Just a Glimpse

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Originally uploaded by me-spirit.

We arrived in Kyoto later in the evening and wandered around a bit aimlessly to get our bearing and find a bite to eat. We ran into 6 maiko (geisha/geiko in training) on different occasions this evening, yet this was the only picture I was able to capture. This was probably because I

1. was too self-conscious to try and ask to take a picture
2. did not practice the phrase ("something something anata wa something shashin something something")
3. did not want to be a rude and really dumb gaijin
4. thought we would see maiko and geisha over the next 4 evenings

It was around ten o'clock in the evening and most of the maiko were heading home from appointments - hailing cabs and walking home in the Pontocho district; leaving the exclusive ochaya -- the uber-expensive and 'by referral only' dining and entertainment establishments -- in the Gion district.

This particular maiko (squint hard or click to enlarge) had a very sharp and attractive blue and white kimono. I was close enough to notice the nape of her neck, which was made-up with powder.

And as quickly as we saw them, just as quickly they disappeared.

For more images, visit thse sites:

http://www.whatever.net.au/~amaya/geisha/

http://phototravels.net/japan/photo-gallery/geisha-maiko.html

Depachika

We were first clued to depachika by way of a gift from Fumiko-san several years ago. She brought back tea for us. We coined this gift "crack tea" because we became so addicted. We asked her how a French tea would be a gift from Japan and learned that giving and recieving the best food items from around the globe, as well as Japan -- tea, fleur de sel, cookies, fruit, chocolates -- was the latest trend in gift-giving. I even ran across an article in Food and Wine a few years back that piqued my interest.

At the bottom floor of department stores like Takashimaya and Isetan are depachika. We all would have been happy to be locked up overnight here. We wandered around an amazing array of prepared foods (salads, meats, noodles, contemporary versions of sushi and other foods) and beautifully wrapped bento boxes behind jewelry-like counters. When we hit the wall with temples or sight-seeing, a depachika visit was a nice shot in the arm, especially with the free samples: pickeled vegetables, tofu, fancy-pants lobster flavored sembei, mochi, chocolate truffles and the best one yet -- sake! Norv and I cut ourselves off at 4 sake samples. Maybe it was five. It's a great place to grab lunch, a snack or souvenirs.



I wonder if the New York branch of Takashimaya has depachika?

*top picture credit: Cousin Jeff

These Little Piggies Went to Katsukura

Back at home, folks tend to stay away from 1) chain restaurants and 2) fried food. If you're in Japan, put those notions aside or else you'll seriously miss out. The chain restaurants in Japan have a much higher level of food quality compared to the American restaurant chains.

In Japan, most restaurants specialize in a particular style or food. You probably won't find sushi and tempura on the same menu. One might think, "lack of choices" but don't worry, you'll find choices, like at Katsukura, a tonkatsu house that Fumiko-san introduced to us. We had many choices: type of cutlet, size, combination plates or the prized Kurobuta pork. Some of the selections were just too much food for me, so I opted for the minced pork and shiso with ebi-tempura. I don't know how the Japanese do it, but when they fry food, you don't get the heavy, grease-laden feeling. I know, it's still not the healthiest meal, but there's less of the guilt factor after dinner a la "I shouldn't have eaten the whole thing."



The sleeper hit for us was cabbage. See my shrimp resting on what one might think is a bed of too much garnish? Topped with a tangy sesame sauce, the cabbage was transformed into a oiishi (delicious) salad. Added novelty for us was that we were given a suribachi and surikogi to crush sesame seeds and then blend in the Katsukura special sauce. Greg inspired us all to make goofy faces as we ground our sesame seeds.



Katsukura is located in the Takashimaya Times Square shopping center, outside of Shinjuku station. When in doubt, head to the dining floors of any department store and you'll find plenty of restaurants.

* If there is anyone out there who has a recipe to the tangy sesame sauce, please forward to me!

"The Adventures of Letterman"

Do you remember "The Adventures of Letterman" on the Electric Company? I think the Evil Spellbinder was wreaking havoc on Japanese and Americans alike, replacing "L's" and "R's" or adding extra vowels.

At a subway station corner, we saw this sign:



I checked with Gina-san and she confirmed that the intention of this sign is "Crash" although "Clash" conveys a similar meaning.

Likewise, Tatay had some problems pronouncing Kazuo-san's name (Fumiko-san's brother-in-law). He'd often say "Kazoo" and we'd correct him. Fumiko-san jokingly cautioned Tatay about mispronouncing his name as "Kuzu" which can mean "garbage"!

Where was Letterman when we needed him?



Go on, groove with the music...

Asakusa and Sensoji Temple

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Originally uploaded by me-spirit.

Tatay refused to step aside after his picture was taken, so Norv and I just improvised a pose at the Kaminarimon Gate, the entrance to Asakusa and Sensoji Temple.

