Japan – Page 4 – I'm Payal!

Day 27: Discovering New Comfort Foods

Tired of all the course work and physical exertion, my body felt exhausted and I decided to take it easy.

So I started the day with Starbucks coffee. I rarely drink Starbucks, which is why I’m not very well acquainted with their latest menu. I noticed quite a few unique drinks on their menu and instead of going for my all time favorite cafe latte, I opted for a drip coffee instead. The toppings station had a diverse set of options, from different kinds of sugars and powdered cocoa, vanilla and cinnamon, etc. I added some brown sugar and cocoa powder to my drip coffee. It didn’t taste exceptional compared to other starbucks coffees, but seeing so many different options available from the basic coffee to the toppings, I felt the desire to bring my essay to a Starbucks over the weekend.
The atmosphere at the Ikebukero Starbucks was pretty cozy and I loved spending my morning there.

After coffee, I walked across the street for some comfort food from subway. I got an avocado veggie sub on sesame bread with egg. In an attempt to get some Vitamin C, I also got some terrible tasting orange juice. (Piece of advice: don’t trust them when they say its 100% orange juice)

After class, on my way home, I got a salmon onigiri. The fish was excruciatingly salty but the seaweed and rice nullified the effect, making the onigiri totally worth the money and calories. I stopped for a matcha latte on the way home and letting myself spend over 300 Yen (~$3) on it was the best decision I’d made all day. It was warm and soothing and the perfect balance between bitter and sweet.

Matcha Latte: worth the money

Ending the day with a salad featuring the much remembered broccoli and pumpkin

Day 26: WW2 and Ueno

This week, we are studying the post war years in class. When Japan lost the war, the emperor for the first time made a public announcement. He was so far removed from the public, that people weren’t able to understand his message, which basically meant ‘We surrender’. Some patriotic soldiers didn’t want to stop fighting. Families were shattered. Soldiers who were abroad were stuck there for a long time. Some were returned after a year and a half but most remain unaccounted for. Six major cities, including Tokyo, Hiroshima and Nagasaki, were in ruins from bombing and subsequent fires. In Nagoya, one of the six cities which were heavily bombed, over 80% of residences were destroyed.

We watched the movie Gojira, which was the original Japanese version of Godzilla. Gojira is about a sea monster whose natural habitat is destroyed as a result of atomic radiations in the water and as a result he comes out of the water and causes great destruction on land. The destruction he causes seems akin to the destruction caused by the nuclear bombs. The way a city built over thousands of years can be destroyed in a matter of minutes is terribly sad to see. A scientist in the movie who has come up with a way to kill Gojira is afraid of revealing his invention because he knows that human beings would end up using it against each other in war.

A bento box-packed lunch in plastic boxes found in convenience stores and specialized roadside stands which specialize in bento food. I picked up a bento box for lunch from one of the roadside stands today. It just cost 500 Yen and included sweet and sour chicken, rice, pickle, tofu and some pasta. I was too lazy to take a picture of my bento box, but this picture that I found on the internet is a great representation of a bento lunch.
Source: commons.wikimedia.org

Apart from studying about war and writing papers, I visited Ueno. Ueno is a complete tourist destination. It has six museums located close to each other, a zoo, of which the main attraction is a giant panda, a lake, a garden, a shrine and a cheap shopping area. If you only have one day in Japan and want to experience as much of Japanese culture as possible, this would probably be a good option.

I went to the Tokyo National museum, which is the largest museum in Japan. To get there, I went through the park and passed the shrine and lake on the way.

At Ueno park with my friend and classmate Steffi. During spring time, cherry blossoms bloom here and this location is often seen in pictures with pink trees on either side.

Passing by a shrine at Ueno

It’s a lake! Can you believe it?

Ink paintings from the 16th century at the Tokyo National Museum

Have you dreamt about any of these? If you have, flip the pillow over to read your fortune.
Sighted at the Tokyo National Museum in section about fortune telling.

