Going Down to Kansai Again

CJ gets ready for a bath before we head out.

After a lot of questions, calls to home, and talking with my friends, I decided to take a break from Tokyo and go to the much safer region of Kansai. An Orthodox priest's family had invited me to come down and spend a day or so with them in Kyoto before they went to Hiroshima. Luckily, I have a sempai near Kyoto who offered me a place to stay with him, should I need it.

At this point, I need it.

I was able to get one of the last tickets on a night bus from Tokyo to Kyoto for the super-sketchy night bus on Thursday. My plan is/was to organize my room for the new roommate and just in case I don't come back, pack and take the bus, arrive in Kyoto on Friday morning, stay with the priest and his family for a while, then move in with my friend Kai and then with my friend Gina. Fool proof plan since I have a friend with me every step of the way. But, of course, Thursday night is the time when I have to get all emotional and start acting like I'm never coming back. I started going around and taking pictures and videos of things, crying at every turn, saying good-bye like I'm moving away to a new city forever, and basically being a baby about the whole thing.

Hmmm, left-overs! I actually made a mountain of this
stuff, but somehow managed to eat it all.

In retrospect, I did eat really well that night, because I had to cook all of my remaining veggies and tofu in a last soup so nothing would be left in the fridge after I left. I wolfed it down, hoping that it would keep me filled all night, but it didn't (booo!!). But for added fun, I got to use the ingredients that other girls before me had left behind (yeah!!).

I was only allowed to carry one large bag, one small bag, and one purse due to the bus's rules, but that was more than enough for me: after traveling with Gina and from my experience as a pk, I am well trained in the Tetris-like art of packing. After I got all my stuff packed and moved into the lobby, I went back for my food. Daddy had made sure to stress that I needed to carry nonperishable foods that needed no prep-work just in case I found that Kyoto was just as hard pressed for food as Tokyo has become. So I packed almonds, dried apples, a log of salami, crackers, and tuna packets into any extra crevices in my bags. I didn't think that I would need it all on the little trip, but I figured that I could always give it to Kai in return for staying at his house. As for my last loaf of bread, I gave that and a bottle of Meghan's Coka Cola to Matthew, who was staying in Tokyo longer than the rest of our family.


Lastly, I interrupted Miki in the shower and told her that I'd be leaving in an hour. She followed me about for awhile as I sobbed all over Keyaki, then gave me a few presents before I left: she called her mom and let me talk with her one last time (her mom was really supportive this whole time and invited me back to their house should I ever come back to Japan), gave me a small piece of chocolate for the bus ride, and gave me a face mask for the trip down there (I think that the mask was supposed to help keep other people's germs off me and protect against the radiation somehow). She even walked me to the bus stop and used her Wadaiko-super-strength to tote my bags the whole way, but kept remarking, "You're really taking all of this with you? Unbelievable!" I don't bring many bags, but I jam-pack them full of stuff!

Instead of taking the bus, since the bus schedule was all out of wack, I got a taxi ride with another ICU exchange student named Kara. She and I were in the same Japanese class, so I knew her a little. She was actually up in Sendai when it all happened and was getting ready to run away to Okinawa that night. At the train station, we went our separate ways. Getting to the meeting place for the bus was a hassle, sine it wasn't an official stopping place, just a sidewalk that the company commender at the wee hours of the night. When I got on the bus, no one told me where to sit, but I had heard someone say that people going to Kyoto were in the front and those going to Osaka were in the back, so I sat in the front, only to have a flustered couple ask me to move to the last seat in the last row in the back. The bus was cramped, but I was used to not having much space in Tokyo. I was just happy to be sitting down out of the cold wind (since I had shown up to the meeting place an hour and a half ahead of time as to not miss the bus). I decided to take a nap, and when I woke up, the bus was stopped at this rest area and it was snowing!!! I got back on the bus took another nap, and woke up in Kyoto around 7 am.

At least I had made it to Kansai! I lugged everything to the nearest McDonald's and had a breakfast sandwich while I waited to get warm again and meet Marie, my pk friend from Canada.

The Yakiniku Ojiisan

The other night, I was wondering the neighborhood in search for ice cream and vegetables, when I stumbled upon the mysterious, late night, yakiniku stand! I've seen this stand before, but I was always headed somewhere else or didn't have money at the time. That night, I decided to make a friend.

