Free Lunchtime Concerts

Those who have traveled to London with me know I am a big fan of London's free lunchtime concerts!  Many are performed by student musicians, but others have professionals and you just might hear the next star performer.
Now you don't have to go to all of these, but browse the venues to choose.

St. Martin in the Field, Trafalgar Square, is a church you will want to see anyway so why not take in a free concert on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Fridays from 1-2 pm.

And did you know that Cathy's and Penny's great grandmother, Sarah Knight, was christened there 20 Oct. 1852?  There is also a crypt with a cafe, not that that has anything to do with our great grandmother who died in Spokane, Washington.

The Southbank Centre offers lot and lots of music.  We'll check out the full schedule as time goes on.  But for now, know that free Friday Lunch concerts at 1 pm are held in the Central Bar in Royal Festival Hall, and that there are other types of music plus classical. Click here for Southbank's What's On Calendar.

The London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) also offers a free Friday Lunchtime Concert (12:30-1:15 pm) in Jerwood Hall, St. Luke's, 161 Old Street, London.  This is their education venue as their main performances are at the Barbicon in a huge performing arts center, the largest of its kind in Europe, and I get disoriented every time I go.

St. James, Piccadilly, a church designed by Christopher Wren, offers free 50 minute concerts at 1:10 pm on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

St. Olave's lunchtime recitals on Weds. and Thurs. at 1 pm.  As you can see, lots of the old City church's offer free music.  We can check for schedules as we get closer to our trip.

The Royal Opera also offers free lunch concerts, but I'm not the biggest opera buff so I'll skip that for now. 

And Royal Albert Hall also offers free Friday lunch concerts, but it looks like you'll have to buy lunch at Verdi Italian Restaurant.  It's a crazy building...maybe we should take a tour - that'll cost 12 pounds.  The Proms are held at the Royal Albert each year.

And here's one that is not at lunch.  St. Paul's Cathedral offers free and unticketed concerts on Sundays from 4:45 to 5:15 pm.


 On Sunday, 16 Sept. there is an organ and piano duo scheduled.  There will be no problem getting seats in that huge space, and you know you wanted to see it anyway.  No?  But don't expect me to climb the dome...You can if you want to.

We Missed British Pie Week!

Oh no, you say.  Am I back on meat pies again? 

But British Pie Week was last week (March 5-9) and the British eat a tremendous number of pies.  According to Awareness Days UK, the most popular pie recipe searches on the Internet were for
1: Cottage Pie
2: Fish Pie
3: Shepherd’s Pie
4: Chicken and Leek Pie
5: Chicken and Mushroom Pie
6: Steak and Ale Pie
7: Meat and Potato Pie
8: Pork Pie
9: Steak and Kidney Pie
10: Corned Beef Pie
"Cottage Pie" is Shepherd's Pie except they put strong cheddar cheese in the mashed potato topping.

Pieminster

According to Hospitality and Catering News, the nation's favorite this year at the British Pie Awards was the Highland Top Rump & Dark Ale Pie.  The Independent has a list of the seven best places to eat meat pies and none of them have parsley liquor.  Pieminster apparently serves its pies with gravy and you can see that their presentation is a bit more sophisticated than that of the pie and mash shops but you pay a bit more as well. For 9.50£ you can get "any classic pie, mash, minty mushy peas, cheddar and crispy shallots."  At Goddards, pie and mash with peas is 5.10£

The Telegraph reports on the decreasing number of the traditional working class pie and mash shops but at the same time gives recipes for 7 other pies, only two of which have meat (chicken and bacon) and none have parsley liquor made with eel broth.  I don't think it's making a comeback.

The New Improved British Food?

They say British food has gotten better but does that mean dumping the traditional dishes like fish and chips, pie and mash, bubble and squeak, toads in a hole?  Or can they be made lighter and more exquisite, more Frenchified?  I'm hoping that the list at Visit Britain can help.  It is there that they say that a Brit's favorite comfort food is a good pie and they recommend the Ginger Pig, but it looks more like a butcher shop than a restaurant, so that doesn't help us at all.  For the Sunday Roast Visit Britain recommend Hixter but the menu says "Brunch" not "Sunday Roast" and "All our beef is aged in a Himalayan salt chamber and comes from Shorthorn, Hereford and Aberdeen Angus breeds."  Himalayan Salt Chamber?  Don't the Brits have their own salt?

Full Borough Breakfast

For the full English breakfast Visit Britain recommends Roast in the Borough Market, but that comes at a price:  16.50£ instead of the 5.50£ at the Chelsea Bun.  I'll save Roast for Sunday Dinner since the full breakfast doesn't look that different from the Chelsea Bun.   That's about it from Visit Britain but they do mention that one must have afternoon tea and they have only one to recommend, The Thames Foyer at the Savoy.  I like to have a choice so Olive Magazine has a list of Afternoon Tea Spots in London, but they also give recipes in case you want to bake your own scones.  Maybe we can pick up some scones and clotted cream and tea and make our own Afternoon Tea.

Beef & Yorkshire Pudding

Visit Britain does recommend Rules Restaurant for Olde-Worlde British Dining and their menu is quite interesting, although beyond our means.  They have grouse (watch for lead shot), rabbit, venison, steak and kidney pie, steak and kidney pudding, shepherd's pie, leg of lamb, pork cheeks, duck breast, dover sole, beef.  The photo at the left is roast beef and Yorkshire pudding for two but the pudding looks a bit dark to me.  And then for dessert: spotted dick, sticky toffee pudding, rhubarb and raspberry fool.  The desserts I could go for but everything still looks a bit dark and heavy, like persimmon pudding and the interior of their restaurant.  Time to find a place that is nice and airy, with dining al fresco, and still has locally sourced British products.  Are we across the Channel yet?...