After the museum, I took a quick walk through the shopping area, called Ameyoko. I felt like I was in Singapore’s Chinatown or Kuala Lumpur’s night market again. It had extremely cheap items on sale. There were roadside restaurants of all kinds of cuisines with outdoor seating. There were stalls selling cheap matcha ice cream and other sweets which I didn’t recognize.

Ueno’s shopping area: Ameyoko

Dinner featured two new dishes today.

Takikomi Gohan: rice with some meat and vegetables mixed with soy sauce. Its a lighter (and for me, better) version of fried rice.
Source: humblebeanblog.com

Buri-daikon: Buri is a kind of fish and daikon refers to the Japanese radish. They are cooked in soy sauce and make a delicious but light dish.
Source: tokyostation-yukari.blogspot.com

Day 24 & 25: Food highlights

My essays have been keeping me busy, which means less time to gallivant. But I haven’t stopped eating, so here are some food highlights.

Mos Lettuce Burger for lunch. I’m not sure what was inside it, but I think it was teriyaki chicken.
Photo source: barokonews.blogspot.com

For dinner, Kaori-san cooked aji-fish, which is a grilled, salty kind of fish. It is served as a whole fish (meaning that it isn’t chopped up and you can clearly see the shape of the fish). It has a lot of small bones in it, and it is a skill in itself to be able to eat the fish without getting the bones in your mouth. As Masaki-san showed me, you’re supposed to peel off the outer skin of the fish which is slightly protruding, and the bones come out along with it.

Another new item on the menu was Nameko mushrooms in miso soup.

Nameko mushrooms-often eaten with Miso soup.
They have a slimy texture which make them really easy to chew.
Photo source: chow.com

Mitarashi Dango: consisting of mochi rice balls topped with a sweet type of soy sauce.
It’s a must have Japanese dessert . I can’t believe I tried it after three weeks of being here.

On day 25, I decided to grab a sandwich for lunch to eat in class. Kaori-san suggested I go to Doutor, a popular coffee chain in Japan. I grabbed a salmon sandwich (I love the omnipresence of salmon here!) which wasn’t half bad for the price of around 400 Yen.

Dinner was a western meal, consisting of clam chowder and bread. This was my first time eating clam chowder.It was a great meal way for a rainy Tuesday.

It had been raining pretty heavily in some areas of Japan, one of which was the target of a hail storm. Apparently, it isn’t normal. Such hail storms are the affect of global warming and are a fairly recent phenomenon.

Day 23: Learning about the 2011 Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami

Exhausted from the past two days, I didn’t have the strength the brave the rain and visit a museum as planned. So I spent all day at home with my host family. From waking up at 11 to surfing the web, it was a perfect Sunday.

For lunch, we ordered in a dish called Yamameshi with unagi gobo. Yamameshi is traditional rice cooked in a steel pot with a fire. It is very difficult to cook rice that way and is rarely done now. Unagi gobo is the Japanese sea eel (unagi) with gobo (bitter gourd) in a kind of sauce. Unagi is an expensive food, and isn’t eaten regularly by most. Its well worth the money though.

Yamameshi with Unagi Gobo

I was impressed to see that the restaurant which we ordered from sends proper trays and cutlery as they would provide if we were eating in the restaurant, unlike the usual disposable plastic boxes. The delivery man comes back the next day to pick up the cutlery and take it back to the restaurant.

For dinner, Kaori-san made Okonomiyaki, which is a type of Japanese pancake. A batter is made of wheat and cabbage among other kinds of vegetables and meat. Just before eating, it is placed on a sort of portable frying pan along with slices of pork. The pork forms the crust of the Okonomiyaki. After the meat turns red-ish in color, the Okonomiyaki is eaten with sauce, mayonnaise, a bit of seaweed and bonito flakes.
Okonomiyaki is a food that was invented in Hiroshima after the war bombings due to the shortage of rice. Until the people of Hiroshima had access to rice again, they ate Okonomiyaki as their staple food using the wheat that was imported from other countries. It is now a popular food among households with kids, since it requires very little preparation.
We ate outside on the terrace. It’s been a long time since I’ve eaten out in the open without noises of construction, cars or other people around me.

