tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-39855693822798368892024-03-15T17:55:37.070+11:00A Life Less NormalI have a passion for exploring, food and travel. Come along with me on my Life Less Normal!jase8auhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14582069302006499855noreply@blogger.comBlogger142125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3985569382279836889.post-82116665276188155192020-09-30T02:36:00.004+10:002020-10-02T05:12:30.876+10:002020 Shimokitazawa curry festival ( 下北沢カレーフェス)<p> <span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Hi again! I'm back! Now, if you are regular readers of this blog you will know that I no longer live in Japan. I moved back to Australia last year. Since then, I have been wondering what to do with this blog. At first, I thought I would just continue it but write about places and events in Melbourne, where I live now. Covid-19 stopped that from happening (as it has stopped many things from happening....). Some of you may know that Melbourne is the most locked-down city in the world. We even had a curfew that ran from 8pm to 5am and travel was absolutely banned, so continuing to write about places here was not an option.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">I recently realised that one of my favourite events in one of my favourite neighbourhoods in Tokyo was coming soon, very, very soon! I thought to myself, why not continue to write about Japan from afar? I still love Japan very much and it is a place that is dear to my heart. This could now become an event blog, notifying people of when different events or festivals that I have been to or know about are coming up. One of the most frustrating things for me (and maybe you too), writing the blog in the past, was that I was always writing about events that had already finished. Now I can write about them as they are approaching so that you can attend now rather than having to wait a year for them to come around again!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">So, what is the event that is coming up? Well the title of this post probably gave it away.... That's right, the annual Shimokitazawa curry festival!! Now, I have written about this event before (you can find posts about the 2018 edition <a href="https://www.alifelessnormal.co/2018/10/shimokitazawa-curry-fes-2018-first-visit.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;">here</span></a> and <a href="https://www.alifelessnormal.co/2018/10/2018-shimokitazawa-curry-fes-second.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;">here</span></a> and in 2015, where I ate my way through 10 curries in 10 days, <span><a href="https://www.alifelessnormal.co/2015/12/10-curries-in-10-days-shimokitazawa.html" style="color: red;" target="_blank">here</a>.) as it is a great example of how Japanese people celebrate food.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: medium;">This year's curry fes runs from the 1st to the 18th of October and you can find the official website <a href="https://curryfes.pw/" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;">here</span></a>. The website is in Japanese only but if you are using google chrome you should be able to translate it into English (remembering that Japanese is a language that doesn't translate directly very accurately, but you will get the idea). Traditionally with the curry festival, you went to the individual café / restaurant / bar etc that are making their own unique curry dish, which is also the case this year too. However, this year they will also have a designated outdoor eating and drinking space where you can eat your take-out curries!</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: medium;">So, the deal is, when you arrive at Shimokitazawa, head out of the station and you will be able to pick up a map listing all of the participating places and where they are located in Shimokitazawa. The map is in Japanese only so if you cannot read Japanese or don't have a Japanese friend accompanying you, you will need to do your homework first on the website which for me, was almost as much fun as actually eating all of the curries!! They also run a stamp rally during the festival in which you can win different prizes based on how many places you eat at.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: medium;">How many different curries are there? I'm happy you asked! This year there are 114 different cafés / restaurants / bars participating! That's right, 114! I know!! How are you going to choose!! That's why it is so much fun planning it all.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Here are a few of the dishes that I have tried in years past.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">This one from my good friend's bar, <a href="https://bar-loaded.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;">Bar Loaded</span></a> (also participating this year).</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2ufhixMx-3ilwTaTT2Mi7SxzNFMhRlabViNFvRAhLjvPh0FBHufN3-evy2G5TIO9lsL7KHmbZmAEhYPMdiHVvEikwJOxUUdc1YzlYzMT9eepTT6GUwMzQtEsBZRQRm2iX5aXLYVEOz9NF/s1024/addtext_com_MTExMjA5Mjg2NQ.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="576" data-original-width="1024" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2ufhixMx-3ilwTaTT2Mi7SxzNFMhRlabViNFvRAhLjvPh0FBHufN3-evy2G5TIO9lsL7KHmbZmAEhYPMdiHVvEikwJOxUUdc1YzlYzMT9eepTT6GUwMzQtEsBZRQRm2iX5aXLYVEOz9NF/w640-h360/addtext_com_MTExMjA5Mjg2NQ.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">46ma shiro kuma café (cannot see them listed for this year).</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwCRssbpEGskz1-n7uTM_zAi9EQVh4tuluYR6RJ9aSAm6VOS_JeHXBReTNL48lOMGQBPzhQJydBGsNB7vzNcRUEWc7lwtBVNgCDbJbXIs8sLo4YTbhFS1T08GqhFLlKWXmdt44reddyK6O/s1024/addtext_com_MDk0MzMwOTg5Ng.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwCRssbpEGskz1-n7uTM_zAi9EQVh4tuluYR6RJ9aSAm6VOS_JeHXBReTNL48lOMGQBPzhQJydBGsNB7vzNcRUEWc7lwtBVNgCDbJbXIs8sLo4YTbhFS1T08GqhFLlKWXmdt44reddyK6O/w640-h480/addtext_com_MDk0MzMwOTg5Ng.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">This one is from the great little craft beer bar Ushitora (they are also participating this year with the same curry).</span><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP1CnAk8YFxdrMX3iJQXD3PYITe19c-H0WtWGcwbNNkHWUtAQVOdvmipqu1ZMhQWFDI6aTKlOsJFlPWFY3g-MJv5arRGKBotIIyFejDFYTgLMSGvJYAp0qM1egheLPDTAYDjfjTuwxY51L/s1024/addtext_com_MDk0ODQ4MTAwMDQ.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP1CnAk8YFxdrMX3iJQXD3PYITe19c-H0WtWGcwbNNkHWUtAQVOdvmipqu1ZMhQWFDI6aTKlOsJFlPWFY3g-MJv5arRGKBotIIyFejDFYTgLMSGvJYAp0qM1egheLPDTAYDjfjTuwxY51L/w640-h480/addtext_com_MDk0ODQ4MTAwMDQ.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">This next one was from a cool old school rock bar that is no longer open, Back Page.</span><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaSSZsYYaoy98WVJGM1bpFKCo3l1mv83twsGItYHBgEqXj3xyqgMAS0kB2gWVUY3ho2Twd5cL4YoUFOnxEBAUiGfp3OxVDq-wY46CFxTJWhbMO9imBvZbxS3yYGv7J7eS2dH4YsPz75LyJ/s1024/addtext_com_MDk1NjIxMTAxMDk.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaSSZsYYaoy98WVJGM1bpFKCo3l1mv83twsGItYHBgEqXj3xyqgMAS0kB2gWVUY3ho2Twd5cL4YoUFOnxEBAUiGfp3OxVDq-wY46CFxTJWhbMO9imBvZbxS3yYGv7J7eS2dH4YsPz75LyJ/w640-h480/addtext_com_MDk1NjIxMTAxMDk.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Next up, an offering from Publion (still open, but don't appear to be participating this year. Good bar for imported beers and football / soccer).</span><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixicTANLMcwf131d1viq20sL9bwFsZAfRJdJYSgtw2c08VODTR28zsWb2TegEGqShEFpDxyd8QL7Vxo-DALbTPMzVFGo9zwKFFcRraYXkWUuPMMz9SVkYtk9p3iN-kN-4vh8_BKGfDb-I-/s640/addtext_com_MDkzODA4OTc2OA.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixicTANLMcwf131d1viq20sL9bwFsZAfRJdJYSgtw2c08VODTR28zsWb2TegEGqShEFpDxyd8QL7Vxo-DALbTPMzVFGo9zwKFFcRraYXkWUuPMMz9SVkYtk9p3iN-kN-4vh8_BKGfDb-I-/w640-h480/addtext_com_MDkzODA4OTc2OA.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">A unique offering from the now closed Ms Claudia.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWjX5XwkFpZJi5nllcpmXJdN2WsMuYmkNN08pufqiGlcgbBDYT-iw7KdFcW1LkESLLowQ5cYuQ6Zwyw_DEVI-ifiLm795nXqO2pZCFrGDX7LyMQbXig0qRKWcnA-mzXkMV2JENBOWBQB34/s1024/addtext_com_MTAwNDI2MTAxODM.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWjX5XwkFpZJi5nllcpmXJdN2WsMuYmkNN08pufqiGlcgbBDYT-iw7KdFcW1LkESLLowQ5cYuQ6Zwyw_DEVI-ifiLm795nXqO2pZCFrGDX7LyMQbXig0qRKWcnA-mzXkMV2JENBOWBQB34/w640-h480/addtext_com_MTAwNDI2MTAxODM.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">This next place is also, unfortunately closed, Matsu to Eda.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQJDXtxPB8pSgVW5uGRpeHBzmzU1kPXe1vWFDSNba3Jwhyphenhyphenwl3qL6WjuMPCi1Z8xPMOB-ZqgAv_cCjLqnHgfK8wmQKQw8PwC0A_N0aUBBg-v-pUy6lcTtcUWVwXdmvzYjaxokrmLz4klYaJ/s1024/addtext_com_MTAwOTI2MTAyMDY.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQJDXtxPB8pSgVW5uGRpeHBzmzU1kPXe1vWFDSNba3Jwhyphenhyphenwl3qL6WjuMPCi1Z8xPMOB-ZqgAv_cCjLqnHgfK8wmQKQw8PwC0A_N0aUBBg-v-pUy6lcTtcUWVwXdmvzYjaxokrmLz4klYaJ/w640-h480/addtext_com_MTAwOTI2MTAyMDY.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Another unique</span> <span style="font-family: arial;">one from <a href="https://www.androll-group.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;">&Roll café</span></a> (still open but appear not to be participating this year).</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvoDV0P2804k-z0ZnMvt_GZoAKIFVR_90amNEz4pEHV9cmX1mJDN783m4710h-w8iu2PftMmd5oNHt9zu1WXyiD_r0gNhr7l3prcXLqBnJElzIDBg4dhzevKQOaNTfodAprlQzvj0v741A/s1024/addtext_com_MTAxNDM0MTAyMjE.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvoDV0P2804k-z0ZnMvt_GZoAKIFVR_90amNEz4pEHV9cmX1mJDN783m4710h-w8iu2PftMmd5oNHt9zu1WXyiD_r0gNhr7l3prcXLqBnJElzIDBg4dhzevKQOaNTfodAprlQzvj0v741A/w640-h480/addtext_com_MTAxNDM0MTAyMjE.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">This next one was a nice, healthy one from Café Lancul (still open but not participating this year).</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNKAJWLJgj9YXYum2XTynZ2qzElEwzh7glp1BIlfgj19JlY5mmtcuGerNTm6hJj4IX6cZSFez-w2qIvT-LowOp493UDs2AkujQ9GlYlWsong8-6flZ_1CxH8N4NcAmYBHgUuaoeejbpv0h/s1024/addtext_com_MTAxODQzMTAyNDk.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNKAJWLJgj9YXYum2XTynZ2qzElEwzh7glp1BIlfgj19JlY5mmtcuGerNTm6hJj4IX6cZSFez-w2qIvT-LowOp493UDs2AkujQ9GlYlWsong8-6flZ_1CxH8N4NcAmYBHgUuaoeejbpv0h/w640-h480/addtext_com_MTAxODQzMTAyNDk.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Another of the craft beer bars in Shimokitazawa, <a href="http://kazenorimerry.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;">Kazenori Merry</span></a>. They are also participating this year but with a different dish.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfEEgy0HFdh6naItNpBb5olMXlrAkA4BrWhq7X26BN76XmlMukLVrotW6FmEIWRy5OafO4gvd1QLevinkzQeTiHxANyCPzukIvTxxqNNSkmxMsYMet4bEsPSjRmO-bs-MP8rP-F4hazXor/s1024/addtext_com_MTEwOTE5Mjg1NA.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="576" data-original-width="1024" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfEEgy0HFdh6naItNpBb5olMXlrAkA4BrWhq7X26BN76XmlMukLVrotW6FmEIWRy5OafO4gvd1QLevinkzQeTiHxANyCPzukIvTxxqNNSkmxMsYMet4bEsPSjRmO-bs-MP8rP-F4hazXor/w640-h360/addtext_com_MTEwOTE5Mjg1NA.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Next, a dish from the hamburg restaurant Torokeru Otona no Hamburg (which is participating this year with the same dish).</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjsowUTC8_9JVEncJXPhSe5EmHFwviItyCcbHq7I738Ququyp5-mfiw9oYE4MjIWsLzawlo88TnVL_YGur5ftoXyNyi3H4kuXS0B3xWosMoGUuOhZEQLLCYUiosx71arByqfxgRobCRBXE/s1024/addtext_com_MTExNTMxMjg4MA.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="576" data-original-width="1024" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjsowUTC8_9JVEncJXPhSe5EmHFwviItyCcbHq7I738Ququyp5-mfiw9oYE4MjIWsLzawlo88TnVL_YGur5ftoXyNyi3H4kuXS0B3xWosMoGUuOhZEQLLCYUiosx71arByqfxgRobCRBXE/w640-h360/addtext_com_MTExNTMxMjg4MA.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Finally, a beautiful curry from <a href="https://samurai-curry.com/mikazuki/" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;">Mikazuki curry Samurai</span></a>. They are also participating again this year but the curry that I tried and photographed was from their regular menu rather than their curry fes special.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQoA1M6hZLlAkZ8NjLcS_j6y8leo88kPVdffvtiuNt6auqi-T_4oiNpO3lq43Wt0kBC8iaMdSDkiKnuvhO1sNrq6Kvw2sXDoaHaYWW6k6JXeM1PB76CXIv0z0tIOGt8g9L3W5IAGFwQRMx/s1024/addtext_com_MTExODI5Mjg5MQ.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="576" data-original-width="1024" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQoA1M6hZLlAkZ8NjLcS_j6y8leo88kPVdffvtiuNt6auqi-T_4oiNpO3lq43Wt0kBC8iaMdSDkiKnuvhO1sNrq6Kvw2sXDoaHaYWW6k6JXeM1PB76CXIv0z0tIOGt8g9L3W5IAGFwQRMx/w640-h360/addtext_com_MTExODI5Mjg5MQ.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">That is the unique thing about each of the dishes on offer at the curry fes. They are all unique dishes for the curry festival. You cannot eat these from the participating places at any other time during the year. If you want tasting notes on all of the above curries, you will have to check out the links at the top of this post.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Now, looking at this year's offerings, I am especially interested in Bar Loaded's chicken nanban curry (again. Number 1 on the map. It just tastes so good! The curry itself is cooked for 6 hours!), Shimokitazawa Bar Seven's chicken curry (number 17 on the map), the mapo curry from Isshin (number 53 on the map. This one I always wanted to try but never did), the beef and keema curry medley from Curry and curry bread shop Tenmaya (number 74 on the map. I love keema curries!) and, finally, the Sri Lankan curry on offer from the ageless Okinawan bar, Never Never Land (number 21 on the map).</span></div><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">So, please go along and enjoy the curry festival. I am sure that all of the businesses participating will be happy to have you there. As with a lot of businesses, I am sure that they have had a difficult time with the coronavirus. If you go to Bar Loaded, tell Kazu (my friend and the bar owner) that Jason says Hi. Also, if you go, please leave a message below telling me where you went and how the curry tasted!