Cascadian Abroad - Lost in Japan… Again

Lost in Japan… Again

June 20, 2014 by Robert Haddan

When I set out for my runs, I always have the same plan. Go halfway, turn around, go home. I’ve yet to actually do this. I always try to take a different route, and when I reach the halfway point, I see something that looks interesting and check it out. I usually add a mile of walking to my run as a result.

Yesterday, I set out for my run early on a 77 degree morning. I had a general route in mind for a 45 minute (roughly four miles) run. I turned on my Garmin GPS running watch and was on my way. But it happened again…

I did manage to turn around at the halfway point, but as I crossed the street, I discovered the narrow bridge in the road didn’t have a sidewalk. Instead of dodging traffic, I headed down a side street parallel to the bridge. I was looking for the river path, which I found, but it also led me into Kawagoe Park, where I hadn’t been yet.

It’s a fantastic park, complete with a pond and the ever-present swan boat rentals, tennis courts and a great running path with some shade. I followed the path for a bit until I came to the river path which would take me home. Here’s where it all went wrong.

I’ve decided that my navigation issues in Japan are due to the fact that none of the streets are straight. In the U.S., you can typically follow a street, pop up a block and still be running parallel to the previous street. In Japan, streets curve without reason and if your attention wanders for even a second, it’s all over.

As I approached the river path, I saw that the running path ran alongside it under some nice, shady trees. I stayed in the shade and then crossed the road to head for home. Apparently I got turned around, because instead of heading north for home, I was heading south.

Kawagoe’s a decent-sized city, but I saw enough potential landmarks that I thought I was still heading in the right direction. After about five miles though, I hadn’t seen the landmarks I was expecting. I did, however, see a giant battleship, a DeLorean (Back to the Future car!) on a roof and an oversized fiberglass chimpanzee in blue overalls.

I stopped in a 7-11, bought a water with my last 100 yen and asked for directions.

Matoba-eki wa doko desu ka? Where is Matoba Train Station?

The clerk drew me a map on the back of my receipt, indicating the station was just up the road a bit. I headed in that direction, his map perfectly guiding me… to Minamiotsuka Station on the south side of Kawagoe.

One thing I’ve come to learn about the Japanese is that they will give incorrect information before they come off as being unhelpful. The clerk basically gave me directions to the nearest train station, which sent me another mile in the wrong direction.

Things only got worse as I saw a sign for Belc Grocery Store, one of the landmarks I was seeking. I headed toward that, which is sort of like heading toward a Safeway in the states… there’s probably half-a-dozen Belc stores in Kawagoe. Finally, I came across a lady with a small produce stand. Huffing and puffing, I asked again… Matoba-eki wa doko desu ka?

She gave me a sort of pathetic look and said, what I gathered to be, you’re nowhere near Matoba Station. Totemo tooi desu ka? I asked while pulling distance between my hands in case my Japanese was faulty. She nodded yes with something between pity and empathy.

I usually don’t mind getting lost on my runs. I know I can’t get too far from home on foot and will eventually find my way, but for the first time, I was nervous. I had no clue where I was and knew that every step was likely taking me further from home. We had an appointment in Tokyo later in the day and I needed to be home. Usually I throw 1,000 yen in my pocket, just in case, but I didn’t have any money with me. About seven miles into my run, I alternated sprinting and walking back toward the main street.

That’s when my rescue plan came together. When we first arrived in Kawagoe, we took a taxi to our hotel. The driver lets you in, takes you to your destination, then collects payment. I headed back toward Minamiotsuka Station, where I hoped to find a taxi stand. Sure enough, two taxis had just pulled in and I flagged one of them down.

I gave the driver my address, he wrote it down to verify and we were on our way. I got a chance to try out a new phrase I’d just learned.

Nihongo ga chotto wakarimasu… I paused as I found the next words… demo ganbarimasu! The driver chuckled, my comedic timing translating to Japanese.

I only understand a little Japanese… but I try my best!