Okonomiyaki in the making

Okonomiyaki, ready to be eaten! Toppings include sea weed and bonito flakes, sauce and mayonnaise.

Over dinner, my host family told me about their visit to , Minami-sanriku a small town in the Miyagi prefecture which was severely affected by the 2011 Tohoku earthquake. Minami-sanriku was a small town of about 10,000 people by the coast. When the earthquake came, the town wasn’t really affected thanks to earthquake resistant houses. But there was a tsunami warning and instructions to evacuate. Some people went to the evacuation buildings and others went to the top of a mountain. The Tsunami came about 45 minutes later, and it was the largest one in Japan’s history. Only one building survived the earthquake and others were washed down, including the building of disaster management. A large number of people died and large portions of the town were completely wiped out. A local of the town whose a photographer was up on the mountain taking pictures of the Tsunami. I was looking at some of his pictures in a book that my host family had and I was surprised to see that the Tsunami was forceful enough to uproot houses and send them crashing into other houses behind them. A picture showed the locals’ joy at being able to take a bath in a communal bath tub that was sent as relief in May 2011 (2 months after the Tsunami struck). My host family visited this place in 2013 to see the after affects of the Tsunami and told me that the government wasn’t rebuilding this town since it was too close to the coast.

My host mum whose from Fukushima, where the nuclear disaster happened, told me that the nuclear disaster also took place about an hour after the earthquake. But because there were so many people trying to reach their families and friends in Fukushima, it was difficult to contact them and she only heard from her family at 9 p.m. that night.

This earthquake was worse than the 1923 Kanto earthquake. But after the Kanto earthquake the Japanese took great care in building earthquake resistant houses and having evacuation areas for Tsunamis. Its very impressive to see how they survived an earthquake of 9.0 magnitude, the aftershocks, the nuclear disaster and the Tsunami, all of which were capable of destroying the country within an hour.

Day 22: Tokyo Disney Sea

Another 18 hour day, this one was spent as a complete tourist. I went to Disney Sea, one of Disney’s theme parks. This was my fourth Disney theme park which is why most of what I saw wasn’t surprising. It was very much like its counterparts in Hong Kong, Florida and California. However, it was unique in its sea element. Disney Sea is unique and does not exist anywhere except Tokyo. Some of the rides it had were water based, and its parades and shows took place on a water body in the center of the park.

Mickey shaped windows and handles on the train towards Disney sea

Equipped with my regular (and only) Disney accessory-the Mini mouse hairband

The iconic Disney globe near the entrance

The tickets were cheaper than I expected (6400 Yen for a day which equals $64). There were also cheaper options available for people who wanted to spend half a day at the theme park. As of 8 a.m., the queue wasn’t too long either.

In terms of size it was fairly large and had seven parks. My friends and I took advantage of the fast pass system which proved to be extremely useful. We got a fast pass for most of our rides and had to wait in line for only one. (The lines were typically about 60 to 90 minutes long).

Approaching the Mysterious Island

The Lost River Delta

The food was expensive but amazing. Some exceptional food items included milk tea popcorn, a scallop shaped sandwich and sea salt ice cream. The staff, who is always friendly at Disney, was even more friendlier here. Japanese politeness coupled with the Disney enthusiasm creates a great atmosphere. There were fewer Disney characters walking around here and the park in general was less Disney themed than the Disney lands, but it was great all the same.

Mickey shaped raspberry ice cream

My delicious tiramisu ice cream sandwich

On first guess, its just staff cleaning the railings. But if you stop and watch, its actually a show. The dustbin makes sounds with every action of the cleaner, be it scrubbing, dusting, wiping. Without a single dialogue, the cleaner put on a great show just through his actions and sound affects.