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Thanks for reading and see you next time!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p>jase8auhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14582069302006499855noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3985569382279836889.post-12866886010487612282018-10-22T23:35:00.001+11:002020-09-29T00:54:41.989+10:002018 Shimokitazawa curry fes the second visit (下北沢カレーフェス).<span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">It was inevitable that I made a second trip back to Shimokitazawa for round 2 of the curry fes so off I went again. Now I recently moved and now it is over an hour from home to Shimokitazawa (oh the lengths I will go to for curry!!).</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">First up was a specialist Hamburg steak restaurant called Torokeru Otona Hamburg.which translated into English is Melting Hamburg for Adults.....</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Now I have been to this restaurant before for the </span>Shimokitazawa<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"> </span>Geki<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"> Kara </span>fes<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"> (See write up </span><a href="http://www.alifelessnormal.co/2016/08/whats-next-shimokitazawa-spicy-food.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;">here</span></a><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">) and it is a little pricey, but the food is good.</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">After a short wait, the food arrived.</span></span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><br /></span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">I started with a taste of the curry. Now that wasn't a hint of cumin at all, that was a slap in the face of cumin!! Very nice!</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">Now I have a strange way of eating food. Usually I will eat all of the vegetables first working up to and finishing with my favourite vegetable. This used to really frustrate my father who always tried to cram a bit of everything on to his fork with each mouthful. So, I started with the carrot then the potato and finishing with the broccoli (in my opinion, the King or Queen of vegetables!). Next came the fun part, piercing the yolk of the egg</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFVGi2zJyP2TpZIdvIYLdCc9USpfsM_aH9gZA-DGWSoMg93Py2dHqYaW5OcjlDlYVaWqOFxWB-kao5CtGsgLy2-vUVL-lQu-sDfvnTz0OLzfEvh7oh36Y_X9gTl1N9rZk0lTEN9ZuJZoT6/s1600/DSC_0094_3.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFVGi2zJyP2TpZIdvIYLdCc9USpfsM_aH9gZA-DGWSoMg93Py2dHqYaW5OcjlDlYVaWqOFxWB-kao5CtGsgLy2-vUVL-lQu-sDfvnTz0OLzfEvh7oh36Y_X9gTl1N9rZk0lTEN9ZuJZoT6/s640/DSC_0094_3.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><br /></span><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">The hamburg steak was literally fall apart tender, at time breaking up and falling off of the fork, but just delicious! Like I said, pricey, but delicious. All up, including bread and a soft drink, 2,200 yen.</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Finishing up, I walked around the neighbourhood to digest a little before moving on to the next place. Now, I have been coming to Shimokitazawa regularly for over 9 years and I never get tired of wandering around the area.</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Feeling ready for my next plate I wandered over to my next curry adventure, Mikazuki Curry Samurai which is a relatively new curry restaurant on the restaurant scene in Shimokitazawa. </span></span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><br /></span><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">It has a sister restaurant also in Shimokitazawa called Rojiura Curry Samurai which I have not yet been to but will be trying after experiencing Mikazuki's curry!! </span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">I had to wait about 30 minutes and it left me wondering if the wait would be worth it (I don't like waiting for food....). Entering the restaurant there was a strong aroma of cumin (positive sign). I ordered the lamb curry which was not their curry fes offering, so you can order this one any time! After a further 10 minutes wait it finally arrived. This had better be worth it, I thought to myself.</span><br /></span>
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<span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">I had ordered the lamb curry with a soft boiled egg and extra broccoli and extra spicy. At first bite I was left a little underwhelmed with the spice level. The lamb was very tender and the </span>vegies<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"> added a nice contrast in texture, some extra crunch! The </span>broccoli<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"> had been deep fried with garlic. Suddenly the spiciness started building and there was a hint of a numbing element to the curry too. By the time I had finished the plate, my taste buds were dancing! I will always say that Bar </span>Loaded's<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"> chicken </span>nanban<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"> curry is my favourite (see first </span>blog<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"> post about the curry </span>fes<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"> for this one), but in this curry I had found a close second favourite. Definitely do yourself a favour and head to </span>Mikazuki<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"> curry samurai and check out their curries!</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Thanks again for reading. I hope you enjoyed it and I hope you enjoyed the curry fes if you were able to get along. Please leave a comment below and sign up to receive email updates when I upload a post from the right side of the screen. Also, feel free to share by Facebook and Twitter from the dropdown box at the top left side of the page.</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Cheers and see you next time! </span></span>jase8auhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14582069302006499855noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3985569382279836889.post-65228683102118223542018-10-08T18:47:00.001+11:002020-09-29T00:59:31.519+10:002018 Shimokitazawa curry fes the first visit (下北沢カレーフェス).<span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Yesterday I jumped on the train with an empty stomach and headed off to Shimokitazawa to sample some of the curries on offer. When you get to Shimokitazawa exit the station and start walking. Pretty soon you'll see plenty of participating places. Just pick up a map from out in front or\f whichever participating restaurant / bar / cafe and start enjoying!</span><br /></span>
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">I met up with good friend and long time resident of Shimokitazawa (in fact, some refer to him as the Mayor of Shimokitazawa. Honestly, you walk into nearly any restaurant or bar in the area with Charlie and the staff look up and say "Oh, hi Charlie!"). The first place we visited was not one that I had planned on. It is a craft beer bar that we entered just for a beer and we found out that they were participating in the curry festival. The name of the place is Kazenori Merry, number 56 on the map.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6yIOTWKECINgs4ALKGXWx4Neo8bepYJSbs98KL-7RBsJI_o-C-U1U_yUgtvsuYWj4VVm8pSbBKD1u0n4gnMQxM4DZu9pH2ua7fiBqMwpvs-sZuF1Zo20VgQwjM4LtcXsoYs0CldndnoDV/s1600/DSC_0060.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6yIOTWKECINgs4ALKGXWx4Neo8bepYJSbs98KL-7RBsJI_o-C-U1U_yUgtvsuYWj4VVm8pSbBKD1u0n4gnMQxM4DZu9pH2ua7fiBqMwpvs-sZuF1Zo20VgQwjM4LtcXsoYs0CldndnoDV/s640/DSC_0060.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/kazenorimerry/" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;">Here</span></a> is their Facebook page. The staff are very friendly and speak good English. They have 20 beers on tap, mostly Japanese and American.</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">I ordered myself a beer, a very hoppy IPA, in fact you could smell the aroma of the hops coming out of the glass before even picking the glass up!</span><br /><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">Pretty soon the curry arrived.</span><br /><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">The staff explained that it was a mutton curry and they had used thyme to flavour it, Sitting on top there is some coriander and Indian pickled cabbage. It had a nice slightly bitter taste to it and I would rate it as medium spicy. The staff mentioned that the curry will change every couple of days as they make a new batch. A very nice way to start Curry Fes!</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Charlie then left me and headed of to a nearby wine bar called Hagare. <a href="https://www.facebook.com/hagarejp/" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;">Here</span></a> is a link to their facebook page. This place is recommended too as glasses of wine are only 300 yen! </span><br />
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</span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="font-family: arial;">The good thing about a lot of the participating restaurants is that they offer full and mini servings of their curries so you can sample a few different curries. I went off in search of my next choice,</span> </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #262626; font-size: 16px;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">他力本願寺カレー 瀬口家 (Tari Khon Gangi Curry Segutique). There was a line so I had to wait a little. In all of my excitement I forgot to take a photo, but it is number 36 on the map, near the koban (police box) and the friendly police officers here will help you find it.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #262626; font-size: 16px;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">The interior of the store is pretty funky!</span></span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #262626; font-size: 16px;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><br /></span></span>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd4sGygS2LZTb5YQGAtL2uyYm1U3fWkqnojBjJhUNp783M8QZ-XjllFAWtZxa7o46hoVv9ls8YymfjPOvgkoByI4I36KFGlsMP7LztFGGskOdHg0eR7YSVoTm4DOwMnRdVM_w-lEVt0qi3/s1600/DSC_0062.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd4sGygS2LZTb5YQGAtL2uyYm1U3fWkqnojBjJhUNp783M8QZ-XjllFAWtZxa7o46hoVv9ls8YymfjPOvgkoByI4I36KFGlsMP7LztFGGskOdHg0eR7YSVoTm4DOwMnRdVM_w-lEVt0qi3/s640/DSC_0062.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinq-MMs6AjLOMngZzE8sVbM8MJVjaB-eR23zuTTE3wKA40zjvD4SDE8zA5zwOH7Nf8PxePlwCNFh4__JQp7bY4MjL33fxpHh_CKIu7eob7fugrA0V5IQEKkTelEFKihi1_kkc_qA2GzWqs/s1600/DSC_0063.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinq-MMs6AjLOMngZzE8sVbM8MJVjaB-eR23zuTTE3wKA40zjvD4SDE8zA5zwOH7Nf8PxePlwCNFh4__JQp7bY4MjL33fxpHh_CKIu7eob7fugrA0V5IQEKkTelEFKihi1_kkc_qA2GzWqs/s640/DSC_0063.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLF9e5Rcco2OlmrU5CBcmS7duLtbfNO5Kv2A50D2jBd1bsXaDO7x_WjsgCRhf2NTKBXsXDNNhduqiUVjgA91vceKdZMhni9lfe_lXF13WzBMBya5tlZk93sL6r-aiKbPg0Sg8c2JnH6O_p/s1600/DSC_0064.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLF9e5Rcco2OlmrU5CBcmS7duLtbfNO5Kv2A50D2jBd1bsXaDO7x_WjsgCRhf2NTKBXsXDNNhduqiUVjgA91vceKdZMhni9lfe_lXF13WzBMBya5tlZk93sL6r-aiKbPg0Sg8c2JnH6O_p/s640/DSC_0064.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #262626; font-size: 16px;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">They even provide instructions on how they recommend you eat the curry!</span></span><br /><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiydH-ohmHTQ4eQY_5KAKTWAOMZ6xagDDLwQgkpgkH11UjtUQk-lduj9RC4G7W7JmYdxrQRQukbiEb5NAO1KA4-TExpn64CTys-EmZ2RsuLfVy4JqnLYTONfIC87z65aKGxK4eZ7FQWrB9j/s1600/DSC_0065.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiydH-ohmHTQ4eQY_5KAKTWAOMZ6xagDDLwQgkpgkH11UjtUQk-lduj9RC4G7W7JmYdxrQRQukbiEb5NAO1KA4-TExpn64CTys-EmZ2RsuLfVy4JqnLYTONfIC87z65aKGxK4eZ7FQWrB9j/s640/DSC_0065.JPG" width="360" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="color: #262626;">I hate to admit it, but in my haste to get the first few spoonfuls into my mouth, I forgot to take a photo again but here is one from the curry fes website.</span></span></span><br /></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiadFpOF8_i4fL6HyJKLOS2ZBXWVR6S9FZPkitXWCSQ-jkTgRAXxW7k8o8XikpWdW0ptHWIJDlxMHR_M5LjXN0mB_nGJQUT2fYECsvMk3RFHzFuHpog02Iwz53cJWBM229Q1JX2TRR4MhKE/s1600/36tarikihonganji_cf-700x525.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="525" data-original-width="700" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiadFpOF8_i4fL6HyJKLOS2ZBXWVR6S9FZPkitXWCSQ-jkTgRAXxW7k8o8XikpWdW0ptHWIJDlxMHR_M5LjXN0mB_nGJQUT2fYECsvMk3RFHzFuHpog02Iwz53cJWBM229Q1JX2TRR4MhKE/s640/36tarikihonganji_cf-700x525.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="color: #262626; font-size: x-small;"><span style="background-color: white;">(source: </span>https://curryfes.pw/)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="color: #262626;">One half was a red keema and the other was a black keema with cashew nuts on top. The red keema had a nice tomatoey taste to it and the black had no standout flavour, but was no less tastey again, not too spicy. Finishing up I went and joined Charlie for a couple of glasses of red wine.</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="color: #262626;">Then I headed off to my final curry of the night at my friend Kazu's bar, Bar Loaded, number 1 on the map.</span></span><br /><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghhkfIbJIE9f8TzeSU1kysWIarMosIl7OapGG2YP7FSRIQoixfV0toq4eHuCuIata_4uiQ8U5p9TiD_ciUuvPMR2xMHbuvMl3fszJPA0IH_8LlpGgjAJMBmMxmrArqh1EdBMTQC-lVjchY/s1600/DSC_0068.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghhkfIbJIE9f8TzeSU1kysWIarMosIl7OapGG2YP7FSRIQoixfV0toq4eHuCuIata_4uiQ8U5p9TiD_ciUuvPMR2xMHbuvMl3fszJPA0IH_8LlpGgjAJMBmMxmrArqh1EdBMTQC-lVjchY/s640/DSC_0068.