For lighter food we might have to go to a cutting-edge restaurant like Restaurant Gordon Ramsey, which is actually in Chelsea down by the Physic Garden, but the only price that is listed is 120£ for 3 courses.  Gulp.  Oh wait!  It's only 70£ for the 3 course lunch menu (and I was worried about a prix fixe price of 45£...).  You have to admit that the dishes look absolutely lovely and fresh.  Especially the desserts.  We'll have to find a cheaper venue.

Which brings us to Medlar, also in Chelsea with 1 Michelin Star but offering a 3-course dinner menu for 49£ and a 3-course lunch or Sunday dinner menu for 35£, plus a 12.5% discretionary gratuity.  Two years ago SheerLuxe had a helpful article: "How To Eat At The Best Restaurants For Less", that said you could get 20% off your Monday night dinner there.   I wonder if that discount is still operational.

And, in case you don't know, the medlar is a fruit that has to be "bletted" before it is eaten, kind of like a Hachiya persimmon.  Even the English don't eat medlars anymore and Shakespeare called them "open-arse" according to The Independent: "Medlars: the 'open-arse' fruit that could be making a comeback". 

Now I'm going back to that SheerLuxe article to see if I can ferret out some more light airy cuisine.

What to Eat in London, Episode 2

Mushy Peas
I can see adding mint to English peas but why mash them into a mush?  Is it so that you can smoosh them onto the back of your fork and eat them more easily?  Mother always told us about the time in 1956 when they went to England and she saw this man eating peas off his knife.  I can see mixing up peas with your mashed potatoes so they don't run all over your plate, like we do with corn at Thanksgiving, but not mashing them.  Wikipedia, however, tells me that mushy peas are made with Marrowfat peas which are mature peas that are left to dry in the field, and not with frozen green peas.  So it's kind of like refried beans I suppose.  Here's a recipe if we want to try it ourselves, otherwise we can order them with our fish and chips or meat pies.

Meat Pies
Goddards at Greenwich has a bit more on the history of Pies and Mash.  Originally in the 1700s the pies were filled with eels but when eels became too expensive, they filled them with meat.  If we take a trip down to Greenwich (preferably by boat), maybe we can stop at Goddards for lunch, as pies and mash are very reasonably priced.  And we can have a fruit pie or crumble for dessert.  Unless we want a sticky toffee pudding...

Sticky Toffee Pudding

Puddings
We always had persimmon pudding for Thanksgiving and Christmas at home in California -- do you think it was the influence of our British ancestors?  But we didn't have "sticky toffee pudding" which appears on an awful lot of menus in London.  There's a website called Great British Puddings,  and although their English isn't the best, they do have a great variety of sweet and savory pudding recipes, and even some videos. 

Often "puddings" is another term for "desserts".  You can make your own sticky toffee pudding with this recipe from the BBC -- containing dates in a sponge cake with a caramel sauce, which you can make yourself or buy it canned from Carnation.  And then there is always Spotted Dick.  Years ago I picked up a little book called The National Trust Book of Traditional Puddings at a book sale and the author says that King George I was a lover of puddings and known as "Pudding George", probably being the Georgie Porgie of pudding and pie.  Some of the dishes in the book have charming names like 'Pears in Nightshirts', 'Moonshine', 'Poor Knights of Windsor'.  And then there are flummeries and fools, cobs and clangers, crumbles and humbles, snows and syllabubs.  Is it Leena that likes her desserts?

Moving on to more substantial food, The Telegraph has an article on the 15 most British foods ever and one of them is:

The Full English Breakfast or the Full Monty
We don't need to go to a fancy restaurant for this, the neighborhood Chelsea Bun should do just fine.  Serious Eats has a guide to let you know what is in it or you can check out this recipe from the BBC containing sausage, bacon, black pudding, mushrooms, tomato, eggs and bread (fried).  They forgot the Heinz baked beans.  I think it would be easier to eat out with this one than to prepare it in the apartment and I don't think we could eat it every day, although TimeOut London has a list of the best full English breakfasts in the city if we want to try.

What to Eat in London

...  besides Seville Orange Marmalade.

When one goes to a foreign country one has to eat like a native and not be tempted to order hamburgers, loaded nachos, sweet potato fries, pizza, cupcakes, and, God Forbid, macaroni and cheese.  (This might mean I'll have to drink gin and Scotch instead of rum and coke...). Since the English are so much like us (meat and potatoes) one has to be very discerning whilst reading the menu.  Fortunately a lot of the menus are online so I can prepare in advance.

Sunday Dinner
Penny says we have to go out for Sunday Dinner -- which doesn't mean that horrible institution called "Brunch" -- if I want breakfast I'll go out for a proper English breakfast during the week.  Unlike Americans, the British eat lamb and so Lamb Rump is a common main dish on Sunday Dinner menus, alongside Roast Beef with Yorkshire Pudding.  The Hollywood Arms near the apartment offers roast beef, chicken, pork belly, or lamb, all served with goose fat.  The nearby Pig's Ear serves roast beef, chicken or pork, all with Yorkshire pudding.  The Medlar, with a Michelin star, is a bit more inventive and serves Rump of Belted Galloway, turbot, quail, cod, lamb rump, pork loin, chicken or gnocchi in a 35£ 3-course menu (is $48.50 beyond our means?).

Then there is Roast, a restaurant in the Borough Market, that offers Salt Marsh lamb, a lamb that grazes on the salt marshes.  You are supposed to serve salt marsh lamb with samphire, a sea vegetable that grows in salt marshes and looks somewhat like asparagus. Now they are growing it in greenhouses to supply the new demand for it in supermarkets.  How is it going to obtain its salty flavor?  The greenhouse variety is in season from May to October so we might be able to find it.  The real stuff from the salt marshes has a short 2-3 week season from late June to early July, after which it becomes too stringy.  And yes, you should serve it with fish too but I'd rather have chips...