All of us at the Mermaid Lagoon

Port Discovery

The souvenir shops had merchandise much like the other disneys. Very few of them were specific to Tokyo Disney Sea. They are probably mass produced for the disney theme parks worldwide. Yet, there were souvenir shops in each of the seven areas of the park along with a big main one. They were all fairly crowded with shoppers.

A very authentic looking building at Arabian Coast

A fountain of money at the American Waterfront-a flattering image of the US

One new thing I learnt about Disney was the difficulty of the employees in wearing costumes all day. Its awfully hot and sweaty to walk around as Mickey Mouse. Through an article that a friend later linked me to, I learnt that the people who dress up as characters go through a rigorous selection process and need to be able to act like the characters among other things. Unfortunately, I also learnt that visitors often misbehave with the characters by punching them to hear their sound or inappropriately touching them. But on a more positive notes, I read that Disney employees are happy to working there.

Venetian Gondolas at the Mediterranean Harbor

The rides at Disney Sea were not super intense, but the effects were amazing as always. I caught a show in the afternoon and the night time parade. Apart from being on water, the show was quite different from the ones I had seen in other Disney lands. It had more fancy objects appearing out of nowhere and the technology was more enhanced. Over the years I have come to realize that Disney is constantly innovating with its shows as well as its rides. It makes sure that no two theme parks are identical. Looking forward to visiting the Disney parks in Shanghai and Paris!

Day 21: Tsukiji, Tokyo Tower and Karoake

One of my longest days, Day 21 started with a field trip with my Professor and the rest of the class to Tsukiji fish market, the world’s largest seafood wholesale market. As I got out of the train at Tsukiji station, I saw a man with a box of fish walk past me.

Tsukiji, established around 1923, starts operations around 3 am every night when fish and other seafood is brought in to be auctioned and sold. Some of the fish is freshly caught from the sea whereas others are imported. The fish available is extremely high quality. As we walked around the market, I noticed that the prices were unusually high for wholesale. The market was not just selling fish. It also included fruits, vegetables and other kinds of meat. Since many wholesalers come to Tsukiji market for fish, sellers of other items find it beneficial to set up their stores nearby. On the outer part of the market, there were people selling items such as chopsticks, knives, etc that restuarant owners may want for their restaurant. And ofcourse, there were several restaurants-sushi as well as other kinds of food. From what I understand, the Tsukiji market operations includes a vast variety of people in the distribution channel (wholesalers, producers, distributors, etc)

The fish (especially tuna, which is one of the more popular items) is auctioned around 5 a.m. By 9 a.m., most of the operations are over and cleaning begins. We took the tour around 9:30 a.m., and we saw several shop owners packing up for the day. Tsukiji market will soon be moved to another location and we were very lucky to see it in its original historic location.

Instead of smelling strong and repulsive as meat markets often do, Tsukiji market smelt quite fresh. We were given a tour by one of our Professors’ connections who owned a sushi restaurant nearby. As he took us around and introduced us to people he often deals with in the market, we were offered free samples and gifts. We got some delicious matcha tea (which if awfully generous considering how steeply priced matcha tea usually is), fresh fruit and squid.

The outer market of Tsukiji-which sells everything from meat, fruit, vegetables to cutlery, tea, etc

A shop selling knives which are used to cut raw fish

Raw tuna being cut using this machine which has a blade running up and down (its almost too thin to be easily seen in this picture)

Fresh fish being sold in the inner market-some of it is kept alive as long as possible so that its fresh when eaten.

The inner market of Tsukiji-at 10 a.m. the shop keepers are cleaning up and ready to close

Raw squid, one of the many samples we were offered.

The first ever Yoshinoya-a famous chain which gave its name to the concept of Japanese fast food restaurants

Machines used to transport tuna every morning. Since the tuna for the day had already been transported, we hopped on and got to take a quick round on it!

