Where the streets have no name

Our past two days in Tokyo have followed somewhat of a pattern:

• we get up
• eat breakfast either in the cafe downstairs (a mostly Western style buffet with a few unusual offerings like salmon) or from munchies we picked up from a convenience store
• I pick a location to visit that day, as suggested by my Lonely Planet Tokyo Encounter
• we figure out the intricate route of trains and transfers necessary to get there
• we spend the morning at that location. The first day it was Shibuya, one of the major shopping areas where young people congregate to blow cash and be seen. Yesterday it was Harajuku....for much of the same reason. We lunch somewhere during this trip.
• we get exhausted and come back to the hotel to rest for a couple of hours in the heat of the day
• in the evening, we select a restaurant out of the Lonely Planet, figure out the convoluted subway system once more, and have an adventure in that district trying to find the restaurant in question

The first night was pretty straightforward. I selected the restaurant Komagata Dozeu in the Akasuka neighborhood, and while it was about a 30 minute walk from our rail stop (we purchased the cheapest 1-day unlimited pass, which basically lets us make a circle around Central Tokyo, but is missing many of the non-JR-run lines. So we adjust. And walk. And walk.), it was along the road to which we emerged from the station and we had landmarks to let us know if we were close and when we had gone too far. So we found it with minimal difficulty and enjoyed an amazing dinner.

Dozeu, as in Komagata Dozeu, are eel-like river fish. They are the specialty here and almost everything on the menu was dozeu cooked in various fashions. We had dozeu simmered in rice wine and reheated on a hibachi in front of us with green onions in a special soy sauce, and then we had grilled dozeu. Tavis very understandably was not able to tap into his inner Andrew Zimmern, and seeing a pot of little eely fish with their heads peering reproachfully at him was a little more than he had an appetite for. However, the grilled dozeu were headless and he nommed them quite happily. I loved them all--they were tender and tasty, not fishy at all. I'm such an indiscriminate carnivore. Sake and beer in abundance made the walk home seem much faster than the walk to the restaurant.

Last night proved a bit more of an adventure. This was only ironic because I had picked this restaurant, a yakitori joint (grilled chicken on a stick), based on how close it was to our rail station. However, it was not on a major street. It was down a cluster of small streets with no landmarks and not much context. And here we come to the basic problem with Tokyo.

THEY DON`T HAVE STREET NAMES.

Unless it is a major street or highway, none of the streets are named. Not just alleyways. Like, my entire subdivision would be anonymous. The address of the place we tried to go, Akiyoshi, was 3-30-4 Nishi-Ikebukuro, Toshima-ku. This translates to "in the Toshima ward (whatever THAT is), go to the neighborhood of Nishi-Ikebukuro and find the 3rd group of blocks, go to block 30 in that group, and you have about a 4% chance of finding the restaurant you`re looking for."

Even the locals got very confused. They had to divine our path in a cup of tea leaves to help us get there. Okay, they pulled out a map, but it was practically divination with as many people as it took to even get us in the right cluster of buildings. After that, we were on our own and it was only because Tavis kept looking for the kanji translation of the restaurant--of COURSE it couldn`t be one of the restaurants with Romaji (Romanized) signs out front, that would be too easy!--that we found the place at all. Until then, we got a good look at the very interesting, very sleazy Ikebukuro district.

However, we both agreed that the yakitori was worth the extravagant amount of trouble it put us through. OMG so good. We got skewers of beef tongue, some other beef deepfried with onions, grilled chicken with green onions, and the juiciest, fattiest teriyaki chicken imaginable. I could have sat there and ordered more all night. The place was absolutely packed, so if you come here, leave early enough in the afternoon to compensate for the frustrated wandering you are bound to experience.

So that's been the memorable eats. The shopping has been pretty fantastic too, if only for the eye candy every which way. The Harajuku district is especially vibrant on Sundays when all the social butterflies come out to frolic, but there were still plenty of people on display down the alleys and in the Vivienne Westwood-esque stores overflowing with frilly maid outfits, lacy corsets and punk paraphernalia. Kitsch doesn't come close. Not even remotely. But they sure do have fun!

Some store names of note, just from a 3rd-grade-humor standpoint:

• Nudy Boy
• Bruce Pee
• Freak Shop
• Candy Stripper
• Snoberry (probably Snow Berry but I hear Snobbery)

I must also say that my total of International Lush Stores is up to 2! Yep my Lushdar led me to both of the Tokyo branches of Lush. I'm just that awesome. And addicted. But mostly awesome.

No agenda yet today. Back to the rail map I go....

Kyoto part 2: The adventures and the almost-adventures

So in our two full days in Kyoto, we had very little by way of a schedule. Mostly a "hmm, let's walk around and see what's neat and do that, and see what's tasty and eat that." It wouldn't work for me in most places, but Kyoto was so laidback, well-organized and just plain enjoyable that it worked quite well here.