Fish and Chips
Oh yes, we have to have fish and chips, only not too often or I'll get sick.  Time Out London has a list of 14 of the Best Chippies, one of which is Golden Union whose fish is from sustainable British waters, whose frying oil is changed 8 times a week, and whose potatoes are from the Fenlands of East Anglia, peeled and cut by themselves and only fried once (no Frenchified double frying here!).  Their menu offers cod, haddock, plaice, rock salmon, pollock and coley.  So plaice is a flounder or sole, rock salmon is a type of shark, and coley is related to cod.  Lots of the trendier fish and chips restaurants use matzoh meal or panko instead of the traditional batter and fry their chips twice so we will have to be on our guard in order to get the traditional fish and chips.  Oh, and another thing they serve in Fish and Chips shops (and something for Fernando to try along with jellied eels) is saveloy, a bright red, highly seasoned pork sausage that used to be made from pig brains.  They're supposed to be like the Maine red hots or red snappers.

Pie and Mash (and liquor)
Pie and mash (meat pie and mashed potatoes) is a traditional London working-class food and is often accompanied by jellied eels and a parsley liquor.  Business Insider ate some Pie, Mash and Jellied Eels at F. Cooke's in the East End but I can't say that I'm anxious to try it, although I do like meat pies and mashed potatoes.  Battersea Pie Station in Covent Garden even offers steak and kidney pie, that Daddy liked so much and that Mother made once in a blue moon.  And, as always, TimeOut London has a list of 14 traditional Pie and Mash shops, which are cheap as can be (around 3 £) but scroll down to #1 F. Cooke ("one of the very few to still sprinkle the shop floor with sawdust; traditionally used to prevent the floors becoming slippery from discarded eel bones").

More to come!

Where Can I Get Marmalade?

Frank Cooper's marmalade to be exact.  Fortnum and Mason has quite a number of marmalades to choose from but Frank Cooper isn't among them.  Will might like F&M's Lucifer Marmalade with ginger and chilli.  Many of the marmalades are no longer made with Seville oranges but with sweet oranges, just like in the United States.  In 2013, the Evening Standard had a list of 5 of the best marmalades and Frank Cooper's was among them so it still exists, we just can't find it in Pittsburgh.  Checking with the Evening Standard's source, Tesco, they indeed do have it and it's a lot cheaper than the marmalades at Fortnum and Mason (2.20£ as opposed to 4.95£ to 9.95£) so maybe I can get it at any local supermarket or check at the Tesco Superstore across the Thames.

Tesco even carries its own "Finest Dark Coarse Cut Rich Seville Orange Marmalade".  How many jars should I bring back?  A case like Daddy did from Victoria?  But I'd have to haul it up to the Lake District with me...  While we are in London we can do taste tests of the various kinds.  Tesco offers about 24 kinds online and there's a Tesco Express a block from the apartment but who knows how many each store carries.  There's also a Sainsbury's Local diagonally across from the apartment and a larger Sainsbury's about a kilometer down Fulham Road and, like Tesco, Sainsbury's carries Frank Cooper's marmalade online.  Although maybe they should call it Sarah Jane Cooper's marmalade since it uses her 1874 recipe.

Or maybe I should just haul back a can of Robertson's Ma Made Thin Cut Seville Oranges and make my own marmalade, like I did one year when I found it at Williams Sonoma.  Oh, never mind.  I see I can get Ma Made on Amazon with free shipping for $13.71...  For that matter, I can also get Frank Cooper's marmalade on Amazon for about $10 a jar with free shipping.

But what fun is that????

London Markets

Spitalfields Market

I find myself starting posts and then I move on to something else without finishing them.   I was looking at Visit London's Top 12 Markets so that if we are in a specific neighborhood we can stop by and see what they have.  I just have to remember that many of them are only alive on weekends.

The Eyewitness Travel Guide on London says:  "Even if you're not looking for cut-price cabbages or a silk sari, it's worth paying a visit to one of London's crowded, colorful markets."

Spitalfields.  What a name!  Spitalfields was an immigrant community in East London that you can read more about in BBC Travel, host to first the Huguenots, then the Irish during the Potato Famine, then Eastern European Jews and finally Bangladeshis.  There is an old Victorian covered market hall here: Old Spitalfields Market which is open daily.  Brick Lane Market is another market in the Old Truman Brewery in the same vicinity (the East End) but it is only open on Saturday and Sunday.

Portobello Road Market

Portobello Road Market is north of Chelsea and is mainly known for its antique market on Saturday, although they have fruits and vegetables and other things as well.  They say the antiques market is centered around the Notting Hill underground station.  There is also a Notting Hill Farmers Market on Saturday, opening at 9 am.  I don't suppose we could rush out and shop before we go see the sights?  The London Farmers' Markets website has a list of such produce markets.  I'm going to have to buy a foldable grocery cart.

First Saturday in London:  Walk up to Earls Court Station (16 minutes) and then take the tube up to Notting Hill Station (5 minutes) and walk up Portobello Road to Ackham Village Market.  The stretch along Portobello Road is about a mile.  A lot of the reviews on TripAdvisor found it too touristy and overpriced although others liked it so this excursion is tentative.  TripAdvisor has a ranking for Flea and Street Markets that puts Portobello Road at #41 in Shopping (with 3,608 reviews) and Borough Market at #1 (with 10,123 reviews).  Maybe I'd prefer Borough market anyway because it is a food market rather than a flea market, and from the looks of the Portobello Road Market it would take hours to get through the crowds.

Borough Market

Borough Market
This one is located south of the Thames near London Bridge and might be too upscale for me from the looks of things, sort of like the San Francisco ferry building market.  According to the Rough Guide "Prices are high and Saturdays can be a crush; arrive early." The full market is operational from Wednesday to Saturday but it is a long way from Chelsea.  The closest tube station to the market is London Bridge but we'd have to walk up to Earls Court to take it.  At the Transport for London Plan a Journey website, they recommend taking the #14 or #414 bus to South Kensington Station and then taking two lines to the London Bridge Station for a total travel time of 50 minutes.  Or we could walk there, seeing the sites along the route, arriving in about 2 hours...