At a shrine in Tsukiji. The restaurant owner (man in the picture) who was showing us around told us that there is a specific way to go through this circle. You put your left left first through the circle, then go towards the left and return to the center,. Again putting your left left through the circle first, you go towards the right side, making an eight and then go into the shrine.

Three strings leading up to bells on top. Like in Hindu temples, these bells are used to get the attention of the Shinto Gods.

After the tour of Tsukiji market, we went to the restaurant owners’ restaurant for lunch. It was all you can eat sushi. We also got some sake along with other snacks such as fried chicken, egg pastries and some sea food fritters (I’m not sure what their actual names are). This restaurant, called Tama Sushi, was established in 1924 and the current owner was the fourth generation member of his family to run the place. The restaurant was very cute and we sat in a long room with low tables and chairs. The sushi was very fresh and well made, literally the best I’d ever had. Though this was only the fourth or fifth time I was eating sushi in my life, I knew that such standards are hard to meet and based on my more experienced classmates reaction, this really was amazing sushi. Tama sushi was the restaurant which invented Temaki, the hand roll sometime in the 1970s. Temaki is a very popular food item which is now available across almost every convenience store in Japan.

Yummy sushi

After we were done eating, everyone got the chance to make sushi themselves. Two people would go up to a cooking counter at the end of the room and two expert chefs would teach them how to make sushi. Four people would sit on the other side of the counter and eat the sushi made. When my turn came, I found that making sushi is harder than it looks. You first dip your hand in water so that the sticky rice doesn’t stick to your hands. Then you take some rice in your hand and roll it. The cut slice of raw fish with some wasabi on it is then put over the rice and the rice is pushed inwards so that its in line with the raw fish. The height or width of the rice has to be exactly right for the sushi to stand.

Sushi making with the chefs.

Getting ready to make sushi! We were dressed in a white jacket, a wrap around white skirt and the white paper hat before we started.

After the amazing experience at the restaurant we went to Tokyo tower, which is a broadcasting tower, also open to tourists for viewing from the top floor. The Tokyo tower looks much like a big telephone tower and is the second tallest structure in Japan after the Tokyo skytree. A new thing I learnt while I was there was that the Tokyo tower is very earthquake resistant (probably more so than regular houses).

Tokyo Tower

A view of Tokyo from the observatory of Tokyo Tower

A robot in the observatory which gives tours and explanations to people. Currently, it is moving towards it charging portal. It has screens on the side which say so. It talks too! The robot is able to detect people and makes sure it doesn’t crash into visitors.

We got the chance to meet up with a Yale graduate working in Tokyo Tower, who told us about the work culture in Japan among other things. I was surprised to learn that Japanese students get a fairly generalized education which is not vocational (like it is in other Asian countries where people want to go for engineering, medicine, law). So when Japanese companies hire foreigners, they are often more inclined to hire people with specific skill sets. Another new piece of information for me was that Japanese companies take care of their employees well and often have a family like atmosphere. Working long hours and being a committed to the company for a significant period of time (often their whole working life) earns them close relationships with colleagues and seniors. On talking to my host parents, I was told that Japanese students don’t choose their majors with the job scene in mind. They study what they’re interested in and don’t have as much pressure from their families as students often do in other Asian countries. I was reminded that Japan is a developed Asian country which sets it apart from the bulk of developing Asian countries. Economic security and the promise of having a decent job after graduation affects the culture and lifestyle of Japan and that makes me think that maybe other Asian countries will follow suit as they develop.

The Yale graduate also showed us this big circular room with three large screens. The room was all white. It is used for public viewings and events such as football matches, weddings, etc. It was interesting to hear the kind of purposes the room served. Creating such space in an acclaimed place like Tokyo tower is a genius commercialization move.

A blurred picture of dessert at Tokyo tower-waffle with green tea ice cream, whipped cream and red bean. I also got the chance to have a matcha latte topped with a bit of ice cream.

