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.

Life Where I'm From

I shouldn't watch YouTube.  I keep finding more and more stuff on Japan.  Here's one for Louise and Isabel featuring Aiko, a girl about 10, showing her audience what life is like in Japan.  She'll even show you how to eat natto in What Japanese Breakfast is Like.  Her father is a Canadian so she speaks perfect English and her mother is Japanese so she speaks that perfectly too!  There are videos on lunch and dinner as well.

You can learn about the Golden Poop (also known as the Asahi Golden Flame) when they walk the streets of Asakusa, or see all the fun they have at a family sushi restaurant (aka conveyor belt sushi) where they get a chance to win a gacha gacha prize (gotcha gotcha?) for every 5 dishes they eat.

They didn't win any prizes but they ate 35 plates for 4700 yen which sounds pretty reasonable to me.

As you can see, Aiko has a younger brother called Shin and he narrates the episode on What a Japanese Family Restaurant is Like.  The restaurant, Yumean, has kids' menus and Sebastian would love what he orders: edamame, chicken nuggets, french fries, and tempura udon.  It all looked pretty good to me and they got to sit on the floor on tatami mats.  Maybe Juan and Mandy would like to take Louise!

OK. I'm Cleaning Up.

I mentioned before that I had requested the book Tokyo: a certain style by Kyoichi Tsuzuki.  It is a small book, 6 x 4 inches, consisting only of photographs of Tokyo apartments with tiny annotations in the corners.  It has 400+ pages and I only managed to look through 138 of them before I had to come up for air.

The apartments featured aren't really apartments of normal families but mainly those of single persons, often students, and you know how they live.  I guess Tokyo isn't any different except that the apartments are smaller so they are even more cramped and less airy.  You have to have money to be a minimalist.

This isn't the only photography book featuring messy rooms in Tokyo.  The Tokyo Weekender has an October 20, 1916 article entitled: Peek Inside Tokyo Apartments which features the second book of another photographer Shiori Kawamoto called Onago Room. His first book,  Daraku Room, featured the "infamous dormitories where female [teen, pop] idols were living together, with messy rooms so chaotic they were nicknamed daraku beya, which translates best as “depravity rooms.”"

"With “Onago Room,” he builds on his previous work, this time with a diverse spectrum of women from a selection of professions including underground idols, artists, musicians, housewives, and company employees. Each is photographed in her home – and these include everything from minimal studios, stylish monochrome pads, and pastel pink hideaways to sprawling nests of eclectic knick knacks."

You see?  There are lots of apartments in Tokyo ripe for Marie Kondo.

Hand Towels, Head Scarves and Handkerchiefs

What to buy in Japan?

Looking for Japanese traditional head scarves I ended up on the Japan Monthly Web Magazine page on "Tenugui" or cotton hand towels.  Everybody is going to get a tenugui, a furushiki, or a pen.

For myself, I'm going to pick up some handkerchiefs.  I haven't been able to replenish my supply at second hand stores or yard sales and making my own handkerchiefs with a rolled hem is a bit daunting.  I have read in multiple places that a handkerchief is essential for Japanese women and it would be kind of nice to have one with the Tokyo subway on it.  BUT I can't blow my nose with it (there are tissues and a particular etiquette for that), just wipe my brow or dry my hands after a visit to the washroom.

In Japanese it is called hankachi (ハンカチ) which leads me to believe that it was originally a European import.  Turns out it was a replacement for the tenugui.  The Tokyo Weekender also claims that the handkerchief is essential since many public bathrooms don't have hand dryers.  "In the warmer months especially, handkerchiefs are available literally everywhere: they come as a freebie with fashion magazines, and rows of designer editions are displayed at department stores."

Or maybe an O-mamori, a Shinto or Buddhist amulet, if I can determine what the ones I buy are for, whether health, money, love, academic success, pets or protection against traffic accidents (maybe instead of trip insurance?).

I would pick up a souvenir apron but the Asians don't allow for large Western breasts.

