23 July 2010

TEA CEREMONY

Having been hit by a wave of mild pessimism (which lasted about 3 minutes and was solved with a cup of tea), I didn't write about the tea ceremony I went to last Wednesday in my last post, as I was saving it just in case nothing else of note happened to write about. I was wrong - there's plenty to write about!

Last Wednesday (14 July), my friend Marta and I went to Meguro Town Hall to learn about the Japanese tea ceremony. The first remarkable thing was the price - 1000 JPY each (about £7) for 2 hours. The course is run by volunteers and the money only goes towards the tea and Japanese sweets which were served - extraordinarily good value in the land of the £6 cup of
coffee!

The second remarkable thing about the course was where it was held; in a full size, traditional Japanese tea house, on the first floor of a 12 storey building full of offices and civil servants. There's a picture of the outside of the tea room at the bottom of this webpage.

So, for two hours, we were guided through a tea ceremony by a bunch of tiny, elegant, wrinkly, friendly ladies in kimono (apparently there are no plurals in Japanese). There's a lot of sitting on your heels, which really hurts after 20 minutes, and bowing, to the tea, to the sweets, to the door, to the miniature shrine in the tea room, to the lady who gives you the tea, to the tea serving bowls, to each other... if in doubt, bow and it will probably be the correct response.

A couple of revelations from the tea ceremony:

- Japanese women, when by themselves, are a hoot and much more bawdy than I was expecting

- the Japanese are wrong about white ankle socks being sexy, particularly on me

- proper green tea (£40 per 100 grams) tastes delicious, it tastes of green and wood and flowers, unlike green tea I drink in England which tastes of wee (but which does have cost on its side)

ASAKUSA (pron. Asak-sa)

Angus and I had a good rummage around a region called Asakusa on Saturday 17 July. The area was one of the geisha districts in Tokyo until it was bombed flat during the second world war, and is now more famous for a huge temple complex called Senso-ji, and Kappabasha-dori - a street with hundreds of domestic cooking equipment supply shops (HOLD ME DOWN).

The temple complex was lovely but very crowded (Which I suppose is permissible for a religious site in middle of a city of 30 million people).

Lantern at the entrance to Senso-ji temple complex

The red bib and cap signifies that this is the god Koyasu Kannon - who looks after fertility, amongst other things

This is me, feeling very pleased that I'm in Japan having a good rummage around Asakusa with Angus

I'm in danger of electrocuting myself by dribbling onto my computer if I write too much about Kappabashi-dori, so I'll restrain myself. There were more kitchen-ware shops on that street than I could ever hope to dance around in for two years.

The shops are highly specialised - my favourites so far being the shop that just sold pans so big I think they might be catering solely to the cannibal market, and the shop which sold plastic models of dishes for restaurants to advertise what they offer.

The added bonus (if it could get any better) was that a film crew spent 20 minutes filming Angus and me, as we discussed the merits or not of plastic sushi. So, if you see two people trying very hard not to laugh at the absurdity of the situation on any programmes about Japan, fan mail can be directed to Nakameguro.

Sadly I was paralysed by pleasure and therefore didn't take any pictures of Kappabashi-dori but rest assured, I'll go back again VERY SOON so will try and take some pictures then. Here's a picture of a poster advertising a detective agency.

Is the detective investigating the dog? Or is the detective in disguise?

NIKKO AND CHUZENJI

To celebrate Angus's birthday on 19 July, and the fact that it falls on a bank holiday here (Ocean Day), we took a train to Nikko, 140km north of Tokyo. It's 500 metres above sea level so was much cooler than Tokyo (although more humid, if that's possible), and is famous for the Futarasan Shrine (which dates to 737AD), Shinkyoo (the God Bridge) and for being an important stop on the way to Lake Chuzenji, which we also visited.

We stayed in Hotori-an - where we had a traditional Japanese style room - complete with futons, a paper screen, tatami mats, and weird little plastic slippers for people with 4 inch long feet, which we were supposed to wear inside the hotel. The main attraction was the onsen. We were making it up as we went along but the general idea is that you have a good scrub in a shower, then get into the deep hot bath, which is almost too hot for comfort, and sit and admire the river flowing past outside. Then when it gets too hot to bear, you get out and tip a bucket of cold water over your head. Very invigorating, very easy to lose consciousness too.

Fortunately we remained unscathed, and our appreciation of the sights remained high. I won't bore you with my descriptions of what we saw - it is easier to see for yourselves. All I will add is that this beautiful complex of buildings is built into the side of a very steep hill, and we were ready for a cup of tea and a sit down by the time we got on the Shinkansen (bullet train) back to
Tokyo.

Sanbutsu-do temple

The snake bridge

Angus watching carp in the Strolling Garden

Mausoleum Rin-no-ji Taiyuin

Me, marching up purposefully through the front gate to the mausoleum

Trees looking very fancy in the wrong season (apparently it all looks even more beautiful in autumn)

Goma-do - the fire temple


Gate to the whole complex

Two of the guardians of Buddha, variations of whom who sit in the gates to each temple

Sorinto Pillar

Kegon Falls

Lake Chuzenji was very pretty but not remarkable - and we didn't see any of the local monkeys which was obviously a great blow to me.

