Monday July 24 2023
We went back to the same hotel on our first day in Japan. Since it was still before check in time, we asked them to hold our luggage then went out for lunch. My son wanted to try Mc Donald. The place was packed, service was very slow (only one cashier), but the food was good. UberEat and similar food delivery services made the wait time even longer.
My son took off to meet his friends and I waited in the lobby until check in time at 1500. I retrieved our luggage and moved into our room after using automated check in kiosk.
Soon it was time for dinner. I found one on Google, but could not locate it precisely. The virtual GPS was way off by some 20 feet. In addition to that the signs were in Japanese. I could have searched for images of the shop from Yelp or similar site, but free T-mobile signal here in Japan was super slow. Should have done that while I was in the hotel where Wifi was faster. Anyway, I wandered around and found a small restaurant. I ordered beer (of course, it was only about 90F with no wind on the street) and Spicy Tonkotsu Tsukemen. It is similar to ramen but noodles are generally thicker and are served separately from the soup. The soup is thicker and saltier. One would eat by dipping the cold noodle into hot soup (broth). Tsuke means dipping, men means noodles. Dipping noodles.
Mine came with char siu (pork), pickled bamboo shoots and a side of fried rice. I would rate this meal average. Perhaps I was not used to the saltiness of the broth, yet. Or know how to add other condiments (like vinegar). The spiciness level was low. Through out my many meals in Japan, they seem not to like too much chili in their food. I always had to add more red chili powder to my food (some restaurants had them, some did not). As for the fried rice with egg and chopped pork, it was also average. It was salty to my taste, but then good with beer. The shop was nice and busy, I was the only tourist in there.
Afterward, I trolled main streets looking for a beauty product for my CFO. Apparently this product did not exist in Japan, yet sellers in US claimed it was made in the Land of Rising Sun. I asked the locals at the hotel and none has heard of this fraudulent product.
On this stroll I found out that beside 7-11s there were Lawson and FamilyMart convenience stores. They were on every few blocks. I shopped at them regularly for snacks, beer and wine while I was there. There were some markets for veggie, fruits, etc. But most that I’ve seen were quite small, from average size 7-11 down to those tiny shops in SF China town. The only big one (size of a small Safeway without coffee shop inside) I saw was in Osaka. I know there are big ones, but I did not spend time looking for them. Anyway I saw Costco in some town while riding the train.
I did not get any fruit at all since they did not look fresh in one tiny shop. I would have to look elsewhere.
At one 7-11 I picked up a bottle of Robert Mondavi red wine and cheese. The wine was not dry, which was good with the cheese for me. The cheese tasted like Laughing Cow cheese but firmer. It was something to munch on while I explored Japanese TV.
Despite being in a big city, there were about 8 channels. I am not sure if there were cable TV like in US. There were news, weather, soap opera (Samurai type), reality show types. They all gave me a glimpse into Japanese mentality. But with a brief look through TV, there was no way I could form an opinion at all. There was not any English channel.
July-25-2023
I decided to walk to Edo Castle Ruins. It was more than an hour of walking. I could have taken the train there, but I wanted to see more of Japan than just some tourist spots. The heat was already on despite early hour (I left the hotel at 06:27). My son was still asleep from a night out with friends. He would go out with them again today.
Streets were empty of cars and pedestrians. I saw a couple shop keepers sweeping or picking up trash on their storefronts. The sun was already beating down on me, I had to cross the street for more shade.
Sidewalks were broad, with yellow tactile plastic or clay bricks embed on them to guide vision- impaired (but not completely blind). However, some section of Tokyo, where streets were narrow, so were the sidewalks.
According to this website https://www.samuraitours.com/japans-tactile-paving-blocks/ the dots are caution and the lines are for direction. It was first used back in 1965.
Trashes were in plastic bags stacked near the curbs in front of shops. I did not see any type of trash cans like in the US. All these trash had to be collected manually. In small town like Hakone, these plastic trash bags were covered with thick nets to prevent birds from picking. Apparently, they do not have problem with mammals like rats, squirrels or racoons coming after garbage.
Speaking of squirrels, I did not see any of them in many parks that I have visited.
Main street were wide with multiple lanes, while some small one had only one lane. I saw bicycles used both sidewalks and streets. There were many electric bikes, but they used streets (maybe it was too fast for sidewalks).