I guess the same can be said for my navigation skills. I made it home, safe and sound, and ran upstairs to grab my wallet. I was so far away from home that it cost 1,900 yen (about $19 USD) for the taxi ride. Best 1,900 yen I’ve ever spent.

In all, my 45-minute, four mile run became a one hour and 50 minute, 8.25 mile trek. My favorite part of the Garmin mapping of the run is the end. I’d left the watch on for a minute in the car, so the last split is a two-minute mile as we sped toward home.

Fukuoka

June 17, 2014 by Robert Haddan

While in Japan, we’re hoping to take advantage of our ability to see some different parts of the world. Places like Beijing and Seoul are just puddle-jumpers now and Sydney is about 10 hours away. But Japan itself offers a lot of travel opportunities as well.

We took advantage of a university conference in Fukuoka Prefecture this weekend to see a different part of Japan. Fukuoka is on the north coast of Kyushu (one of the four large islands of Japan) and is Japan’s sixth-largest city. It’s also ranked 12th on Monocle Magazine’s 2013 list of the world’s most livable cities. We could definitely see why. More on that later.

The Shinkansen from Tokyo to Narita Airport

Narita Airport is east of Tokyo and it took two-and-a-half hours by bus to get to Kawagoe when we first came to Japan. We took the train this time, which requires a trip on a Shinkansen—a Japanese bullet train. The trip to the airport only took an hour and 40 minutes. No more bus for us!

The airport process was a breeze as well. Being a domestic flight, there wasn’t a lot of hubbub to get to the gate. The train station is in the airport, so you make your way through the terminal. Japanese television reporters stop you to ask about Japanese pop stars (yes, this really happened… I doubt they’ll air it as we weren’t very impressive). Security consists of the standard carry-on X-Ray, but we didn’t have to remove shoes, belts, etc. or even empty change from our pockets. We could bring liquid through as well, but the security officer required us to remove the lid so they could smell the contents.

Jetstar — Our plane boarding from the tarmac.

After a short wait, we were directed to the Friendly Airport Limo (a bus with standing-room only) which took us from the gate to the plane on the tarmac. We waited while they finished the inspection, but it was 20 minutes from the time they opened the door until we were airborne. Very efficient and pleasant flying experience.

Falafel set at Kebabooz Sudanese restaurant

The two-hour flight arrived around dinner time, and despite some travel snacks, first priority was finding food. We had a few places mapped out in advance and chose a Sudanese falafel and kebab restaurant called Kebabooz in the trendy Daimyo neighborhood. The small restaurant (five tables total) was down an alley, which was in another alley, which meant it HAD to be good. The chefs/servers were listening to ’90s American gangster rap at an appropriate volume. A warugaki (bratty child) amused the other diners with her antics.

The food was amazing… easily a top-5 Japan meal. You could watch the hummus being handmade-to-order in the kitchen. The best thing on my plate was the salata aswad, a Sudanese eggplant salad. Basically it was eggplant potato chips covered in a spiced yogurt. I could have eaten it all day.

Clock Fountain — Is it a clock? Is it a fountain? Yes.

We headed back to the train station so we could get checked into our hotel before dark. We were highly amused by the fountain/clock on the main street by the station. Whether it was the fact that the fountain was an accurate digital clock or that two traditional Manneken Pis-style statues were making sure the fountain stayed full, we’ll never know.

Fukuoka Tower at Night — The view from our room at the Hilton. Fukuoka Tower is in the center and Hakata Bay is at the right.

We stayed at the Fukuoka Hilton, which was actually the cheapest hotel in town thanks to a summer special rate. We had an unbelievable view from our 8th-floor window of Fukuoka Tower, Momochi Seaside Park and Hakata Bay. The tower glows at night thanks to 8,000 half-mirrors attached to its outside walls.

Saturday was the conference, so I was left to my own devices for the better part of the day. I stopped at a couple different stations to see what was happening in other parts of Fukuoka, but eventually ended up back at the area by our hotel. I walked down the main street and worked my way down to Fukuoka Tower. For 800 yen, you can ride the elevator up to the observation tower, but I opted for the free selfie. An oversized novelty camera with a small shelf offers instruction on how to get an up-the-nose shot of yourself in front of the tower. Mission…. ACCOMPLISHED!