Allow me to introduce you to my Nashi Obaasan replacement: Yakiniku Ojiisan (Barbecue-Meat Grandpa)! While I was waiting for the chicken to cook, I spoke to my new Ojiisan and found out his life story. He is now retired, but in his younger years he was a chef at various international resorts and hotels. He lived in a variety of places, but one of them was Shizuoka, one of the locations that Gina and I visited in the winter. We were able to chat about that for a bit (fun fact: Shizuoka is famous for tea and quiet, lovely fields, by the way). While his family has always had this house (seen in the back ground) he would stay in apartments and the hotels when he lived in other cities. Even now that he's retired, he loves cooking for other people and he sets up this stand outside his house every night to serve the after work crowds. The menu is pretty cheap for chicken, beef, or vegetables with salt or special sauce.

He was very nice and even posed so I could take this picture. The food was great, and I'll probably go back for another late night snack. No more pears, but I at least can get tasty chicken. :)

Kaitenzushi, the Basics

(Yet another food blog)

Up until now, I’ve only been to the kaitezushi (revolving sushi) bar behind Musashi-Sakai station and one in the basement of a Kobe department store complex. Going to the one in Kobe won’t happen for me until I go all the way back to Kobe, so I was prepared to settle for the one near the station. But while it was cheap, it was so small and so crowded, and I’d have to bike all the way there. Not such a good set up. That was until my friends let me in on a great ICU secret: there is a bigger, closer, cheaper sushi bar right down the street!

They had all been craving sushi (and, really, who doesn’t?) and we had Friday afternoon classes canceled for a government issued test that weekend, so we decided to head off for our fill of sushi right after Japanese class. So, after class, off we went; past the gate watchman, past the rival ramen stores, the small shrine, J-Mart, Don Quixote, the large shrine, and under a bridge or two. We can in mass, which might have intimidated lesser store owners, but this particular kaiten was used to having swarms of ICU foreigners, so they weren’t shocked to see us at all. We did, though have to split up because SOME OF US couldn’t wait and decided it would be a good idea to skip the second half of Japanese class and go to the restaurant early, so they were already done by the time we arrived. All’s well that ends well, though, as our second wave would have had to sit at a second booth anyway.

For those of you who are new to all this (and in case I haven’t written it already), kaitenzushi bars are known for minimal customer-chef interaction and for serving most of the food on a revolving belt. The sushi chef cooks (rather, matches or wraps) everything in a little area and sets his finished pieces on the belt. As the little fish travels around the counter, it is up for grabs for anyone sitting at the bar. If you want one, just take it. After you eat the sushi, keep your plate until the end the servers will tally up how much you ate and bill you off that. Different types of plates have different colors or styles to help calculate price. For example, a yellow plate might be 105 yen, but one with blue flowers will be 225 yen. Color also lets the customer know if the sushi comes with wasabi already included or not. Each shop has a different plate system, so it is good to check before you grab a 500 yen plate. Ordering off the menu is also allowed.

If the store is small enough, you can just tell the chef what you want. But at the place we went, there cooks were all in the kitchen and two belts of food were coming out on the floor. In order to order, you had to type what you’d like electronically and when your order was ready, it would be sent around in a special bowl and music would announce that it was coming near your booth.

Most people like tuna and other types of fish, but the chewier stuff is my favorite! Clams, oysters, squid, and octopus are all good choices, but if you want something else, just pick it up. The restaurant that we went to had French fries, soups, desserts, and lots of “unique” sushi rolls, too. The food was so good, filling, and cheap, we all went back two days later! But having it twice in a three day period is enough for me. I’ll be set for sushi for a while, I think.

Mochitsuki, the Basics

Okay, believe it or not, I actually keep a list of things that I want to write about in my blogs. It is just a matter of finally getting around to them....well, you know.

Today, there is a little thing I'd like to talk about called, mochitsuki (literally, "mochi making"). Mochitsuki is a tradition activity that has become more of less of a standard beginning of the year company ritual. Organizations set up the traditional equipment and provide the ingredients so that members, friends, and family of the group can come, pound giant mallets, and eat chewy, delicious paste to welcome in the new year. One such mochistuki was held by the construction workers at ICU. They invited everyone in to help them celebrate, and while I was interested in how the rice was actually made into mochi, I came mostly for the free lunch!