I did not see any graffiti. The only one I saw was in Osaka. There were many vending machines for soft drink or water on almost every corners. I used them couple times.
More than an hour later I passed through the original Gate of Edo Castle. While it was part of the castle, it was always open to public, while the Edo Castle Ruins open only at certain days and time.
The place was deserted. Only people I saw were people walking to work. Some parts were not well kept with grass and weeds at knee high.
I passed by the Science Museum, but did not go in. I still had to see the Ruins. I wandered around to see this section of castle. It had a large garden with nice paths. It was very quiet. I was the only one there for sometime. I found a nice restaurant and decided to come back for a meal after visiting the Ruins.
The Edo Castle Ruins opened a few minutes after I arrived. I was the third one in. The details at the gate were not up to date. Visitor was supposed to get a free ticket, then return it when done, but none was given. That was the way they kept track of how many visitors were present. Apparently they stopped this process, but the signs were not updated. The only true thing of the sign was security check. Every bags had to be inspected thoroughly.
I spent more than five hours here. It was super hot with almost no wind. The place was well kept. I went to see guard house, tea house, gardens, storage houses for grains, etc. Part of the castle required a booking at least one week prior, which I did not have. But that was ok.
What I liked best was the pond in picture below. It was very nice. There were koi fish in there as well.
There were gift shops which had souvenirs, ice cream, soda, etc. I found a nice rest house with AC running full blast. I spent some time there drinking a whole can of cold Coca Cola (first time in so many years). The heat took out most of the joy in this ruins. I soon exited the place and decided to walk around the entire place. To my dismay, other entrances were for royal family only, but at least I’ve seen them. The guards at these place spoke some English. Only one guard spoke really well and told me I could take pictures near the gate but not inside. There was nothing much special on the west side of the ruins, along the moat. There was a little park with some water misters. Other than that it was just a side walk along the western side. Every 100 meters or so there was a guard house with a policeman.
I retraced my steps back to the restaurant I spotted earlier. It was closed and would not open until 16:00. I went to a crepe shop next door to get some fried chicken and a beer. The place was tiny without table or chair, so I ate in front of the shop. Should have gone to a better place, but it quenched my hunger for then.
I found some BBQ place, but changed my mind on the way there and stopped by Starbucks. It was so hot, an ice cold Frappuccino was more inviting the steamy hot BBQ. I had enough of walking for the day, so I hopped on a train back to hotel. Three stops later I realized it was right train, but wrong direction.
Got back to hotel with sore feet and small blister. Sipping on red wine, while searching for next fun thing. Should I have dinner first and then to Yakana Ginza ? I chose street food and beer.
Took the wrong train again (but it went around as a loop, so I just wasted more time). By the time I arrived at Yakana Ginza, the place was deserted. Most of the shops were closed, despite Google saying otherwise. I walked back and forth checking out local diners, none looked good so I took the train back (right one this time).
It was 20:40 and most restaurants near my hotel would close in 20 minutes. I found a steak house and gave it a try. The place was crowded. Only a couple tables were for groups, the rest were for single diners. I wonder if it was this way because of Covid.
I ordered a drink and steak dinner. This restaurant had paper bib for diners, and few of people had them on. I was wondering why when they brought me my steak. They served steak on a sizzling hot plate. This explained the bib. The problem with hot plate was that half way through my meal, the meat became well done. No, I would not try this type of steak again. It was not bad at all. I don’t think medium steak pair well with rice. Stir fried beef would be a better choice for me. The meal was not worth 2500 yen, but the experience surely was. The drink was whiskey and soda and fairly weak. I just checked its website, this was a chain restaurant. I should have used its website to see more detail of their plates, and could have had a more decent steak.
This meal did not satisfied my belly. According to my phone data I have walked close to 10 miles in about 7 hours. I needed more glycogen. I checked out nearby shops but nothing good. I went to Lawson store near the hotel to get some cookies and chocolate. Nearby there was a Burger King which had shrimp burger, maybe I would try this later on.
My kid was still out with his friends. I watched more TV and finished the red wine.
Wednesday July 26 2023
I woke up about 0430, brewed some coffee while searching for today’s activities. I would walk south to see Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden, Meiji Jingu temple then a nearby park.