Selfie — Up-the-nose selfie in front of the tower? Check.

Just past the tower is Momochi Seaside Park. The beach stretches along Hakata Bay and seemed to be a hotspot for Fukuoka’s young folk. Sunbathers dodged beach soccer and volleyball games while fisherman wandered past the barricade on the pier to catch a few of the jumping fish in the bay.

Our hotel was attached to the Fukuoka Yafuoka! Dome, home of the SoftBank Hawks baseball team. I bought a ticket for the right field bleachers and a vintage Hawks t-shirt and made my way to the ballpark.

Hawks Mascots — The Hawks plethora of mascots join the Baystars mascot for some funky, funky dancing.

The hometown Hawks were hosting the Yokohama DeNA Baystars. The hour before the game was mostly the Hawks seven (count ’em, seven!) mascots joining the Baystars’ overstuffed bear mascot in dancing to the latest American pop songs. An acrobatic cheerleading group flipped and tossed each other about to the amusement of the crowd. Some ceremonies that seemed to move the crowd were performed. I clapped along at the appropriate time despite not understanding a word of it. The ceremonial first pitch was thrown, which in Japan includes a batter from the opposing team taking a ceremonial weak cut at the pitch.

By the time 2 p.m. rolled around, I’d forgotten why I was in this big dome with all these people. Oh yeah… a baseball game! It was an exciting one, with a dominating pitching performance by Hawks starter Kenichi Nakata and each team trading a big inning at the plate. The Hawks came out on top, winning 4-2 and sending the crowd into a balloon-blowing frenzy.

We were able to share the sightseeing activities on Sunday. We started with breakfast at Bakery Kitchen Raggruppi, a small bakery down—you guessed it—a side alley. Google Maps totally missed the mark on this one, but a nice lady who was heading out for a refill on her water bottle walked us several blocks out of her way to the restaurant.

The restaurant offered all-you-can-eat homemade bread with some seasonal treats and an omelet in its upstairs cafe. My plate included a cold kabocha (Japanese pumpkin) soup while the Mrs. had a light potato salad. Some tuna and several large slices of prosciutto had to be navigated, but it was a small price to pay for a great breakfast. We grabbed a few treats in the bakery downstairs on our way out.

Directly across the street is Maizuru Koen and Ohori Koen. The parks butt up against each other, but apparently are distinct parks. Along the main street, Maizuru Koen greets you with a pond full of lily pads. Large cranes perch in the trees and willow trees fall over the dirt path. Literally steps from a busy street, it was like being in a different world.

Turret — A restored turret in the Fukuoka Castle ruins complex

The ruins of Fukuoka Castle are also part of the park. Centuries-old stone walls are visible throughout the complex and a few of the old buildings have been restored. It’s an active restoration site, so new pieces of the old buildings are being unearthed and are open to the public.

A long path leads into Ohori Koen. A large pond is circled by a walking path. Visitors can rent rowboats or swan-shaped pedal boats or just sit along the edge of the pond and enjoy the view. In true Japan fashion, there’s a Starbucks on site, so you can also enjoy a dark chocolate Frappuccino along with the view.

I mentioned Fukuoka’s ranking as one of the world’s most livable cities. Tokyo is actually ranked higher on Monocle‘s list, but I preferred Fukoka’s vibe. The city’s layout is much more of a western-style than Tokyo, which made finding things a lot easier. There was a ton to do without the mass of humanity that comes with a day-trip to Tokyo. Parks and public spaces are numerous and the city has made great use of its bay front with shopping, restaurants and recreational opportunities. The area around Fukuoka Tower is the city’s cultural center, with a large public library, park space, the city museum and sports fields all leading from the main street to the bay front. The transportation system is straight-forward and convenient.

Granted, it was a small sample size, but Fukuoka is definitely one of my new favorite Japanese cities. I’m hoping we’ll get a chance to compare it to Osaka, Kyoto and Sapporo before we leave.