Comic and Coffee Table Books on Japan

In addition to Tokyo on Foot, I picked up Cool Japan Guide: Fun in the Land of Manga, Lucky Cats and Ramen in the Teen department of the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh (a Librarian had to help me find it...).  It's another graphic version of a Tokyo guidebook and it's great because its chapters cover all the things I'm interested in: Food, Houses, Onsen and Parks, Shrines and Temples and Shopping.  And because it is written for young people without much money its recommendations are "spot on", as the British (whom the Japanese revere) would say.

A few of her tips:
About homes:
'One thing you won't find is an oven!  They just aren't common in a Japanese kitchen.  [oh, oh, Fernando can't bake bread...]

"Most Japanese homes don't have central heating, so devices like the heated carpet and kotatsu are very handy to keep everyone warm. "  BUT she also says "Winter in Japan is quite mild (at least compared to winters in America's Northeast)".

"Another thing you won't see in most homes is a clothes dryer."  [Despite having all that RAIN!]

About trains:
"One thing you have to remember is that while Japanese trains are wonderful, they do NOT run 24 hours!"  (as if we were staying out late at night...)
On the other hand, most combini (convenience stores) are open 24 hours, despite some being 7-elevens...

About hotels:
"Vending machines with beer are something we've seen in every hotel we stayed in [yay], and often the hotels are close to combini too [our is above one].  Usually, the rooms will include slippers and nightgowns/nightshirts, so packing night clothes isn't even necessary!"

I also picked up a coffee table photography book called Tokyo megacity.  I didn't expect much from it but the text is surpisingly informative and it profiles many neighborhoods, beginning with the low city (Shitamachi).  Shitamachi includes Asakusa (asaksa), Ueno, Yanaka, Akihabara and Tsukiji (tskiji) and was where the merchants and artisans lived and is one of the older sections of the city.  The author calls the Tokyo style of architecture "slash and burn" and there is very little in the city that is ancient, also in part due to the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923 and the U.S. firebombing of 1945.

The Upper City (Yamanote) to the west of the Imperial Palace was where the daimyo and their samurai resided but with the Meiji Restoration in the late 1800s I think a lot of them went home.  The author of Tokyo megacity, Donald Richie, divides the area into the Mid City and the High City, probably alluding more to the height of the buildings than to the height of the land.  Our first hotel in Tokyo will be in Shinjuku which is in the "High City" but at least we aren't staying in Shibuya or Harajuku which are the young people's hangout.  I don't want to feel too ancient...

(Travel) Books on Japan

I still like to read print books even though there is a tremendous amount of useful information on the Internet.  Unfortunately when I take out print travel guides on Japan and Tokyo and start reading, I find them extremely boring.  I don't really want to know what museums, shrines, temples, castles and historic locations I should see.  I'm much more interested in everyday life in Japan, the convenience stores, supermarkets, department stores that Japanese visit.  Maybe that is why I like the Japanology documentaries.

I've read two travelogues on Japanese food: Super Sushi Ramen Express which is an entertaining account of a British food writer and his family's stay in Japan (with two boys aged 4 and 6 how can it not be entertaining?); and Rice Noodle Fish, Deep Travels through Japan's Food Culture, whose author takes both himself and his food more seriously and so is harder to finish.  I think I'm prepared for Japanese food although I'll have problems with the slimy soybean natto and dipping things into raw egg.

I picked up a couple of books with short essays on Japan: To Japan with Love, A Travel Guide for the Connoisseur, which contains little vignettes on living in Japan by foreigners; and Living Japan, Essays on Everyday Life in Contemporary Society, a collection of often amateurish short essays by Japanese.  Both books are much easier to read than a Lonely Planet travel guide because they tell stories and aren't just a list of the top 10 sites or the top 10 restaurants where I can only anticipate encountering tourists.

And then there is The Japanese House: Material Culture in the Modern Home by Inge Daniels, a Belgian anthropologist, which is pretty easy to read considering it is a scholarly work.  Contrary to what all Americans think, the Japanese have as much trouble with "stuff" as we do.  The Japanese have a strong gift culture so that they end up with lots of souvenirs and mementos which are hard to throw away and that don't fit into their small houses and apartments. The Japanese Design Institute considers the current state of affairs a "domestic disarray" and since the woman is in charge of the house, of course it is her fault...  What I find most interesting is that after 40 years, the family tears down their house and builds a new one [Correction:  the average is 26 years].