Again, I walked to the park to see this part of the city. I stopped by a small coffee shop to have breakfast. Last night dinner was not enough to build up my glycogen reserve. I had a chicken sandwich which was not filling at all. I grabbed packaged food of lemon pound cake and some kind of pastry. The lemon pound cake was good with ice coffee.
I arrived a bit early and had to wait until 0900 for the park to open. There were few people who had been waiting at the gate, too. I paid 500 Yen and started to explore the park. I don’t usually use map in place like this. Instead I used left hand on the wall logic to navigate this park. It was a simple method and most of the time I did not miss anything. This way I would not just focus on next point of interest, but I could see many things while navigating the unknown, mysterious and interesting.
Of course, the park was well kept. What interesting was that they used battery powered tools to keep the place quiet. I saw several park workers using blowers on leaves and grass cutting without making too much noise. There were many benches along shaded paths. Some time I would sit down for 5-10 minutes just to look at birds, flowers, plants and people. It was very serene.
On the east side of the park was a giant green house.
For unknown reasons no camera was allowed inside. Here are some pictures I got from internet.
It had multi level walk way with water falls and creeks. I don’t know much about flowers and plants, but this place looked impressive.
On the east side of the park there were many signs in Japanese (I did not take picture) about something. After getting closer I found 20 to 30 horned beetles fighting each other. They tried to flip each other on their back. Loser could not right itself up and would die from hunger/thirst (?). There were many dead ones in this area. I think it was their mating season.
Further on the south side, there was a place designated as “kid area”. there were many kids playing soccer on a brown grass field under scorching sun (remember it was summer time). They were used to the heat, I guess.
The park had many little ponds, one of them had Chinese building structure build next to it. I found it very beautiful. Here is its history.
Excerpt:
A Building with International Charm
Kyu-Goryo-Tei is also known as the Taiwan Pavilion. The building was a gift from Japanese people in Taiwan, a region that was then a part of the Japanese empire. The building was given to commemorate the 1924 wedding of Crown Prince Hirohito (1901–1989), who became emperor in 1926. Construction began in 1927.
The Relaxation Room of the Taiwan Pavilion is a large, open space with a panoramic view of the Japanese Garden beyond. Newspapers of the time referred to it as “A relaxing place above a tranquil pond… An ideal location to enjoy the cool breezes of a summer stroll.”
This building is a rare example of authentic Chinese-style architecture in Japan, and it is highly prized for the color and shape of the roof, the style of the windows, the interior design, and other features. The architectural style is called Binnan, from China’s southern Fujian Province, and was popular in Taiwan from the early nineteenth century.
The inversion of the eaves and the stucco swallowtail structure, the color of the roof tiles, the shape of the supports for the pillars, and the decorative stones of the porte-cochère, as well as the ornamental interior design, are all typical features of the Binnan style. Many of the construction materials were brought from Taiwan. Taiwan cedars were used for the pillars, and Taiwan cypress was used in the ceiling panels.
The building was opened to the public in the 1940s.
Source: https://www.mlit.go.jp/tagengo-db/common/001559462.pdf
There were other small structures to serve as rest stops, some even had vending machines for drinks. At one such place a young kid waited for me to leave so he could do some podcast. He could not wait any longer and spoke to me in Japanese. I replied in English and it turned out he came from Canada and was here in an exchange student program. He was interrupted by other visitors while filming. His camera was as big as a color marker with tiny tripod. It looked very interesting and expensive (he paid like 500USD). We talked about his video camera and my camera. He was low on money and trying so save for a DSLR camera like mine. He gave me some pointers of what to see in Kyoto. I thanked him and went on my way.
The garden layout was very nice. Shrubs and trees lined curved walkways. Tall trees mingled with low plants and flowers. There was a small “island” in the pond with small bridge. It was a good place to take pictures. Unfortunately, it was lunch time and the worker had left all their tools there while taking break nearby.
The heat was getting worse. I found a nice bench near a pond to take some pictures. Then I took cat naps while sitting for at least 30 minutes. The heat really got to me. Most of the visitors had sought refuge in air conditioned teahouses or Starbuck coffee place in the park.
It took me hours to tour this garden. I’ve read that the best time to visit is in spring when cherry trees blossom. Oh, well. Now was time to move on to Meiji-Jingu Shinto Shrine which was about 40 minutes of walking.