Our official field trip ended here and we went to Ginza for Karoake after that. The prices of Karoake places in Ginza was very high, not just because Ginza is one of the most upscale neighborhoods of Tokyo, but also because this was a Friday night. Finally we found a cheap and sort of shady place. Over some drinks (karoake places require atleast one drink per person to be ordered),the six of us spent the next two hours in a cozy room singing Hollywood music. I once again ordered Umeshu, the Japanese plum wine. This was my first time doing Karoake. It was so fun. Some of the technology in a low end place like this was pleasantly surprising. There was an intercom telephone in the karaoke room and there were devices using which we could select the songs we wanted. At first we weren’t sure if they’d even have english music available, but it had quite a large variety of songs.

Ending Friday with Karoake!

Having been up and about for 18 hours, I was tired by the time I got home but at the same time very satisfied with all my new experiences.

Day 20: Fusion food and a history lesson from my host mum

I spent the morning at the library again, finishing the Scarlet Gang of Asakusa. The latter half described more of the decline of the entertainment industry in Asukusa during the late 1920s and early 1930s. Later, my host mum told me that it could be because the introduction of mass culture, which was cheaper and more easily accessible than theater and other forms of entertainment offered in Asakusa.

I went to Mos Burger for lunch, where I tried their Ebi Rice burger. The burger had rice instead of bread buns. It was strange. A little bit too plain for my taste. But I noticed a lot of unconventional items on the menu, like the lettuce burger, for example. I was later surfing the internet and found this interesting article about unique fast foods of Japan. Bored of eating convenience store food, I shall now resort to this list.

Mos Ebi burger-a burger of rice buns originating in Japan

After class, I felt ready to take a nap. So instead of heading to yet another unexplored place, I headed to the most familiar-home. For dinner, Kaori san made Mentaiko pasta, a kind of fusion food. The cream of the pasta has spicy cod roe in it and is topped with sea weed and aujiso. Its apparently a popular dish in Japanese households. I can see why, it tasted amazing, even to someone who doesn’t usually enjoy fusion food.

Mentaiko pasta, featuring spicy cod roe, sea weed and aujiso

Kaori san educated me about the history of Japan over dinner, filling the gaps in my broken knowledge from class. I learnt that Japan has had an emperor for the past 2000 years from the same royal family. And that the Meiji restoration involved the Shogun (the military head of the preceding Edo period) voluntarily handing over power back to the emperor ans the old system without bloodshed or war. We also talked about geishas. Kaori san told me that becoming a geisha in Japan is one of the ways to enter more prosperous ranks of society, because geishas can marry into higher ranks than the ones they were born to. I was surprised to learn that it isn’t easy to watch geishas perform. They perform in very specific places and to enter those places, you need to be invited. It is also quite expensive.

I read online that Japanese culture is fairly liberal when it comes to having multiple sexual partners at the same time. Utagaki, which is an event after traditional festivals, involves men and women writing poems for each other. And if they’re attracted to each other, they can go hook up. Some end up married.

Japanese culture never fails to surprise me. With every new bit of information, I am reminded of how much more there is to it.

Day 19: Wandering into Nakano

My host mum had to go to work early this morning, so I left the house with her at 8:30 a.m. I spent two hours before class in one of Waseda’s libraries reading the Scarlet Gang of Asakusa. The novel is based in the Asakusa area of Tokyo, which I visited on Day 7. Before Asakusa became as traditional as it appears today, it used to be an entertainment hub. From prostitutes to dancers to pimps, it housed what was described as erotic and grotesque. It has been rebuilt twice in the last century-once after the Kanto earthquake and another time after the world war, during which it lost its entertainment value.

Jasmine flavored tea

I went to a new konbini today and picked up different kind of food, most of which turned out to be terrible. But I know that I can’t always expect to be pleasantly surprised.

After class, the weather was beautiful which made me ditch my original plan of going back to the library to finish reading the Scarlet Gang. I felt like walking around. So I bought an ice cream cone from a konbini and and started walking in a random direction. I passed by second hand bookstores, little restaurants and many convenience stores. I was soon at Takadanobaba station, which is one stop away from Waseda University. Not quite ready to stop walking, I decided to walk another two stops to Nakano, which is a place of arcades, manga and cheap shops.