One Thing Leads to Another...

I was reading this Washington Post article on the best places in London for afternoon tea, remembering how intrigued I was by the idea in Victoria (especially with crumpets), which led me to another article, about London's underground history.

I guess it's time for me to start submerging myself in British history and quirkiness for our trip next September, or was it October?  I don't suppose they have a Britainology TV program...

Penny, what did we do with the book "The Year 1000"?  Or did I already read it?  I'll even have to read Mother's volume on British Food or check out these dishes.  Fish and chips, Yorkshire pudding, full breakfast, cullen skink and pasties I can handle but steak and kidney pie, blackpudding and jellied eels I'll leave for Daddy and Fernando!  Laverbread (Welshman's caviar) will be for Jen.  This Christmas we could have Yorkshire Pudding along with the standing rib roast that Juan is so crazy about (I don't mind it myself, especially with horseradish sauce).  Now mind you, these are "British", not "English" foods, so they include Scotch Eggs, which Mother even had at the Palms in Ventura, and Haggis, which only Fernando was brave enough to try in Scotland.  Ah, to live so vicariously through one's husband!

Heck.  I'll even eat Fish and Chips with Mushy Peas, "recipe courtesy of Young Sun Huh".  Who would have thought?  And do you remember how Daddy always liked "Piccalilli"?  I'm sorry this descended into food again but I think that is the most exciting part of my life

Columbus

As in Ohio, not Christopher.
I'm just pulling together some links that I can get to later.

And why is Columbus called the Arch City?  Shouldn't that be St. Louis?

First, the local newspaper:  The Columbus Dispatch.  Lots of sports coverage but what teams do they have besides Ohio State?
And then the monthly magazine: Columbus Monthly.
Columbus Underground is a "hyper-local, community-driven" online media site.

Then some Asian markets and restaurants:
Here's a Dispatch article on Fortune Chinese Restaurant, in the north suburbs:

"it has one of the most extensive dim sum menus in town. The restaurant is said to make all 48 selections from scratch, including the roasted pork dumplings, steamed rice roll with shrimp and the mushroom chicken bun...Certainly there are plenty of exotic choices, such as braised chicken feet, minced pork with preserved egg congee (a type of porridge) and taro rice cake."

Tensuke Japanese Market -- they also have a bakery and a restaurant in the same shopping center, Kenny Shopping Centre, north of the city.

An American's Guide  to Korean in Columbus, a list on Yelp covering six places in Upper Arlington.  She says the "International Corridor" is Bethel Road, north of the city.

More to come, I hope.

Shikoku

Are we ready for another pilgrimage?
What?  You say we haven't done the full Camino de Santiago yet?
But a night or two ago we watched the PBS Sacred Journeys episode on Shikoku and strolling through the Japanese countryside sounds delightful.  PBS has the whole episode for you to watch on its website, at least for the moment.  The Shikoku pilgrimage is a bit more challenging than the Camino Frances because it is 750 miles (not 500) around the island of Shikoku, visiting 88 Buddhist temples, many of them where Kobo Daishi, the Buddhist monk who brought Buddhism to the Japanese masses in the 9th century, studied and trained.  They say allow 45 days to complete it if you are walking, but many Japanese complete the pilgrimage by car, train or bus.  Below is a map of the island from the RandomWire blog by David, an English software engineer living in Japan who did the pilgrimage on foot last year.

He set off from Tokyo and began his walk May 1st, the same day of the year that we seem to begin our pilgrimages.  Like us because of International Labor Day, he was "slightly nervous about finding accommodation given that it’s golden week".  The night he arrived he had a "deliciously healthy dinner" and the first day of walking he had "an exceedingly healthy breakfast".  But alas, no photos of the meals although they must have been vegetarian.

(nokyocho 納経帳)

David has lots of photos and information in his day by day account of the pilgrimage and since he knows Japanese, he adds Japanese names with Japanese characters.  He also must have a fitness monitor since he lists his total steps for the day (1st day: 29,400 steps).  Juan would like the pilgrimage because at each temple they sign and stamp your pilgrimage journal (nokyocho 納経帳) and as you can see, it is a work of art.

 One can also tour Shikoku by train with a Shikoku Rail Pass but the lines don't exactly follow the pilgrimage route.  The Shikoku District Transit Bureau has a helpful website in English with bus routes you can follow to the 88 temples.  Tourism Shikoku, the official tourism guide for Shikoku, has information in English with a brochure on the henro (pilgrim) trail as well as information on the food (including markets), accommodations, etc. and brochures and maps on the various cities and sites of the island.


One of the sites they recommend is Dojo Hot Spring, upon which the animated movie "Spirited Away" is supposedly based.  I can see that one would have to do a lot of planning for a trip to this island.  And we better brush up on our Japanese...

Oh My, Here We Go Again: Tokyo Eye 2020

Funabashi Wholesale Market

I don't know if I'm ready for the Tokyo Olympics in three years but I do enjoy NHK's documentaries.  If only other countries had similar programs in English!  Heck, I'd even take documentaries on France in French and on Italy in Italian.

This evening I watched the Tokyo Eye 2020 episode on Tokyo's Amazing Backyard, Part 3: Funabashi.  Funabashi is about a half hour train ride east of Tokyo in Chiba prefecture.  They have a regional wholesale market there that you can visit instead of Tsukiji and actually buy the fish.  Tokyo's Amazing Backyard, Part 1 is on Kawasaki, to the southeast of Tokyo, and Part 2 is on Omiya, to the north of Tokyo.  In Omiya, in Onari, Saitama City, is the Railway Museum which looks like it would be fun for kids because they have simulators.
Naturally I can't ever remember what I've watched so here goes another list. The TVDB has a list of programs and I didn't realize they went back to 2015.  I'm not sure what the relationship is between the first list and the ones by year.  Also the links to the NHK videos won't last since they only have the most recent ones available.  For the earlier ones, one has to go to youtube and hope someone has posted them there.