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="color: #262626;">Kazu's curry is a chicken nanban curry and he has a number of options.</span><br /></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixWzDntnFM2e4pFNvqAcoAhyphenhyphen98oTuwXpVtbelk_IId-95-DywXfc2QhjzD2kwmDaKGOGxQmMOHvPC_cXSY_2j8d3vaRqZszaX0TTwX-xC4NI7ukJSoO89jVAwuseZOsDEICklKiKL69cLW/s1600/DSC_0070.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixWzDntnFM2e4pFNvqAcoAhyphenhyphen98oTuwXpVtbelk_IId-95-DywXfc2QhjzD2kwmDaKGOGxQmMOHvPC_cXSY_2j8d3vaRqZszaX0TTwX-xC4NI7ukJSoO89jVAwuseZOsDEICklKiKL69cLW/s640/DSC_0070.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="color: #262626; font-family: arial;">I got the curry with the spicy salsa topping.</span><br /><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8ylD7IhuUk7SYvC4CWbAniAhocwd758X1-4FCcpJTRB11n0mroRG7TdPrV7nqNtWcNNFwD1CLlMFDy57qrdr7oTp6bw5QRP85t2xErXK8iMq9kZcvemJWjsjFJkejLngO3MibArkN8XFY/s1600/DSC_0073.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8ylD7IhuUk7SYvC4CWbAniAhocwd758X1-4FCcpJTRB11n0mroRG7TdPrV7nqNtWcNNFwD1CLlMFDy57qrdr7oTp6bw5QRP85t2xErXK8iMq9kZcvemJWjsjFJkejLngO3MibArkN8XFY/s640/DSC_0073.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAImrrXSkAL1PxC1ZVRMDTkF-fsZxmYynIn9kCjfntpc8oNVj2OyRasb1e9NIICklwGZgsARz4MNNLfd-h8fgZNcBidNHY1o5eCxDF2aM2DINT-0GgOq8hi3HgLYsnVZD1X8u-cK66Whs0/s1600/DSC_0076.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAImrrXSkAL1PxC1ZVRMDTkF-fsZxmYynIn9kCjfntpc8oNVj2OyRasb1e9NIICklwGZgsARz4MNNLfd-h8fgZNcBidNHY1o5eCxDF2aM2DINT-0GgOq8hi3HgLYsnVZD1X8u-cK66Whs0/s640/DSC_0076.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="color: #262626;">Now Kazu cooks his chicken curry for 6 hours so it has a deep, rich flavour! Definitely comfort food!</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="color: #262626;">Fully satisfied I jumped back on the train and headed home. I am certainly planning to go to some more places next weekend!</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="color: #262626;">Thanks again for reading. Please feel free to leave a message below and sign up on the right side of the screen to receive emails when I upload a new post. I have just noticed that at the top of the screen you can share the blog with Facebook and Twitter so please feel free to share with others who may like to read the blog too by using this feature.</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="color: #262626;">See you next time!</span><br /></span><br />jase8auhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14582069302006499855noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3985569382279836889.post-20660680094855202382018-10-02T23:13:00.000+10:002018-10-23T02:25:00.811+11:002018 Shimokitazawa curry fes<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Just a quick heads up about the Shimokitazawa curry festival. This is a yearly event in which many restaurants, cafes, bars etc in the Shimokitazawa area create their own unique curry dish. It is on from October 5th to October 14th. This year there are over 120 places taking part. It doesn't happen in one place. You go to each individual restaurant and order there curry there. You can find a list of participating places <a href="https://curryfes.pw/curryshop2018" style="color: red;" target="_blank">here</a>. There are a multitude of different styles of curries. My personal favourite is the first one on the list, a chicken nanban curry. The curry is slow cooked for 6 hours.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I have written about this festival before and you can find the write-up <a href="http://www.alifelessnormal.co/2015/12/10-curries-in-10-days-shimokitazawa.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;">here</span></a>. If you get along, I hope you enjoy it. I will certainly be there!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>jase8auhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14582069302006499855noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3985569382279836889.post-68882936838660954452018-07-22T17:40:00.000+10:002018-07-22T17:43:36.538+10:00Kyoto revisited - Gion<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">One of the most iconic (and thus one of the most crowded) places in Kyoto is Gion. This district kind of sums up Kyoto. Traditional, old, beautiful, and historic. It is one of the busiest places in Kyoto and therefore one of the most frustrating places........unless you go there at night......</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">For me, there is something magical about old traditional places in Japan at night time. Without the hustle and bustle of daytime, you get a more realistic vibe of what the places would have been like when the traditional was the norm. It was for this reason that myself and friend Tetsuya caught the train to Gion at about 9:30 at night. We got off at Kawaramachi station and headed straight for Hanamikoji dori, the heartbeat of Gion. Right on the first corner is an exclusive restaurant, Ichiriki-tei. For those of you who know the story of the 47 Ronin (very different to the Hollywood movie, you can find my post about the story <a href="http://www.alifelessnormal.co/2016/03/sengakuji-temple-and-47-ronin.html" style="color: red;" target="_blank">here</a>) the leader of the 47 Ronin, Oishi,</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> used to frequent this place as he and the others were plotting their revenge.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As I said before, you get a special feeling walking along streets like these at night.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And, like I said, the hoards of tourists are nowhere to be found!!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiBCEs-iojTiEM0Nqp-mDFGdUKvMjSstOZVzjxLwxjjAeLAAYLcxfg9yEB_PXLI57TQKzgkgXzqwe26giYhO-m5WianWFk1l7pS9AWEWG85E17SEzZjtzGFNjcT6e5SfQ9wYAfrbV2ur6U/s1600/DSC_0160_1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiBCEs-iojTiEM0Nqp-mDFGdUKvMjSstOZVzjxLwxjjAeLAAYLcxfg9yEB_PXLI57TQKzgkgXzqwe26giYhO-m5WianWFk1l7pS9AWEWG85E17SEzZjtzGFNjcT6e5SfQ9wYAfrbV2ur6U/s640/DSC_0160_1.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As with any place in Japan, often the side streets are more interesting than the main streets.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH_1ci3i5xtLud1knOEPwbp2OTh5LHCQtAQomeosGr3fEYMNrgmo_lIQoyi74Kqa9-_0v538JFtZJpvGl8II2X620ukTAZ9OMEf7z2MOn6wpIhueA-hjBtnEFy_lSTyBLuRNzRG5BMVpcm/s1600/DSC_0165_2-1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH_1ci3i5xtLud1knOEPwbp2OTh5LHCQtAQomeosGr3fEYMNrgmo_lIQoyi74Kqa9-_0v538JFtZJpvGl8II2X620ukTAZ9OMEf7z2MOn6wpIhueA-hjBtnEFy_lSTyBLuRNzRG5BMVpcm/s640/DSC_0165_2-1.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This tiny alleyway was lined with restaurants and from the outside we could hear people talking, laughing and enjoying themselves in these exclusive restaurants.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3a02nWIwfo-JwMYnT0mFH8AyLPTEzSzismqdNdA3BW0j1aSNG1XoQfYYQXvPPvmB-w9wc9pLAWs-bCzn3b0J_oGxUQ7i0HaI-ItI9ovAXAdehGdZcUGRIfGIdyryoXNoW4ss_rpXScxVM/s1600/DSC_0168_2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3a02nWIwfo-JwMYnT0mFH8AyLPTEzSzismqdNdA3BW0j1aSNG1XoQfYYQXvPPvmB-w9wc9pLAWs-bCzn3b0J_oGxUQ7i0HaI-ItI9ovAXAdehGdZcUGRIfGIdyryoXNoW4ss_rpXScxVM/s640/DSC_0168_2.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Just after taking the photo above a geisha walked out of a restaurant and hurried along down the street! My first geisha!! About 20m behind us was a couple of other tourists who took it upon themselves to spoil her night. As she walked past they pulled out their camera and started snapping away like a pair of paparazzi. Please, if you are ever graced with the good fortune of seeing a geisha, please, please don't do this. She is not a tourist attraction, she is just doing her job. If you do want to take a photo, please ask her if it is okay, but remember, you are imposing on her. Sorry, rant over.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We walked passed Yasaka shrine</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE8Yw5vrB4FpF1-JNGsSg-QKo8zLrlSu2SpQLVnn33H2LL2G0EWGJwnleFH9BaNh8vIPuaX9PqXgqJBbmyYPZeN33kBESk-qFmK_ulFwdDwMCMiwA0Pxahfqsxkf-eXWqOYInMQxXNHXaP/s1600/DSC_0169_2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE8Yw5vrB4FpF1-JNGsSg-QKo8zLrlSu2SpQLVnn33H2LL2G0EWGJwnleFH9BaNh8vIPuaX9PqXgqJBbmyYPZeN33kBESk-qFmK_ulFwdDwMCMiwA0Pxahfqsxkf-eXWqOYInMQxXNHXaP/s640/DSC_0169_2.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">and back down to Pontocho (to be featured in a separate post). We stopped at a little shop selling takoyaki (balls of batter with octopus pieces and other bits and pieces in them) and wagyu beef skewers. We ordered a couple of skewers and I stood back to take this photo.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIv_-5_kqodRVmH3dhxICp6ETREqkWeTXawFskB8g_MlKxf8JoyMFwdCt_7GADIP0jAYYQl6lTmgWQuTUTlMIBQe3uW-4PburOvlN9541YWvbrnTBTuC0hRwS0PrMG-usGNUnCmOny7dGI/s1600/DSC_0171_2-1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIv_-5_kqodRVmH3dhxICp6ETREqkWeTXawFskB8g_MlKxf8JoyMFwdCt_7GADIP0jAYYQl6lTmgWQuTUTlMIBQe3uW-4PburOvlN9541YWvbrnTBTuC0hRwS0PrMG-usGNUnCmOny7dGI/s640/DSC_0171_2-1.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As I looked up, Tetsuya was looking at me and said "You just missed it!". "What did I miss" I asked. "Another geisha just walked past!"...... I slapped myself in the forehead for missing it. We walked off down Pontocho with our wagyu skewers. As we walked along Tetsuya said "The geisha, she walked into that restaurant". A second or so after he said that, she walked back out again!! Now Pontocho is a pretty narrow alley and Tetsuya and I walking along cover about 90% of the street! We both jumped to the sides of Pontocho and said "すみません" (excuse me). She looked at us both with a smile on her face and said "Sorry". Now that little encounter was so much more memorable than a photo!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">That finished the night on a high note!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Thanks again for reading. Please leave a comment below and sign up with your email on the right hand side of the page to get updates whenever I put up a new post. See you next time!</span></div>
jase8auhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14582069302006499855noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3985569382279836889.post-79830108719264953982018-06-08T20:09:00.000+10:002018-07-22T17:47:30.841+10:00Kyoto revisited - Arashiyama<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Hi everyone. Just a really brief post. I am currently in Kyoto for about a week. More posts will follow, however I wanted to do a quick post today to talk about an experience I had today. Almost 5 years ago my beautiful younger sister came to visit me and she asked that we visit Kyoto. We did so, for only two brief days. One place we went to was a place called Arashiyama. Now, i went back there today and had an amazing experience. Let me explain.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Almost 5 years ago my sister and I jumped off the bus that we had caught to go from Kyoto city to Arashiyama. Almost immediately I took this photo.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMW7oMFBzGRUxexvqR7FKLV1diD8hyphenhyphen83LKWhK4HduG2BabYZcw2R1OaPub6U92OQMZFSqNSefBgCHQh8aHvtXqn_ZlJApX3BAu-np369ziJ40ueninHEJAnl1mZz2cIXrytE6_PgBpO4T5/s1600/IMG_20130901_161053.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="474" data-original-width="640" height="474" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMW7oMFBzGRUxexvqR7FKLV1diD8hyphenhyphen83LKWhK4HduG2BabYZcw2R1OaPub6U92OQMZFSqNSefBgCHQh8aHvtXqn_ZlJApX3BAu-np369ziJ40ueninHEJAnl1mZz2cIXrytE6_PgBpO4T5/s640/IMG_20130901_161053.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Today I took this photo.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi03D3C7kKIQOKEnNa4A1pyOxbfcQBLkq38U6yNyjihpYbr-71gIUZhCARSHMZ2hZktuA6tembmnFIhRwXuYDocMpMvEZ0PZlCEtDozu29ILo-QdF9ITmxj1gTbYJocoDSQYtG0MFuJ7mG/s1600/DSC_0175-1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi03D3C7kKIQOKEnNa4A1pyOxbfcQBLkq38U6yNyjihpYbr-71gIUZhCARSHMZ2hZktuA6tembmnFIhRwXuYDocMpMvEZ0PZlCEtDozu29ILo-QdF9ITmxj1gTbYJocoDSQYtG0MFuJ7mG/s640/DSC_0175-1.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">An incredible feeling of dejavu. Some good memories!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Five years ago my sister and I crossed this bridge and on the other side I took this photo, which, to this day, remains one of my favourite photos.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGrGUnVoEAHxKsQJCr4Gy4eKeum44Tan2g-Vmqoiz2IuhZ2u4TJE-ykFfT_mOgnwc6uUp8NGiMsX2ShSotFE6CuSKyGLuy9JqLQOS8qt3pHlav3FPHe3fazuvy3vBEJaRYwHZEg7vRYHX-/s1600/IMG_20130901_182138.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="474" data-original-width="640" height="474" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGrGUnVoEAHxKsQJCr4Gy4eKeum44Tan2g-Vmqoiz2IuhZ2u4TJE-ykFfT_mOgnwc6uUp8NGiMsX2ShSotFE6CuSKyGLuy9JqLQOS8qt3pHlav3FPHe3fazuvy3vBEJaRYwHZEg7vRYHX-/s640/IMG_20130901_182138.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Today I returned to the same place.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXSSnPdo5Xz1wP2ocKQRRa__NCTuet4fei5N6mM0NGZmh453g4BT4ZgyY_l_BzLOwTRJLNgfTmr2n_45MNB_Kzf58GAqpGCgnL6p0yTU6VJoyG0md5vSnj9RLfxxlqOxa5b-baSmfEuuzI/s1600/DSC_0173.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXSSnPdo5Xz1wP2ocKQRRa__NCTuet4fei5N6mM0NGZmh453g4BT4ZgyY_l_BzLOwTRJLNgfTmr2n_45MNB_Kzf58GAqpGCgnL6p0yTU6VJoyG0md5vSnj9RLfxxlqOxa5b-baSmfEuuzI/s640/DSC_0173.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As I was taking the photo, I wondered if the old couple in the original photo were still around.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">After taking this photo I wandered back behind me to a smaller bridge and took this photo.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2iEW1Dc-rSxycA1GmLS4UiU_G1nW466j-faUc5QYe-ifE7X0OTwGE2eDVlorvQ9xShysFKicp1h2srEdYKWVErRsbbuaw3nAkjbwd5uRITX2U9WSKsZwZvJmIm8vz7LRXr2nE-14E8eV_/s1600/IMG_20130901_182323.