Initial impressions:

• It's not nearly as tall as South Korea was. Of course there are tall business buildings but the majority of the buildings are 2 stories. This really surprised me since I thought land was basically as expensive due to scarcity and difficulty building around the mountainous terrain as Korea.
• However, the buildings have much more character, generally speaking. Most streets we walked through had at least one shrine (Shinto) or temple (Buddhist), and while the colors tend to earth tone, the architecture of the ceilings and signs and gardens really make each street uniquely beautiful.
• So friendly, so clean. We didn't get any sort of response from the many foreigners we saw, unlike in South Korea where we started conversations with quite a few foreigners that seemed glad to see a fellow whitey. I wonder if they feel more at home here and thus don't feel the need to form connections simply based on the chance that we speak English. But the Kyotans were very friendly and in every restaurant we visited, they were more than willing to help us order and make sure we enjoyed ourselves.
• Wah no more magpies. Instead, we have crows. Big black raucous crows like Vicious wears on his shoulder in Cowboy Bebop. I prefer the 'pies, meself.
• Rainy season, yes indeed. It rained off and on throughout our stay. When it wasn't raining, it was extremely hot and muggy. If you come here, start your day early and plan to camp somewhere for most of the day until the sun goes down around 5pm (so early! Darn lack of daylight savings'.) and you can venture back out.
• The subway system is very logical, cheap (an all-day pass for approx $6) and easy to navigate. Taxis aren't ridiculous but not really necessary. Pack light--little did I know what good advice this was, but I learned quickly.
• General niceties go a long way. Bow to everyone. Sumimasen - excuse me. Arigato - thank you. Onegai - please. We gave a gift of local sweets to our machiya hostess and she was delighted and gave us gifts too (beer miso for the boys and rice face mask stuff for the girls). Always remove shoes before entering a house. Opt to be the polite foreigner, not the boisterous foreigner. (One of us is having some trouble with this part.)
• Ohmygosh, are these some fashion-forward girls! I have no idea how many hours a day they spend doing their hair, makeup, clothes, shoes and accessories, but my hat's off to them. (I'm not wearing a hat currently, and if I were it wouldn't be nearly as kawaii as the hat that THEY would be wearing, but the intention is there.) I also feel very bad for their feet. It's about equal to the envy I have of their footwear.

After getting the lay of the land, we intended to do a couple of things. Some of them we actually got around to doing. Others....not so much.

Almost adventure #1: walking the Philosopher's Path. This is a long and very beautiful walk that gives you a great view of several shrines. We had walked a pretty long time just to get here, so by the time we reached it, we meandered a bit.....and then followed the path of many philosophers and decided that food was more important.

Almost adventure #2: the Imperial Palace. Again, we'd walked extensively before getting here, so by the time we arrived and saw that we had to get a pass to walk through, we went "mehh" and strolled through the Imperial park on the way out.

Actual adventure! Tavis and I bought kimonos! Well, yukata, which are the more casual, cotton/linen style that many women wear around town just cuz. We both got fitted and picked out lovely sets of yukata and obi. I am so so so happy with mine, and Tavis looks quite dashing. (I can tell he's itching to a) accessorize, preferably with a sword, and b) throw many Asian-themed dinner parties so he has an occasion to wear it.)

Actual adventure #2! We had our first authentic Japanese noodles. We had udon, which are the thick wheat noodles; ours were in a broth just made for slurping with green onions on top. Quite satisfying. Afterwards, we ventured next door to a dessert shop because of their ridiculous, garish and absolutely delectable plastic parfait models. May I just say, if any country does over-the-top better, I should not care to see it. James had a coffee jelly parfait and Tavis and I split a strawberry/chocolate one, which also had layers of mango and cherries.

Oh, two notes of interest to my video game brethren:

• Tanooki, as in Tanooki Mario from Super Mario Bros 3? He's a trickster/magician deity! He is a raccoon dog and there are statues to him everywhere on the street and in restaurants.
• Kirin, as in the Kirin esper from FF3, appears to be some sort of flaming gazelle/goat/deer thingy. I don't know anything about him except that he's a popular beer brand. Oh yeah, beer is sold in vending machines here and is pretty cheap.

That's all I got for now!

Random impressions of South Korea

Random thoughts, pictures and impressions.

• It costs Rosie $7 a day in gas to get to and from her school.
• To pay for a product or service, offer the money in your right hand with your left hand supporting your arm. This is respectful.
• In Seoul, it is common for teenage girls to get "calf reduction" surgery as a gift from their parents. They actually remove part of the calf muscle to make the leg look sleeker and more attractive. I am now surreptitiously peeking at legs and wondering, "are those real? Or reduced?"
  
• There are very very few red or blue cars. There are also no pickup trucks. There are a disproportionately large number of cars in a color I affectionately refer to as "70's Wasabi."

• With the exception of the ridiculous feasts (the neo-historical complex in Daejeon and the Nepalese restaurant in Seoul), none of our meals here have cost more than $10/person. Yet land is so expensive that in parking garages, they often have rotating setups like this. You park your car on the lift and they rotate it around. All I can think about is Super Mario World, trying to jump on the Koopa Kids' heads.

• Food is just weird. Nuff said.

Why octopus flavored potato chips?! Why?!


Beautiful and delicious donut products. Usually filled with cream or chocolate. The kolache is amazing, too. "Paris Baguette"s are everywhere.

• If it's in English, it's probably wrong.
  

Things I don't like about Korea:

• they don't have single use paper towels in public restrooms; they have cloth hand towels. I can't imagine how unsanitary those are.
• NOBODY covers their mouth to cough or sneeze. They don't want to get their hands dirty.
• Driving. Aggression is the only rule that's obeyed and I am really astonished I haven't been involved in a collision yet. Red lights are mostly treated as stop signs--or pause signs. If you want to turn left (through oncoming traffic), you pretty much do it regardless of what the traffic lights say. I'd be on Adderal and Xanax all day just to commute. Sorry, Mom, I know this is the last thing you'd want to hear! At least we do a big chunk of our transportation on bike, which is really much safer--the only thing to worry about are soft, tender pedestrians. :)