This urban hike took me through mostly small streets with tiny shops and some residential area. I kept on drinking my water to replaced lost fluid. I entered the place through west gate (of the park, not the shrine). There were only a few people at the gate. I followed the trail north. There were couple structures appeared to be some kind of temple, but all were closed. The place looked deserted. Only a few Caucasian tourists were having lunch nearby.
I veered east, knowing the shrine was in the wood somewhere. Finally I heard sound of beating drums, followed it and found the shrine. The path I took was not that popular since it was not the to main entrance. The main path was on the south side where the main entrance was and near the main railway.
Left of the main shrine were two giant camphor trees which were planted in 1920. Both were known as “Meoto Kusu” or “Husband and Wife”. Both were bound by giant ropes like in marriage. People pray to these tree. Note the donation box in front of them.
Excerpt: Ema (絵馬, lit. ‘picture-horse’) are small wooden plaques, common to Japan, in which Shinto and Buddhist worshippers write prayers or wishes. Ema are left hanging up at the shrine, where the kami (spirits or gods) are believed to receive them. Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ema_(Shinto)#:~:text=Ema%20(%E7%B5%B5%E9%A6%AC%2C%20lit.,are%20believed%20to%20receive%20them.
More info on this shrine https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meiji_Shrine
I exited the main gate and went to Yoyogi Park. I searched for some food and drink. There was a food truck selling shaved ice topped with sweet syrup, but I did not want too much sugar in me at that point. I went to a shop nearby and spotted my favorite coolers. I got a lemon cooler and sat at a table nearby. Minutes later a couple got their food but had no place to sit (other two tables were full of patrons), so I cleared up my bag, camera and asked them if they want to sit with me. They were thankful. They were from Netherlands and were here on vacation, like everyone else. They said Disney World in Tokyo was the best (they had been to all of them). Their next destination was Korea for world Jamboree. I am not sure if they meant the Scout Jamboree, which was not “up to standard” (source: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/aug/09/worst-nightmare-south-korea-mulls-disastrous-scout-jamboree) and was hit with Typhoon a few days later (source: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-66425588). Anyway I told the boyfriend (or maybe husband) about the cooler I was drinking (my second one), he went and got one. Both liked it very much. We bade goodbye as they went the shrine and I to the park. I hoped they were ok in that Jamboree.
I was expecting to see lot of people, especially those who dressed like the early rock era of the 50s. There were only a few people in the park. Perhaps there would be more people on the weekend. Disappointed.
The plants were suffering from summer heat just like I did, and did not look like picture below. Some area the grass were all dead. Part of the ponds were full of algae. There were many caution signs for mosquitoes, but I guess it was too hot for them to be out. Later though internet I found out there was an outbreak of dengue fever back in 2014. I called it done for the day, got two more coolers and took a train back. I was kind of familiar with the train system by this time.
I need some fresh veggie in me. So I went looking for a sushi house which also had salad. But I went to a place which housed small computer shop, a tiny restaurant serving other kind of food. I wandered around and found a noodle house.
This particular one required food to be ordered from a vending machine. It then would issue ticket and customer find a spot, hand ticket to server and wait for the food. It was intimidating when I first tried to use it. Every button was written in Japanese. I was about to use my Google lens for translation, when the server came to rescue and handed me an English menu. All I had to do was to select main meal, side dish, drink, then punched in those numbers, put in the money, got some changes back, and was issued three tickets. One ticket for each item I chose. Total was less than 2K Yen.
I found a spot and handed the tickets to the server. He blurted out in Japanese, then turned around looking for something. He showed me two cards one said hot noodle, other cold noodle, with pictures on them. I chose hot. The server handed me a chilled glass and a bottle of Sapporo. After a day walking in hot sun, the beer tasted much better.
Then came the noodles. I like the pickled bamboo shoots with soy sauce. It was not sweet like the Chinese style (in chili oil), a bit sour and salty. The salad composed of blanched soybean sprout, cabbage and fresh green onion. I munch on them first with cold beer. The noodle I ordered was Tsukemen spicy soy sauce. Compared to the one I had on first day back, this one was much better. When I first tasted the broth, it reminded me of Vietnamese Bun Rieu (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B%C3%BAn_ri%C3%AAu). But soon the taste changed into something else. It was both sweet and salty, I was not sure if it had dashi. The soft boiled egg in soy sauce was ok to me.