As I walked, I was surprised to see the city change quickly. One minute I was among glittery billboards, tall buildings and lively crossings. The next minute I’d be walking along an isolated road with a tire shop on one side and apartment buildings on the other. Normally, I would just turn back when I find myself in such a neighborhood, expecting to find a dead end if I keep walking in the same direction. But today, I kept walking. I didn’t encounter any dead ends.

One of the more rustic parts of my walk

One of the many shrines I encountered on the way

After two hours and 5 km of walking, I reached Nakano. Once again, the sudden change of scenery surprised me. I looked up to find broad roads and pavements surrounded by beautiful greenery, leading into smaller lanes which housed restaurants and stores. I stopped by a little restaurant with a nice view of a seemingly busy Nakano crossing and over a strawberry smoothie, I just watched people. I later wandered around the tiny lanes of Nakano, finding bars and restaurants with waiters standing outside and shouting out their menus to attract the crowds.

Nakano-FINALLY!

..which meant broad roads and a lively activity hub

People watching over a strawberry smoothie

Broadway-the name of a building with stores, restaurants and arcades

The inside of broadway

One of the narrow alleys of Nakano

Spotted outside a restaurant-marketing stunt maybe?

On finding out that I’d have to switch at Shinjuku (the busiest train platform in the world) if I tried taking the train back home, I decided to take a bus instead. This was my first time taking a bus in Tokyo, and I had no idea how the bus system worked. But I asked myself, what’s the worse that can happen? And the answer didn’t seem too bad. So I asked an officer at the train station which bus I should take and made my way to the bus stop he’d mentioned. Taking the bus was a great choice! Not only did I get a seat, but the bus also went through tiny lanes and places I would never have seen had I taken the train. The bus itself was really cute. It had sliding door instead of the regular bus doors which open outwards or inwards and the steps inside the bus had lights on them so that no one would trip.

Taking my first local bus from Nakano to Ikebukuro!

I got off the bus at Ikebukoro, another activity hub. Not in the mood for Asian food, I looked for some western food. I found subway, and it seemed like the perfect choice. It really was. This was my first time eating at a subway in Japan, and the choices available here are much more diverse than the options I’ve seen in Singapore and India. They had calories listed for EVERYTHING, including the sauces and cheeses, which was a dream come true for me. The sandwich that caught my eye was an avocado and smoked salmon sub. I love both avocado and smoked salmon, and even before I tried it, I knew I’d like it. In addition they had sesame bread and basil sauce, which are also highly ranked on my list of favorite food items. As I predicted, the sandwich was amazing. It was easily among the top 5 sandwiches I have eaten in my life.

An avocado and smoked salmon sub with sesame bread and basil. Made my day.

All the walking and travelling from place to place that I did today reminded me the importance of enjoying the journey and not just the end. I spent more time getting to Nakano and Ikebukoro than the time I spent there. All that I got to see on the way was much more valuable than the destination itself.

When I came home, my host mum had snacks waiting for me. She had gone to Shizuoka for work today, and bought some local snacks from there. One of them was a sweet called unagi pie (Unagi refers to the animal, the eel). The other was asari senbei, a kind of rice cracker (senbei) made with sea weed. They were both delicious.

Unagi Pie, a sweet made of eel that my host mum brought home today.

Asari Senbei, a seaweed rice cracker from Shizuoka

Day 18: Imperial Palace and Tokyo Station

We talked about the Kanto earthquake of 1923 in class today. It was interesting to learn that because it occurred around noon, people were cooking at the time as a result of which fires were caused. Some rumors were spread following the earthquake about Koreans committing crimes, which led to severe and mass killing of Koreans in the most brutal ways. Reading about it was painful. I feel like no matter which country I go to, there is hatred everywhere, which stems from no valid reasons. People hate others because of their nationality or their race. In the case of the Japanese and Koreans, they don’t look very different, but what distinguished them were their accents.