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1186" data-original-width="1600" height="474" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2iEW1Dc-rSxycA1GmLS4UiU_G1nW466j-faUc5QYe-ifE7X0OTwGE2eDVlorvQ9xShysFKicp1h2srEdYKWVErRsbbuaw3nAkjbwd5uRITX2U9WSKsZwZvJmIm8vz7LRXr2nE-14E8eV_/s640/IMG_20130901_182323.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So serene. Today.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">You may have noticed haw uncannily similar the weather was five years ago compared to today! It was a precious moment to return to the locations of these photos.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">One thing that was in stark contrast today compared to five years ago was this. I took this photo at the entrance of the bamboo walkway.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Contrast this with five years later.....</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqzPJ5XA_PqO13RngMF78n_i22pqzIi3ZF-gfckY1rshU5OoHG6BKaUipmuWJ50Ux8yhxnLxCdPX1PmbUUyJI22SwYNQYGTI2xCgR4wdoHX9PzrVCMxqor4_2Aav98j-ZoCugEH-oYNwC5/s1600/DSC_0179.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqzPJ5XA_PqO13RngMF78n_i22pqzIi3ZF-gfckY1rshU5OoHG6BKaUipmuWJ50Ux8yhxnLxCdPX1PmbUUyJI22SwYNQYGTI2xCgR4wdoHX9PzrVCMxqor4_2Aav98j-ZoCugEH-oYNwC5/s640/DSC_0179.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">What a difference five years makes....</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It was a great day that I had to post about straight away. Stay tune for more from this trip.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">See you back here soon.</span>jase8auhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14582069302006499855noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3985569382279836889.post-41148896793884989282018-04-04T17:34:00.001+10:002018-07-22T17:47:57.988+10:00Naha's castle - Shuri castle (Shurijo - Naha, Okinawa 首里城)<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As you know from a post last year (<a href="http://www.alifelessnormal.co/2017/10/okinawan-gourmet-charlies-tacos-in-naha.html" style="color: red;" target="_blank">Charlies tacos</a>), I took a trip down to Okinawa with good friend Tetsuya. One of the places that we wanted to visit was Shuri castle.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Shuri castle was built back in 1429 and a lot of the structure has real similarities to Chinese architecture. It was the palace of the Ryukyu kingdom until 1879 when Okinawa became part of Japan. It was left mostly unused and deteriorated over time. During the battle of Okinawa that devastated much of Okinawa, Shuri castle was heavily damaged. In 1992, reconstruction commenced back to what it is today.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Tetsuya decided to brave the heat and visit the castle during the day. I chickened out because of the heat and decided to visit later in the evening. Jumping on the monorail I went all the way to the end, Shuri castle and started the short walk to its location. Along the way I spotted some beautiful old style buildings.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Not sure what they were but they looked nice. I kept on going and saw a sign pointing the way to the entrance of the castle.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I wasn't so sure, but I decided to trust the sign and continued on and things started looking a little better.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This looked a whole lot more Royal and closer to what I was expecting. I rounded a corner and came face to face with this.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I stopped to say Hi to the Shisa at the entrance.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Shisa are traditional Okinawan guardians. They represent lions and are often seen in pairs, one with it's mouth open, the other it's mouth closed. The open mouthed one, like this one here, keeps evil spirits away while the open mouthed one keeps good spirits in. I thanked him for his work and moved on inside the gates where I was greeted with this view.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Incredible! And for it to be so quiet too! It was almost like Okinawa was saying "Jason, here you are."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I bought a ticket (820 yen) to go inside and headed on in.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As with a lot of places at the moment, Shuri castle is undergoing renovations and the front part of the main castle was having some work done.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It is inevitable that tourist spots will have work done on them from time to time to keep them in top condition. This, in no way, detracted from the experience that I was going through. I moved on in to the castle itself and it was here that the mix of Japan and Ryukyu shone through. This, very much Japan.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">and this, very much Ryukyu.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Unfortunately for me, closing time was approaching so I made my way out of the castle</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">and back towards the station.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Okinawa has a unique culture </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">and Shuri castle had just given me a unique experience.</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> In fact it, and the people and the way of life, reminded me a lot of Australia and Australians. I highly recommend visiting the castle in the evening. Not only will you avoid the heat, but also the crowds and get a beautiful perspective of the castle lit grandiosely.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed the photos (which don't really do the castle justice). Please leave a comment below, I would love to hear from you, and please sign up on the right side of the screen to get email updates when I upload a new post. Take care and see you next time.</span></div>
jase8auhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14582069302006499855noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3985569382279836889.post-30002519546091694582018-03-05T19:55:00.000+11:002018-07-22T17:50:01.919+10:00An Epic Journey - Katsuura, Chiba<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">First of all, I apologise for the recent lack of activity here. For a variety of reasons I lost focus on the blog over the last 12 months or so. The blog became hard work and thus the number of posts over the past year has gone down. I recently had a moment of enlightenment, but more on that later!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A couple of weeks ago I decided a day trip was in order. I got online and started doing some research and after a couple of days I decided on Katsuura a little more than halfway down the east coast of the Boso peninsula in Chiba, to the east of Tokyo. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Katsuura is a nondescript little fishing town with a population of around 20,000.</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> It was a long trip, about 3 hours from Shinjuku I guess (a little closer from where I live). I jumped on the train (the Sotobo line from Chiba station) and a while later I arrived.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Some of you might be wondering why I decided to come to Katsuura. Was it because of this guy welcoming me at the station?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Nope, but he was welcoming everyone warmly!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Was it because of the local Hina matsuri displays all around town?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Nope, but they were very impressive and it seemed that a lot of people had come for that.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Was it to sample the local gourmet French cuisine?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">No, but I'm sure it tastes great and that couple looked interested.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Was it to have a beer at this "little" bar?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I was too early anyway.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Was it for this gorgeous street</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">lined with these beautiful buildings?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Nope, but they were incredible.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Was it because of the eagles overhead calling out with their shrill cries?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">No, but they were awesome!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Was it for the fishing port,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">or the nearby beach?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">No, but they were nice, and I'm guessing a whole loot less crowded than anything nearer to Tokyo!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">What was it for?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>This!!</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Katsuura tantanmen. Thanks to my ramen guide, <span style="color: red;">Ramen Adventures</span>, I discovered that this little town in the middle of nowhere had developed their own style of ramen. Before we go on any further, it has to be said that Brian Macduckston is <i style="font-weight: bold;">THE</i> voice of ramen in Japan. If you speak English and you love ramen, you need to be reading his blog. Ezawa is the name of the restaurant that invented this style of tantanmen and that was where I was heading today. The regular style of tantanmen is spicy and usually involves some kind of sesame in the soup. Katsuura tantanmen is quite different. It has a soy sauce base, a combination of cooked and raw onions, minced meat all covered by a layer of hot chili oil! Who wouldn't want to try that!!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I worked my way back to the train station to jump on the bus to take me to Ezawa. I arrived at the station to find that the next bus was about an hour away (they run about once or twice an hour out in the direction that Ezawa is). I checked my google maps and found that Ezawa was about 6km away so I decided to walk and jump on the bus when it met up with me halfway there (I enjoy walking...). So I set off. Unfortunately I had not taken into account the topography of the area that I needed too pass through. Pretty soon I discovered that I needed to pass over a mountain range.....</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">If that was what I had to do to reach my holy grail, then so be it! After about 20 minutes I reached the summit of my Everest. All downhill from here I thought.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Except it didn't go downhill.... It went flat for a while and then kept going up......</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">and up....</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5tvaltKhB8OhDjEkVmWIOLAzWIpzLxK9YbY0Pzeoo0Yhmjr76EYFIC5ucxROEIlHybR-z0EiHk-vvh6ich2TbwWZ27eaRN5YU0g5075shCx5JxfRT9IXGvUaW6tcAu-KXPq2qGAPkdxHv/s1600/DSC_0796-1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5tvaltKhB8OhDjEkVmWIOLAzWIpzLxK9YbY0Pzeoo0Yhmjr76EYFIC5ucxROEIlHybR-z0EiHk-vvh6ich2TbwWZ27eaRN5YU0g5075shCx5JxfRT9IXGvUaW6tcAu-KXPq2qGAPkdxHv/s640/DSC_0796-1.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">and up.....there was no end......</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As I trudged on I heard the sound of an approaching bus and I was nowhere near a bus stop.....It passed on by.....</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This day had gone from bad to much worse. Route 297 was to be my cross....</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Suddenly I stopped dead in my tracks and a big smile crept across my face. This.....this was what I had been missing, the element of adventure and discovery! Of going somewhere and just exploring. This was what i had been missing for the past year or so, the enjoyment of going somewhere with a final goal, but just winging it for the rest of the time! Suddenly I started looking at what was around me.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgODYw7V0R48fv2MueJwdeNPF96DOOCy31b7mxSreTRmbcelGIc_P6uHs__WSgI-zQqL511BWb1JmyYyohfh4fC2GpWIQTiwHXv2UoKZnZYzgmlUqM2QFMEXQLMEwizIJjZ_ykGR_6kIg3j/s1600/DSC_0810-1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgODYw7V0R48fv2MueJwdeNPF96DOOCy31b7mxSreTRmbcelGIc_P6uHs__WSgI-zQqL511BWb1JmyYyohfh4fC2GpWIQTiwHXv2UoKZnZYzgmlUqM2QFMEXQLMEwizIJjZ_ykGR_6kIg3j/s640/DSC_0810-1.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">and it was amazing!</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1SGGKCgoghLjwpDsS7ROtEeEc9tJkmt47K6mjtr8UpgH-3x8JuVl5ZWlHffNEC_ZFEe4dv6uHLZ0bMNP04_Su6tv_ac6_Yqn3VCJXZc-D7vFvB-aaLy4CMCEEch2hb3tOnzqIdsXSg7Wz/s1600/DSC_0813-1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1SGGKCgoghLjwpDsS7ROtEeEc9tJkmt47K6mjtr8UpgH-3x8JuVl5ZWlHffNEC_ZFEe4dv6uHLZ0bMNP04_Su6tv_ac6_Yqn3VCJXZc-D7vFvB-aaLy4CMCEEch2hb3tOnzqIdsXSg7Wz/s640/DSC_0813-1.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWf-7nAOezjolXBWs3mREsXe6c16VFuP-zVQr7Jh_1no9rmhnNK6qFmaQ6QSZlfCZnj60EeshCZ6glaGvS70oaV9Eavp6li81Ha9EGeUaq7ejPV09ERlPUHzktDlmwtgqxjWeWEPCcERBx/s1600/DSC_0824-1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWf-7nAOezjolXBWs3mREsXe6c16VFuP-zVQr7Jh_1no9rmhnNK6qFmaQ6QSZlfCZnj60EeshCZ6glaGvS70oaV9Eavp6li81Ha9EGeUaq7ejPV09ERlPUHzktDlmwtgqxjWeWEPCcERBx/s640/DSC_0824-1.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Suddenly my cross had ceased to be a burden and I was enjoying my trek! Then Mrs google told me to turn left.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxpa9NOnZpWh_Z1grH7TqGkKXj2o_U4Kz2DJWxBYjhwZiOcDI6V7VkDUpYWdktIUcTmQsOWHbaNycsUj3lEhgt6vn0lzSB0YlR6eLO0_Hwb5hfhfMnIXjJfEUpay70mhwxEMkgqqd5WfN3/s1600/DSC_0835-1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxpa9NOnZpWh_Z1grH7TqGkKXj2o_U4Kz2DJWxBYjhwZiOcDI6V7VkDUpYWdktIUcTmQsOWHbaNycsUj3lEhgt6vn0lzSB0YlR6eLO0_Hwb5hfhfMnIXjJfEUpay70mhwxEMkgqqd5WfN3/s640/DSC_0835-1.