More books are coming:  Tokyo on Foot and Tokyo: A Certain Style.  The latter book "shows how, for those living in one of the world's most expensive and densely packed metropolises, closet-sized apartments stacked to the ceiling with gadgetry and CDs are the norm."

Stay tuned.

Rocket News 24

Bringing you yesterday's news from Japan and Asia today

I don't know if "yesterday's news" is a thing to brag about but I ran across this site in a Google News search for "Tokyo news" this morning and the news they gather is my kind of news:

Edo era-themed sushi restaurant to bring delicious food, historical decor to Tokyo this month

All-you-can-eat ramen being offered in Tokyo by one of Japan’s most popular chains!

Japanese artist uses newspaper to make immense, life-like sculptures. Whatever you do with your old papers, it’s probably nowhere near as cool as this!

Japan has established itself as King of the Thrones. As long as you are able to find a Western-style toilet.


Cheapo News: The top 100-yen sushi plates at Shibuya’s Uobei Sushi. We visit the Uobei Sushi conveyor belt sushi restaurant and choose our top picks to save you time, money and potentially wasted calories.

See what I mean??

And if those articles aren't enough, here are a couple more so that we are ready to appreciate the very best aspects of life in Japan:

10 things Japan gets awesomely right

The top 10 instances when Japanese people feel thankful to be Japanese

NHK Videos for Tokyo

I wish all countries had a public broadcasting station like NHK in Japan.  I keep running across programs I haven't seen, like Tokyo Eye 2020, my first episode of which was about stationery stores, a must see for Fernando who always likes to pick up notebooks.

A week or so ago I watched "Home Appliances" on Japanology in which a couple of Japanese housewives go to an appliance megastore (I think it was LLaOx) in Shinjuku (where we are staying the first 4 days in Tokyo) to buy a new washing machine.  What they find is reason enough to go to Shinjuku: the Japanese have every imaginable feature built into their appliances.  For instance, there's a vacuum storage drawer in refrigerators for keeping leftovers -- so they'll last longer than normal...  Small local appliance stores affiliated with a single manufacturer also make "house calls" whenever one of their customers has a problem -- like not being able to work the TV remote.

Most of the Japanology episodes with Peter Barakan are filmed in Tokyo and so are very relevant for our trip in January.  Since they are produced by NHK, the government/public broadcasting company, they are always upbeat, which I find more enjoyable than programs or travel books that are critical.  The obvious episodes covering landmarks of interest to tourists are:
Tokyo Bay (from which Edomae sushi comes and which has been cleaned up since the economic boom in the 60s, 70s and 80s)
Tokyo Tower (the Eiffel Tower-like TV broadcasting tower built in the 1950s)
Tokyo SkyTree (the taller TV and radio broadcasting tower that replaced the Tokyo Tower in 2012 because the new skyscrapers around Tokyo Tower were obstructing its reception.  Both of these have observation towers so you can see Mt. Fuji)
Tokyo Station (the central brick railroad station built in 1914)
Akihabara (the techno/anime neighborhood)
Tsukiji Market (that famous fish market that won't have moved by January because the new governor wants to test the groundwater at the new site which is a brownfield formerly owned by a gas company.)

And then there are those of more interest to me, covering everyday life:
Underground Tokyo (subways, trains and underground rivers, not to mention underground shopping malls)
Tokyo Metropolitan Expressway (not that we're driving but it is interesting to see a completely elevated 2-lane freeway that goes 45 mph)
Tokyo Housing (extremely dense population makes for compact living quarters - and tiny hotel rooms)
Department Stores (these are high on my list of must-sees, especially the food courts and the elevator operators -- remember when they used to have them in California?)
Convenience Stores (The story of their origin from the US 7-11 franchise is interesting and we might be frequenting a lot of them for dinner.  There's one beneath our hotel in Shinjuku.)

And then there are those on food...
Conveyor Belt Sushi (You wouldn't think these restaurants would be good but the Japanese like to automate everything and the story of the problems involved are enough to make you want to eat at one.)
Vending Machines (You can buy almost anything from a vending machine, although I understand that they are supposedly discontinuing beer sales...)
And of course the general ones on Ramen, Udon, Tempura, Bento...