Or did we...?

However, we did have our strangest meal so far

The bowl of soup with the ladle in (top left) had the texture of snot. No idea what was in it - it didn't taste of much. And the rice was mixed with pearl barley. And best of all, the round thing underneath the two beans in the centre is a local delicacy - yuba (the skin formed when making tofu). Against my better judgement, I loved the yuba.

We were away till Tuesday, and there hasn't been much of interest to report since then. But the weekend starts here (it's Friday evening) - hurrah!

Ja mata!

PS. I found out what the panic button on the toilet is for. Good to know.

16 July 2010

Hello everyone, I have been here for just over two weeks now (although Angus has, of course, been here for nearly 2 months). We're living in an area called Nakameguro, in a flat next to the Meguro River, although it isn't much of a river as you can see, and for a part of each day, goes a very lurid green.

Meguro River


We're in the dark grey building to the top right of the picture. And there are turtles in the river!

This turtle is about the size of a dinner plate, to give you an idea of the scale

The river looks nice at night:

Meguro River at night, facing south east

OUR FLAT

Angus has found us a terrific flat. Notable features include:

- a panic button amongst the multitude of other buttons on the toilet (not sure when you'd use it but will be sure to let you know if I have cause to press it)

- a bath so deep that I can only just peep out when I'm sitting in it

- a button in the kitchen that, when pressed, fills the bath to a pre-set depth and temperature

- a balcony looking over the cherry trees that line the river

Nakameguro is very interesting. It's central (we're only just outside the Japanese equivalent of the Circle Line in London) but this area is not like the Tokyo I had read about. It's full of little shops and restaurants, and according to Time Out: Tokyo, 'this area doesn't like to advertise the fact that it has recently emerged as Tokyo's hippest hangout'.

It is significantly less hip since I arrived owing to my inability to communicate without waving my arms about like I'm bringing aircraft in to land, but nobody seems to mind too much.

Local attractions include a restaurant called 'Poo House' (unsure which cuisine they serve - unlikely to investigate further), Shogakuji Buddhist temple, and the most intense humidity that I have ever experienced. Some days, walking outside away from the delicious air conditioning, it feels like I'm wearing a marathon runner's sock over my head. Mmm.

TOKYO

Once I got the hang of the tube map I started venturing further than 100 metres from our flat. As you can see, it's not an easy tube map to read. Especially as this is only the half of it -

This picture doesn't show all the private lines that run through the network. EEEK!

The thing about Tokyo is that it is nothing like what I expected. On the surface, it seems very much like a large city, large crowds of people, tall buildings, a mixture of shops and restaurants.

More subtle differences make it seem foreign, such as the fact that many shops are on the 3rd or 4th floor of an otherwise residential blocks of flats, and umbrellas are used to protect against sunshine as well as rain.

I'm having a splendid time wandering about, investigating the different areas, and people-watching. I've seen a lot of fashion that I had only read about - women in kimonos going about normal stuff like buying toilet paper, and fully grown women dressed as dolls, again just mooching about.

I'm particularly enjoying the English slogans on people's t-shirts. Here are some of the better examples:
- The Navy: Keeping America Beautiful'

- 'How are we going to break up?' accompanied by a massive picture of a kitten

- insure my surf shorts

- survival of the dead

and more cryptically:

- balls

Angus and I have had some good trips to see various things.

Last weekend we spent an afternoon in Yoyogi Park, the biggest park in the centre of Tokyo.

Torii Gate, Yoyogi Park

It's where one of the most prominent shrines in Tokyo is, and also Emperor Meiji's (1852 - 1912) gardens.

Angus looking cool and relaxed next to Empress Shoken's favourite pond

Me, holding on very tight so I don't fall into Empress Shoken's favourite pond

We were lucky enough to see a traditional Japanese wedding procession through the centre of Meiji-Jingu shrine in the centre of the park.

Quite different from the register office in Camberwell

We've been to the Ebisu Beer Museum, just up the road. The exhibition was very interesting (it is about beer, after all) but the unexpected bonus was watching what were probably early dates.

Unfortunately for the 40%, about 40% of Japanese people lack an enzyme which you need to process blood alcohol, which leads to 'oriental flushing syndrome' and general falling about after half a pint. Not ideal on a first date, especially when only one of you lacks this vital enzyme. I am very grateful to be northern European and therefore possessing this enzyme in abundance.

We also went to Suntory Museum of Art to see an exhibition called Elegance and Espirit: Noh and Kyogen (the museum being on the 4th floor of a shopping centre called Midtown). The voiceover in English was completely useless - exhorting us to 'see how beautiful the artefacts are', but without telling us what they were, or what they were for. However, the kimono and masks were excellent so it was a good trip. And we have been able to fill in the gaps ourselves using the wonderous Wikipedia.

