A gyoza-off in a rather odd setting

My final morning in Japan, this one in Tokyo. And what was left on my luist to do? One more food related adventure. This time, to Gyoza Stadium, in the Namjatown amusement area of the Sunshine City mall. Man, was this place intense!

When I arrived, 5 minutes before the opening of Namjatown, there was a crowd of folks all queued up, just anxious to get inside. There were two types: families with elementary school age kids and early teen / tween packs of girls. Oh, and me.

Inside, there was Gyoza Stadium, of course. There was also a very tacky spa, some small amusment rides, a ghost hunter game that was very popular (and had packs of people running around with Ghostbuster-like wands, looking for hidden ghosts), a dessert festival and udon village. And I'm sure there were parts of this place that I couldn't even understand.

The Gyoza Stadium part was decked out in 1950s Tokyo. Each place had many color pictures of the many types of gyoza on offer. As with the Ramen Museum, they were famous places from around Japan.

I tried three different gyoza, using up all my spare yen.

These were gyoza with miso butter sauce. The sauce was tasty. The gyoza, were, alas, not crispy enough and so came across as soggy and overcooked.

These were super-crispy bare gyoza. They had great crunch and the shell was terrific. The filling was ok, nothing much to mention there. This place also benefited from the ambiance of a picture of their chef with a lion in the background.

Finally, there were these eight cylindrical gyoza. Covered in a soy sauce with scallions, they were great little bits.

I was bummed that I didn't have more time, more money, and more kanji reading ability because there were 11 shops each selling about 20 different types of gyoza!

My night in a capsule

2 meters by one meter by one meter. Or, if you're counting, 2 cubic meters. That's how big my bedroom was last night. And it wasn't so bad!

The capsule hotel exists in Tokyo for two reasons: (1) it's a very expensive city and accommodation can be crushing to the wallet and (2) the superb public transit system stops abruptly at 12 midnight, so it's fairly easy to get stranded in the city. Turns out while they are less expensive, they're not exactly cheap: mine was 3700 yen, or about $40.

It works a little bit like this. You go in, take your shoes off, put them in a little locker. You then give that key and your yen to the desk clerk, who gives you a wristband with a key and a number on it. The key is for your locker in the locker room.

The smallness of the place extends to the locker room too. There's basically room for a suit and a briefcase in these irregularly shaped lockers. You change into your pjs, helped by the provided yukata (cotton robe). Then, you venture upstairs to your assigned floor (mine was 9) and see a row and stacks of capsules. Mine were 2 high and about 5 across. The front is open, with a little wood curtain you can pull down. Inside there is a tv, light, radio, alarm clock, and air conditioning. That's it!

When fully ensconced in my capsule, I had about one inch of space beyond my head to the wall and another inch from my feet to the wood curtain.

It turned out to be totally straightforward, a lot less sketchy than I imagined, and a decent night of sleep. And now I can say that I've slept in a box!

More than 10,000 miles away, but right at home

As all you Ichiro fans out there know, the Japanese love their baseball. And why wouldn't they, it is a great sport! I took advantage of being in one of the few other countries that likes this sport so to see a few games.

Game 1 was in Tokyo, where the hometown Yomiuri Giants (the Yankees of the Far East) battled the Chunichi Dragons. They play in the Tokyo Dome, which has many similarities to the lovely and now defunct Metrodome in the Twin Cities. Consider:

Both have odd rollercoasters nearby (Tokyo in the same complex, Minnesota in the Mall of America)

And both have a highly sterile baseball watching environment, always a shame when it's 75 and gorgeous outside (as the day was...)

On this day, it was the Giants turn to prevail, and they are off to a fast 10-5 start to the season.

Game 2 was in Hiroshima, where the oh-so-lovely named Hiroshima Carp took on the Yakult Swallows (the Mets of this country). Here they play in a nearly brand new stadium called the Mazda Zoom-Zoom Stadium (I wish I was making this up). It is new and outdoor and pretty sparkling, if a bit empty (both in terms of fans that night and also in terms of things: ads, food, events, etc.). My seats in right field provided a great lens on the action.

Alas, there was no action. When I arrived, the score was already 2-2. Neither team would score again in regulation, and the Carp didn't even manage to get a hit. As the temperature dropped and the wind rose, I was begging them to finish it. And the home team complied, with one of their stars hitting a game-winning jack in the bottom of the 10th. Game over!