By the time I was done eating, there were at least six people waiting inside for an opening. I would try this place again. My son texted me that it was too late to get back to the hotel (no train after 12AM). He sent me names of many places of interest, since he would be out with friends the next day.
Thursday July 27 2023.
I woke up a bit late (0634). I went to Lawson (open 24 hours) to find something for breakfast. I got three bananas, package of mixed fruits, Bulgaria citrus yogurt, a vitamin C drink and a pastry with cheese and bacon. All for 1019 yen. There were many type of breads but separated in two different aisles. Google translate came to help. The clerk pointed me to section for breakfast breads. I then noticed that bananas sold at convenience stores were either singles, or in package of three. I was not sure about big supermarket.
I took two trains to Senso-ji temple. It would take 41 minutes by train, plus about 10 minutes walking and cost around 400 yen, while the taxi would cost 3900-4400 yen and 40 minutes. No wonder I rarely saw any taxis (unlike in New York city).
This temple was next to huge shopping area and it was full of people when I got there, a bit after 10:00. In front of the temple there was a row of smaller shops selling crafts, souvenirs, and snacks.
It was the biggest temple I’ve seen so far. It was surrounded by many smaller shrines and temples. There were also many statutes and a five-story pagoda. The giant gate (Hōzōmon) had a huge lanterns, with two statues of guardians
The heat was pretty high. There were a giant blower with water mister to cool people down.
Hanging on this gate were a pairs of straw sandals weight 1100 lbs each.
To the left of this gate was a five-story pagoda with a golden Sorin. This vertical shaft with rings around it could be seen on many Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines. For more details see : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S%C5%8Drin#:~:text=The%20s%C5%8Drin%20(%E7%9B%B8%E8%BC%AA%2C%20lit.,be%20over%2010%20meters%20tall.
There were small shops selling amulets, praying beads and incense sticks for worshipers. There were several propane powered burners (I assumed) where people could light up their incense sticks.
Background of picture below shows shops selling amulets, incense sticks, etc. I assumed they are owned and ran by the shrine.
The main hall was quite large. Photograph was not allowed in the praying area. There were many prayers there, but I did not see any priest. On the right side of the hall there was a huge counter selling amulets, prayer beads, etc. Some of the amulets were for daily life things like passing exams, good jobs, health, business, automobile, ward off evil, etc. They were selling them like hot cakes. Quite a few types were sold out.
In this hall the ceiling was painted with mythical pictures. One part was being restored (my guess).
Not all things here were dedicated to Shinto religion. Around the place, there were statues of real people who had done exceptional things in their lives, ranging from poets, actor who played samurai, to a real samurai, or ordinary citizen with extraordinary achievement.
Some shrines were very small. This one below allowed visitor to come inside. I did not enter, I could see everything by the door.
In Japan Shinto and Buddhism had interwoven with each other, thus I was not surprised to see both at same place.
This temple did not have sign of no photography anywhere, so I took my time looking at things inside and took this picture. A man came out said something in Japanese. I used Google translate to ask if cameras were allowed. He shook his head. I think they forgot to put the sign outside.
In picture below the water basin was on the left of the shrine.
If one wanted to relax and have guided tour, here was one option. I’ve seen some girls doing this job, too. I don’t know how much these guys made, but for hot summer day like this, I would not do for less than 1000 USD/15 minutes.
While I was taking pictures of a small shrine a small Japanese girl in traditional kimono came next to me to pray while her friend waited nearby. What strange was that all her fingernails were painted black. A sharp contrast between traditional dress and modern Goth (she did not have black lipstick, but with black kimono). I assumed that was Goth in Japanese style. I asked if I could take their pictures, and they agreed with smiles.
Soon I have seen all there were. I stopped by a shop to try some local snack. I got Matcha mochi and soft green tea ice cream. Strange taste to me, not very sweet.
On the way out, I found this shop on the right which sold Taiyaki, a fish shaped pastry with filling. Tai is red sea bream. They had different filling including western cheese, vanilla and cream. I chose mine with traditional red bean paste. Oh boy, what a shot of sugar. The filling was too sweet. I was sure this did not qualify as traditional. It took me a while to finish this pastry since it was steaming hot.