Postcards of a noh mask and costume

FOOD

I could fill another 100 pages with writing about the food here (which won't surprise anyone who has met me).

Supermarket food is VERY expensive here so I'm trying to use the local supermarket rather than the fancy ones aimed at foreigners. The local supermarket is well stocked but I can't tell what anything is (everything is labelled in English in the fancier supermarkets), so each trip takes about 2 hours. Oddly, it is possible to buy most of the ingredients I'd normally buy - it isn't all dried sardines and seaweed, so we're eating fairly normally (pasta, salads and one evening, shashuka).

Best of all, you can buy very elaborately packaged, blemish free fruit in supermarkets to give as presents, including a bunch of Egyptian grapes for 5200 JPY (about £48) or two mangoes for 9800 JPY (about £75). I'll take a picture as proof when I'm feeling a bit braver about navigating supermarket etiquette in Japanese.

Here's a fairly unappetising picture of the first Japanese dish I made - ninniku staki yaki-meshi (fried rice with beef and garlic).

It involves garlic, minced beef, sake, rice, soy sauce, spring onions, green peppers and spinach. Much tastier than it looks.

Our kitchen is well laid out and I am discovering the joy of having a freezer (our flat in Beckwith Road just had an icebox in the fridge).

However, there isn't an oven (they're very rare in Japanese flats), just a fish grill. Here's the fish grill:

I have it on good authority that fish grills are good for cooking baked potatoes.

However, the lack of oven has caused a drop in consumption of two of my favourite three things - bread and cake. Noooo! I have developed a pink grapefruit habit in lieu of bready delights.

Recent culinary experiments include the preparation of my own Japanese stock, called dashi, with which to make miso soup. This involves soaking a piece of seaweed in water, then adding katsuo bushi - wafer thin shavings of tuna that has been filleted, boned, boiled, smoked, and dried in the sun. If you want to know more about it, I recommend these instructions.

Now, to the more interesting thing about eating in Tokyo - eating out.

I have taken to meeting Angus for lunch during the week (although it is more like brunch as the Japanese lunch hour runs from 12 - 1). Most recently we went to a ramen restaurant where you choose your dish at a vending machine next to the front door, feed your coins in, and once the machine spits out a little ticket, take a seat, where the food is brought to you.

The ramen were delicious - the broth was black and opaque so finding noodles, grilled pork and spring onions in it was a good adventure. The broth was very salty and spicy and had the effect of making my glass of water taste like fizzy vinegar, although Angus found his water tasted sweet after the ramen.

We also went to a Mongolian mutton restaurant. Sounds grim doesn't it. Nothing could be further from the truth. Here we are, possibly on the wrong side of a couple of Japanese beers, and some friendly Mongolian hospitality.

Angus wearing his best 'I'm totally sober' face

Me, working out whether we can have an indoor grill in our flat

I was going to explain how the food cooking works, but I don't think I can put it any better than the instructions that were printed on the front of our plastic aprons:

Kuro Hitsuji: How to cook real damn good Genghiskhan mutton barbeque, aiight!

1. Heat the grill to sizzling hot! I mean hot! Toss veggies to the edge of
the grill. Do not try to check the temp with your tongue or hand. It gets crazy
hot, for real though!

2. Spread the meat to the grill with fizzle to the sizzle. Wait till meat get smokin' flava with da juice drippin' to charcoal, then eat up with dippin' to da banging special soy sauce. Da meat can be served rare like beef. Look out for not to burn your meat with staring at your next party too much.

3. After plenty of da meat, get down to da veggie. It'll makes you so fresh, straight up!

4. Oddly enough, you want to eat it again a week later. Y'all heard!

So there you go.

Here's a picture of my favourite local izakaya (I think the closest equivalent is a pub although you never get just drinks in an izakaya, you always get a little dish of edamame beans or seaweed or something to soak up the beer). It's about 5 minutes walk from the flat.

And finally (for the moment at least), Angus and I went for an amazing lunch last weekend at a restaurant called Kyo Hayashiya that specialises in Kyo-ryori - Kyoto style cooking. Our plate had lots of little dishes on - here's what we had:

-brown rice with soy dressing

-a weird blob of savoury jelly with crumbs and a smudge of wasabi

-sweet bean paste

-green leaf vegetable pickle

-a piece of marinated mackerel with pickled fish eggs

-bacon, pototo and noodle hotpot

-a completely unidentifiable brown grainy paste (really unidentifiable, could have been waste from tin mining for all I know)

-an umeboshi (pickled plum)

-miso soup with spring onion and a slice of a ginger flower

Plus unlimited jasmine tea, all for 1000 yen each (about £7.50). It's very strange that eating out is so expensive when eating at a restaurant is so cheap!

That's all for the time being - I'll post again soon once I have become master of formatting blog entries.

Ja mata!