A Walk around Yushima / 湯島の散歩

Actually, we didn't walk around this neighborhood. We had a specific goal in mind. That being Yushima Shrine, commonly known as Yushima Tenjin. This shrine is well-known for being the "Shrine to Education", so a lot of students will come here to pray to pass their school exams, entrance exams, and others. As Mikako's nephew is a jukensei (he will be taking his high school entrance exams), we went to pray for his success by writing on an ema and we also bought him a good-luck talisman which we will send to him tomorrow.

本当はここで普通の散歩はしてませんでした。目的地があった。それは「学問の神様」の寺「湯島天神」。美香子の甥っ子が受験生なんで、私たちが彼の為にお参りして、「高校合格祈願」を絵馬に書いて、学問のお守りを買ってあげた。明日彼に送ります。

One of the entrances to Yushima Tenjin / 湯島天神の一つの入口

Yushima Tenjin / 湯島天神






Prayer Board / 絵馬

Prayer for Mikakos' nephew's success in passing his high school entrance exam.

One section of Prayer Boards / 絵馬が飾った場所はいっぱいありました

Set we bought for Mikako's nephew

美香子の甥っ子に買ってあげたお守りセット － 頑張れ受験生！

End of the Year Party at [Jinnan Ken] / 神南軒で忘年会

Its kind of difficult to take a picture of a restaurant thats located on the 9th floor of a building. We had a private room for our "End of the Year Party" and by "we", I mean me and my friends. We had a course meal with an all-you-can-drink bar.

店の前の写真撮るのは難しいから、今回はサインだけ。なぜと言えば、店はビルの9階にあるから。ここで友達と忘年会をやりました。１７人位参加でした。コースと飲み放題でした。

First, we had some renkon.

最初に出たのはれんこん。

Then some eggrolls.

次はたまご焼き。

Followed by some salad.

その次はサラダ。

I can't remember what the dish was - probaby some fried tofu?

あれっ、これもあったっけ？豆腐かな？



The main dish - nabe!

主役の鍋！！



For dessert - green tea ice and azuki.

デザートに抹茶アイスとあずき。



Me and my friends.

僕と友達。

Our reservation was for two hours. We then moved the party to the outside terrace on the roof but I unfortunately seemed to have deleted the pictures I took when we were there. We were to spend another hour at the restaurant but it started to rain so we had to call it an evening...or so you would think. Nope, although our numbers dwindled, some of us went to a karaoke bar where we spent another hour or so singing our heads off. And then did we call it a night? No, now are number dwindled down to four - me and Mikako, and our friends Hama and Na-chan. We went to a 24hr yakitori place and had a couple more drinks along with some yakitori of course. Next month, it will be the season for the "New Year Party".

予約は二時間だけであっとゆまに時間が過ぎ。終わりの時間にちょうどテラスが空いてたので、一時間延長でそこに移動。でも30分後に雨が降って、急に解散になった。でも帰るのもまだ早い。人数がちょっと減ったけど、何人と一緒にカラオケに行った。一時間くらい歌いまくって、また食べて、飲んで、ここにも時間過ぎたのはあっとゆまでした。それで解散？いえいえ。人数がまた減り、僕と美香子と友達二人が２４時間営業の焼き鶏屋「山家」に行った。今年の忘年会たっぷり遊びましたね。さてさて、来月は新年会の時期だ。。。

This Year's Christmas Cake / 今年のクリスマスケーキ

Yep, the igloo cake has become a tradition for us.

今年もやっぱりかまくらケーキだね。うちで好例になってます。

We also had some Chameri as well (this is a sparkling drink with no alcohol).

僕は初めてチャンメリーを飲みました。甘くて美味しいね。

Informal Farewell Party / インフォーマルな送別会

As I mentioned before, December is the season for bonenkai (farewell to the year party). So, to start off with, I shall share the goodies that were served at my informal farewell party as I was being transferred to another department at my place of employ. It was held at a bar in Oimachi called "The Trust Saloon". Some of you may be familiar with this name, as its a bar that serves some great burgers - and I've featured the shop before.

前のネタにも言ってましたが、年末ま忘年会の季節。僕もいろんな忘年会に参加しました。毎日ほどではございませんよ。最初紹介するのは僕のインフォーマルの送別会の店。以前も紹介しまたが、大井町に美味しいバーガーが頂けるあバー「トラスト・サルーン」。今夜は貸し切りで、

First we had some salad - delicious.

サラダから始まり。

And then some spuds.

次はポテト。

And even more spuds.

またポテトだ。

Before eating the burgers, we had some chicken.

