean/sesame, a soy/green onion, Himalayan pink salt, and the house spice mix. Gen liked the soy for the onion and a combo spice/salt for the steak. I preferred the black bean for the onion and just the salt for the steak. Then the finishing course (before dessert) was a rice dish. Gen ordered the boiled rice. It came in a tiny little cast iron pot and had been mixed with scallops and some veggies. I ordered the garlic fried rice, which was topped with beef tartare.

Then we retired upstairs for our dessert. The dessert lounge is cool- a bunch of leather sofas and cocktail tables bunched around the room. I got the creme brulee (I think it was passion fruit flavored- the flavoring was a Japanese word we didn't know) and Gen had chocolate ganache-filled mochi. It was the best dinner ever. The service was really good. There were 2 guys to open doors for us, and one more to accompany us out to the street. And the waiter was really nice and took that first picture for us.

So after dinner we went to the New York Bar in Shinjuku for cocktails. It's on the 52nd floor of the Park Hyatt Tokyo hotel. The view was amazing, even though the picture didn't turn out that great. We need to practice our night shots. We didn't have a reservation (who knew you had to have a reservation for a bar?) but ended up with a great seat in front of the window and right next to the jazz band. This is supposed to be where Sofia Coppola filmed the bar scenes in Lost in Translation. I don't know, I only made it through about 10 minutes of that movie. Maybe I'll give it another whirl now that I know the locations.

OK, this was so funny. Gen normally just orders whiskey when we get post-dinner drinks. In Japan most of the bars hand-carve the ice cubes and whiskey is usually served with a perfect ice sphere, which I think looks so pretty. But Gen decided to branch out and kept ending up with these girly drinks. His is the one to the right, by the way. It had flower petals floating in it. It was made with grapefruit and was actually very refreshing, though extremely girly looking. My first drink was so good- it was made with pear vodka, ginger syrup, and fresh apples. It was garnished by what I thought was an apple slice, so I took a bite. Nope, it was a giant hunk of ginger. That gave Gen the giggles for a while. I hope you enjoyed our date!