Tea time at Tsukiji!?

This morning I went and checked out the 築地市場 (Tsukiji Shijo) fish market.  The picture above is the building that sits atop Roppongi Station, where I had to enter to get to the subway line that would take me to the market.

Completed around 2001, it is called Roppongi Hills, a massive development by Mori Building, probably the largest building owner in Tokyo.  

The project encompasses hundred of thousands of square feet of office space (Japan HQ of Goldman Sachs and other prominent firms), high-end retail, restaurants and residential.  

It took years to amass the land from more than 1,000 different owners of small parcels in the area.  It is impressive and probably the most significant real estate development in Tokyo in decades.

Getting on the metro and finding your way around can be a bit confusing.  Even an old pro like me was a bit rusty.  I bought a ticket for the Hibiya line, when I needed to buy one for the Oedo line instead.  No big deal, I just got a refund and was on my way.

築地 (Tsukiji) is known for the fish market and some great little restaurants including 大和 (Daiwa) shown above, where I had the best sushi I have eaten in my life with my brother, way back in 2000.  You can see the people lined up at 10:00 am, as they had been for hours.  For about 3,500円, or $35, you can get a really nice breakfast with a good amount of the freshest fish you will taste...washed down with a cold draught beer is about the most perfect meal I can imagine.

But this time, I wasn't at Tsukiji for fish.  It is also a really good place to buy tea.  

I had a really nice tea time with 松源さん (Matsugen-san), who worked at the shop called しゃん (Sean), and the gentleman dressed in black, who was buying fish for his eight-seat sushi restaurant in 双子玉川 (Futagotamagawa), not far from where I lived when I was in Yokohama for a year.  

Matsugen-san poured me some 緑茶 (ryokucha) green tea, which I was a bit skeptical of before trying because of its pale color.  I am accustomed to high quality tea with more flavor having a deeper green color.  He quickly, and in a really nice way, disabused me of the false notion, and even brought out the above pamphlet to illustrate why a more yellowish colored tea can actually indicate higher quality.  

It has to do with the leaves opening more slowly, and diffusing flavor over time.

Anyway, after a few more cups and some great conversation with these guys about tea and sushi (two of my very favorite things), I made some purchases then walked around the market a bit more.

There are so many tourists, it can be disrespectful to get up in the shopkeepers' grill with cameras, so I tried to keep the photos to a minimum.

I did get this one of a speciality shop selling all different kinds of cooked egg, plain or filled with anything from fish or chicken to vegetables.

For 160円 (about $1.60), I bought a small rolled up egg to taste.  This is the same type of egg that is sold at sushi restaurants, called 玉子 (tamago).  A bit sweet, a bit fishy, it definitely has a distinct taste all of its own.

It seems that most shops in Tsukiji specialize in one thing, egg as an example.  The guy selling shrimp is only selling shrimp, etc.  This generally holds true throughout Japan, where someone or a family will master a craft over decades and have a store or restaurant dedicated to and specializing solely in that one thing.  This is something that I really admire about Japan and the Japanese, their "stick-to-it-ness" for lack of a better term.  If I am buying tea, or eating yakitori, I want to do it at the place where they are specializing in the trade.

I asked a shop owner if I could snap one of this ice chest full of wasabi plants (roots?), surely about to make their way to sushi restaurants across Tokyo, before being ground fresh and served.

Okay ragazzi, that's all for now.  Steven is down with his work obligations and we are going to head out for lunch.  A presto!!

おはようございます and Show me the Money!

おはようございます！That's ohayogozaimasu, or good morning!

Well, it is just before 8:00 am and I am about to head out for the day.  I had a minor fiasco last night that made me feel like a Japan rookie and travel rookie in general.

Basically, I couldn't get my ATM card to work at any of the banks.  Wells Fargo had issued me a temporary card that was still good through 2016, and I informed them that I would be traveling in Japan.  

No problem....!  Except it was.  The card wouldn't work anywhere, and four customer service calls later, still no good.

Fortunately, Visa saved me.  I was able to set up a pin and get a cash advance so that I could use my credit card to withdraw cash from 7-11, and also as a normal card to make purchases.  So, big thumbs up for Visa, big thumb up somewhere not pleasant for Wells Fargo. Booooo....

Anyway, on a lighter note, I had a nice breakfast in the hotel this morning, and pretty healthy too.  Pictured above is rice congee with some pickled sea vegetables, cilantro, dried plum and chicken, a salad with a bunch of sea vegetables (kelp/seaweed), a "potage" soup and some Ceylon tea.  