バーガーを食べる前に、先チキンを食べた。

As there was 13 of us in this little bar, there was a limit to how many burgers could be made. It was still delicious though.

13人も居たので、その大人数分のバーガーは用意出来ないから、こうやって八個を半分に切っていただいた。

And since this is a bar, I decided to try a couple of their special cocktails - the one on the left is called a "Pink Floyd" while the one on the right is a "Black Sabbath".

ここはバーですから、飲み物も頼むべき。僕は店のスペシャルカックテルを注文しました。左にあるのは「ピンク・フロイド」、右にあるのは「ブラック・サバス」。

Also tried one of these - a beer with tequila.

これも飲んでみたービールとテキーラが入ってるもの。

Thank you to all who came!

来てくれた皆さま、ありがとう！

Soba Shop [Yabu Chu] / そば処「やぶ忠」

I know I need to re-label my posts for "Ramen Shop" so includes soba and udon as well but I will do that at another time. And as promised from my last post, this is where we ate lunch when we were in Shibamata. The name of the soba shop is [Yabu-Chu]. I just love these buildings that are so Showa.

「Ramen Shop」とゆうレベルはいずれ変わらないと駄目ですね。ちゃんと「ラーメン・そば・うどん」とゆうレベルにするべきですね。それはおいといて。前のネタに書きましたが、柴又で昼食を食べた店はこちらです。そば処「やぶ忠」。やっぱりビルが昭和の感じが良いですね。

Mikako had already decided to order the seiro soba with tempura. As we were seated at a table, I couldn't help but notice what the customers sitting a couple of tables away from us were eating. It looked really delicious. When the waitress came to take our order, I asked what the gentlemen over at the other table were eating and was told it was part of the yoizen set. The set features goose, soba miso, sashimi konnyaku, and seiro soba as well.

美香子はせいろそばと天ぷらセット注文した。テブルに案内したあと、隣の隣席とお客さんが食べてる物を気になってた。凄く美味しいそうに見えた。店員が注文を取る時に聞いてみた。答えは「宵膳セット」でした。 このセットに付くのは鴨焼き、そば味噌、刺身こんにゃくとせいろそば。決まりですね。

This is the first part of the yoizen set. You grill the goose meat along with the onions and green peppers. To the right is the sashimi konnyaku (which is also called devil's tongue, voodoo lily, snake palm, or elephant yam - I admit I found this out by looking it up on the net), and to the bottom left is the soba miso. I usually despise konnyaku but when you add the soba miso to the konnyaku I hate to say it, but it was quite delicious - and it's healthy as well.

「宵膳セット」の場合、先出るのは鴨焼き、そば味噌と刺身こんにゃく。僕は昔からこんにゃくは大嫌いですが、セットに含まれてるからまた食べてみた。そば味噌も乗せて、一口と食べたら・・・うん？あれ？これ結構美味しいなと思った。こんにゃく食べられるじゃんと自分の頭の中と思った。体に良いし、良かったと思った。

Next comes the seiro soba. I've eaten my fill of seiro and zaru soba but I found the seiro at this shop to be one of the best I've tried so far. The soba is handmade at the store and has a springy texture to it, not chewy like some other places. In case you're wondering, the broth for the soba is underneath the plate filled with onions and wasabi which you add or not to your desire. When you're done eating the soba, the staff will bring to your table soba-yu which you add to the leftover broth to dilute its salty content and drink it as an after meal tea. I didn't get a chance to take a picture of Mikako's meal as she was already eaten half of it before I gave any thought to it.

せいろそばはあとから来ます。いろんなせいろとざるそばを食べましたが、この店は結構気に入りですね。もちろんそばは手打ちで、本当にコシがある。残念ながら、美香子が食べたせいろそば・天ぷらセットの写真を撮る前に、美香子はもう半分食べたので、仕方ないから、僕が食べたものだけを載せました。

Bon Appetit!

いただいます！

A Walk around Shibamata / 柴又の散歩

Its the last month of the year which can only mean two things if you live in Japan. First - its bonenkai season (a celebration of the end of the year) and secondly, its time for the annual End of Year Jumbo Lottery. A couple of years ago, before we bought are lottery tickets, we walked around the neighborhood of Shibamata - this was before I started writing a blog. And that particular year we actually won 10,000yen (about $100 US). The other day as Mikako was watching tv, she saw this piece about people going to a temple called "Taishakuten" in Shibamata before buying their lottery tickets, and since we didn't win anything last year, we decided we go to Shibamata again before buying our End of the Year Jumbo Lottery tickets. But what Shibamata is really known for is the popular movie series "Tora-san". But I'm going to skip talking about "Tora-san" because we didn't get a chance to go to the Tora-san Museum this time around. And afterwards, it will be off to Ginza to the most popular Lottery ticket selling booth at Window #1. I hope we won't have to stand in line for three hours though.