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"Are you sure?" I asked her, to which she remained silent, adamant that she was right so I kept on walking, blind faith in Mrs google. Suddenly I found myself in this.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYI4uJjhgkeT_YlkvzbMW2DrHULRPwLfyQ6FPfoLElHH6d4ZEgW0o9kGGoNPFK_lSPqio0qUT1FY2mAXvyzykpoNatIrqsynSUR1VLY43UavBc52krtRqoYewryh2Pofq-VYPhahqexA6i/s1600/DSC_0838-1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYI4uJjhgkeT_YlkvzbMW2DrHULRPwLfyQ6FPfoLElHH6d4ZEgW0o9kGGoNPFK_lSPqio0qUT1FY2mAXvyzykpoNatIrqsynSUR1VLY43UavBc52krtRqoYewryh2Pofq-VYPhahqexA6i/s640/DSC_0838-1.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Blind faith.....</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Suddenly I rounded a corner and there it was.....</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">my holy grail.....</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0IuUWT2zbXcbgNmbKnc7LjWi1G0VuEHngnpa1Ds9uRCr0hPf85szr54X78CoVYIUBYNaDHCrhJixFImyOGv9-Up7PdhEq36qCd7mpEfdWt1zzsB0B8WjRlrxKwPLvRhM8ZXWybK5W7Cpl/s1600/DSC_0848-1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0IuUWT2zbXcbgNmbKnc7LjWi1G0VuEHngnpa1Ds9uRCr0hPf85szr54X78CoVYIUBYNaDHCrhJixFImyOGv9-Up7PdhEq36qCd7mpEfdWt1zzsB0B8WjRlrxKwPLvRhM8ZXWybK5W7Cpl/s640/DSC_0848-1.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">but it looked closed!! I checked with Mrs google who told me that they were open until 6pm, but it looked closed. I looked through the windows and there were a few people inside. I poked my head inside and asked if I could come in. They were definitely closing, but they ushered me in. So kind, I felt guilty. I ordered and soon it came out.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF3ri25FUzu4tHK0fsWIOvb1sI1230Lbp2DWWoyNoto-jz0uM_J0LFlrDA5VDHYRrOSyquJJl7_0q69mciIrr4YER5J9s_pKyzpjyGhFQvyNpBDF4s06QVzP6txIXZwV_-gBMsc33dQaN6/s1600/DSC_0840-1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF3ri25FUzu4tHK0fsWIOvb1sI1230Lbp2DWWoyNoto-jz0uM_J0LFlrDA5VDHYRrOSyquJJl7_0q69mciIrr4YER5J9s_pKyzpjyGhFQvyNpBDF4s06QVzP6txIXZwV_-gBMsc33dQaN6/s640/DSC_0840-1.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It looked amazing!!</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiYrIx8Aq3OQNi9X4q4enzHA-mOzwWGhMY5st68reOO44mCxrhGp5DfIwkdDnUAat0WpBTpcaC73hCzpWOZKxFZUunS6fTlnFpky6qiKgLBgVMScO9XUh-K8lEejIB_qzLR9QLDOc1p2pB/s1600/DSC_0842-1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiYrIx8Aq3OQNi9X4q4enzHA-mOzwWGhMY5st68reOO44mCxrhGp5DfIwkdDnUAat0WpBTpcaC73hCzpWOZKxFZUunS6fTlnFpky6qiKgLBgVMScO9XUh-K8lEejIB_qzLR9QLDOc1p2pB/s640/DSC_0842-1.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It tasted amazing! The chili oil created a slow burn, a slow and enjoyable burn! I quickly finished it off, not wanting to impose any further on the staff and left with a full, glowing belly. I suddenly realised that it was about 10 minutes until the last bus back to the train station. As much fun as it had been coming out, I did not want to walk back to the station! Hustling back to the main road, I made it a couple of minutes before the bus arrived.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAI93YAGIlY_ftnpsAbXfTQ7YyaoH6WQxmOwiDSDfYFPy5jNyxEK6_THRTvjc_LilqCsFjPfZWyxPMjbhMo0uX6U8ZYEexwK3A36wrFWcUhFvJKyNNFR-Aw6z7W1Aq7IZPdZjgp4oxaymA/s1600/DSC_0851-1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAI93YAGIlY_ftnpsAbXfTQ7YyaoH6WQxmOwiDSDfYFPy5jNyxEK6_THRTvjc_LilqCsFjPfZWyxPMjbhMo0uX6U8ZYEexwK3A36wrFWcUhFvJKyNNFR-Aw6z7W1Aq7IZPdZjgp4oxaymA/s640/DSC_0851-1.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">less than 20 minutes later I was back at the station and the little guy was back there to see me off.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxYJOksk3tz9t6G6pk2rWjVzLV6k6ALZYGnKUg11kK7wn1gTzEk-T61Q97hEj2ltvg4ivpy-wBkO79wJq0uPGKZvfZiezR8dIg9wFhHI74LZ4xuBTK0ZXeXVk46a5x04F0EeSkFxFRu4Y1/s1600/DSC_0853-1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxYJOksk3tz9t6G6pk2rWjVzLV6k6ALZYGnKUg11kK7wn1gTzEk-T61Q97hEj2ltvg4ivpy-wBkO79wJq0uPGKZvfZiezR8dIg9wFhHI74LZ4xuBTK0ZXeXVk46a5x04F0EeSkFxFRu4Y1/s640/DSC_0853-1.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">What a nice guy!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I decided to reward myself with a reserved seat on the limited express train back to Chiba station and I had the entire car to myself!!</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwkcumcwKCg_u7fL5SInCVX0MXnpEaR-f-MEoIu2tIpbBHRw4RaZwD2CJV3xv5NB96Gla-wCsc02nbjiAUuMBqW52L0S0rhOI54gkuAWZpIacdI_Nz1OWjfNR98dORO8stS4dpTAgMvrN5/s1600/DSC_0855-1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwkcumcwKCg_u7fL5SInCVX0MXnpEaR-f-MEoIu2tIpbBHRw4RaZwD2CJV3xv5NB96Gla-wCsc02nbjiAUuMBqW52L0S0rhOI54gkuAWZpIacdI_Nz1OWjfNR98dORO8stS4dpTAgMvrN5/s640/DSC_0855-1.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">What a way to finish off the day.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Well, that's it for another post. Thanks for reading, and thanks for sticking with me.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Please leave a comment and feel free to sign up with your email address on the right side of the page to get an alert when I upload a new post. Until next time, bye!</span></div>
jase8auhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14582069302006499855noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3985569382279836889.post-79868365606006680982017-11-22T02:49:00.000+11:002018-07-22T17:50:20.440+10:00No ramen no life - Tokyo ramen show<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I have a very good friend who I used to work with called Jorge. He, like me, is a ramen lover. Jorge, however, takes it to a whole nother level. After Jorge left Japan, he moved to Brussels, Belgium. One day he woke up craving ramen and before the day was out he was on a flight to Tokyo for a bowl of his favourite miso ramen!! Possibly one of the most expensive bowls of ramen ever! Jorge recently sent me a message on Facebook letting me know that the Tokyo ramen show was on. In the midst of packing and moving apartment, a trip to the Tokyo ramen show was decided.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A few years ago I developed a New Year's routine. I would go to my local shrine for the typical New Year's shrine visit (hatsumode) followed by a trip across town to my favourite miso ramen shop, Kururi. Suddenly in late 2015, disaster struck. Kururi closed. After the tears and the wailing and gnashing of teeth had subsided (I don't know if gnashing of teeth is a sign of sadness and disappointment, but I was grieving) I set about trying to find my new favourite miso ramen place. I decided to extend this quest to the Tokyo ramen show.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Tokyo ramen show is held each year at Komazawa Olympic Park so I set off towards Komazawa Daigaku station. After a quick 10 minute walk from the station I arrived at the ramen show. It was early evening so there were not too many people around.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Pulling out my English shop information map I plotted my first miso ramen raid.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Seeing that miso was the theme of the night, I picked out Musashi miso ramen as my first bowl of the night.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As I said, no lines, perfect!! I grabbed my bowl and headed off to a table to tuck into my first bowl of the night. It looked beautiful!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The charsui pork was fall apart tender, delicious. The egg was seasoned nicely, probably the best part of the bowl. The bowl was topped with a burnt garlic oil which initially added a punch of flavour to the bowl, but all too soon the flavour diluted into the rest of the soup. The soup was okay, but no wow factor and the noodles tasted a bit cheap (I was to discover that all of the ramen noodles tasted the same, maybe the same provider).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Having finished my first bowl I decided to head for a walk around the park to get the digestion process started. About 30 minutes later I was back for my second bowl. Seeking another bowl of miso I lined up at Kanazawa Mentatsu Kenrokukai.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The crowds were now starting to appear. After a 10 minute wait, I started getting nearer and the smells were getting stronger and stronger.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Finally I was there!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Just in time too as now the crowds were really swelling!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I sat down at another table to start slurping on my second bowl.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The winner in this bowl was the pork. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Seasoned beautifully and cooked in black pepper, I could have eaten a whole bowl of it and gone back for seconds! The soup in this bowl was also good, a stronger miso flavour, very smooth and mild with a lingering salty aftertaste. Nice!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">After my second bowl, I needed an extended break before attempting a third bowl so I took another walk around the park and washed everything down with a chu-hi.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Tempting fate, I went back for my third bowl. Again, sticking with the miso theme I went for a bowl at Ramen Gimparou Sapporo.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The menma (bamboo shoots) on this one were great, soft and tender and the sesame seeds added a nice elements to it. The charsui was pretty standard but the soup in this bowl was the winner, delightfully creamy! Unfortunately I was not able to finish this bowl off. The soup disappeared but the noodles were left remaining. Three bowls proved to be too much.....</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So, did I find my New Year's miso ramen replacement. It is with great sadness that I report, no, none of the bowls I ate matched up to the great Kururi. The search continues.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Thanks again for reading. I hope you enjoyed it Jorge, and I look forward to slurping a bowl with you again sometime in the future.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Please leave me a message below, if you have a favourite miso ramen place around the Tokyo area, please tell me about it and I will check it out and report back here! See you next time.</span></div>
jase8auhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14582069302006499855noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3985569382279836889.post-38205383735659337622017-10-01T18:40:00.002+11:002017-10-03T05:23:33.334+11:00Okinawan gourmet - Charlie's tacos in Naha (taco rice)<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I recently had an opportunity to go to Okinawa (the southernmost islands of the Japanese archipelago) with my friend Tetsuya. Now, Tetsuya is from Okinawa and has been there many times as well as spending the first 6 years of his life there. Me, however, it was my first time and when the decision was made to go, I started researching where I wanted to go and what I wanted to do. As fate would have it, it was so hot and humid while we were there that I didn't get to do half the things I wanted to do. I am a much better winter person than I am a summer person even though I come from a very hot area with temperatures sometimes over 40 degrees celsius in summer. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Okinawa has a very different culture to mainland Japan having only been part of Japan for a tiny part of its history. It also has a very different food culture to Japan. For example, take a look at the photo below......</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As you can see, every part of the pig is eaten. Now in Tokyo I have not yet seen anyone sitting down to a meal of pigs face. Waste not, want not!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A little more to my liking is the Okinawan invented quasi Mexican dish, taco rice. Now I'm sure you can all imagine what this is. Take a taco, empty the contents onto rice and (<b><i>SHAZAM!!</i></b>) taco rice. Now, it may not sound like much, but, in my humble opinion, much more appealing than pigs face. So I started doing research about what taco rice restaurant to visit while in Naha and one name kept coming up, Charlie's tacos.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">From what I can gather, Charlie's tacos is an institution in Okinawa and has been running at it's original location since 1956. Sprawled across his original shop window is "Mexican born, Okinawan raised". So the decision was made we were going to Charlie's.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Charlie's that we visited is on Kokusai Dori (International street). Located on the second floor (first floor if you are Australian) of a building on the south end of Kokusai Dori about 150m along the street from A&W burger.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Stepping inside, the decor was a little classic, kind of retro but homely.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Sorry to the lovely lady taking a huge bite of her taco......</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The menu is on the table</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">and you go up to the cash register when you are ready to order.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Before too long, the food came out. Tetsuya ordered a taco with onion rings</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">and I went all out and got a taco with taco rice!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Both of us agreed that the taco was a little dry (maybe I should have used the sauce) but the real winner was the taco rice! Delicious, not so spicy (there are bottles of chili sauce around that you can use to amp up the spice levels) and filling!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Next time you are in Okinawa, the main island, check out Charlie's tacos for some great taco rice!