My son suggested Shijidai 44 tavern, but it would not open until 1700 (it was about 1410 when I finished the Taiyaki). I decided to head back to hotel. This time I took me a while to find the underground train station. From the shopping mall there was a small stairway led down to underground shops. The stairway was tiny and in my mind I was looking for a larger one. I walked by it couple times until I notice the sign of that particular railway. Then all the shop area was kind of confusing, no signage pointing to where the station was. So I followed a group of people hoping they were going to the train station, too. They did, and I was back to the hotel.
I decided to relaxed a bit and watched some TV. Then it was time for dinner. I went back to the same noodle house. This time I got Spicy Miso large and hot noodle with side dish of pork, egg, nori, Hacao and bean sprout mix salad. I got a large instead of medium size noodle because that morning I woke up hungry. No beer this time. I could not really tell the difference between this Miso and Spicy Soy Sauce (the day before). It was a bit salty, so I added vinegar, and it was better. The pork was ok, Hacao was good. It cost only 1540 Yen.
I found a “big” market called Peacock while going to noodle house. I went there right after dinner. The market was pretty big (as far as those I have seen). It was very clean, had many selection from fresh meat, veggie, fruits, wine, snack, to prepackaged food. I came back to hotel with fruits, yogurt, snacks and a bottle of Iichiko Mugi Shochu, total 1120 Yen. This particular market had self checkout but I opted for a cashier. Cashier would scan items, customer would pay the had to transfer those items to shopping bag(s) or one’s own bag(s). Surcharge for bag is 3 Yen for small one, 5 Yen for large one.
The Shochu was good. It warm my throat up. I searched about this Shochu and internet said Lichiko (Lechee) Shochu was also good. I got to try this Lichiko Shochu.
Friday July 28 2023
I got up at 0534. Finished one cup of coffee and went exploring the laundry room. The washer/dryer combo machines were very small (to US standard). Maximum load was 3kg. It would take 2 hours to finish a load, which cost 500 Yen. The machines let users enter 4 digit code, so nobody could take their laundry. I started my load and went for breakfast of prepacked mixed fruits and yogurts. Of all the yogurt I have seen here, they were small like kid’s size. I had to eat two tiny cups of yogurt to have what I would normally eat.
My clothes were a bit damn in the dryer, so another 100 Yen for extra 30 (or 40) minutes of drying.
With my chore done, I took train to this restaurant my son went with his friends. It served beef Katsu. He warned me to be there before lunch time to get a spot. They open about 11AM, so I got there around 10AM to look around.
Like before, the darn google map was off. It showed me to the back of the restaurant where there was no entrance (restaurant was in the basement). After a few minutes of walking back and forth, I asked an old lady and she pointed to the other side. I went to the main street and looked for it using images Google users had uploaded. And I got it, but there was a note said all beef were sold out. I texted my kid and he replied that it was from the day before.
It was too early and I felt odd standing in front of this tiny place. I crossed the street to see a park. It was tucked in between high rise buildings and was very quiet from rumbling traffic. A big contrast. It was a very tiny park with pond full of Koi fish. A woman with stroller approached me on the left (foot traffic in Japan is like that of automobile, on the left side). It turned out she wanted to feed the fish with her baby. I took a few pictures of the pond and fish. It took less than 5 minutes to see everything. I went to the toilet. It was the only dirty toilet I’ve seen in Japan. It reeked with urine, strewn with empty beer cans and trash. I got out of there quick.
I got back to the restaurant about 10:30 and waited. With many high rise buildings on this area, all the sun light reflected on to streets, right where I stood. I was dripping with sweat. Soon the restaurant came to life. A worker came out to plug in the electric sign. A line of about 6-8 people had already formed, and I was the first.
The restaurant was very small with tiny entrance downstairs. I picked a corner seat. It was already hot when I sat down, the low ceiling trap all the heat from the kitchen, even with their exhaust fans running at full blast. No wonder I saw a portable AC unit upstairs with the cold air blowing down the stair way.
The place looked cleaned, but when I reached down below the counter to store my pack and camera the surface was greasy. The counter was for single diners. For group they had small tables. The only condiments I saw was brown sauce for cabbage and rock salt. The counter was fairly short, no place for anything else, but there was plenty of elbow room. Once my tea was delivered, the server lit up alcohol based packet, which resembled a Tide pod.