One highlight in between was the Carp version of the 7th inning stretch. At about the 6th, everyone around me starting blowing up these odd shaped balloons. I was intrigued. Then, as the stretch happened, the loudspeakers played a song with a kind of lulling grace to it. Simultaneously, the fans released their balloons into the air, untied, and they swam straight up, wiggling like...carp. Oh, I get it!!!

Finally, no discourse on Japanese baseball would be complete without an assessment of their concessions. In the Tokyo Dome, I had takoyaki (fried balls of octobpus). For the Carp, I tucked into a big bowl of rice topped with so much eel and a weird white goo. Luckily, there was a massive ball of wasabi to cover up the flavor of too much eel. For dessert (?) I had a deep fried octopus tentacle. I wish I had a picture of this folks, it was like 8 inches long and looked like a seahorse. Definitely weird, a bit poorly cooked, seems about right for ballpark food.

PS - Go Twins!!! At home in a new stadium, they are off to a great start last time I looked. Hometown hero and lifelong Twin Mauer will be MVP again, no doubt.

Whimsy in a faux Parisian suburb

Hayao Miyazaki has the imagination of both a crafty warlock and a carefree child. The combination can be something to behold. As you might have seen in his movies Spirited Away and Howl's Moving Castle, he animates creatures into existence that behave and move in impossible yet fully believable ways. And, it turns out, he has a museum! The Ghibli Museum, named after his animation studio, is a half hour ride on the train to the West of Tokyo in the little town of Mitaka.

We found our way to the museum from the train station by way of a lovely walk along a creek rimmed by sakura trees. Numerous bistros opened out onto the creekside. Once we got to the museum, nestled in a park, we saw just how cool it was. The entire building had been crafted as if it had come right out of one of his movies.

The inside was remarkable as well, with many neat exhibits demonstrating different parts of the animation process they use (often in exhilirating and whimsical ways, which I won't detail here to leave some surprise!) They also showed a animation short that was a great story of one girl's walk in the woods and the creatures and their sounds that she found. They don't allow photos inside, so enjoy this one of a character from one of the movies, found in the rooftop garden.

While the ticket process was a nightmare (reservations in advance! can only buy from japanese ticket machine! ahhhh! - save yourself the hassle and get them while you're in the States), it was SO worth it.

What do you like in your mochi?

Mochi must be the national dessert of Japan. It is absolutely everywhere. And the varieties are endless too - traditional adzuki (red bean) filling, triangle shapes, large ones, small ones, red ones, blue ones. A newcomer to the party, however, takes the cake for best mochi of the trip. Mochi Cream (in English on their signs but in Japanese on all the maps) was the winner. Slightly less chewy, slightly thinner outer mochi shells give way to flavored pudding insides with a blast of whipped cream. They are given frozen and supposed to be eaten within the first hour once they've warmed up a bit.

As you can see, there are gorgeous little things. And so many varities to choose from! We were able to narrow our selections down to an even dozen. Of those, the apple pie, cafe au lait, and sakura (cherry blossom) were #1, 2, and 3.

Hat tip to Rebecca for the delicious tip!

Postscript: Sushi near Tsukiji x2

Pop quiz, hotshot: You've just had the best sushi of your life not a week ago. You're leaving Tokyo in 24 hours. What do you do?

Duh, you have more sushi! So, K and I did just that. It being lunchtime and with us not having the requisite three hours to wait in line at the actual fish market, we walked a full two blocks (!) away from Tsukiji and found a hole-in-the-wall sushi establishment offering perfectly sized sets for enjoyment.

Yet more delicious sushi at a reasonble price. All four pieces of fish on the top were delightful in their own way. The true standouts, though, were the uni and the roe. The uni, wow, this was so much uni and wonderfully prepared. It's the kind of bite that makes me want to put on a wetsuit, grab my scuba gear, and dive for some more right now. And the roe, well, let's just say if somebody made fish pop rocks this is where they would have gotten their inspiration from.

A traveller's best friend: wonderful hosts!!!

I'd like to introduce two people that have made Japan a much more personalized experience for me: my cousins Shingo (left) and Osamu (right).

They have served as hosts extraordinaire to everything Japan. Osamu has opened his home and organized several meals. Shingo let us accompany him on a trip to Kyoto and see an otherwise unseeable part of that wonderful town. A big THANK YOU to them both!