Episode Number,  Episode Name,  Originally Aired
1 x 1 Shibuya Special Part 1: Transformation 2015-04-01
1 x 2 Shibuya Special Part 2: Hitting the Streets 2015-04-08
1 x 3 Ginza Rediscovered, Part 1: Roots of Tokyo Culture 2015-04-15
1 x 4 Ginza Rediscovered, Part 2: Two Sides of Ginza 2015-04-22
1 x 5 Tokyo Wholesaler Guide 2015-04-29
1 x 6 The Embassy Take on Tokyo, Part 4: Latvia 2015-05-06
1 x 7 The Embassy Take on Tokyo, Part 5: Cameroon 2015-05-13
1 x 8 Fusion of Past and Present: Akasaka 2015-05-20
1 x 9 Tokyo Ramen Adventure 2015-05-27
1 x 10 Flowers and Sweets for All: Jiyugaoka 2015-06-03
1 x 11 Mission Akihabara, Part 1: Starter Kit 2015-06-17
1 x 12 Mission Akihabara, Part 2: Expert User 2015-06-24
1 x 13 ICT Tokyo: Smarter Tourism 2015-07-01
1 x 14 Tokyo Tower vs. Skytree 2015-07-08
1 x 15 Farming in Tokyo?! 2015-07-15
1 x 16 The World of Sake and Wine 2015-07-22
1 x 17 Getting into Kimonos 2015-07-29
1 x 18 Shinagawa: A Warm Welcome to Tokyo 2015-08-05
1 x 19 Entertainment 2015 2015-08-12
1 x 20 Hot Spots for Summer! Part 1: Keeping Cool Indoors 2015-08-19
1 x 21 Hot Spots for Summer! Part 2: Hassle-Free Outdoor Activities 2015-08-26
1 x 22 Gateway to Tokyo: Your Guide to Haneda Airport 2015-10-07
1 x 23 Business District on the Move: Yaesu 2015-10-14
1 x 24 The Embassy Take on Tokyo, Part 6: Albania 2015-10-21
1 x 25 Fusion of Past and Present: Akasaka 2015-10-28
1 x 26 The Meguro Area 2015-11-04
1 x 27 Three Tokyo Islands: Part 1 2015-11-11
1 x 28 Three Tokyo Islands: Part 2 2015-11-18
1 x 29 Tokyo Anime and Manga Tour 2015-11-25
1 x 30 The Embassy Take on Tokyo, Part 7: El Salvador 2015-12-02
1 x 31 Night Guide to Tokyo 2015-12-09
1 x 32 Tokyo Onsen Heating Up! 2016-01-05
1 x 33 TOKYO EYE on Campus: Waseda University 2016-01-12
1 x 34 Shortcuts to Deep Tokyo 2016-02-02
1 x 35 Winter Gourmet Selection 2016 2016-02-09
1 x 36 Happy to Help! 2016-02-16
1 x 37 Tokyo Science Spots 2016-02-23
1 x 38 Celebrate a Special Occasion! 2016-03-01
1 x 39 Handmade in Kachikura 2016-03-08
1 x 40 Stationery Wonderland! 2016-03-15
1 x 41 2015-2016: Season in Review! 2016-03-29
1 x 42 Capturing Tokyo 2016! 2016-04-05
1 x 43 Tokyo Ingredients Taking on the World! 2016-04-12
1 x 44 Living in Tokyo: House Hunting 2016-04-26
1 x 45 New Developments: A Tokyo Architecture Tour! 2016-05-03
1 x 46 Deep Tokyo: Shinjuku and Okubo 2016-05-10
1 x 47 Top Trends in Tokyo Cafes 2016-05-24
1 x 48 The Embassy Take on Tokyo, Part 8: Portugal 2016-05-31
1 x 49 Urban Oasis: The Springs of Tokyo 2016-06-07
1 x 50 Futako Tamagawa: High Style and Peaceful Nature 2016-06-15
1 x 51 Looking for Laughs in Tokyo 2028-09-16
1 x 52 Staying in Tokyo 2016 2016-10-05
1 x 53 Must-See Tokyo Museums 2016-10-19
1 x 54 Aged Foods: A New Tokyo Trend 2016-10-12
1 x 55 Mejiro: Welcome to Old School Tokyo! 2016-10-26
1 x 56 Exploring Tokyo's Rivers: The Tama 2016-11-02
1 x 57
1 x 58 Cool, Fun Tokyo Tours! 2016-11-09
1 x 59 Tokyo Autumn Festivals 2016-11-16
1 x 60 Tokyo Book Tour 2016-11-30
1 x 61 The Embassy Take on Tokyo, Part 10: Venezuela 2016-11-23
1 x 62 Multicultural Takadanobaba 2016-12-07
1 x 63 A Deeper Tokyo Experience! 2016-12-14