This place served Gyukatsu.
Website of the restaurant https://www.gyukatsu-motomura.com/en/menu
I ordered combo with two servings of beef (260g each). The combo included rice, soup veggies, different sauces, fish roe from cod, yam and mochi.
The thick beef slices were cover in panko and deep fried. Inside it was still raw. The diner would then fry this beef on hot stone to his/her desired doneness. I had mine varied from rare to medium rare. Soon the air became hot and smoky. The beef was very tender and juicy.
The hot stone was well seasoned and did not stick to beef much. According to the instruction, beef could go with Soy sauce and Yama wasabi, or just rock salt. I tried both. I like soy sauce with wasabi. However, it masked the beef flavor. This was where the rock salt really brought out flavor of beef. The brown sauce for the beef was also good, but I forgot to ask for the name of it. Tororo (yam) was seasoned and went with rice. Cod roe was ok to me. Second order of rice was free. The mochi was mildly sweet. I was busy writing a note on my phone about the meal between bites. When all was done, I collected by pack, camera, then went to pay the bill. I was full (two bowls of rice) and sweating. No beer this time, I wanted to eat more beef.
There was a long line of people waiting outside (10-15 people). Once outside I remember I ate only half of my mochi. Too late to come back.
On my way back to train station I saw this shop selling western style crepes. They all looked beautiful and tasty but I was too full. There was a long line of customers at this shop.
The stinky toilet I mentioned earlier was in this area near the crepe shop. As one could see in picture below, this was a crowded shopping area with many patrons. I still could not understand why that toilet was badly neglected.
I was kind of tired and became lazy after urban hiking past couple days. I decided to relax and explored Japan through TV. I watched various shows and news. My conclusion was that this is a peaceful place. Shocking news of the day were a drunk guy walking in his undie at night throwing a plastic bottle at a car, and a guy caught on camera stealing a package on a porch. A more serious was a woman was murdered, and a car repair shop dumping some pollutant on the ground causing grass to die. There was an old samurai theme drama, which was very bloody and brutal. A show about fishing gears, some cooking shows, and a show about ordinary people’s daily life.
My kid was out with friends and did not want to have dinner with me. I was still full by dinner time and just wanted some snack. I went to Peacock market to get some junk food and alcohol.
I came back with a bag of mixed fruits, cheese, chocolate, mixed nuts, spicy peanuts, plumb wine and souchu.
I also got a packed dinner. It had grilled chicken, potato, bell pepper, lotus flower, young corn and zucchini (?). This item was in the 20% off section, my guess because it was way pass dinner time (about 21:00). I paid the whole lot for less than 3000 Yen. I ate dinner tray cold, and it tasted very good. Could be better with some hot sauce.
I asked for lychee liquor, but this store did not have it, so I settled for plumb wine. It was sweet and salty, and paired well with spicy peanuts.
One type of cheese I picked up was dessert cheese. It tasted just like cheese cake. I would not buy this again. I moved on to second plumb wine which is not as good as the first one.
Saturday July 29 2023
My kid came back at 05:00 after a night of clubbing with friends. I started his laundry then went back to bed. Finished his laundry and had breakfast of yogurt, fruits, nuts and coffee. Then watched more TV news.
We would check out late today since the kid needed more sleep. Hotel charged 1000 Yen for late checkout, which my son had already paid when he came back earlier. While he was taking shower, I dashed across street to Mc D to get some burgers for our quick lunch. This place was really packed with customers. We did not have time for a long lunch today.
We got to bullet train station and was ready for our next destination. For some reason, this train required two tickets (for same train). I think the second ticket was for oversized bags, which we did not really need. The leg room on the train was more than enough. Soon we were on our way to the next city.
It was a five hectic, but interesting days in Tokyo. I now have seen slow daily life in small town of Hakone to crowded streets of Tokyo. A big contrast for sure. Both places were interesting, and I would like to visit them again. To me small towns are a true presentation of people of any country, rather than big city. They are building blocks of a country. But then city like Tokyo shows how far Japan had evolved from small places like Hakone.
Link to photo album on my Facebook https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.3680981295520276&type=3
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