I also had another shot of one of my favorite skewers from last night, of 鶏皮 (torikawa) chicken skin.  It was served with 七味 (shichimi) or seven spice, which you can buy at a Japanese grocery store back home, and a side of homemade miso paste.  If this irks you at all (I can't imagine it would, chicken skin is pretty tame), you might have been more bothered by what I noticed on the chalkboard of specials, which was 鯨ベーコン (kujira bacon) whale bacon 🐳. 

Ummm.....at least it wasn't dolphin?  I've heard Japanese refer to whales as the cockroaches of the sea, in defense of their harvesting of these animals.  I wonder if a cockroach is the whale of the land.  Is tuna still chicken of the sea?

I digress.

The yakitori here is really unparalleled.  There are a bunch of yakitori places in the Bay Area, new ones popping up all the time.  If these pictures are making you hungry and not squeamish, I would say that ゆづき (Yuzuki)  in the Mission and 一服 (Ippuku) in Berkeley are the most authentic and would steer clear of the rest.  Ippuku is really the closest it comes to Japan....IMHO.

Anyway, off now for a fun filled day in Tokyo...will be sure to bring my camera.

Ciao ragazzi and good evening!  Happy trick or treating :).

Okaerinasai!

Okay ragazzi, I made it to Tokyo, and stayed up until 10 pm and now am officially knackered.  Notwithstanding, I said I was going to blog, so I must fulfil my promise and do that before I crash!

I'm surely not the first who has posted a picture of the above sign, and will not be the last.  This sign, that greets you as you descend to baggage claim at Narita airport, says おかえりなさい (Okaerinasai) in Japanese, and Welcome to Japan in English.  There is a slight nuance, because the Japanese version translates "Welcome back," meaning that if you are reading that, you most likely have been to Japan before and are being welcomed home, whereas the English version is meant for first timers.  Anyway, it was a nice familiar sight to see upon my arrival.

After a quick shower and change of clothes at the hotel, I headed out for some yakitori.  Steven had a work dinner tonight, and we won't meet up until tomorrow so I was on my own.

I opted to go to a little divey place near my old office, where this guy has been grilling meats for over 30 years, and was gracious enough to let me snap a photo of him in action.

You can tell that this is a man who knows what he is doing and is comfortable with flame.  And it certainly showed, as the meat was fantastic.

Shown above is もも肉 (momo niku) chicken thigh, ぎんなん (ginnan) ginkgo nuts, ピマン (piman) green bell pepper and シシト (shishito) padron peppers.  These were all lightly seasoned with salt, and washed down with a Kirin draft.

Following that came a barrage of タレ (tare) sauce yakitori, which included つくね (tsukune) ground chicken, some more もも肉 thigh meat and also レバー (reba) liver, which was actually pork and not chicken.  Shown below was a delicious 手羽 (teba) chicken wing with some spices.  All grilled to perfection and delicious!

After dinner, I cruised around the old workplace neighborhood, which was a bit nostalgic, especially when passing this cafe where I would get my morning coffee and sometimes have clandestine meetings with my girlfriend at the time, who worked at the same company.

Okay ragazzi, going on about 24 hours here without sleep, so I will leave you with this last pic of the remote control toilet flusher in my hotel, with varying washing, blowing, drying capabilities depicted.  Enjoy!

Arrived in 東京！

Haha, just kidding.  I haven't yet left.  This is just a photo from outside of a small, dubious sushi shop in the international terminal at SFO.  I did not eat there, just snapped a quick photo.

And now, I am waiting to board my EconomyPlus bulkhead seat on this behemoth of an airplane.

It has been ten years since I left Japan after living there for 3.5 years, and more than five years since my last visit.

I would be lying if I said that I am not more than a little bit excited about this trip.  

There is a lot going on back in SF, and there will be when I return and always.  

That said, this little six day get away should be a lot of fun, and I am really looking forward to seeing and experiencing Tokyo again.  I am sure that a lot has changed there as they are always building and developing the city.  Also, Japan is old-school, and a lot has undoubtedly stayed the same.

Here's to visiting some old haunts and new haunts, but probably no haunted houses (though I arrive on Halloween).  Nevertheless, there should be lots of fun and interesting things to report, and I shall do my best to keep record and report back to you guys.

Here we go...off to Tokyo!