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Thanks again for reading. Leave a message below if you have been to Charlie's. What was it like for you?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">See you next time.</span>jase8auhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14582069302006499855noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3985569382279836889.post-15249338801269162062017-09-20T02:29:00.002+10:002017-11-09T17:08:53.089+11:00One of Japan's top 100 castles - Hachioji castle (八王子城)<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">At the end of the last post I left a message inviting people to leave me a message with a letter of the English alphabet and a number. What I would then do would be to find a train line in the Greater Tokyo area beginning with the letter provided and then find a station along the line that matched the number (train stations here recently have been given a designated number to assist foreign tourists make their way around. I would then try to find something in the area to write about. The first person to leave me a message was Ms B. She left me B 22. I searched long and hard around the Tokyo area for a train line beginning with the letter B, but no luck. Sorry Ms B but I had to move on to the next letter in the alphabet, C. Immediately I thought of the Chuo Line. Now station number 22 happens to be Hachioji. Next problem, what is there in Hachioji? I started searching and found that Mount Takao is located in Hachioji city but I have already written about that (post can be found <a href="http://www.alifelessnormal.co/2016/05/mountain-hiking-in-tokyo-mount-takao.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;">here</span></a>). A little more searching and I stumbled across Hachioji castle. "What is this?" I mused, having not heard of Hachioji castle before. I little more searching and I realised that this was it. I was going to visit Hachioji castle! I was also to find out that not many Japanese people know of Hachioji castle, even people who have lived in Hachioji city for years. What a hidden gem!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Hachioji castle has a very short history, and a very violent finale. Construction of the castle started in the 1570's by Ujiteru Hojo of the powerful Hojo clan. The Hojo clan controlled most of the Kanto area which is comprised of Tokyo, Kanagawa to the south, Chiba to the east and Saitama and Gunma to the north. Possessing such a large tract of land gave them a huge amount of power. Their main castle was located at nearby Odawara but Ujiteru built Hachioji as a defensive fortress. Located at the top of a mountain, it was thought that it would be much easier to fend off enemy forces.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Skip ahead to 1590 and another guy by the name of Hideyoshi Toyotomi was well on his way to unifying all of Japan under a central rule. One of the final pieces of regional power left to fall was the Kanto area. He marched 150,000 men to Odawara, surrounded the castle and started a waiting game. He didn't attack the castle, just lay siege to it. What he did do was to send a force of men around the Kanto area taking down each of the smaller Hojo family castles, slowly whittling away their power. Our friend, Ujiteru Hojo heard this news and quickly made his way back to Odawara castle leaving a force of 1,300 men protecting Hachioji castle. Hideyoshi Toyotomi sent two of his military commanders, Toshiie Maeda and Kagekatsu Uesugi, along with a force of 50,000 soldiers to take down Hachioji castle. It fell in less than a day. This victory was influential in finishing the resistance of the Hojo family at Odawara caslte and they surrendered the next month. A couple of weeks ago I paid a visit to Hachioji castle.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The nearest station to the castle is Takao station and while technically not station 22 (it is 24) it is within Hachioji city. I met up with friends Tetsuya and Jarrett at Takao station and headed out the North exit to where the bus stop is. We jumped on the bus (which is clearly marked in English "For Hachioji castle" and within 15 minutes we had arrived at the entry point to the castle.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We started in toward the castle and the forest was thick around us.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This is in the area where the front gate of the castle used to be.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Walking through here I could imagine the Hojo soldiers viewing the sight of the massive Toyotomi army marching toward the castle gates. I could imagine them retreating from the front gates back into the main castle area.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The path kept winding up the hill toward the castle proper</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">eventually arriving at the last obstacle before reaching the castle, Hikihashi.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It was one final obstacle as the bridge was built so that it was easily collapsible, thus forcing attacking enemies to find an alternative way across the river to get to the castle, effectively buying the inhabitants a little extra time. In this case, it was futile as Toyotomi's men soon found a way in, as did we. We had it a little easier than those 427 years ago as those who had reconstructed the bridge in recent times kindly made it sturdier and non-collapsible.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Reaching the other side, we made our way up the stone stairs just as Toyotomi's men had 427 years ago.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">and into the grounds of the main castle building. All that remains now are a few foundation stones and the foundation of the main castle residence where Ujiteru Hojo lived.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The silence was mystical and mesmerising, while at the same time, sombre and haunting. Just a handful of people wandering around wordlessly taking in the atmosphere of this place, this place which had been, historically, a crucial part of one of the most significant episodes in Japan's history, the re-unification of Japan under a centralised rule.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Turning around, I noticed a path leading back into the forest behind the castle so I wandered in to have a look.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I kept following it deeper into the tangle of trees and undergrowth</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">further deeper until the path started fading away</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">and I began to feel as though I might just about to have my own Blair Witch moment so I turned around and made my way back along the path and back into the clearing. Heading off to the right I made my way down a path that led me away from the main area of the castle ruins.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In front of me was a worn path</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKXjBURNZVCTkyoqMBKb0K98eQ52P96dNOksuyWB0id8MsMOZk0mrWvsEJ5j2RxuvBd31CfLkwv1jrKT9TfP7KAd_C7BFQCLXcmAtGG5tOwU5-4WYMPBTYKjfcezYZXo-VYpPvBkcmcXVw/s1600/DSC_0443-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKXjBURNZVCTkyoqMBKb0K98eQ52P96dNOksuyWB0id8MsMOZk0mrWvsEJ5j2RxuvBd31CfLkwv1jrKT9TfP7KAd_C7BFQCLXcmAtGG5tOwU5-4WYMPBTYKjfcezYZXo-VYpPvBkcmcXVw/s640/DSC_0443-1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">that led to a waterfall.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwyQQn1aP3ScH36iSv0eTDoSs53k9cvLSOp_yqD442FY2SlK0VHgQkwQFEJYp1WFfz24WwSsIWlbs_IxsS9dtQYfR4tT0aFKt_Fs5xAxYs2ATwaPrz04ChosMKhJCWD8QWTphFbkkQsNvu/s1600/DSC_0449-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwyQQn1aP3ScH36iSv0eTDoSs53k9cvLSOp_yqD442FY2SlK0VHgQkwQFEJYp1WFfz24WwSsIWlbs_IxsS9dtQYfR4tT0aFKt_Fs5xAxYs2ATwaPrz04ChosMKhJCWD8QWTphFbkkQsNvu/s640/DSC_0449-1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It was here on that fateful day, in 1590, that thousands of soldiers and regular townsfolk fled to get away from the oncoming forces. It was here that they took their own lives rather than be captured or killed by the enemy. Exactly how many people died here that day is unknown, lost in time. Some reports say 50,000 people died here (although that number may have been inflated by the sands of time). Legend says that the river water ran red for 3 days after.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOO5yB-JsqgacB1rA2l9OCdBhnE-x73PxmVPLfGrflamtJWkaj0OMUalrcJ85jX7ImI4iQ0rtQFehhaOiKIHZLQsveamZI5qi-mtAwqT4mQRx0bZGayyVlrjO0_H2z3SEEm3PI0Wwo6PzP/s1600/DSC_0454-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOO5yB-JsqgacB1rA2l9OCdBhnE-x73PxmVPLfGrflamtJWkaj0OMUalrcJ85jX7ImI4iQ0rtQFehhaOiKIHZLQsveamZI5qi-mtAwqT4mQRx0bZGayyVlrjO0_H2z3SEEm3PI0Wwo6PzP/s640/DSC_0454-1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A memorial to the fallen, perhaps.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5Pxl0IXbkEU8VrboGTJc9dY1Yyjk0_srSWqSI1Cr3lLe5Q9jS3oE4oMEKKUYiDyKkdL6XLjZLtXzFhMuYnraX6EmXg9ot1qC3L2guXji-N9ORhWm3jTG2BIcIdY2WN_1rwILeLZBjTQ8-/s1600/DSC_0451-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5Pxl0IXbkEU8VrboGTJc9dY1Yyjk0_srSWqSI1Cr3lLe5Q9jS3oE4oMEKKUYiDyKkdL6XLjZLtXzFhMuYnraX6EmXg9ot1qC3L2guXji-N9ORhWm3jTG2BIcIdY2WN_1rwILeLZBjTQ8-/s640/DSC_0451-1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I made my way back down to the entrance of the castle area, again, surrounded by silence, a silence that cloaked what had happened all those years ago.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I think I will end this one here. There is more to the castle are than I saw, I just had to leave when I did to get back to the bus stop to catch the bus back to the train station. As it turned out, we had missed the last bus and had to walk back to Takao station!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Thanks again for reading and I hope you enjoyed that Ms B. That one was for you. Please leave a comment below and tell me what you thought of this post about Hachioji castle. Also, feel free to sign up for email updates when I put up a new post. See you next time.</span>jase8auhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14582069302006499855noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3985569382279836889.post-45801893656372716602017-07-25T23:45:00.004+10:002021-03-04T23:06:50.898+11:00Dining at an icon - oyakodon at Tamahide<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">It's not often that you hear of a restaurant that has been open for 257 years (at the time of writing, having opened in 1760). It's even less often that you get a chance to eat at such a restaurant. My chance came recently.</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Tamahide is a well renowned, family owned (currently in its 8th generation) restaurant in Ningyocho, Tokyo. Having said that, one fine point about Tamahide is that, despite its fame, the prices have been kept very reasonable and it is thus able to be enjoyed by everyone. One mention of the name and you get knowing nods of the head and beaming smiles from Japanese people. It is well known for its longevity, but more well known as the restaurant that invented the dish oyakodon. The name oyakodon literally translates into "parent and child rice bowl". When you hear what it is made of, it makes perfect sense. Oyakodon is pieces of chicken and egg (and sometimes onion) that have been simmered in a blend of soy sauce, mirin and other things, depending on the chef. The resulting sauce is a fine balance between salty and sweet that complements the dish nicely.</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">The lucky day arrived and I jumped on the train to Ningyocho where I met good friend Tetsuya (who used to be a chef and thus was also looking forward to the experience). Tamahide is located only a couple of minutes walk from A2 exit of Ningyocho station so it didn't take long before we arrived and the regal building that has housed Tamahide since 1760.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV8lRcyWVVaAFNZPbsKrnuuZUKnLZ1D6XF-hImUbGGu2lDanE3Gj2i64nUK7RhaBV2_qTAjkR0ULlHv43bg1vmn-oMOkduRPtI5-3GTMZ6TJKEosKHGBKXungFFCvICv6RYyPz8QpOSsDc/s1600/DSC_0292+-+1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV8lRcyWVVaAFNZPbsKrnuuZUKnLZ1D6XF-hImUbGGu2lDanE3Gj2i64nUK7RhaBV2_qTAjkR0ULlHv43bg1vmn-oMOkduRPtI5-3GTMZ6TJKEosKHGBKXungFFCvICv6RYyPz8QpOSsDc/s640/DSC_0292+-+1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">At a place with the reputation of Tamahide, it is quite usual to find long lines of people waiting to enter the restaurant but this day, the line wasn't too bad..</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi43Dz5W3MTarZ8CfC7XSCQT0df5nCd0RwiTK0eyIv-su8aVX2_NtEk516dq1UwsPkHJHiIF1MKorY5NTFkvSqgrHAHBCRAkvVmMjgva7JNvO-uNRoGXgGGcQ5ZcxHVHjt9duZ1gJUWVPIg/s1600/DSC_0238+-+1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi43Dz5W3MTarZ8CfC7XSCQT0df5nCd0RwiTK0eyIv-su8aVX2_NtEk516dq1UwsPkHJHiIF1MKorY5NTFkvSqgrHAHBCRAkvVmMjgva7JNvO-uNRoGXgGGcQ5ZcxHVHjt9duZ1gJUWVPIg/s640/DSC_0238+-+1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">However this wasn't to be a problem for us as we had arranged reservations. Outside the restaurant there are a couple of signs that point out the story and the history of Tamahide.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeftgZHwcrmDRR6mztXnag48smToxJ146wSNBf0VEOM-8m1MNo-m14VgDcHn2FIYlPjyKsGZNteUmzt2QTTtnZBeIgj35qOPEU-0VNUEHpa-3x9mTtJhiX6DPcacEHFDCKV5UUTaNH8S1h/s1600/DSC_0242+-+1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeftgZHwcrmDRR6mztXnag48smToxJ146wSNBf0VEOM-8m1MNo-m14VgDcHn2FIYlPjyKsGZNteUmzt2QTTtnZBeIgj35qOPEU-0VNUEHpa-3x9mTtJhiX6DPcacEHFDCKV5UUTaNH8S1h/s640/DSC_0242+-+1.jpg" width="360" /></a></div>