Really good fish really early in the morning

Tsukiji Fish Market - definitely one of the 1,000 places to see. The biggest wholesale fish market in the world has a live tuna auction, many sea creatures for sale, and is ringed by delicious and super-fresh sushi restaurants. We lucked into seeing the live tuna auction (which, as it turns out, was closed to tourists just three days later!) The tuna on sale there were ENORMOUS, and everywhere. Makes it easier to see why there's a big and growing sustainability problem with the fish...

After touring the market from 5:30 to 7am, we decided to get a bite to eat. We had heard good things about Sushi-dai and so we got into line to get a seat at the counter. Then it started to rain. So K helpfully went and purchased an umbrella. Thank god she did - because it wasn't until 3 hours later that we were seated at the counter! 10am, we had been up for five hours, and we were going to eat raw fish. An intriguing start to the day. Then, I had the best sushi I've ever had (disclaimer: lots of close up shots of fish to follow...enjoy!)

Our omakase set started with fatty tuna. Incredibly marbled for fresh fish, it was a decadent, melt-in-your-mouth bite.

Next up was the flounder. A new piece of sushi for me and it was delightful and crisp, with a healthy slathering of wasabi hidden between fish and rice.

Third was the red snapper. A contender for most beautiful piece of fish, this fish had great texture and wonderful flavor as well.

Fourth was the rich and creamy uni (sea urchin). Man, this ingredient doesn't get enough respect. It was incredible, one of the best bites of my life. The orange goo does not transfix the eyes, but does focus the eating senses.

We approached the halfway mark with bonito. A gorgeous deep red, I had only had this fish as flakes for soup stock previously - and that wasn't my favorite. But this bite was excellent and the garnish on top layered nicely with the crisp and not-overpowering fish.

A brief break for tamago (egg omelet). Still not sure why this comes in a suhi sequence, but the quality of this one made me not really care why...

A mystery bite of, I believe, octopus. An enchanting visual appeal, the crunch was just right to tell you it was mollusk without being chewy.

Ah, the horse mackerel. This poorly named fish is another contender for most beautiful of the bunch. The way the silver gives way to fish flesh barely lends itself to photography. The bite was excellent though nothing too amazing.

A quick nod to the sushi roll. 'Nuff said.

Second to last of the omakase was the spanish mackerel. Wow - a flavor between white and red fish with a good kick of wasabi and I wanted to come back for more.

The closer sushi was amago (sea eel). Different from unagi (barbecued freshwater eel), this one has more fat and less bbq. Still yummy!

After finishing the set, both K and I were dying for more and the a la carte menu beckoned. So we answered its call. I closed with four add'l pieces. Left to right, squid, a second go of flounder, and a second go of fatty tuna. The fourth piece was scallop, from which I discovered that, while good raw, the scallop benefits tremendously from searing and sauce.

Oh, and one more: the kawahagi. This was the true chef's recommendation, his "favorite". Turns out it is a filefish that is served with a piece of its own liver on top! Defiantly flavorful and visually stunning, my chopsticks got it to my mouth before my camera even had a chance to turn on....

So, the (oh-so-detailed) play by play of my best-ever sushi meal. Thanks to the folks that recommended this place, and pass the name on to your friends. I would wait three hours with pleasure to have another experience like this one.

Hanami-ing in Tokyo and Kyoto

April can be a special month in Japan. For one week sometime between March and May, the sakura (cherry blossom) trees bloom their brilliant small white / rose flowers and produce spectacular viewing in spots across Japan. It is such an event that it has its own word in the dictionary - hanami, or cherry-blossom viewing.

First up, Tokyo. Here, there are a couple of well-known spots fo hanami. We chose Yoyogi-koen (Yoyogi Park) near the Harajuku neighborhood. Here, we stumbled upon perhaps the best day of the season for hanami, as the park was filled with merry-makers. Groups had picnic blankets, delicious food and drink. In addition, there were several karaoke machines and 20-person coordinated dances done in character costume. Oh, and don't forget the group of folks dressed as 50s greasers. Bizarre and completely lovely.

Second, the gorgeous sakura of Kyoto. Wow, they really take this city to a whole other level. There are wonderful sakura in Maruyama-koen, complete with outdoor restaurants and food hawkers. There are delightful sakura at Kiyomizu-ji that are lit up at night and surround the hilltop temple. There are fantastic sakura lining the river of the traditional Gion neighborhood, great complements to the architecture of the area.

What lucky timing to have landed in these cities on the right days of the year!