2015 x 1 Tokyo Wholesaler Guide 2015-04-01
2015 x 2 Tokyo Ramen Adventure 2015-02-04
2015 x 3 The World of Sake and Wine 2015-02-11
2015 x 4 Getting into Kimonos 2015-02-18
2015 x 5 Shibuya Special Part 1: Transformation 2015-04-01
2015 x 6 Shibuya Special Part 2: Hitting the Streets 2015-04-08
2015 x 7 Ginza Rediscovered, Part 1: Roots of Tokyo Culture 2015-04-15
2015 x 8 Ginza Rediscovered, Part 2: Two Sides of Ginza 2015-04-22
2015 x 9 The Embassy Take on Tokyo, Part 4: Latvia 2015-05-06
2015 x 10 The Embassy Take on Tokyo, Part 5: Cameroon 2015-05-13
2015 x 11 Fusion of Past and Present: Akasaka 2015-05-20
2015 x 12 Flowers and Sweets for All: Jiyugaoka 2015-06-03
2015 x 13 Mission Akihabara, Part 1: Starter Kit 2015-06-17
2015 x 14 Mission Akihabara, Part 2: Expert User 2015-06-24
2015 x 15 ICT Tokyo: Smarter Tourism 2015-07-01
2015 x 16 Tokyo Tower vs. Skytree 2015-07-08
2015 x 17 Farming in Tokyo?! 2015-07-15
2015 x 18 Shinagawa: A Warm Welcome to Tokyo 2015-08-05
2015 x 19 Entertainment 2015 2015-08-12
2015 x 20 Hot Spots for Summer! Part 1: Keeping Cool Indoors 2015-08-19
2015 x 21 Hot Spots for Summer! Part 2: Hassle-free Outdoor Activities 2015-08-26
2015 x 22 Gateway to Tokyo: Your Guide to Haneda Airport 2015-10-07
2015 x 23 Business District on the Move: Yaesu 2015-10-14
2015 x 24 The Embassy Take on Tokyo, Part 6: Albania 2015-10-21
2015 x 25 The Meguro Area 2015-11-04
2015 x 26 Three Tokyo Islands: Part 1 2015-11-11
2015 x 27 Three Tokyo Islands: Part 2 2015-11-18
2015 x 28 Tokyo Anime and Manga Tour 2015-11-25
2015 x 29 The Embassy Take on Tokyo, Part 7: El Salvador 2015-12-02
2015 x 30 Night Guide to Tokyo 2015-12-09

2016 x 1 Tokyo Onsen Heating Up! 2016-01-06
2016 x 2 TOKYO EYE on Campus: Waseda University 2016-01-13
2016 x 3 Shortcuts to Deep Tokyo 2016-02-03
2016 x 4 Winter Gourmet Selection 2016 2016-02-10
2016 x 5 Happy to Help! 2016-02-17
2016 x 6 Tokyo Science Spots 2016-02-24
2016 x 7 Celebrate a Special Occasion! 2016-03-02
2016 x 8 Handmade in Kachikura 2016-03-09
2016 x 9 Stationery Wonderland! 2016-03-16
2016 x 10 2015-2016: Season in Review! 2016-03-30
2016 x 11 Capturing Tokyo 2016! 2016-04-06
2016 x 12 Tokyo Ingredients Taking on the World! 2016-04-13
2016 x 13 Living in Tokyo:House Hunting 2016-04-27
2016 x 14 New Developments: A Tokyo Architecture Tour! 2016-05-04
2016 x 15 Deep Tokyo: Shinjuku and Okubo 2016-05-11
2016 x 16 Top Trends in Tokyo Cafes 2016-05-25
2016 x 17 The Embassy Take on Tokyo, Part 8: Portugal 2016-06-01
2016 x 18 Urban Oasis: The Springs of Tokyo 2016-06-08
2016 x 19 Futako Tamagawa: High Style and Peaceful Nature 2016-06-15
2016 x 20 The Embassy Take on Tokyo, Part 9: Denmark 2016-07-06
2016 x 21 Living in Tokyo: Making Life Easier 2016-07-20
2016 x 22 Must-See Spots 2016! 2016-07-27
2016 x 23 Tokyo Beauty 2016 2016-08-03
2016 x 24 Tokyo Island Tour! Hachijojima 2016-08-10
2016 x 25 Looking for Laughs in Tokyo 2016-09-28
2016 x 26 Staying in Tokyo 2016 2016-10-05
2016 x 27 Aged Foods: A New Tokyo Trend 2016-10-12
2016 x 28 Must-See Tokyo Museums 2016-10-19
2016 x 29 Mejiro: Welcome to Old School Tokyo! 2016-10-26
2016 x 30 Exploring Tokyo's Rivers: The Tama 2016-11-02
2016 x 31 Cool, Fun Tokyo Tours! 2016-11-09
2016 x 32 Tokyo Autumn Festivals 2016-11-16
2016 x 33 The Embassy Take on Tokyo, Part 10: Venezuela 2016-11-23
2016 x 34 Tokyo Book Tour 2016-11-30
2016 x 35 Multicultural Takadanobaba 2016-12-07
2016 x 36 A Deeper Tokyo Experience! 2016-12-14
2016 x 37 Tokyo Mottainai! 2016-12-21

2017 x 1 Youthful Ikebukuro! 2017-01-04
2017 x 2 Enjoying Winter in Tokyo 2017-01-11
2017 x 3 TOKYO EYE on Campus: Keio University 2017-01-18
2017 x 4 Tokyo with Kids in Tow! 2017-02-01
2017 x 5 Tokyo's Amazing Backyard Part 1: Kawasaki 2017-02-08
2017 x 6 Tokyo's Amazing Backyard Part 2: Omiya 2017-02-15
2017 x 7 Tokyo's Amazing Backyard Part 3: Funabashi 2017-02-22
2017 x 8 Tokyo's New Place to Go! Akabane-Jujo 2017-03-01

Souvenir Special,  Where to buy souvenirs to take home
Gourmet Theme Parks
Tokyo Lunch Latest

Hoji Cha: My New Favorite Tea

Move over, Ti Kuan Yin, I've found a tea that is your equal in flavor.  Juan introduced me to Hoji Cha in Kyoto, pointing it out in the Nishiki Market as a tea that I had to try.  It is a roasted green tea and the flavors are very similar to the semi-fermented oolong tea, Ti Kuan Yin, name after the Iron Goddess of Mercy, I think for its brown color although there are legends about its origin.  Ti Kuan Yin is also roasted so maybe it is the roasting that gives it the fragrance I like.