Care Package

June 17, 2014 by Robert Haddan

About 10 minutes before leaving the house for our weekend trip to Fukuoka, the doorbell rang. It was the mailman with a care package from home! Huge thanks to Cascadian Pugs for finding some things we’ve been missing and adding a few surprises as well.

I managed to unpack the box just enough to throw a few train/plane snacks in the backpack before heading out the door.

Jerquee Wild — We’re wild for Wild-flavor Jerquee!

Among the goodies within:

Trader Joe’s vegan chocolate chip cookies (awesome because they’re vegan, but mostly because they taste good!)
Stonewall’s Jerquee Original Wild vegan jerky
Kirkland salt and pepper pistachios
Chocolate covered bing cherries
Dark-chocolate covered almonds
Dark-chocolate covered coconut

Three cheers for Pugs and some hard-to-find treats from home. Thanks again!

Twinbird Vacuum

June 12, 2014 by Robert Haddan

We’re wrapping up our 12th week in Japan and are starting to discover things we love about this country… and things we maybe don’t like so much. For me, cleaning house is pretty low on my list of favorite things. (As an aside, I like to treat my “Robert’s Least Favorite Things List” like an episode of “Oprah’s Favorite Things“… “You get a dirty house! You get a dirty house! Everybody gets a dirty house!”)

Which is why I’m pretty stoked about our new vacuum cleaner! I know… seems a sad thing to be excited about. But, between the construction across the street and the industrial-sized wind maker known as the Pacific Ocean, it’d be minutes after I’d finish a dry-sweep of the floors before a tumblin’ tumbleweed of a dust bunny would form and roll across my path. And forget about the tatami rooms. Seems like I’d just sweep the dust deeper into the mats.

But no more! Now I have a Twinbird Cyclone. It’s basically a dustbuster on a stick, but it does exactly what a vacuum is supposed to do… it sucks! Plus, in attachment mode, it kinda looks like the laser sword from the Thundercats.

Thundercats — Twinbird is on the loose! Apologies for the bad Photoshop job…

Really, I figured this post might help other gaijins or anyone with a small space and an electrical outlet (dorm, RV…). With the main attachment, it cleans all the way to the edges, so it’s great for getting corners and edges. It’s lightweight and pivots a full 90 degrees, so you can get under low tables without having to move them. The main attachment pops off easily and the nozzle can be put in it’s place to do tighter areas. You can leave the long handle to reduce bending over, or take it off and have a handheld vacuum for cleaning the car, etc.

Best of all, it was only 3,027 yen ($29.68 USD) with free overnight shipping because I signed up for a free Amazon Prime trial.

I’d swept the floors two days before and was amazed by the “yuck” that the new vac picked up.

Dust pile — The dust pile from the first pass of the new Twinbird.

I can’t say I’m excited about cleaning the floors just yet, but I can at least take it off my list of least-favorite things.

Plum Rain

June 9, 2014 by Robert Haddan

Monsoon season is officially upon us. There’s been a glorious break in the rain this morning after four straight days of downpour. The rainy season is called tsuyu, or “plum rain” as it coincides with the plums beginning to ripen. Apparently we can expect this ark-worthy rain until mid-July.

On Saturday, we braved the elements and headed to Shibuya in search of Kuumba du Falafel. A wrong turn out of the train station sent us in the opposite direction, so no falafels for us, but we’ll try again someday. Apparently the owner of the restaurant begrudgingly serves some of the best falafels in Tokyo. An interview quoted him as saying “If there was somewhere else that sold [good falafel], I’d close this immediately and go and eat there every day instead.” Reviews say the service is rough and the owner closes the shop at random, but it’s all worth it for the food. We’ll see!

Luckily, in a bit of serendipity, we ended up near another restaurant we’d been wanting to try, but was closed on our first attempt. Nagi Shokudo vegan restaurant is buried under the sidewalk on a back street in Shibuya. It’s a tough find, but having stumbled upon it once before, we were able to find it pretty easily this time.