師走になりましたね。年末は大のイベントは二つあると思う。一つは忘年会の季節。もう一つは年末ジャンボー宝くじを買う時期だ！一昨年年末ジャンボ宝くじを買う前に柴又に遊んでた。そして、その年なんと一万円当たりました。そして今年美香子が何かの番組を見たら、いろんな人が年末ジャンボ宝くじを買う前に柴又にあるお寺「帝釈天」でお参りするって。柴又と言えば「男はつらいよ」シリーズの寅さんの町で有名ですが、こうゆう事もあるんだね。去年宝くじが当たらなかったので、今年はまた宝くじを買う前柴又に行ってみる。そのあとは銀座の名物宝くじ売り場へ。そしてあの大人気の一番窓口。でも今年は三時間も並びたくないね。

Tora-san / 寅さん

Path to Taishakuten / 帝釈天参道

I just the love the atmosphere of this place - its very Showa.

この昭和の雰囲気が大好き。

Taishakuten Temple Gate / 帝釈天の門


Detail of the Temple Gate / 門に描いてるアート（描いてるとは違うね、細かくて凄いね。）

Taishakuten Temple / 帝釈天

Temple Bell / お寺の鐘

Area to wash your hands before heading to the main temple / お参りする前に手洗う場所

Inside the Temple Grounds / 帝釈天の周り

We also had lunch while we were in Shibamata but you know I will save that for another post. After lunch as we were headed towards Ginza, we did make one more stop. We had to check out the dagashiya (retro-style candy store) and picked up a few goodies.

柴又に昼食も食べましたが、分かる通りそれはまた別のネタで紹介します。銀座行く前にもう一つの店を入ってみた。それは柴又にあった駄菓子屋。ちょっと買い物をした。

Moyai Statue returns to Shibuya / モヤイ象が渋谷に戻った

The stolen Moyai statue from Shibuya Station has safely returned - although the Kuidaore Ningyou in Osaka has now been stolen!!

盗まれた渋谷駅名物のモヤイ象が無事帰されました。でも、今度大阪のくいだおれ人形が盗まれたらしい！

Night Sky in Tokyo on Saturday / 土曜日の空

Just wanted to share some pics I took on Saturday around 5pm.

土曜日の五時位で撮った写真を僕のブログの読者に見せてあげたかった。

Teddy's Bigger Burgers

Ooh, another new burger joint joins the legions of the Gourmet Burger shops in Tokyo. Following in the steps of Kua Aina, Teddy's Bigger Burgers also originated in Hawaii. According to the Grand Opening flyer, Teddy's has been chosen as the best burger joint in Hawaii six years running. Of course I had to check it out. You get to choose from the three sizes at this burger joint - big, bigger, biggest. The big burgers is served with a 5oz. patty, the bigger with a 7oz. patty and the biggest with a 9oz. patty. Oh, and then there is the monster size, which means double patties - so you really have a choice of six sizes. I opted for the bigger cheese combo which comes with fries and a drink. I you do not specify, all the burgers are grilled medium. Every burger comes with Teddy's original super sauce, lettuce, tomato, and onions. There is also ketchup and mustard set at the table. Yep, this place is a hit with me. Unfortunately, Mikako wasn't with me on my little culinary journey but I will definitely have to take here sometime in the future.

さーて、また新しいバーガー屋が日本上陸。クアアイナにつづき、またハワイからの店が原宿に出店しました。店の名前は「Teddy's Bigger Burgers」。チラシを見ると、六年連続ハワイで第一で選べる店と書いてあった。もちろん食べに行くしかないでしょう。店の特徴はバーガーのサイズですよ。ビッグ、ビガーとビゲストから選べられる。ビッグは140ｇ、ビガーは200g、それで、ビゲストは255gです。他にモンスターとゆうサイズもある。それはダブルパティのこと。僕が注文したのはビガ‐のチーズバーガーセット。焼き加減を指定しない場合は全てミディアムで焼く。それにTeddy'sのオリジナルスーパーソース、レタス、トマト、とオニオンも柔らかいバンズに挟んでる。タベルにちゃんとケチャップとマスタードも置いてある。僕にとって、この店はヒットですね。今回は一人で行きました、いずれは美香子を連れてあげたい。

Teddy's Bigger Cheeseburger / Teddy's ビガーチーズバーガー

Bon Appetit!

いただきます！