Japan on YouTube

Naturally when I watch Japanology episodes on YouTube, other videos are recommended for me.  Some are better than others but I was happy to find that there are some really unique videos on Japanese street food.  Fortunately they are in English.  Here are a couple of channels:

TabiEats
This is a couple of guys (the main commentator seems to be a Japanese-American from Hawaii) who also have a blog with recipes featuring healthy dishes like Kit Kat pancakes, Mac and Cheese Pies, Okonomiyaki, Omurice and many Yoshoku dishes (Japanese-style Western dishes).  If you thought the Japanese only ate delicate perfectly arranged small dishes of fish and vegetables, this will disabuse you of that notion.  The advantage to them having eclectic undiscriminating tastes, is that they appreciate almost everything they eat, they even feature breakfasts at Lawson and 7-Eleven convenience stores!  I'd rather have breakfast at a French pastry shop like Gontran Cherrier but I might be up to a dinner at a 7-Eleven when we arrive in Tokyo and it's late and every restaurant has long lines.  Perhaps more interesting are their episodes on street food in the Tokyo neighborhoods of Asakusa and Oeno.  He tries to film an episode on supermarkets but they don't like people filming in them.  Sort of like libraries...

Only in Japan
The first episode I watched was Street Food in Shibamata which is a suburb of Japan and is famous for being the setting of a Japanese film series called Otoko wa Tsurai yo (It's tough being a man) featuring an unlucky-in-love character called Tora-san.  Maybe it would be a change to check out the suburbs if we find Tokyo too hectic.  There are also episodes on Vending Machines, Super Escalators and Ice Cream Flavors.
If you like trains, there is an episode on the overnight sleeper car JR Sunrise Izumo Express from Tokyo Station to Izumo on the Sea of Japan and another episode on the Kitaro Family (Pokemon) Train" train in Yonago.

Tokyo Cheapo
Tokyo Cheapo has a channel on YouTube but also its own website offering a downloadable ebook guide to Tokyo.  What does their Shinjuku guide say about the neighborhood?  We'll let you know what we think!

Helpful Websites on Japan

Mandy alerted us to The Cup and The Road, a blog by Athena, a Chinese Canadian, who has a page on a Guide to the Tokyo Subway 1-3 Day Pass.

The 3-day pass costs 1500 yen (about $15) and since most trips cost 200 yen, it is worth the cost if you take 8 trips and it allows you to travel on both subway lines, Tokyo Metro and Toei.  We can buy them at Narita Airport

And we can also buy them at the Shinjuku station, and BICQLO BIC CAMERA Shinjuku East Store, BIC CAMERA Shinjuku West Store, and Laox Shinjuku Main Store.








The Cup and the Road also has a post on the Top 10 Apps to Travel in Japan like a Local.  Of course Athena speaks Japanese so she can use the Japanese Apps better than we'll be able to. She also has a post on My Japanese Diet: 20 Daily Foods (plus a restaurant map) talking about everyday foods that we should probably mark off as having tried, including konbini (convenience store) and supermarket food: "Japan lives off of premade food."

"Eating Tip: Get dinner in the supermarkets after 6pm since the sets are usually at least 20% off! Look out for Life, Isetan, Marunaka, AEON, Atre, Kinokuniya and independent grocers. It’s a great way to try things like nigiri sets and sashimi platters."

Tabelog
Tabelog is the Japanese Yelp, with restaurant reviews browsable by neighborhood, type of cuisine, and cost.  They have an English version, although the user-submitted reviews are in Japanese.  You can look at the photos.

Matcha -- Japan Travel Magazine

This online magazine has articles like "Finding Japanese Souvenirs -- the Best Shopping Spots in Kyoto", "10 Selected Restaurants in Tokyo + Japanese Food Guide" and Japanese Sweets Exclusive To Tokyo Station.

Tokyo Cheapo

Lots of articles, a Youtube channel, and information on events.  One can begin with the Tokyo Cheapo 101: Beginner's Guide to Tokyo.  They also mention the Seven Lucky Gods  (Shichifukujin) Pilgrimage to Shinto Shrines that is done in a few neighborhoods in Tokyo from January 1-10th, such as in Nihonbashi, Yanaka and in Shinjuku.  It might be an interesting walk to do.