Hold on, what? Mochi? Oh, well that's uh.... I mean, it....hmm...right then. We'll call in a professional for this one: Wikipedia.

Mochi is traditionally made in a ceremony called mochitsuki. Traditionally, mochi was made from whole, polished, glutinous rice, in a labor-intensive process. While also eaten year-round, mochi is a traditional food for the Japanese New Year and is commonly sold and eaten during that time. Mochi is also a prominent snack in Hawaii, South Korea, Taiwan, Cambodia, and Thailand.

Further fun fact: The Japanese believe that there is a rabbit (not a man) on the moon and he pounds mochi with a large mallet.

Now that business is done with, let's move on. After the usual Saturday morning Wadaiko practice, I scampered over the the construction grounds just in time for the community's taiko performance. They were playing a piece that I knew which was very refreshing and, to my surprise, many other Wadaiko kids showed up to watch, too. They were on their way to see the latest Harry Potter movie, but had decided to stop off for mochi-on-a-stick instead of pay hundreds of yen for a bucket of Japanese popcorn. As an audience-powered people, the Japanese encourage unison cheering, something which I am also for, but I don't know the words. I tried faking it, but I ended up just saying the of an Arabic rice dish or other nonsensical phrases that sounded close enough. The rest of the mochitsuki was rather uneventful, in truth, but the experience was well worth the wait in line for the soup! I may or may not have had 4ths of the soup, by the way. Don't believe everything you hear.

People were constantly pounding mochi which was then used in every way imaginable by the cooks. Folks of all sizes gave mochi making a go, even little kids. I, apparently, did better than expected, but my friend Kaze wowwed more people than I did. Feeling pretty good about myself, I stood tall and proud until this spindly, little Japanese guy waltzed up, grabbed the largest mallet available and began pounding mochi with the timed precision of a Rolex watch! This man pounded on time, every time, with such force, I couldn't believe it!

Overall, a very enjoyable experience. We should do that again sometime. Next year? Sounds good. Although, this Saturday I'm rather excited for a Udon Noodle Making Party at Musashi-Koganei!! Soup! Soup for everyone!!!

Exploring Noodles

My favorite Ramen shop (not the one that makes me sick, but the one right next to that one) is kind of expensive, and I was thinking that I should go out to different places every now and again. Not that I don’t love my Ramen shop (they give people free curry and rice, and girls get free dessert, yum!) but other places have different items on the menu. Gutara Ramenya, it isn't you, it's me. No, on second thought, it is you. Sorry.

So coming back from church, Saturday night, I stopped off in a side street, and squeezed myself into one of the many tiny, tiny ramen shops. There was only one old man working, but you could tell that he had everything down pat. I got some soba noodles, concentrated miso soup and a few gyoza to top things off. Just to make sure I knew how to eat it, the man was nice enough to explain the noodle/soup combo to me. I still don’t think I was doing it right, but I tried my best. It was surprisingly spicy, but that was fine by me. I used the gyoza to absorb the last of the sauce and soup. Very tasty!! I’ll have to try a different store next time. Haha, but probably not the one where the salary men sing traditional Japanese enka.

Sweets Paradise

Are you ready for this?! It is Sweets Paradise!!

Okay, you may remember me talking about All-You-Can-Eat/Drink places here in Japan, right? You know, those restaurants where you pay, like, $10-$35 and get a buffet and a time limit? Bonus info: the longer the time limit, the more you pay. Well, they are really popular for parties and group outings. Well, my friend took some of us out for a newly opened All-You-Can-Eat-Dessert-Buffet! I know, it’s great!!!

The place was called Sweets Paradise and was all done up in a old-fashioned train car feel with an extensive display of cakes, pastries, a chocolate fountain, a fair-ground style popcorn machine, and fruits. For drinks, you could have hot chocolate, soda, teas, coffees, or shaved ice. There was also a pot of curry, rice, a bowl of salad, and several pastas to balance out the meal. It was all so lovely, but not as sweet as you might imagine. Japanese desserts look deceptively sugary. But they mostly taste like fluff or aren’t very sweet. Natural sugars, like those found in fruits and honey, are more appreciated. The Japanese, it seems, have an aversion to anything that’s flavor is too strong, so spicy foods aren’t that spicy and sweet foods aren’t that sweet. Give them a Reese’s for example, and most of them will say, “Too sweet!” or “Too buttery!” Many of the Japanese students at Witt would complain that the cafeteria slacker desserts were amasugiru (too sweet).