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">We went inside the restaurant and were quickly escorted by the staff up to the second floor. The decor was beautiful traditional Japan!</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Pretty soon after our host, the owner / manager came out to say Hi. We didn't need to order as she had already organised our course. Soon after the food began arriving. First up was some ground / minced chicken that tasted like it had been cooked in soy sauce until the soy sauce had reduced away and soaked into the chicken meat.</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Beautifully salty. Next was some pickles followed soon after by the beer. What a perfect combination!</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">As soon as we had finished that, the </span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #292929; font-size: 14px; letter-spacing: 0.16px;">pièce de résistance, the main dish, came out....</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">The oyakodon was served with a collagen soup which went down well. I could feel my skin becoming more tight and beautiful with every sip!</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Finally, after every last morsel was gone, they brought out desert.</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Nice and light at the end of a nice meal, the perfect way to finish it.</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">So, how was it? It was damn good! The two things that stuck out the most to me were the light fluffiness of the eggs and the tastiness of the chicken. The taste of the chicken seemed to intensify with every chew. And the ting about the restaurant that stood out the most was the fact that despite their reputation and fame, the humbleness and modesty and omotenashi (Japanese customer service and hospitality) remains strong at Tamahide. I was very impressed and well recommended.</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">So that's it for another post. Please leave me a comment below, I reply to all comments left. Also feel free to sign up with your email on the right-hand side of the page to get updates when I post.</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Finally, I am going to start trying a new project. I want you to leave me a message below and I want you to leave a number and a letter of the English alphabet in your message. What I will then do will be to find a correlating train line around Tokyo and a matching (as near as possible) train station on that line and do a random blog post about the area. That should be a lot of fun, and a mystery adventure each time! Please get involved and get me busy!!</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">See you next time!</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Cost of the food course at Tamahide: 3,300 yen. </span>jase8auhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14582069302006499855noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3985569382279836889.post-80039052136673743432017-06-15T02:01:00.000+10:002017-06-25T02:27:06.454+10:00Tour of a Japanese sake (日本酒) brewery - Ishikawa sake brewery (石川酒造)<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">My sister Kylie and her partner Paul along with 2 of their friends recently came over to Japan for a week and before coming I asked them what they would like to do while here. One of their requests was to have a tour of a sake brewery. Now, sake requires clear, clean water which usually comes from areas sparsely populated, ie, mountain areas so my initial reaction was "a sake brewery, in <i>Tokyo</i>, with <i style="font-size: x-large;">English??</i> Not wanting to shoot down the idea so quickly, I did a search for "sake brewery near Tokyo" and to my pleasant surprise the first hit was an article that outlined 3 sake breweries in and around Tokyo that offered tours and tastings in English! I selected the one that was nearest to central Tokyo (advertised as 45 minutes from Shinjuku by Chuo line), Ishikawa sake brewery (English website <a href="http://tamajiman.co.jp/en/" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;">here</span></a>). I sent an email to them and received a prompt reply and after a couple of days, had settled on a date and booked a tour.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Arriving at Haijima station we jumped into a couple of taxis (a 730 yen trip) and made our way over to the brewery. As we arrived, my heart did a little skip of joy as the look of the buildings was quite old and the architecture quite traditional.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Going inside we met Kaiko who was to be our tour guide. The tour started with the sake brewing warehouse.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Kaiko explained that the building was built in 1880 and had survived that Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923 and , unlike a lot of wood buildings in Japan, had never burned down, being built with fire resistant adobe materials.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Hanging above the door was a sight that I had seen many times here in Japan but did not truly understand what it signified.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Thanks to Kaiko, I now do know what it is! It is called a sugidama or sakabayashi.It starts off green in colour and is hung above the door to let customers know that a new batch of sake is under production. When it turns brown, this signals that the sake has aged sufficiently and is ready for drinking.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We next moved inside the building and the first thing I noticed was how cool it was inside! I mentioned this to Kaiko and she explained that the brewing process, similar to beer, needs a controlled temperature to function efficiently.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We left the brewery warehouse and walked back out past the offices</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">past this (which, I think is talking about the river that flows through the area, the Tama River)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">and stopped here </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRO86pj7PfVxONy4AyNl7vfVFtPxPHQfHo-dBzyMf2AkLXlFnGW_CxOJwg0aBMk9MNxWmrCPL2Oo-_SSrru0rSDSIZIEiQWIlcrLoWijjDVowEdhbo6KYSsnG8aEZ3asZbRlY9omzIPHh0/s1600/DSC_0242-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRO86pj7PfVxONy4AyNl7vfVFtPxPHQfHo-dBzyMf2AkLXlFnGW_CxOJwg0aBMk9MNxWmrCPL2Oo-_SSrru0rSDSIZIEiQWIlcrLoWijjDVowEdhbo6KYSsnG8aEZ3asZbRlY9omzIPHh0/s640/DSC_0242-1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">where Kaiko explained that they get the water used in the brewing process from 150 metres underground! She said that we were welcome to fill up pet bottles with the water.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Next up were a couple of trees that we were told were about 400 years old!</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipBfT_Fu7lOoTdSnunvvhDjzurtN_OAWqiIhku8QIGpP8YfqztKiGtT6wdOYpzpS030dgQGMGxQDv9ZC1NBdNbTw2XG6WIhsABZW5VDJkcfiJdydl3pbmfAfzR4ma-a7-TTU9QhMie0Fp0/s1600/DSC_0240-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipBfT_Fu7lOoTdSnunvvhDjzurtN_OAWqiIhku8QIGpP8YfqztKiGtT6wdOYpzpS030dgQGMGxQDv9ZC1NBdNbTw2XG6WIhsABZW5VDJkcfiJdydl3pbmfAfzR4ma-a7-TTU9QhMie0Fp0/s640/DSC_0240-1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Next up was a massive old cauldron that used to be used for steaming the rice near the beginning of the brewing process.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Following that was another huge old cauldron that Kaiko told us was used by the brewery to brew beer in the late 19th century.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As we headed over to where they brew their beer,</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Kaiko told us that the brewery first started brewing their beer in 1887, making them one of the pioneers if the young beer industry in Japan. Unfortunately, 2 years later the brewery sold off their brewing equipment. Fast forward 111 years and the decision was made to revive their beer brewing efforts and they now produce a variety of craft beer.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">That beautiful little red machine in front of the building</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Is an early 1970's Subaru that still runs! You might be able to make out, on the front passenger side, the early style air conditioning that was used at the time!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The final stop on the tour was at an old well where the brewery used to draw their water from.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Listening carefully, you could still hear the water dripping away 20 metres underground.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This was also in an area that had a number of tables and chairs and Kaiko informed us that there are often events held here where the CEO, who plays the harmonica, often performs for guests.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And at that point, the official part of the tour finished. We then went back to nearby the cellar shop</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">where we did some tasting and were able to buy some products.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The brewery also has 2 restaurants on site, an Italian restaurant and a Japanese restaurant so we decided to enjoy lunch in the Japanese restaurant which was beautiful inside and out.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Here are some of the dishes that we ordered. Some Japanese pickles,</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">some fried tofu,</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">some delicious minced chicken patties that had crunchy chunks of lotus root in them and were then wrapped in a seaweed sheet, dipped into tempura batter and fried,</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">and my main dish which was a nice, bowl of soba noodles in soup with a couple of pieces of fried tofu on top.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbdEBRjZq-KvJqXqJnbuU4q1ehnVqSqQinozYa3be0287ekiew_yryRClN7qjvQGphH6XMRZRZKffDd2s-YsZNPxWPTrdThMbM5NVD6nTDHs8dcriZ_33wSI0M_VbBCD5WwHFSxW8X43bK/s1600/DSC_0216-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbdEBRjZq-KvJqXqJnbuU4q1ehnVqSqQinozYa3be0287ekiew_yryRClN7qjvQGphH6XMRZRZKffDd2s-YsZNPxWPTrdThMbM5NVD6nTDHs8dcriZ_33wSI0M_VbBCD5WwHFSxW8X43bK/s640/DSC_0216-1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">What a delicious way to finish of a very informative and interesting tour. For me, the buildings on the brewery grounds were a highlight. Some of them are officially listed as Tangible Cultural Properties of Japan, which basically means that they are Japanese Heritage buildings</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So, if you live in Japan and have a free day coming up, or if you are visiting Japan and would like a unique experience, get in touch with the Ishikawa brewery and have yourself a tour!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">That's it for this post. Thanks, as always for reading. Please leave a comment below and sign up to receive email notifications when I update. Thanks again and see you next time.</span>jase8auhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14582069302006499855noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3985569382279836889.post-26839226836771074342017-05-25T02:04:00.000+10:002017-06-15T02:57:46.882+10:00The original katsu curry (かつカレ) - Ginza Swiss (銀座スイス)<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">One of my favourite meals (although it's only a "sometimes" food as too much consumption can have a negative impact on the waistline...) is called katsu curry (katsu is breaded, deep fried pork cutlet). It is also one of my regular go to meals when I can't understand very much of a restaurant menu! I was having a lesson with one of my regular students, Ryo, and we were talking about food (as we sometimes do) and he recommended a restaurant in Ginza called Ginza Swiss (or Grill Swiss, they seem to go by 2 different names). The restaurant claims to be the restaurant that first came up with the dish katsu curry. No one seems to be disputing the fact, so we can probably accept that it is fact.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The story goes that in 1948, a Tokyo Giants baseball player, Shigeru Chiba, came into the restaurant before a big game and, wanting a big meal for energy to keep him going throughout the game, asked for a katsu to be added to his curry and rice. The restaurant staff were surprised at this request as curry and rice had always been just that, curry and rice. The Giants went on to win the big game that night and suddenly an icon had been born. Since then it has been copied by (probably) millions of restaurants across Japan and around the world. There's nothing like trying the original though, is there, so I set off after work one night into Ginza.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Now, Ginza is not an area that I go out of my way to visit. It is everything that is not really what this blog is about. It is touristy, crowded and doesn't really represent Japan in my eyes. But when wanting to sample an icon, sacrifices must be made, so into the hoards I ventured.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I soon found myself in a little quiet back alley looking at the legend itself!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">No line-up! Nice, I was in luck! I went inside and everything was quite small, unremarkable and nondescript, and I don't mean that in a bad way, it just that I had been expecting something a little grander. But maybe it was better that it was like this. The focus is all on the food!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Looking at the menu, I only wanted to order one thing. I looked up at the waitress and asked for "Chiba-san no katsu curry" A little over 5 minutes later it appeared.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The set comes with some cabbage, dressing and a small cup of soup. It looked good!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The katsu had a nice ration of fat to meat giving it some nice flavour.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The katsu was tasty and juicy, going very well with the curry.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The curry was a keema curry which is not common for katsu curry.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The sweetness and crispiness of the cabbage and the pickles provided a nice contrast to the saltiness and slight spiciness of the curry (only very slight spiciness. Most Japanese curries are not on the spicy side).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Before long, it was devoured. It was very good, maybe not the best in the country, but it was the original and there's an extra level of enjoyment you get out of eating an icon!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Thank you very much to Ryo for the recommendation. I might have to try and hunt down some other restaurants that have created famous dishes!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Thanks again for reading. If you get to Ginza Swiss and try the Chiba-san no katsu curry, let me know what you think in the messages. Until next time, bye.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Cost: Chiba-san no katsu curry - 1,400 yen.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Also, apologies to my Muslim friends. There is a choice of pork, chicken or beef katsu but the curry is a pork base.</span></div>