Undoubtedly there will be more to come.

Seasoning the Seasons

NHK TV has a series called "Seasoning the Seasons" (Exploring the Four Seasons of Japan) and they have one episode on winter, in which they visit Echizen, northwest of Kyoto and feature the special foods that become available in winter, like smoked persimmons, taro, sake and Echizen crab from Ishikawa (not Kyoto).  We'll have to keep an eye out for those foodstuffs.  We also watched an episode on Hosenji, a neighborhood of Osaka.  Now, have I watched the one on Udon or not?  I've watched "Udon" on Begin Japanology...  Good gravy.  Does this mean I have to make another list to keep track of them?

Most of Seasoning the Seasons feature destinations outside of Tokyo and so they don't have much that is immediately useful for our trip in January.  There is one on Ekiben, the bento boxes they sell at train stations that vary by region, but I can't find a video for it on YouTube, which apparently is one's only option.  We watched another one on Kyoto: The Enigmatic Entertainers of Gion about the geishas, or really the maiko, the young girls training to become geishas.  Wasn't "Maiko" the name of that Japanese restaurant we used to go to on San Pablo Avenue in Berkeley?  That was Willy's first time eating out, although he really didn't get to eat since he was only a few weeks old.

Too few of the episodes are online.  I'm waiting for Boris Popov to upload the latest episodes to YouTube...

Moving On: PASMO and SUICA Cards

Now that we have our plane, hotel and AirB&B reservations, we can move on to more mundane topics like public transportation.  Our hotel is one that Juan and Mandy stayed at and liked in January 2011.  It's on the edge of the red light and nightclub district in Shinjuku so we'll see how two sticks in the mud survive in such a dynamic surrounding.  There's a Shinto shrine in the next block so hopefully that will balance out the environment.  Shinjuku is in west Tokyo so we'll need to take subways/trains to the other areas and we want it to be easy so we'll buy a SUICA or PASMO card so we don't have to buy tickets every time.  We'll be in Tokyo more than a week and we can use the cards at their many convenience stores as well.

The Japan Guy blog has posts on what the PASMO and SUICA cards are,  how to get them (even a personalized one that can be reissued if lost),  and how to use them.  How do you return the card and get your 500 yen deposit back?  He doesn't cover that but JREast has a page on its Suica card that tries to explain it.  Fortunately the information is available in English.  The cards can be used on the trains and the subways and the buses.  There are also unlimited one-day tickets for the metro, metro & train, or metro-train-buses but I don't know if we'll be using them that much.  I would like to walk a lot, to see things, even if it is January...  And if it is clear, maybe we can see Mt. Fuji.

NOTE:  Mandy sent me a link to a blog about the 1-2-3 day passes that has convinced me we should get two 3-day passes when we are there.

Begin Japanology Programs

I'm having trouble keeping track of the Japanology Programs I've already watched so this is a list of the Begin Japanology programs available.  Yes, the X means I've watched it.  Or think I did.

Season 1

x Ep 1 - Bento
x Ep 2 - Miyazawa Kenji (Japanese poet and author of fairy tales)
x Ep 3 - Lacquerware (a mini)
Ep 4 - Rakugo
x Ep 5 - Tsukiji Market
x Ep 6 - Yoshoku (Western Style Cuisine)
x Ep 7 - Kyudo (Way of the Bow - Archery)
Ep 8 - Tea Ceremony Architecture
x Ep 9 - Dagashi-ya (Japanese Sweet Shop)
x Ep 10 - Nihon Buyo (traditional Japanese dance with a fan)
x Ep 11 - Abacus
Ep 12 - Ryukyu Kimono
x Ep 13 - Bamboo
x Ep 14 - Shirakawa-go (world Heritage village with thatched houses)
x Ep 15 - Fireworks
Ep 16 - Hanging Scrolls
x Ep 17 - The Tale of Genji: Part 1
Ep 18 - The Tale of Genji: Part 2
x Ep 19 - Matcha
x Ep 20 - Tokyo Tower
x Ep 21 - Dashi
Ep 22 - Oribe-yaki (pottery)
Ep 23 - The Colorful World of Utagawa Hiroshige (mini)
Ep 24 - The Seven Gods of Good Fortune (not available)
x Ep 25 - Sushi
Ep 26 - Mikoshi (portable shrines)
Ep 27 - Yuzen Kimono
x Ep 28 - Buddhist Statues
x Ep 29 - Hot Springs
Ep 30 - Fish (not available)
x Ep 31 - Tatami (straw mats)
Ep 32 - Castles
x Ep 33 - Miso

