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Yamituki Curry is the closest restaurant to our abode. It is also quite yummy. There are 12 curry dishes to choose from and go for about 800 yen each. Unless you are extremely hungry, splitting one with a friend is the way to go. They taste quite different from typical Japanese curry. Many feature cheese in the sauce–very unique and delicious. I believe this is a chain and can be found outside of Nishi-Waseda as well although I’m not sure where.
This past Saturday I spent about 3 hours on trains going to and from one of the places where I am teaching (Atsugi Naval Air Base). There were many more people dressed up in summer yukata than normal. It dawned on me that, it being a Saturday, summer festivals could be happening. As I exited my train station I took a look at the nearby display board of public events. On the one I was looking at there was a notice for a 祭り (matsuri or festival) at 諏訪神社 for that day and the following day.
I told the family when I got home that they probably shouldn’t eat much at home. They were still unprepared for their first summer festival, however, as they didn’t come hungry.
Festivals aren’t just about food though. There are lots of games too. The game above allows you to catch (and sometimes keep) goldfish.
The above sign says that you can catch and keep up to 5 fish for 300 yen. If you want to just catch them for fun (and not keep any) then the price drops to 200 yen (about $2).
If goldfish aren’t your thing then perhaps you’d like to fish for toys instead?
The last photo is supposed to be one of the traditional, Japanese summer dress. The yukata look authentic, but I don’t believe Crocs were very styling in the Edo Period.
For the current McDonald’s ad campaign in Japan they have chosen a random foreigner to be the poster child. They stuck some geeky-looking glasses on him, put a heart above his head, and attached the slogan “Nippon All Stars.” What any one of these many components have to do with each other, McDonald’s, or anything else is a mystery to me. I suppose that is the case for anyone seeing the ads as well.
Currently, Mr. Nippon All Stars (actually I think they are calling him Mr. James) is pushing the “Tamago Double Mac” (たまごダブルマック) which is a piece of bacon, an egg, and two hamburger patties on a bun. I will pass on that one.
Uni Qlo, in the background of the above photo, is a clothing store which we have already endowed with a few thousand yen. The prices are pretty good and the selection is nice. What does Uni Qlo (or Uniqlo) mean you ask? I have no idea.
From the front of Uniqlo a different view of the Golden Arches can be obtained. I believe this is a Waseda University building forming the single arch across the (Meiji Doori) street. The main campus is a 10 minute walk to the northeast though.
Tsukiji is huge. If you tried to walk down every aisle in the place it could take a week. So it’s no wonder that we never found the tuna auction on our first trip. The auction is tucked back and out of the way. To find it you will need a map. We made a beeline for it, with map in hand, as we came off the first train of the morning, and I’m glad we did. The above sign will let you know that you’ve found it. I was surprised that we weren’t first in line. I don’t know how the others got there before us, but the line quickly grew very long behind us.
Only a few people are let in at a time (and there have been occasions when the auctions have been banned to the public for viewing). If you arrive after 6 a.m. your odds of getting in are very slim indeed.
The freshly frozen tuna, with tails cut off, are lined up in row after row. Potential bidders are allowed the chance to poke around in the tuna’s cut off portion. They were diving in with all manner of poking devices to check for quality before bidding I suppose. Then, at just after 6 a.m., the bells started ringing and the auctions began in a flurry. I shot a 1 minute video of this scene below. The quality isn’t great as I was being jostled about by the other tourists. It wasn’t all that different from a rock concert.
We watched this man make Japanese rice crackers right in front of us on the streets of Hakone Yumoto before purchasing one to try ourselves. I was expecting the freshness to make it taste extra good. Although it was warm, it didn’t taste any different than any other senbei I’ve had.
These are frequently eaten with a sheet of nori (seaweed). That is what the man is holding in his left hand to wrap around the senbei.
Even though Hakone is loaded with tourists, many doing the Hakone loop during the day, by night the place becomes a ghost town. Very few of the few restaurants remain open as most tourists eat in their lodgings. We walked past this sushi place (すし処 means sushi place and はげ八 is the name of this restaurant in Hakone Yumoto) on our way back to our hotel.
Reflecting on this picture now, as we prepare to head back to Japan, I can see how much my kids have grown in just two years. My son is now as tall as my wife.