After class, I went to the Imperial Palace, which is the seat of the emperor. It was earlier in Kyoto and then shifted to Tokyo. The Imperial Palace is full of garden and historical structures. I shall let the pictures do the talking.

After the imperial palace I tried looking for the Nihonbashi bridge, but unsurprisingly, I got lost. I spent a few minutes sitting by the reservoir and it was really wonderful being by the water on one side and having the buildings, the people and the city activity on the other.

After walking around a little bit, I somehow ended up at the Tokyo station. I consider it a moment of serendipity, because the Tokyo station was majestic. It has been in operation since 1914 and it had an archaic, grand sort of look to it. The area surrounding it (which is one of the main downtown areas of Tokyo) was very upscale and developed. It was very green, comprised of skyscrapers, broad roads and a water reservoir (moats of the imperial palace). Being there reminded me why Tokyo is considered one of the most metropolitan cities in the world, and also why some people have an immense love for it. I am exactly halfway through my time in Tokyo as of today and I am slowly beginning to see the charm of this city. I hope I can leave with a better appreciation of it.

I took the train back home from Tokyo Station. While trying to navigate my way around the station and looking for the right line to take home, I noticed departure timings of Shinkasens (bullet trains), which operate from Tokyo station to other cities in Japan.

A map of the imperial palace-it was bigger than I expected.

The moats around the imperial palace.

A formerly functional guard house

A music concert hall

A slope full of plum trees. Being a plum lover, this is a dream garden for me.

One of the many gates of the imperial palace.

The bridge over the moats in front of one of the Imperial Palace’s gates

Nearing the Tokyo Station

Tokyo Station in all its glory-it was surrounded by a buzz of activity. There were tourists outside clicking pictures and admiring the station, other tourists who were arriving from the airport and other places in Tokyo with suitcases and backpacks, and ofcourse there were the everyday commuters, returning home after a day of work.

An artist just outside the Tokyo station

Day 17: An earthquake and more food

I was woken up by an earthquake at 5:30 a.m. It had its epicenter in Fukushima, which is not too close to Tokyo, so it wasn’t too strong. It was long though. In any case, I trust Japanese buildings, so I went right back to sleep and slept peacefully till 9. My host mum later, whose from Fukushima, told me about the Fukushima nuclear disaster in 2011. The areas around the nuclear reactor had to be evacuated and remains uninhabited till date. Children were found to develop diseases after the disaster. The crops produced in Fukushima have to go through an inspection before they’re taken to the markets. Some men refused to marry girls from Fukushima out of the fear that they would bear infected babies. People from Fukushima were considered infected and were often bullied in other areas of Japan. It was sad to hear how a natural disaster, that is not in the control of any human being, can impact some people’s lives in such an adverse way.

I went for my class to Waseda and tried some new kobini (convenience store) foods. There was kiwi yogurt, which was not just kiwi flavored but actually had bits of kiwi in it. I also tried an onigiri with brown rice and a soft boiled egg inside.

After class I tried finding a starbucks to finish my essay which was due the next day. I looked forward to a matcha latte and free internet. But on a day that I wanted starbucks, all the starbucks in the city seemed to have disappeared. I got off at two train stations to look for a starbucks chain and eventually gave up.

I came home to a delicious ramen dinner. Kaori-san had cooked Hiyashi-chuka, which is cold ramen with vegetables and meat.

Hiyashi-chuka (cold ramen with meat and vegetables-in this case tuna and eggplant)

I ended the day with reading some manga comics for the first time. I read what a friend later told me are Yonkoma comics, comics with four panels on one page. The comics were entertaining, and I kept clicking on the next chapter to know what happened next. Another interesting thing my friend told me was that manga comics typically have fairly short chapters and they end on a note of suspense. Readers need to wait for the next version to come out. And those who can’t understand Japanese have to wait for the comics to be translated before they can access them.