Season 2

Ep 1 - Nishijin-ori
Ep 2 - Kyoto Lacquerware
x Ep 3 - Sake
Ep 4 - Katsura Rikyu
Ep 5 - Bonsai
x Ep 6 - The Four Seasons
Ep 7 - Hina Dolls
x Ep 8 - Nagasaki
x Ep 9 - Five-Story Pagodas
x Ep 10 - Cherry Blossoms
x Ep 11 - Chopsticks
x Ep 12 - Aizome (Indigo dye)
Ep 13 - Bunraku
Ep 14 - Kiriko Cut Glass
x Ep 15 - Traditional Folk Houses
x Ep 16 - Tea Ceremony
x Ep 17 - Soba
Ep 18 - Origami
Ep 19 - Imari Porcelain
Ep 20 - Folding Fan
x Ep 21 - Kaiseki Cuisine
X Ep 22 - The Sounds of Japan
Ep 23 - Masks
x Ep 24 - Satoyama - The Japanese countryside of rice paddies where people live in harmony with nature, creating an oasis for wildlife.
Ep 25 - Kendo (Sword fighting)
x Ep 26 - The Fragrances of Japan (scented woods)
x Ep 27 - Spinning Tops
x Ep 28 - Rock and Stone
x Ep 29 - Ink Brushes
x Ep 30 - Tsukemono
x Ep 31 - Dogs
x Ep 32 - Ramen
x Ep 33 - Rice
x Ep 34 - Shinto Shrine
Ep 35 - Festivals
x Ep 36 - Shinkansen (Bullet train)
Ep 37 - Gagaku (ancient imperial court music and dance)
x Ep 38 - Marriage
Ep 39 - Shogi (Japanese board game like Chess - also in Jap Plus)
x Ep 40 - Nabe Cuisine (Japanese Hot Pot)
Ep 41 - Sword

Season 3

x Ep 1 - Sentou (bath houses)
Ep 2 - Karuta
Ep 3 - Taiko
Ep 4 - Cram School
Ep 5 - Light
x Ep 6 - Footwears
Ep 7 - Monkey
x Ep 8 - Soy Sauce
Ep 9 - Tuna
x Ep 10 - Fusuma (sliding doors with decorated paper)
Ep 11 - Pearl
x Ep 12 - Todaiji (Bronze Buddha at ancient capital of Nara)
x Ep 13 - School Lunches
Ep 14 - Geiko and Maiko
x Ep 15 - Robots
x Ep 16 - Wasabi
Ep 17 - Women's Fashion Magazines (Just a mini of shots)
x Ep 18 - Izakaya
x Ep 19 - Apartments and Condominiums
x Ep 20 - Towns and Neighbourhoods
x Ep 21 - Tempura
x Ep 22 - Subways
Ep 23 - Hairstyles
x Ep 24 - Home Appliances
x Ep 25 - Roof Tiles
x Ep 26 - Miniaturization
x Ep 27 - Silk
x Ep 28 - Soybeans - and products like tofu, miso and natto
x Ep 29 - Curry
x Ep 30 - Dams
x Ep 31 - Hotels
Ep 32 - Radio Calisthenics
x Ep 33 - Ekiben (railroad bento lunches)
x Ep 34 - Bridges
x Ep 35 - Earthquakes
Ep 36 - Chrysanthemums
Ep 37 - Cameras
x Ep 38 - Hiragana (one of the Japanese phonetic alphabets)
x Ep 39 - Udon
x Ep 40 - Money
Ep 41 - Nishikigoi
x Ep 42 - Volcanoes
Ep 43 - Firefighting

