Week 6
So this week has made it very clear that as Japan approaches the summer, it is more and more difficult to not be the sweaty guy at the office. Although there is AC in the office and in my apartment, I tend to avoid the the hot humid patches of sun along the way so my many years of 3D platformer games really comes in handy. Besides avoiding the sun on the hot days and frantically making a poster for an academic conference next weekend, I am taking more opportunities to try the local delicacies.
One dish I had this week was particularly good and involved a Suribachi (Japanese Mortar & Pestle). After having some salad and some wheat rice, the server brought everyone their own small bowl filled with seeds of several spices as well as the Suribachi. We then crushed our spices and added a thick dipping sauce. At this point, the server bought some juicy pork to dip into the sauce. These meals are quite popular and affordable but I would recommend it for the novelty alone.
On Saturday, I met up with Hikaru, a friend from Sony, and went to Tsuikiji (pronounced skiji), which is a large and famous fish market. Its famous because it has the freshest fish in Tokyo which is why restaurant owners come in at 4 am to barter for the morning catches the fishermen are selling. We decided not to go at 4 am, (this time at least) but saw the large damp bartering grounds where hours before chefs fought fiercely for fresh filleted fish from fatigued fishermen.
A short distance from the 4 am fish market was a more casual market where fresh fish could still be purchased but in smaller quantities. There were countless kinds of seafood available other than fish from lobster, octopus, squid, to live Japanese spider crab. They were huge and around $50 each. I was considering how Sony would react if I kept one in as a pet in my bathtub. There were also several vendors selling food on sticks.
Scrambled egg with apple sauce.
Fried eel with a sweet bbq sauce.
Since I really liked the eel and it is difficult to find in Canada (If you know where to find it, let me know ), I asked Hikaru how the best eel in Japan is prepared and he led me to a restaurant nearby which sold something called Hitsumabushi.
For $12, we were each given a tray with a wooden pot, a small jug of warm broth, some onions, and wasabi. Above the table was a sign indicating the correct way to eat the dish before us. The food was wonderful.
Essentially, one opens the pot, puts some rice and eel into the bowl, and tries some, then adds some onions and/or wasabi, and tries some, then pours a bit of broth into the bowl, and tries some, then repeat.
Walking back to the train station after the meal, we passed by a Kabuki theater, a traditional Japanese performance art where performers wear traditional makeup and perform a traditional story, sometimes making the performance an entire day activity. The theater itself was old and had eye catching architecture.
Built into the walls of the theater was a small shrine. This being the first shrine I have actually seen, we stopped and I asked about it. In the center of this shrine is a wide wooden box with angled boards covering the bottom allowing for coins to roll into the box. A person entering the shrine, would approach the box, and toss a coin (the 5 yen coin is recommended as it is deemed lucky) into the box. The person then claps their hands together, bows to say a short prayer, then leaves the shrine.
Japanese New Year's traditionally involves going to a shrine and being thankful for the last year and praying for good fortune for the new year. This is typically the first shrine visit of the year and is called Hatsumōde. Thus, yesterday was my and, coincidentally, Hikaru's Hatsumōde.