The food was fantastic. We ordered the “A” set and the choose-your-own set. Both came with a cup of miso soup and bowl of brown rice. The “A” set was a deep-fried soy meat sautéed in a dark soy sauce with green onions alongside a green salad and a relish plate. There were several options for the choose-your-own set. We had tofu curry, deep-fried soy meat in chili sauce and falafel.

I get the sense it’s popular with vegan/vegetarian tourists as another group of Americans came in after us, but there were also a few Japanese people having lunch. We’re learning more and more that vegetarianism is not a popular or even well-known diet in Japan, despite the country’s Buddhist history and the Buddhist’s traditional vegan diet (shōjin ryōri). It’s certainly not experiencing the trend-bump that the diet has seen in the U.S. in recent years.

After lunch, we did what one does in Shibuya and hit the shops. I gather it’ll be a popular rain-dodging activity in the next few weeks. The best stop was on the food level of the Shin-Q Department Store across from Shibuya Station. An excellent wine shop sampled some New Zealand wines, a couple of which we brought back with us. We completed a very French dinner menu with a loaf of rustic bread from one of the bakeries and a wedge of stinky brie from a cheese vendor.

All in all a successful rainy day in Tokyo. Hopefully we’ll have a few more dry days mixed in before cabin fever sets in.

Odds and Ends

June 3, 2014 by Robert Haddan

A few odds and ends from the last week.

Old-timey bicycle sighting

I was running through nearby Wakaba today when a man on an old-timey bicycle rode by. One of those with the big front wheel and the tiny back wheel. Sadly, he was wearing a t-shirt and khaki pants, not sporting a ditto suit and bowler hat.

Rice fields forever

Paul McCartney could have modified the Beatles’ classic “Strawberry Fields Forever” if he’d been able to play his Tokyo shows last month. The rice fields are fully flooded all over Saitama as the growing season begins. It’s a throwback scene as farmers in straw hats tend to the fields from sun-up to sundown.

Letting nature take its course

Another neat scene on the main drag in our little part of Kawagoe last week. A bird set up its nest full of eggs in the awning over the middle of the sidewalk running in front of the shops. Instead of moving the nest or knocking it down, the shopkeeper taped some newspaper to the sidewalk under the nest to catch the droppings. The mama bird sat perched on the edge of the nest while person after person stopped to see what was up.

Weekend trip to Ōmiya

We popped over to Ōmiya, one of the busiest cities in Saitama Prefecture, over the weekend. The plan was to visit the city’s famous bonsai nurseries and hit up the Keyaki Hiroba Spring Beer Festival.

After a quick train ride, we walked the path to Hakawa Shrine. Statues and banners with squirrels are all over town. We quickly discovered the city’s love affair with the Ōmiya Ardija (Spanish for “squirrel”) soccer team, Ōmiya’s entry into the Japanese Professional Football League.

The shrine was originally established in 473 B.C. It was impressive as usual, but the surrounding grounds were the highlight. A pond is home to dozens of turtles, which swam and sunned alongside the pond, seemingly ignorant to the handful of gawking tourists.

We had lunch from a stand in adjacent Ōmiya Koen, a large park with a soccer stadium (home to the Ardija), baseball stadium, velodrome and zoo. We ordered some veggie yakisoba and french fries and impressed the vendor enough that she complimented my Japanese! She was clearly lying, but it was a great confidence boost.

We only found one bonsai nursery, which was cool, but fell into one of Japan’s numerous dichotomies. The nursery didn’t allow photographs and charged 200 yen for admission to the main nursery. Now, if I could take photos, I’d pay 200 yen. But, if I can’t get in for photos, I’m fine with glancing at the free stuff.

The trees themselves are amazing. One looked like a 100-year-old maple tree, but only stood about 18 inches tall. The art and care that goes into creating the trees is something else.

Along the way, we stumbled on the Cartoon Art Museum. The small museum featured the cartoon art of Kitazawa Rakuten. Impressive, but with displays only in Japanese, it lent itself to a quick tour.