Season 4

x Ep 1 - Mochi Rice Cake
x Ep 2 - Watches and Clocks
x Ep 3 - Fugu Blowfish
Ep 4 - Haneda Airport
Ep 5 - Kagura Dances
x Ep 6 - Snow
Ep 7 - Pollen Allergy
x Ep 8 - Sashimono Woodwork
Ep 9 - Cranes
x Ep 10 - Kitchen Knives
x Ep 11 - Fishing
Ep 12 - Armour
Ep 13 - Judo
Ep 14 - The Life of Taro Okamoto
Ep 15 - The Life of Osamu Dazai
Ep 16 - The Life of Kenzo Tange
Ep 17 - The Life of Hideko Maehata
x Ep 18 - Toilets
Ep 19 - Lifts (not available)
Ep 20 - Motorcycles
x Ep 21 - Unagi Eel
Ep 22 - Japanophiles - Ilan Yanizky
Ep 23 - Japanophiles - Silvain Guignard
Ep 24 - Japanophiles - Stéphane Danton
Ep 25 - Japanophiles - Dorothy Feibleman
x Ep 26 - Plastic Food Samples
x Ep 27 - Insects
Ep 28 - Traditional Japanese Mathematics (not available)
x Ep 29 - Bicycles
Ep 30 - Chusonji
x Ep 31 - Seaweed
Ep 32 - Charcoal
x Ep 33 - Rain
Ep 34 - Golf
Ep 35 - Shipbuilding
Ep 36 - Japanophiles - Bruce Huebner
Ep 37 - Japanophiles - Noelke Muho
x Ep 38 - Japanophiles - Matt Alt
Ep 39 - Karaoke
Ep 40 - Holidays
x Ep 41 - Red Sea Bream
x Ep 42 - Shopping Streets
x Ep 43 - Chickens and Eggs

Season 5

Ep 1 - Ekiden (relay races)
Ep 2 - Batteries
x Ep 3 - Cafes
x Ep 4 - Hot Water Bottles and Pocket Warmers
Ep 5 - Ikebana
Ep 6 - Excavators
Ep 7 - Woods & Forests (not available)
Ep 8 - Japanophiles - Dhugal Lindsay
Ep 9 - Japanophiles - Richard Emmert
Ep 10 - Japanophiles - Art Lee
Ep 11 - Japanophiles - Philip Harper
Ep 12 - Kabuki
x Ep 13 - Wild Vegetables
Ep 14 - Horses
Ep 15 - Massage Chairs
x Ep 16 - Shikoku Pilgrimage
x Ep 17 - Regional Fast Food
x Ep 18 - Department Stores
Ep 19 - Kimonos
x Ep 20 - Aquariums
x Ep 21 - Confectionery
Ep 22 - Dolls
x Ep 23 - Moss
Ep 24 - High School Baseball
Ep 25 - Planetariums
Ep 26 - Japanophiles - Adam Booth
Ep 27 - Japanophiles - Dave Spector
Ep 28 - Japanophiles - Euan Craig
x Ep 29 - Shamisen
Ep 30 - Crested Ibises
Ep 31 - Abalone
x Ep 32 - Tokyo Station
x Ep 33 - Tokyo Skytree
x  Ep 34 - Tokyo Bay
x Ep 35 - Potatoes, Taros, and Yams
Ep 36 - Name Seals
x Ep 37 - Mushrooms
x Ep 38 - Vending Machines
Ep 39 - Scissors
x Ep 40 - Satsuma Mandarins (the kind grandma has)
Ep 41 - Gift-giving
Ep 42 - Mapping Kyoto Streets