In any case, I bought a box of tea bags of Hoji Cha at the supermarket in Kyoto, and liking it, when we went to the monthly craft market at the Kamigamo Shrine, I picked up half a pound of it from a couple that runs the independent Morii Farm.  It should last me for some time, although I find myself drinking a lot more tea than I used to, almost once a day.  When I run out, I can pick up some tea bags of Hoji Cha at the little Japanese supermarket in Shadyside.

Tokyo Eye 2020

Tokyo Eye 2020 is another NHK documentary program, this time highlighting Tokyo in preparation for the 2020 Olympics.  Since I've watched most of the Japanology programs that interest me, I decided to begin a new series.  I thought I would remember the episodes I had already watched but no, I end up repeating the programs, just like with Begin Japanology.  The host Chris Peppler, who dresses in an undershirt and jacket, is not as appealing as Peter Barakan (at least to us seniors), but the program has expats from other countries taking us on the tours.  So here are the ones I've watched, which I'm listing alphabetically so I can easily review it and add to it.  By the way, on January 11th we can watch the latest episode: Enjoying Winter in Tokyo.  And look!  They have a series Japan Railway Journal and the next episode is Ekiben (the bento boxes available at railway stations)!

Deep Tokyo: Shinjuku and Okubo
Ginza Rediscovered Part 1: Roots of Tokyo Culture
Gourmet Theme Parks
Living in Tokyo, House Hunting
Living in Tokyo, How to Make your Life Easier
Shibuya Special Part 1: Transformation
Stationary Wonderland
Tokyo Lunch Latest
Tokyo Ramen Adventure
Winter Food Adventure in Tokyo: Shibuya, Akihabara, Shinbashi & Ginza (Good preparation for January.  George is a character right out of Pittsburgh...)
Wonderful Washoku [Japanese Food] in Tokyo

Tokyo: What to see when

In other words, my attempt at a schedule.  For lunches, eat after 1 pm since Tokyo workers have their lunch break from 12-1.

Wednesday, January 11:
3:50 pm: Arrive Narita Airport
4:50 pm: Take Narita Express to Shinjuku Station.  For details go to the Nuts and Bolts post.

Thursday, January 12: Harajuku and Shibuya
Japanese breakfast at Matsuya?
Walk 9 minutes south to the Shinjuku-sanchome Station and take the Fukutoshin subway to Meijijingu-Mae Station and walk to the Meiji Jingu shrine and gardens.  Then walk back to Harajuku and walk up to Takeshita pedestrian street.  Amble around to the Ōta Memorial Museum of Art to see woodblock prints.  (10:30am to 5 pm. 700 yen admission. Closed Mondays)
Take the Fukutoshin line from Meijijingu-Mae Station to Shibuya Station and walk 8 minutes to the Tokyu Hands Department store  (open from 10 am to 9 pm) which is supposed to be the largest.
Or follow the itinerary at Truly Tokyo.
Or we could go to seven shrines/temples for new years: You can do the shichifukujin meguri, a short pilgrimage to sites that honor the seven dieties of good fortune such as Ebisu, the god of fishermen and merchants, and Benzaiten, the goddess of art. For example, one Tokyo tour consists of seven locations: Itsukushima and Inari Kio shrines and Taisoji, Hozenji, Eifukuji, Kyooji, Zenkokuji temples.  Or maybe we could just buy the giant lottery on January 12.

Friday, January 13:  Tsukiji Market (usually closed Wednesday and Sunday), Akihabara, and Kappabashi.
Walk 6 minutes to Shinjuku-sanchome station & take Maranouchi line to Ginza Station (15 minutes), then walk 14 minutes to Tsukiji Market (inner market opens at 9 am, closes at 2).
Here's a .pdf map of the shops in the outer market.
Take the Hibiya line from Tsukiji Station to Akihabara Station to visit the electronics district of Akihabara.
Take the Ginza line from Suehirocho Station to Tawaramachi Station to  Kappabashi for kitchen equipment. "All the shops are open during the week (usually 9am-5pm). 90% are open on Saturday and 30% or so are open on Sunday. There are several train and metro stops around Kappabashi but if you take the Ginza metro line to Tawaramachi station and take Exit 3, you will not have to walk too much to get to the shops." Tsunagu Japan recommends buying chopstick rests, knives, and seasonal (!) tableware.
If there is time left, go to Senso-ji Temple or leave it for Sunday afternoon.

Saturday, January 14:  Imperial Palace, Ginza and Tokyo Station
Marunouchi line from Shinjuku-Sanchome Station to Tokyo Station.
Check out Ekibenya Matsuri with ekiben from all Japan. It is located on Central Street on the first floor of Tokyo Station City (daily 5:30am to 11:00pm).
Imperial Gardens and Hibiya Park
Chuo Dori (Street) in Ginza is closed to traffic from noon to 5 on Saturday and Sunday from 1-Chome to 8-Chome (1.1 km) for Pedestrians' Paradise so this is a good time to walk it from Shimbashi Station to Kyobashi Station (2 km).
Tokyu Plaza Ginza features crafts and traditional products from around Japan.
Go to the Ginza Itoya stationery store.
Go to Marronnier Gate Shopping Mall to check out the 5-floor Tokyu Hands Store (DIY) if we haven't checked it out in Shibuya or Shinjuki

Sunday, January 15, Shinjuku
Breakfast at Gontran Cherrier (7:30 am - 10 pm)
If the day is clear, walk (20 minutes from the Citadines Hotel) to the the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building for the view. (9:30-5:30)
Hm.  Maybe Sunday would be the better day to explore Shinjuku since we need to leave the luggage at the hotel after we check out.
11 am: Check out of the Citadines
Take Oedo line to
Check into AirBnB

Walk from the AirBnB in Minowa east to the Nippori Fabric Street and then explore the old Tokyo area of Yanesen (Yanaka, Sendage, Nezu) that has some pre WWII neighborhoods, a quiet cemetery and temple, so see how the locals live.  The short InternationallyME video on Yanesen gives a taste of it.  Visit the Tennoji Buddhist temple.