Because of this neutral flavor, I didn’t eat more than three platefuls of sweets, but went straight to the curry, which overflowed from my plate and burned my hand! I did what anyone would have done, ate that curry to the last drop and showed it who was boss!!

Would I go back to sweet’s paradise? Definitely, it is surprisingly close (Kichijoji) and I’d be able to get a full meal besides the desserts bar. Maybe sometime in January as a pick-me-up when school starts getting hard, the weather is depressing, and I just feel like eating my weight in strawberry jelly rolls!

Samrat Restaurant

Just a “by the way” sort of thing:

After Wadaiko, but before the Soul Run nomihoudai, Kai, I, and another former OYR went out to eat in Kichijoji. They had both gone to ICU and had spent a lot of time in Kichi, and there was one place in particular that they wanted to go to: Samrat. It was an Indian restaurant tucked in underground with a hard to find entrance that we only caught on the second time. As we started down the stairs I could already smell the kitchen that reminded me so much of Rashmi and Sophie’s houses I got a rush of high school memories! But as soon as we stepped inside I was pulled back to reality as a tall, bearded Indian man greeted us with a loud Japanese “Irasshaimase!” I’m in Japan, not Ohio. I’m in Japan, not Ohio. Got it.

The great thing about this place, I found out, was that there was an unlimited bread rule, which we three probably abused. While my friends got some of the more mild flavors, I asked for some daal terka and spicy veggie curry. It was so good, but the portions were tiny and I was done with mine in almost an instant. I ended up eating the rest of someone else’s, too. But it isn’t my fault!! Japan’s serving sizes (even in Ethnic restaurants, it seems) are super small not super sized. I wanted to stay and talk with everyone a little more, but Soul Run was meeting at the station soon and I didn’t want to be left behind.

I would give this place a 7 out of 10, a good place to stop back again, but just a touch expensive.

ICU Festival: Day 2, Saturday, Oct. 30th

Good morning!! Rise and shine, because it is time for Taiko!

My entire day was spent with the Taiko group, preparing for the concert, setting up the gym, grabbing some lunch, walking around (in the rain) calling out to the festival goers (in Japanese and English) to come and see us perform, and tear down. Luckily, we were over at around 3 pm, so I still had some time to catch another glimpse of the festival that day. It was drizzling the whole time, which had my spirits down at first, but everyone was trying to be as energetic as possible and that really affected my mood too. As you walked down the sidewalks, everyone was yelling out to passers-by, waving signs, dressed up, and fighting for your attention. How can you ignore that kind of life and energy? What’s more, Kai was there!! He came up from Kyoto for the weekend to see his ICU friends and to cheer on Wadaiko! We were able to perform in our usual gym, which made our sound reverb off the walls and give us this awesome presence while keeping the drums dray. There was a modest crowd, but I was kind of nervous anyways. I only did two half songs, but I had to carry and rearrange drums, so I was a part of the concert the whole time. It was really fun, but I messed up in two parts. It didn’t show, but I know that I made those mistakes and that is what matters. Miki’s mom was there, too! She had come all the way from Kamakura just to see Miki perform, but she stayed a little while after the show to talk to me, too. I was so revved up from the show that my Japanese was getting confused, but she said that she was very proud of both of us and was such a mom about it all. Kids from my dorm and classes were also there, too. They were all super surprised that I did Taiko and said that it was a shock to see me so energetic and active in the last song. I know I’m a bit on the quiet side sometimes, but I guess people don’t expect me to do something big or loud. I don’t usually do that sort of thing, but for that song, I just couldn’t help it!

Outside in the rain, you could to see all the different club booths and group that I got a little carried away. I bought a chocolate and sprinkle covered banana, freshly made yakisoba and fried mochi on a stick, a kabob that was pronounces kay-ba-bu, delicious lamb, grilled beef (from the Lacrosse boys, good friends of mine), hot chocolate, and a muffin (from the Yearbook kids). It was all so scrumptious, but I had to pull back before I spent too much on just food.