Season 6

x Ep 1 - Sumo
Ep 2 - Bathroom Scales
Ep 3 - Enka
Ep 4 - Small Factories
Ep 5 - Japanophiles - Azby Brown
Ep 6 - Japanophiles - Ernst Seiler
Ep 7 - Japanophiles - Yasokichi Konishiki
x Ep 8 - Ume Plums
x Ep 9 - Storehouses (historic earthen buildings)
x Ep 10 - Wagyu (Japanese beef)
Ep 11 - Uniforms
x Ep 12 - Rice Cookers
x Ep 13 - Burial Mounds
x Ep 14 - Stationery (Pens, mechanical pencils, tape, craft knives)
x Ep 15 - Bread
x Ep 16 - Pine Trees
x Ep 17 - Parcel Delivery
Ep 18 - Pro Wrestling
Ep 19 - Strawberries
Ep 20 - Calculators
Ep 21 - Television
Ep 22 - Lake Biwa
Ep 23 - Expressways
Ep 24 - Beer
Ep 25 - Japanophiles - Mike Harris
x Ep 26 - Japanophiles - Karl Bengs - A German trying to revitalize mountain communities in Japan
Ep 27 - Japanophiles - Kenny Omega
x Ep 28 - Shakuhachi (bamboo traditional flute)
x Ep 29 - Convenience Stores
Ep 30 - Used Books
Ep 31 - Women's Nylons
Ep 32 - Remote Islands
Ep 33 - Characters and Mascots
Ep 34 - Grapes
Ep 35 - Makeup
x Ep 36 - Ukiyo-e (Japanese woodblock prints)
x Ep 37 - Buses
Ep 38 - Parties and Gatherings
x Ep 39 - Conveyor Belt Sushi
x Ep 40 - Pets

Season 7

x Ep 1 - Persimmons
x Ep 2 - Nighttime Scenery
x Ep 3 - Ise Jingu - The greatest Shinto shrine in the city of Ise in Mie prefecture
x Ep 4 - K-cars - The sub-sub compact cars that made Japan an auto power and allowed Japanese families to afford a car.
x Ep 5 - Japanophiles - Nancy Singleton Hachisu - The author of Japanese Farm Food and Preserving the Japanese Way
Ep 6 - Japanophiles - Chris Hart
Ep 7 - Japanophiles - Rogier Uitenboogaart
x Ep 8 - Railways
Ep 9 - Pianos
x Ep 10 - Squid

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ic6fiwCIzmg

Lunch On!

I know, I know.  I haven't finished the 300 plus episodes of Begin Japanology and Japanology Plus but thought I might look at NHK's "Lunch ON!" series, which is meant to offer insights into working people of all kinds by looking at their lunches.  Would only the Japanese thing of that?

I started with "Lunch at the Kyoto Woodblock Studio" (Season 2 Episode 4) where the staff (about 15) take turns cooking lunch and have to stay within a 2,000 yen budget (plus any leftovers in the fridge).  Fernando says he prefers the Japanology programs -- maybe he misses the narrator Peter Barakan.  But they have one on "40 Years of Lunch Together at the Balloon Factory" and who could resist that?

As I was looking over the NHK schedule of English language programs, a few more caught my eye: Kawaii International (on Japanese Pop culture), Cool Japan (in which foreigners look into something Japanese, like Beans) and Dining with the Chef, which they offer on our local PBS Create TV channel.  Looking for the Bean episode on YouTube I stumbled across another NHK series:  Your Japanese Kitchen, the most popular episode evidently being "shabu shabu" -- the Japanese version of hotpot.  Yes, we are really immersing ourselves in Japanese culture...  Now, if only I could find some of that slimy natto.

Oh oh.  I ran across another NHK series: Core Kyoto.

Chromecasting Japanology

A couple of days ago, Fernando asked me why I wasn't "chromecasting" my Japanology programs to the TV.  A lot of extra work, if you asked me.  But after seeing the greatly improved picture quality on the TV, I was a complete convert.  I had assumed the picture quality would be the same -- isn't it coming over the same wire?  But the full-screen YouTube video on my MacBook Air is really pixelated and indistinct.  When it is transmitted to the TV, it is perfect.  Thus I won't be watching any more episodes on my laptop.  Poor Fernando.  Now not only does he have to watch Rick Steves and Lidia Bastianich, but he's got a couple of Japanologies a day to contend with as well.

Naturally I've been choosing episodes he might like:  the Abacus, Sento (Japanese Bathhouses), A Trip through Akihabara (the electronics section of Tokyo), Sumo, Mt. Fuji, Making and Cooking Rice (he fell asleep a quarter through that one).  I'm really having trouble remembering which ones I've seen so it is good that I'm writing them down, although I'm not quite sure what is the best way to keep track of them.  They have two versions of Sento and rice, a Begin Japanology one and a Japanology Plus one.  In any case, I'm making good headway.