Coedo Brewery, Kawagoe’s premier craft brewer, set up shop for the weekend at the Keyaki Hiroba Spring Beer Festival in Ōmiya.

Finally, we headed to the Saitama Super Arena for the Keyaki Hiroba Spring Beer Festival. Approximately 60 breweries from all over Japan, and a couple American breweries (including Oregon’s Rogue Ales) tapped their kegs for the weekend festival. It reminded me of the Oregon Brewers Festival on Portland’s waterfront, but in about a tenth of the space and with as many tents and people. Beer enthusiasts lined up shoulder to shoulder to partake in the best of Japan’s burgeoning craft brewing industry.

We tried Hokkaido Brewing’s Melon Wheat and Raspberry White ales as well as Market Brewing’s Mango Orange Ale and Hop Seduction Session IPA. All were great, especially on a day where temperatures entered the 90s for the first time this year.

Most of the breweries get their exposure at these types of festivals or in local supermarkets. The beer aisle at most grocery stores is still dominated by the “Big 3″—Kirin, Asahi and Sapporo. It’s great to see artisan brewing get some well-deserved attention.

Small World

May 28, 2014 by Robert Haddan

Oregonians pride ourselves on being on the fringe. “Keep Portland Weird” is the unofficial city slogan. Darth Vader riding a unicycle while playing flaming bagpipes near a major downtown street? No biggie. We have 171 different brewing companies operating in the state and a new one probably opened while I typed this sentence.

It makes it all that much more odd to see our “brand” as part of daily life in Japan. Granted, our city of Kawagoe is Salem, Oregon’s sister city, but products pop up all over Tokyo. Three varieties from Airlie Winery in little old Monmouth, Oregon is sold in a supermarket under the shadow of the Tokyo Dome.

I try to snap pictures when I see these snippets of home. Here’s a few…

Langlitz Leathers, maker of premium motorcycle leathers, has a shop in Shibuya.

Portland Postcard — This postcard was wedged in the end of the bar at Baird Brewing Company’s taphouse in Harajuku

Rogue Creamery blue cheese made its way from Central Point, Oregon to a supermarket in Ikebukuro.

TIU Sign — This advertisement for Tokyo International University mentions its sister city of Salem, Oregon (オレゴン州セイラム市 – Oregon-shū Seiramu-shi)

True Portland — This book featuring Portland hotspots was on a shelf at a restaurant in Shibuya

This case at the Kawagoe International Center had souvenirs from Salem, including Marionberry jam and hazelnuts.

Mapo Tofu

May 27, 2014 by Robert Haddan

Cooking is something I always wished I had more time to do. I love to collect recipes and try new things, especially modifying existing recipes to make them vegetarian-friendly. With all my free time here, I finally get to spend some time experimenting with new recipes.

The first known recipe is thought to be from an Akkadian tablet circa 1600 B.C., transcribed to a clay tablet that could be passed down through the family or shared with neighbors. That clay tablet gave way to paper, index cards and eventually the internet.

Still, word of mouth is a great way to get new recipe ideas. What do other people love to make? Leave a comment and maybe your idea will be the basis of a future blog post!

Last night’s dinner was inspired by one of Viktoria’s students. Mapo tofu is a Chinese Sichuan recipe that gained popularity in post-war Japan as a less-spicy, sweeter interpretation. It’s as ubiquitous in Japanese homes as macaroni and cheese in the U.S., so much so that “instant mapo tofu” is available in the grocery store. Much of the flavor and rich color comes from tobanjan, a spicy chili bean sauce.

Traditional mapo tofu recipes have oyster sauce and ground meat (pork or beef), so here’s a vegetarian take inspired by this recipe from Viet World Kitchen.

Mapo Tofu (makes 3-4 servings)

Ingredients

1 cup textured soy protein flakes (resembling ground beef)
1 package super-firm tofu
soy sauce
tobanjan sauce (spicy chili bean sauce)
sugar
extra virgin olive oil
cornstarch or flour (for thickener)
boiled water
whole peppercorns
4-5 medium-sized shitake mushrooms, finely chopped
fresh ginger
green onions

Note: When I make stir-fry recipes, I like to prepare the ingredients in advance, especially when using a wok. These recipes cook fast, so there’s not a lot of time to chop, measure and mix along the way.