During the same time as Wadaiko that day, Soul Run’s main group performed on the stage. Since it was raining, they had to go inside the auditorium, but there was a slight problem with this; the indoor stage was too small to fit everyone, so only the freshman and exchange students were able to perform. Anyone older (including the seniors!!) weren’t able to dance. Later, I watch a video that one of the presidents had recorded of the group, and it looked good, but I know that it was slightly disappointed for the upper classman not to dance. To celebrate their hard work, Soul Run organized a nomihoudai (literally, “All You Can Drink Party”) in Kichijoji that night. Myself and another Wadaiko/Soul Run kids, Derek, tagged along too even though we wouldn’t be performing until the next night. Besides a lot of drinks (I had cola, thank you) the food was great and seemed to just keep coming! Some of the members were a little too enthusiastic about the beverages, but no one got too rowdy; unless you count a group-late-night-cream-puff fight rowdy. Haha, I guess that part is just a yearly Soul Run tradition. All of the members gave the upperclassmen and the co-presidents presents, we told stories about practicing together, took a lot of pictures, and had a grand old time. It was good to celebrate with everyone, but I’ll miss our lunchtime dance sessions.

I don’t know how late everyone stayed out, but I went back to my dorm in time for curfew and to try to get some rest. There was still one more day of the festival and I knew it was going to be a long day.

ICU Festival: Day 1, Friday, Oct. 29th

WAH! I’m so behind on my blogs, this is embarrassing. If I can catch up with them this weekend, though, I’ll be solid.

Let’s take a trip back a few weeks to the ICU festival. If you’ve ever read manga or seen anime, you know that most high schools and colleges in Japan have these cultural festivals once a year for clubs to show their stuff, make some money, and for the school to attract attention and prove that their students are well-rounded and do more than just study and go to cram school. Sure, right, whatever you have to tell yourself. But these festivals (try to think more like school fair) are really fun and people pour hours upon hours of effort into them. By the time students reach college they are experts at preparing for festivals, which really helped me because I’ve only had the Wittenberg festivals to pull experience from.

I’m in a few clubs here, which means that I had to be a pro at time management and I also had to make some decisions on priority; who was I going to perform with? Which group was I going to help on the day of the festival? Which group would be more forgiving if I didn’t chose them? That sort of thing. My final decision: dedicate myself mostly to Wadaiko, playing with them on both days and attending all of the preliminary events as a Wadaiko member, helping the Yearbook Club leading up to (but not during) the festival, dancing with Soul Run at the closing ceremony only, and supporting my friends whenever I had some free time. It was surprising to see how much importance all the groups were putting on this. Since the first day I joined, the Wadaiko kids were talking about preparations for the festival (which was two-ish months away at that point), and Soul Run was formed ONLY to perform at the festival. Everyone was throwing a lot of pressure on how well we’d be and exactly how every movement would look. There isn’t enough time in my blog to talk about all the preparations, but just know that we practiced a lot. Like, a lot, a lot. I thought it a bit obsessive, but I can’t argue that the results were fantastic.

On the Friday right before the festival, I had morning class, but all afternoon classes were canceled to let kids do final practices and set up for the next morning. I had already promised my time to Taiko, so I ran home, changed into my purple pacchi (a style of traditional Japanese pants) and dashed to a 4 hour practice session. We had to rehearse, of course, but since we would be playing outside on Sunday, people needed to practice bringing and setting up our equipment and instruments for the day of the show. Every movement and responsibility was charted out and directed. Once again, it all seemed super controlled and over the top, but it left no room for error and responsibility was made obvious, so if you didn’t do your part, everyone would know. The OYRs and the freshman were slightly paranoid at this idea, and that is probably why we did so well.

