Today, I was planning on going to this Korean restaurant called [Bool Dak] in Shibuya for some really spicy food, but when I got there, I discovered they don't do lunch on weekends. So I had to change plans and decided to try out this Thai noodle shop I've been meaning to go to called [Tinun]. Aside from Thai-style noodles, their menu offers the Thai standards, red and green curry, along with chicken rice dish. I decided to sample their tom yam ramen today. The soup was spicy and sour (as it should be), and the amount of noodles used was enough to fill you up. It was quite delicious.
今日渋谷で韓国料理店の「ブールダック」で激旨料理食べる予定だったが、店に着いたら、週末にランチはやってない。作戦変更で前から気になってたタイラーメンの店に行ってきました。店の名前はタイ国ラーメン「ティーヌン」。ラーメンがメインですけどメニューにタイ料理の定番のレッドとグリーンカレーとか、チキンライスなどもあります。今日注文したのはトムヤムラーメン。スープは当たり前にすっぱ辛い。麺の量も多かったです。とっても美味しくいただきました。
Bon Appetit!
いただきます！
[Ippudo] menu.
Shiromaru Moto Aji / 白丸元味
Akamaru Kasane Aji / 赤丸かさね味
Bite-size Gyoza / 一口餃子
The Festival participants and float getting ready for the evening's parade.
The traditional clothing for the festival - I have my own at my mother-in-law's house.
A closer look at the Nebuta (and yes it is lighted!).
Are these floats large or what?
I can't wait to take my parents, sister, and brother-in-law to their first Nebuta Festival in Aomori which is the plan for this summer.
Very Cool!
If you look closely, especially below the blue and white sign, you will see that it takes a lot of manpower to move one of these floats.
Passing through this torii, I will be on the grounds of Meiji Jingu Shrine.
Starting from top left to right:
A wall of wine on the temple grounds. Why? Read the sign below.
English version
Japanese version
Otorii (Grand Shrine Gate) / 大鳥居
I thought I might have some time to check out the Meiji Jingu Garden (which has a small entrance fee) but then I noticed the sign that said there was a three hour wait. Needless to say, I skipped the gardens.
Finally nearing Meiji Jingu Shrine - its quite a walk from the entrance.
The Gate I just passed through.
Meiji Jingu Shrine comes into view.
This is the crowd on a Saturday - imagine this times 10 for hatsumode on New Year's Day.
The crowd didn't dwindle one bit after I paid my respects.
I still had another hour or so before the Aomori Nebuta Festival in Tokyo would start. But at 4pm, there was a short program before the festival began. I decided to stick around and watch it.
Heading back to where the people are, I came across a sun dial.
There is an area of Yoyogi Park and Meiji Jingu Shrine that's fenced off to the public, it is land dedicated to a bird sanctuary.
Another view of part of the bird sanctuary.
The species of birds you are most likely to see. I'm not going to bother finding out what the English names are - the pictures should suffice.
Sign explaining why the bird sanctuary was created. I'm not going to translate the entire sign.
Another interesting piece of art. This is called "Quetzacoatl" by Frederico Silva. Presented as a gift to Japan from the Republic of Mexico.
I love checking out the various monuments and art pieces in public parks. This one is called "Shiawase no Zo" which translates to "The Statue of Happiness".
Another interesting bit of history in Yoyogi Park. This area is a sample garden created in 1964 when the Olympics were held in Tokyo. Read the sign for more details (even though I'm not sure if you can enlarge the picture).
Trees from around the world that were planted during the 1964 Tokyo Olympics.
There is more history to Yoyogi Park than I thought. The area around this park was also used as the 1964 Olympic's Athlete's Village. The athletes stayed in little bungalows like this. This is one of the remaining buildings that was used by the athletes from the Netherlands. Short translation of the sign below.
上の写真に関する説明。
Aomori Prefecture Nebuta Float / 青森県のねぶた
This should give you a little idea of how large the float actually is.
What's this? Its an art piece called "Fragment of the Horizon" by Shinji Kikuchi.
Store sign for a Chinese restaurant called "Wang's Kitchen".
Symbol Monument for the Salt and Tobacco Museum (yes, there really is such a museum).
As I headed towards Yoyogi Park, I came across a demo in progress.
Walking inside Yoyogi Park.
First I checked out the most popular area of the park - the Great Fountain.
A monument commemorating Japan's first flight (or so the sign says). In a previous post, I had come across the Birthplace of Aviation in Japan which is located in Tokorozawa.
I decided to walk around the less popular part of the park. As you can see, there were not many people around.
I think I stumbled across one of the reasons this side of the park isn't that popular. Deep inside the park is a tent village of homeless people. Something the Japanese government doesn't want to advertise to the world. Yes, even Japan has a homeless problem.
It feels like I'm taking a walk through the woods.
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