Moss-covered, stone lantern
Nothing was in bloom for this scene at Hasedera in Kamakura, but blooms aren’t always necessary to make the scene in the land of the gods.
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Susuki (Japanese Pampas Grass)
October in Hakone is the high season for the susuki grass. I headed down to Hakone from Tokyo to see it with a bunch of students. I should have went alone. The students weren’t interested in stopping the bus long enough to walk through the paths cut in the towering grass. Meanwhile, I was salivating at the chance to get out of the bus and be surrounded in the stuff. Instead I had to settle for this low quality pic through the moving bus window.
I guess this is yet another reason why I need to go live in Japan again someday.
Toshi’s Ramen
You don’t have to go to Japan to find good ramen anymore. Not that you can find five shops per block like you could in my old Nishi-Waseda neck of the woods, but we discovered Toshi’s Ramen in Eugene, Oregon the day after Thanksgiving. There wasn’t any tonkotsu on the menu, but you could choose from shoyu, miso, or shio broths. Possible toppings included pork (much leaner than any I experienced in Japan), corn, garlic, green beans, butter, bean sprouts, green onions, seaweed, and bamboo shoots. The noodles are hand made at Toshi’s. However, they were thinner than most I had in Japan. I like them a little thicker. I didn’t try the gyoza but will next time.
Here is a photo of the bowl I had, miso with corn, garlic, pork, green beans, bamboo shoots, and bean sprouts.
Japanese Candy
Few things in Japan can be had for under 100 yen. These candy sticks were one of them at just 10 or 15 yen each. The contents of the fancy packages are a flaky, flavored, hallow stick of sorts. Some of these are Chocolate Flavor (チョコレート). I think うまい棒 is the brand name (or maybe the name of the treat) which means something like “delicious stick.” Corn portage (コーンポタージュ) is the flavor on the far left.
Yoyogi Park in December
It has been snowing in my neck of the woods for a couple of weeks by now, but in Tokyo December seems like autumn. I took today’s photo on December 12, 2009 in Yoyogi Park near the Harajuku Station.
Michael Amott of Arch Enemy
Another random image off my hard drive for you today. This is Michael Amott of Arch Enemy playing at Loud Park in Japan in 2009. Arch Enemy is one of those bands that has hit it big in Japan compared to their popularity in most other places in the world. In fact, they probably wouldn’t even exist were it not for their early success in Japan.
Arch Enemy is supposed to be entering the studio to record their next album today, scheduled for a May 2011 release.