Explore the area around Minowa.  It takes half an hour to walk to Sensoji Temple and 20 minutes to walk to Kappabashi.
Here's a suggested walking tour from Sensoji to Ueno.

4:50 pm:  Juan, Mandy and Louise arrive at Narita Airport
Switch to AirBnB near Minowa Station

Monday, January 16
Tsukiji Market
Afternoon go to Asakusa?   To see Senso-ji temple, Marugoto Nippon with its food and crafts from around Japan, and the Kappabashi restaurant supply shopping street.

Tuesday, January 17

Wednesday, January 18
Sumo Wrestling

Thursday, January 19
Take Shinkansen to Kyoto

Japanese Food

Ekiben at Tokyo Station

Juan is beginning to get excited about Japan and has been emailing me links to his favorite Ramen shop in Kyoto, to ekiben (railway bento boxes) at Tokyo Station, and to Furusato Matsuri (regional festivals) exhibition they are having in the Tokyo Dome while we are there.  Yes.  They are all related to food.  That's how the Japanese celebrate.

Japan Talk has lots of articles explaining their food and lists of what to eat:  105 Kinds of Japanese Food, 96 Vegetarian Japanese Foods (in case you can't eat fish), 12 Things to Put in Your Miso Soup, 34 Ingredients for Japanese Food and 29 Japanese Street Foods.  They tell you important things about Miso Soup: "Any good miso soup balances ingredients that float and ingredients that sink" and "miso soup is as important to breakfast as coffee".  And you learn weird things like Panko, the Japanese bread crumbs, "are made by passing an electric current through dough as it bakes."  Also aburaage (deep fried tofu) is difficult to make at home and generally factory produced -- which is good to know and I won't try to deep fry it anymore.

Supposedly Fernando has a whole bunch of stuff on food, beginning with natto...

I was looking for a list of supermarkets but Food Sake Tokyo said to go to the Shotengai (traditional shopping arcades) instead and gave a list of his favorites.  Unfortunately the list is from 2010 but hopefully the streets are still there.
Kagurazaka is east of Shinjuku and I'm assuming the street is Waseda Dori.
Yanaka is the oldest area in Tokyo and I've come across other suggestions for visiting it.   It's only about a half hour walk from Minowa station so maybe we could do it on Sunday before Juan and Mandy arrive.  The route goes along the Nippori fabric street as well.

Walking Route from Minowa Station to Yanaka Ginza

Nuts and Bolts about Japan Trip

So Papi is finally asking all the questions and expecting ME to know all the answers.
1.  How do we get money in Japan?
All the travel sites say that Japan is still a cash-based society and that most ATMs only accept Japan-issued cards.  But they also say the the post offices and the 7-eleven stores have ATM that accept foreign debit/credit cards.  We have marked locations of both near the Citadines in Shinjuku.

2.  How do we get from Narita Airport to Shinjuku Station?
Our flight on United Airlines is supposed to arrive at Terminal 1 South Wing.  On the map below, the Narita Express (NEX) to Tokyo is supposed to arrive on platform 1.

The ticket costs 3190 yen.  Our flight is scheduled to arrive at 3:50 pm and if customs takes an hour, we should be leaving around 5 pm or 17. (rush hour...).   There's a Narita Express at 17:16, arriving at Shinjuku at 18:48.  Another one at 18:15, arriving at 19:48.  At Tokyo Station, the Narita Express (NEX) splits in two: The cars of No. 1-5 go to Yokohama and the No. 6-11 cars go to Shinjuku.  I think we have assigned seats so we should end up on the right car.

When we get to Shinjuku, the most traveled train station in the world, we are to find the East Exit and come out where everybody meets up, but looking at the map, it is rather overwhelming!

3. How do we get from Shinjuku Station to the Citadines Central Shinjuki Hotel?

As you can see, both the Narita Express (platforms 5 and 6 on the bottom left) and the East Gate (bottom right) are at the bottom of the map so maybe it will be easy...  TimeOutTokyo says to meet up at the Studio Alta exit (B13) which should put us on the right side for the walk to the Citadines.  It should look like this:

Google Maps says it is 6 minutes by foot from Studio Alta to the Citadines Central Shinjuku, via "unnamed roads".

As long as our google map is working, we should be ok.  By the way, we bought a couple of power banks in case our iPhones run out of juice on the plane.

4.  Do we get a Pasmo/Suica card or a 3-Day Subway Pass?

I already posted about this back in September.  However, the 3 day Tokyo subway pass for 1500 yen also looks good.  The trip from Shinjuku to Minowa Station alone is 240 to 340 yen, depending on the line.  However if we get it for the first 3 days (Jan. 12, 13, and 14), we'll need to get another one for the time with Juan and Mandy but if they don't get one, then we'll probably be more frugal about our subway trips.   One thing to note is that the Japan Rail (JR) Yamanote line which circles the city is not covered by the subway pass.

We can pick up a Tokyo Metro Guide at the Tourist Information Center (TIC) at Terminal 1 in Narita Airport.

At Home in Japan

At Home in Japan: A Foreign Woman's Journey of Discovery is the title of a recent book I read by Rebecca Otawa, a California-born, then Australia-raised woman who married a Japanese farmer near Kyoto, as well as his 350 year-old farmhouse.  She goes through her trials and tribulations fitting into a Japanese household and community, especially dealing with the subservient role of women in Japanese society.  For instance, the young wife is the very last person to use the bath water...  And yet this Western woman does survive and thrives in her new surroundings.

A very similar story is that of Nancy Singleton Hachisu, a Californian who also married a Japanese farmer near Kyoto and has published two recent cookbooks: Japanese Farm Food and Preserving the Japanese Way: Traditions of Salting, Fermenting, and Pickling for the Modern Kitchen.  You can meet her in a Begin Japanology episode: Japanophiles - Nancy Singleton Hachisu.  Obviously both women had very supportive and understanding Japanese husbands.