It is quite a touristy place, along the way to the temple, with shops offering souvenirs and Hello Kitty items galore. But come for the snacks! Despite having eaten the sushi breakfast, we couldn't turn down the sweet, waffle-like smell of the ningyoyaki sponge cakes. Still further down the road, was sembei (rice crackers), warming on the griddle. We had to have that, too.

The new thing for us at this temple was the large incense burners. Here, you gather the incense to your head and body and pray for good health. Later on, Monica and I noticed two women fanning and rubbing smoke onto an elderly lady, probably their mother, who was sitting in her wheelchair receiving the incense. Every so often, we turned a corner in Japan and something or someone turned our thoughts to Mom.

How will you be paying? By cantaloupe!

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Originally uploaded by me-spirit.

The 6000 yen cantaloupe (click to enlarge the photo) costs a little more than $50US! Norv started to express costs in terms of 'cantaloupe' as in "the hotel costs two and a quarter cantaloupe", "the dinner is 1 cantaloupe per person". He thought we should have packed local cantaloupe and use it as currency.

The fruit in Japan was so perfect looking and blemish free. Why is a cantaloupe or other "high-end fruit" so expensive and perfect? Gift-giving plays a large role in Japanese culture and high-end fruit carries auspicious symbolic meaning. We spied more expensive fruit at the depachika food emporiums ($100 and up) and later on in Kyoto, some extremely expensive cherries ($148US or almost two and a half cantaloupe).

Maybe we'll give Fumiko-san and Greg local cantaloupes and cherries for Christmas. You think that'll fly?

A Sign that My Father Spends a Lot of Time with Us

My sister bought me this cool sakura cap at the Tsukiji Market. Tatay also wears hats: baseball caps and Kangol caps (not too hip-hop, very classic). I saw a few solid colored caps along with my Hello Kitty-cute caps at the shop. I pointed to the display and told Tatay that he should buy a new cap. His response?

"Looks kinda 'Brokeback' to me!"

By the way, we were happy to have found Ueno ("When-o") Station. We practiced the phrase "Ueno eki wa dokko des ka?" with the Pimsleur tapes before the trip.

"Jet Lag" Breakfast

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Originally uploaded by me-spirit.

For many, fish and breakfast don't usually go together, but again, since my motherland is an island, it doesn't strike me as odd. Daing or smoked bangus with garlic fried rice is a breakfast I might crave.

Gina-san, my sensei no Nihongo (Japanese teacher) as well as Greg (my friend Vivian's husband) each recommended Tsukiji Market and sushi breakfast at the top of their "Tokyo must-do lists". Gina calls it the "Jet Lag" breakfast because the early morning visit to Tsukiji is easier accomplished when you're freshly jet-lagged.

After the Fish Market, we split into two camps for the sushi breakfast: half went for grilled unagi, the rest,for tuna and uni. The restaurant was like a sushi diner - long and narrow with seats only at the counter. At 8:00am, most seats were taken and we had to wait! There was a picture menu, so ordering was not an issue. The place was steamy with the aroma of good rice; I can't describe it, but I could just tell it was good rice. Our chirashi sushi orders (Monica - maguro and uni; Norv - maguro and Fumiko-san - uni) came soon after we sat down. The fish was incredibly fresh and was like buttah, baby! I've never tried uni until now (the texture was just hard to get over) but this uni was sweet and tender. My bowl was overflowing with super-sized pieces of toro and maguro and a lovely piece of shiso to prettily hold the wasabi and later serve as a palate cleanser. As a reference, the cost of toro nigiri (2 pieces) and sashimi run $9 and $18 respectively back in California. Six fat pieces of toro and another 6 pieces of maguro set me back 1500 yen or roughly $13. And I may not get another piece as fresh or torokeru (melt in your mouth) again.

Across the Pacific

Greg was a Mama's boy and I mean that in the best way (okay, as teens, it drove me "effing" insane!). In Mom's last years he was the best counterbalance to Monica's and my "do as the doctor ordered" prescription to her daily life. Fumiko-san was an integral part of our family support, too. Mom loved her even if she wouldn't share dessert with Fumiko-san (smile!).

Luckily, Greg and Fumiko-san shared their little secret -- that they were engaged, but waiting to announce it to the rest of us until Greg could ask her father's permission -- months before Mom passed away.

And so, before we left, I folded some origami cranes, the ubiquitous Japanese symbol of peace, happiness, love , longevity. I asked one of my brother's closest friends, Eric, to leave these cranes at Mom's resting place on Greg's wedding day.

Arigatou gozaimashita Eric, Cyn and Sara! Our family owes them a big thanks for many things over the past few years, but especially for helping with this small, spiritual gesture to keep Mom included in our milestone events.