After Wadaiko, I ran over to the Soul Run practice for the finale, and boy, was I in for a shock. There were a few girls there already when I arrived, but I was waiting for the rest of the crew to show up. Soul Run had 53 members this year, and I knew that at the finale only a few of us would be performing. I thought that a few meant 30. It really meant 12. I was one of the 12. WHEN WAS THIS DECIDED?! I mean, it was such an honor to be chosen out of that many people and perform with the top dancers, but I’m not that good! I was so, so embarrassed when the presidents of the club explained that we were the only ones dancing; it finally hit me why everyone else had made a big deal about me being picked. Besides doing the Souran Bushi dance, we also had to do a Shorinji Kempo kata and a Para Para dance. Shorinji Kempo is an energetic and a very disciplined Japanese martial art, that is much more popular at my school than at others, I think, because the leader of the club is a national champion, or some such thing. By the way, one of the Japanese princesses goes to ICU. I just found that out, but that’s beside the point. Para Para started as a joke of a dance, in a way, but is now no laughing matter (even though I laughed at it at every practice). There is an idea that the Japanese can’t dance, but are really good and hand dancing while swaying. So there is a very easy form of hand dancing that caught on in clubs and is used all the time by Japanese pop artists. Think of the Macarena to Japanese music. That is Para Para. I really liked the dance because no matter how outrageously silly, expressive, or dorky you were, you would only be acting more true to the dance style.

Later that night, I went to check up on the Yearbook Club who had turned one of the classrooms into a café for the next day. It was very cute, decorated with Halloween themed origami, and we all ate cheesecake together! But I had to dash and do one more practice with Soul Run on the stage before the mega-huge pizza party!! May I just say that while tasty, Japanese pizza is disappointingly small and uber expensive? They try, but still. Luckily, though, we all paid for the pizza that night, and when I joined up with the Yearbook guys later and they asked me where I could find a lot of change, I was able to hook them up with Soul Run. Yahoo! Chalk one up for the international student!

With all of this running around, I was really hyped up, but had to go to sleep since I’d be up bright and early the next day. I had such a fun day, but there was only one problem: the weather channel that night was calling for rain on the weekend….

From America With Love

I got presents!! My daddy sent me a 20 lb box filled with protein (Slim Jims, beef jerky, tuna fish, ham-in-a-can, and beef stew), chocolate (M&Ms and Snickers), and Arab-ness (bulgur wheat and bullion cubes)! There was even a note addressed to Miki to thank her for being so kind to me. When she had gotten a care package from her mother a few weeks ago, I received a personalize note, some towels, and hot chocolate mix. I found out later that Miki had told her mother, "Zaiton has very few things here. It must be very difficult for her." So, taking pity on the poor foreign girl, Miki's mother sent me some items to make my life easier.

I was so happy when it came. I had been checking my mailbox everyday, and the gate keeper would laugh at me when I came back saddened and empty-handed. But one day, I saw a big, red magnet on the outside of my box, which meant that a package had come! I rushed in and gave the magnet to Kagi-san (the gate watcher) and he gave me a very omoi (heavy) box. Apparently, at the post office, my dad had been adding and removing items to get the weight to 20 lbs perfectly. Later, I gave Kagi-san and his wife some Slim Jims, for which Mrs. Kagi was very grateful. In Japanese she told me thank you, and that she hadn't eaten jerky like that in a long time (I suspect since she was last in America).

What else came from America? A festive Halloween lantern, coloring book, and crayons from Grandpa Tom and Grandma Alice!! A week ago, I was in a bit of a panic about my crayon supply, but I think that I'm set for a while, now.

Besides these gifts, my Uncle Paul sent me a housewarming card when I first arrived, so I should probably start sending presents back home to balance out the karma, right?

Ramen, the Basics

Be. Yond. Words.

But I'll try.

Ramen is not what you think. Ramen is not what I thought. Ramen is, by far, the best things I've had since I came to Japan. Everyone who has been to Japan before me wouldn't stop saying that they all got hooked on Ramen. "What is so special about Japanese-pork-and-noodle-soup?" I would wonder. "Maybe that is the Japanese comfort food or something."

Wrong. So, here's the story:

If you look in my Mitaka photo album, you'll notice that I got caught in a torrential rainstorm on my way home from the store one day. It was a long walk back to school, and I had already made pit-stops everywhere I could trying to stay dry as I lugged (full-out, lugged) a laundry basket filled with groceries and such back to ICU. After making it about 2/3rds of the way home, I thought of just stopping for a while and waiting till the rain calmed down a bit. But by then, I was right outside a ラーメン屋 (Ramen shop). Were they even open? Would they want someone who was all wet? How does one order Ramen? Just then, a young man came outside the shop to fix the "open" sign that had fallen from the winds. He saw me standing there. I saw him see me standing there. He looked at me. I looked at the sign. He looked at the sign. It was priceless.