Prep

Put the textured soy protein in a bowl and cover with boiling water. Let sit for 10-15 minutes until tender, then drain the water in a colander or strainer. Mix 3/4 teaspoon of soy sauce into the drained textured soy protein.
Drain the tofu and cut into approximately 1-inch cubes. Cover with boiling water. Let sit for 10-15 minutes until tender, then drain the water. (Note: I used a pre-fried tofu, so I didn’t need to boil it, but fresh super-firm tofu will work fine.)
Reserve 1 1/3 cup of boiled water for making the sauce.
Finely chop the shitake mushrooms and mix in 3/4 teaspoon of soy sauce.
In a frying pan, toast the whole peppercorns over medium heat until fragrant. Let cool slightly and grind roughly with a spice grinder or pestle/mortar.
Mix 1 teaspoon of sugar with 1 teaspoon of soy sauce.
Grate/microplane about 1 teaspoon of fresh ginger. Combine with 3 tablespoons of tobanjan sauce.
Dilute 1 tablespoon of flour or cornstarch with three tablespoons of water.
Slice 2-3 green onions on a diagonal cut.

Cook

In a wok or skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of oil over medium heat.
Add the chopped mushrooms and textured soy protein to the pan and sauté for about a minute until mushrooms start to cook down.
Add the ginger and tobanjan. Mix continuously until combined. The mixture should now have a deep red appearance.
Add in the sugar/soy sauce mixture and stir to combine.
Add the tofu and stir to combine.
Add the 1 1/3 cup of reserved water to the pan and bring to a rolling simmer. Cook for about 3 minutes to allow flavors to meld. Taste the sauce and add more sugar as desired.
Add the green onion to the pan and combine.
Stir in the flour/cornstarch mixture and simmer until the sauce begins to thicken.
Stir in the ground peppercorns, remove from heat and let sit for about five minutes before serving.

Mapo tofu served over brown rice with a side salad

Serve over rice and enjoy!

Sanja Matsuri (Three Shrines Festival)

October 6, 2024May 26, 2014 by Robert Haddan

Japanese shrines are impressive, but there’s a sense of “you’ve seen one, you’ve seen ’em all.” Small, local shrines are everywhere. However, the history of these shrines is still inspiring and the major shrines can be overwhelming.

Not surprisingly, the tradition is still celebrated throughout Japan. One of the largest celebrations—and wildest—is the Shinto celebration of Sanja Matsuri (Three Shrines Festival) in the Tokyo district of Asakusa. An estimated two million people visit Asakusa during the festival weekend to watch locals carry portable shrines, or mikoshi, through the district’s streets.

We set up shop at Hōzōmon Gate. From there, we could watch as the mikoshi were carried up Nakamise-dori, the main street leading to the temple. Each mikoshi is ornately decorated with gold sculptures and wood carving. We were there on Saturday, so we missed the three large shrines carried on Sunday, but those shrines cost approximately $400,000 each to build. These aren’t your usual weekend parade floats.

Shrine parade — Shrines are carried up Nakamise-dori toward the main temple.

Approximately 100 mikoshi are carried through Hōzōmon Gate on Saturday. They stop briefly at the gate to pay respects to Kannon, the Goddess of Mercy. Those carrying the shrines shake and rock them to energize the kami seated within the shrine.

Even the kids are involved, lugging a heavy shrine around town with a little less excitement than their adult counterparts.

The mikoshi are then carried to Hondō where they are blessed by Shinto priests before being paraded through the 44 neighborhoods of Asakusa.

The video below captures the energy of the parade. You can hear them chanting Soiya! Soiya!

Island Time

May 26, 2014 by Robert Haddan

As I’ve mentioned before, getting around without a smartphone in Japan requires a lot of planning. Before heading somewhere new, I spend a lot of time on Google Maps. Each trip usually includes a new lesson about what not to do next time.