A couple quick bows later and I was inside the store, my umbrella sopping wet in a rack, and my laundry basket-'o-stuff right next to it so as not to moisten the entire store. I threw my stuff down at the bar (for those who don't know, there is a bar that surrounds the Ramen store's kitchen) and pulled out my wallet. Now, buying food in Japan is a little different than back in the States. In this store, right next to the main doorway, was a vending machine. But not an ordinary vending machine, no Sir, this was a menu machine! You placed any amount of money into the machine, then pushed the button for the items(s) you wanted, and received the change and tickets for your meal once you were done. Then, just had the ticket to the cook and wait at your seat. Sounds easy enough, but the menu was all in Japanese. What was worse, it was mostly in kanji~! So I picked one that I could read, gave the man my ticket, and (after a while) he gave me a hot bowl of Ramen.

It looked soooooo good! Everything was in one bowl, sure, but it was neatly placed and orderly. And everything I needed to enjoy the Ramen fit on the bar top (tissues - for when your nose starts to run from the hot soup, soy sauce, pickled veggies - in the black and red container, and all you can drink water and tea). The taste was unbelievable, too!!! I'm a noodle-lover by nature, but this was more than my palete had ever handled from soup before; there was a buttery feeling, the veggies were still somewhat firm, but the meat was so, so soft, and the entire thing smelled like fall (don't ask me what that means, just have some for yourself). I was so dissapointed that I came there alone! I just wanted to turn to someone, ANYONE, and say, "Isn't this fantastic?! Can you believe this was just $7? They gave me so much, I don't think that I can finish all of this!!" There was a lot, by the way. It took me a good half hour to get it all down. But I loved every drop!

The moral of the story? Eat real Ramen, REAL Ramen, before you say that you don't like Japanese food. Don't like sushi? Fine. Can't find a taste for tempura? I can understand that. Eal just not your thing? I can dig it. But there is no way that in this world, someone exists who does not like Ramen. Get on over to Mitaka, if you can; I know a great little place just up the street.

Kichijoji with Mr. Spengler

It's a small world - no joke!

I go to a pretty small university in southern Ohio, but for some reason, there were enough alumni from my university in Japan to create the Wittenberg Alumni Tokyo Group. Isn't that cool!? Oh, come on, it is a little cool. No? Fine, whatever.

Lucky for me, the group is based in and around Tokyo (with ICU very close by), so the president of the Group has been able to help me get my footing here in Japan. He met me in Shibuya, gave me a ride to my dorm, and has even been able to give me advice about ICU since he went there in the 80s!

The other day, he was generous enough to take me out to diner in Kichijoji to make sure that I was adjusting well and getting enough to eat. We went to a lovely restaurant that focused mainly on one thing: chicken. Except for the last two pages of the menu (desserts and tofu) everything was made out of or included chicken, and tasted amazing! Let me explain: The shop door was supper small and we had to open the sliding door, then go under the hanging red flap in order to get in (Mr. Spengler is quite tall, so this was the awkward part for him). When we entered the narrow restaurant, there was a bar on the right and small tables on the left. The shop owners/workers greeted us and led us to another space upstairs. Can I just say that I love stairs by the way? They are great! And these stairs were small with dark brown boarders. At the top of the stairway we had tables with large, hanging, blank scrolls that helped divide the areas. *Interesting fact* Japan doesn't have a strict "no smoking in restaurants" rule yet. They have it in classrooms, covinience stores, government buildings, and trains, but not restaurants. However, shop keepers use those little "air-purifier fans" to eliminate all the smell. Good show.

Anyway, we ate a bunch of chicken themed dishes, but halfway through the meal I realize that I could have been taking pictures of these beautiful and tasty foods. I quoted my friend Gina Gray and said, "Can I have a gaijin moment?" He completely understood and even helped me move the food into the light for the best picture. These two pictures are of chicken croquet with various grilled veggies, chicken haru maki (spring rolls), and a great dish called Oyakodon (親子丼) or "parent and child bowl". There is a bowl of rice and on top is chicken and eggs (the parent and the child). It is a great dish with a weird name, but very popular. I used this as an example in Japanese class today and my teacher was shocked that I and the other students knew what it was. Apparently it is one of her favorite dishes (bonus points?).

And have I said how much I love, love, love Kichijoji yet? Because I do. You'll definitely see more stories about this town, and its food, coming later!