This past weekend, we headed to a new-to-us part of Tokyo. The final destination was to be the Tokyo Island Fair in Hamamatsucho, preceded by a lunchtime stop at Island Veggie, a Hawaiian-style macrobiotic restaurant in Hiroo.

The “mile walk” from the train station to Hiroo was probably closer to two miles. We walked right past the restaurant once and also found a train station about a block away. Add “don’t trust ‘fewer transfers’ on Google Maps” to the list of lessons learned. But, on the sunny side, we saw some cool stuff along the way, including some awesome architecture.

Cracked building — A modern glass building appears to be hatching from this standard concrete structure.

Eventually we did find Island Veggie and enjoyed a great vegan lunch. The menu was entirely in English and the staff spoke it perfectly, which is always a nice surprise at meal time. We’ll definitely be back to try more of the menu. On this day, we had a teriyaki veggie burger, a falafel burger with fries, a soy milkshake and homemade lemonade. Healthy-naughty food is always a treat.

Since the walk to Hiroo was more than we bargained for, we decided to take the train to Hamamatsucho instead of walking as we’d originally planned. The first stop on the line was Roppongi, Tokyo’s high-end midtown, which we’d been meaning to check out. We jumped off the train and did a lap, which is about all Roppongi deserved as far as I could tell. It was a lot of shopping and eating, but the open-air mall near the station did have some decent views.

Tokyo Tower and a park with a heart are visible from the Roppongi Hills complex. A playground with multiple slide options is part of the residential section of the mall.

Back on the train, we headed for the waterfront and our original destination. The Tokyo Island Fair highlighted the food and culture of the Izu and Ogasawara islands. These islands were formed volcanically, so they’ve never been part of the continent. As a result, they’ve evolved on their own and feature plant and animal life unique to the islands. The Ogasawara chain is known as the “Galapagos of the Orient” and was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2011.

The festival was held at Takeshiba Ferry Terminal. The terminal serves all of the small islands and opens up into Tokyo Bay, which is connected to the Pacific Ocean. I’m not big on astrology, but I’m an aquarius, the water sign. I love the Willamette Valley, but if I didn’t get to the ocean about once a month, I’d start to get a little claustrophobic. It had been about three months since I’d last seen real water, so this was a treat. A little spiritual cleansing.

Unbeknownst to us, our real reason for coming to Japan is to try ALL of the ice cream. This milk ice, made on Izu Oshima island, was fantastic. The best way to describe most Japanese ice cream is that it tastes “clean.” I’m sure an island with an active volcano that last erupted in 1990 could use a good milk ice.

As with any place in Japan, the best treats are usually at the front of the longest line. Well, there’s another theory out the window. The front of this line had snails. Giant snails. Still in their shell. Looking like some sort of hose in the engine of a souped-up car. Suffice to say, we skipped that line.

What are these mollusks? Snails. That’s right… giant, nasty snails.

There were plenty of activities to keep the kiddies entertained as well.

Fishtank — Kids gather around a tank with baby sharks and rays from the islands.

Painting — Kids paint little figurines as part of the Island Fair activities.

When we got off the train in Hamamatsucho, we saw the Tokyo Tower, another landmark on our to-do list. Two birds, one stone… great! The tower is Japan’s second-tallest structure with a design inspired by the Eiffle Tower, although slightly de-classed by the industrial white and safety-orange paint job.

Zōjō-ji temple, a beautiful Buddhist temple, separated us from the Tokyo Tower. Much of Zōjō-ji was destroyed in World War II. The oldest structure on the grounds, Sangedatsu Gate, was built in 1622. Walking through the gate will free a person from greed, hate and foolishness.

We finally arrived at Tokyo Tower where dozens of other tourists joined us in taking up-the-nose pictures trying to get the whole tower in the frame. 1,420 yen (about $14 USD) will get you a great view of the city from the observation deck, but we’d seen enough of Tokyo for one day and headed home.