jase8auhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14582069302006499855noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3985569382279836889.post-89692560086377948642017-05-09T02:58:00.001+10:002017-07-26T01:02:57.290+10:00A nostalgic hot spring hideaway - Shima Onsen (四万温泉) Part 3<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This is part 3 of a write-up about a recent trip to Shima Onsen. You can find part 1 <a href="http://www.alifelessnormal.co/2017/04/a-nostalgic-hot-spring-hideaway-shima.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;">here</span></a> and part 2 <a href="http://www.alifelessnormal.co/2017/04/a-nostalgic-hot-spring-hideaway-shima_29.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;">here</span></a>. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I woke up from my nap feeling totally refreshed and ready for dinner. I decided to head back to the same place that I had had lunch at.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As much as I wanted to have another negi tonkatsu I restrained myself and went for the healthy option (?) of miso ramen.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Beautiful, dark, rich, thick miso ramen that was perfect on a cold winter's night!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Finishing up, I went back to the ryokan and grabbed my other camera and set off for a walk around the town after dark. I always find walking around places at night very interesting. You get to see a completely different side of things at night. Take Tokyo for example. At night time, the city doesn't sleep. The day people sleep but the night people are out and about and doing their thing, the city almost as busy as it is during the day, but different things are happening. Shima onsen, on the other hand, was simply peaceful and quiet. It was so silent that you could hear the snowflakes landing.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I almost felt guilty having all of this to myself to enjoy.........almost.........</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">With a smile on my face and a skip in my step, I headed back to the Ryokan for yet another soak and then bed. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I woke up to yet another breakfast of champions (I love these Japanese breakfasts when I'm travelling).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Having a few hours to kill until the bus back to Tokyo (yes, the bus. I wasn't taking any risks this time!!) I decided to head over to the old ryokan that I had taken photos of in part 2 and have one last soak in their onsen. It was old and beautiful and almost Roman in it's decor, at least on the inside it was.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">On the outside it was all Japanese!!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Finally, unfortunately, it was time to say goodbye (in the words of the great Andrea Bocelli). Hauling my waterlogged, but totally relaxed, butt onto the bus I lasted about 10 minutes before sleep took over. Well, it was a relaxation weekend after all......</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Well, that's it for this post and this series of posts about Shima Onsen. I hope you enjoyed it, I certainly enjoyed being there. Please leave a comment below and sign up to receive email notifications when I upload a post and please share the blog with someone you know who would enjoy it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Until next time, bye.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Costs.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">- train ride from Shinjuku to Nakanojo - 2,590 yen plus 980 yen for the Green Car seat</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">- bus from Nakanojo station to Shima Onsen - 940 yen</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">- Ayameya Ryokan - 9,000 yen per night (including breakfast)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">- bus from Shima Onsen to Tokyo station - 3,100 yen.</span>jase8auhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14582069302006499855noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3985569382279836889.post-28343439010272987312017-04-29T23:17:00.000+10:002017-07-12T16:51:35.002+10:00A nostalgic hot spring hideaway - Shima Onsen (四万温泉) Part 2<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This is part 2 of a blog post about a recent trip to Shima Onsen. You can find part 1 <a href="http://www.alifelessnormal.co/2017/04/a-nostalgic-hot-spring-hideaway-shima.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;">here</span></a>. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I woke up the next morning to a breakfast of champions minus the obligatory natto (the lovely and thoughtful lady had asked me if I would like some included with my breakfast or not with a sly smile on her face...).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">That was enough to put me to sleep and I went back to my room for a nap. This was, after all, a relaxation trip! When I woke I went and enjoyed another soak in the onsen and then decided to head back out to the town and have a look around.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It had started snowing and a lovely winter wonderland was being created. The town was just as sleepy as it had been the day before, even more so seeing that it was now Monday and there were not as many visitors.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Finally, some people!!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Yep, I'm not sure about that one either.....</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The snow was really coming down now, but that didn't seem to bother the smattering of people wandering around town.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEv0rpvnldLlh8aG0UKUAH0zy-YkwBbXBbNoAcHLIKuS7hvBNQ9lyKr6EDZ9G6cYl-V9rX3ab7UAxzhKuVcl06HAU03qExXPDXuaSd_-4x14HoOEL6GMyldz4bzptAbkgOyDEfJsbh8mMV/s1600/DSC_7678-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEv0rpvnldLlh8aG0UKUAH0zy-YkwBbXBbNoAcHLIKuS7hvBNQ9lyKr6EDZ9G6cYl-V9rX3ab7UAxzhKuVcl06HAU03qExXPDXuaSd_-4x14HoOEL6GMyldz4bzptAbkgOyDEfJsbh8mMV/s640/DSC_7678-1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I couldn't tell if they were tourists or locals because I was the only non-Japanese person in town!! Everyone else was Japanese. Now this was the first time that I had experienced that on all my travels, and it felt good!!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Wandering on I came across quite an historical structure, Japan's oldest onsen Ryokan, at 300 years old, Sekizenkan.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Now, it is said that this read bridge was the inspiration behind the red bridge leading the the bathhouse in the Oscar winning movie Spirited Away <span style="background-color: #f3f3f3;">(</span></span><span style="background-color: #f3f3f3;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">千と千尋の神隠し) </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif;">as the movie's director, Hayao Miyazaki, visited Shima Onsen just before making the movie. As with all 300 year old buildings, this one was undergoing some running repairs.</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji4ei05tQQ8bTr1Uqt7-uP6brmXJfXMk0ScFj9u0Koi_SXmaw0U3lxo7Q-BwUx8xHtOvyGCz38YrMys78bWW3iGkWrgkqSdmPtyP3Cqnh_UrJDx687ixepd4e-5SKZMs34aocxA8iNX5ER/s1600/DSC_7708-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji4ei05tQQ8bTr1Uqt7-uP6brmXJfXMk0ScFj9u0Koi_SXmaw0U3lxo7Q-BwUx8xHtOvyGCz38YrMys78bWW3iGkWrgkqSdmPtyP3Cqnh_UrJDx687ixepd4e-5SKZMs34aocxA8iNX5ER/s640/DSC_7708-1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It was, however, pretty amazing to be standing in front of such a beautiful, old building!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Turning around I headed off down another little shopping street, this one barely wider than two people with outstretched arms!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I suddenly realised that breakfast had worn off so I set off looking for somewhere for lunch. I found it in a restaurant called Asunaro. I walked in and was sat down and took a look at the menu. Now I had done a little research and found that this restaurant cooked a series of unique tonkatsu dishes. Negi (spring onion) tonkatsu, miso tonaktsu, shiso (perilla leaf) tonkatsu to mention just a few. I decided to go for the negi tonkatsu which had the pork cutlet butterflied and filled with spring onion before being folded back over, breaded and deep fried. Now in my excitement I forgot to take a photo of the delicious spring onion cooked inside the tonkatsu.....sorry....</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Wow, did it taste good! The sweetness of the caramelised spring onions were a perfect match for the tonkatsu! Why didn't someone think of that before!!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Satisfied, I went back to the ryokan for yet another onsen followed by another nap! Ah, relaxation!!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Well, I think I'll end this one here. Thanks for reading and stay tuned for the final part!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Bye.</span>jase8auhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14582069302006499855noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3985569382279836889.post-17095991823524351512017-04-01T03:48:00.003+11:002017-07-26T01:02:10.349+10:00A nostalgic hot spring hideaway - Shima Onsen (四万温泉) Part 1<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Last month I was on the train going to work and I suddenly thought "I want to go on a hot spring trip!" so I whipped out my mobile phone and did a quick search for onsen (hot spring) near Tokyo. A few places that are fairly well known popped up and then I noticed one that I hadn't heard of before, Shima Onsen (四万温泉). I was curious so I did a quick image search and found pictures of what appeared to be a small country village with a nice old town look and vibe to it. Throughout the rest of the day, when I wasn't busy, I did a little more research and by that night I had decided that this was where I wanted to go so I jumped onto the <a href="http://travel.rakuten.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;">Rakuten travel</span></a> website and booked a couple of nights in a traditional Japanese ryokan (Inn).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Shima Onsen is a tiny little mountain village tucked away in the mountains in Gunma, about 170kms northeast of Tokyo. The onsen was discovered about 1,000 years ago and the village was established in the 16th century and is widely regarded as the oldest onsen town in Japan. It has been visited over the years by regular people seeking to soak in the onsen waters that claim to treat over 40,000 illnesses and was also visited by famous animation director and producer Hayao Miyazaki (who was responsible for many of Studio Ghibli's world famous animation movies such as Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away and The wind rises) prior to the making of Spirited Away. It is said that that there is a red bridge in the town that was the inspiration for the red bridge that lead to the sento (bathhouse) in Spirited Away.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The day of departure came and I set off for my local train station. Now there is a particular website that I use to plan which trains to use and it told me to catch the Shonan Shinjuku line from Shinjuku station to Takasaki station (about a 115 minute ride). Seeing that it was a reasonably long ride and I had a couple of bags with me I bought a green car seat ticket (780 yen extra) for a bit of extra space. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> To buy a green car ticket you need an electronic ticket called a PASMO or Suica which you can purchase at any train station ticket machine. I purchased my green car ticket from the green car ticket machine on the train platform and then the train arrived and I jumped into the pretty empty green car and started my adventure (yes, the word adventure is used here for a reason....). You need to scan your PASMO or Suica on the scanner that is above your seat and a light overhead switches from red to green. This shows the train attendant that you have bought a green car ticket. A few minutes later the train attendant came through the car with a selection of snacks and drinks available to buy (she also checks each passenger's seat to make sure the green light is on) and I bought a drink and settled in for the ride.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A little over half an hour later the train pulled into Omiya station. I was pretty relaxed at this point and looked out at all of the poor people on the platform rugged up against the cold winter wind outside. The train left the station and a few minutes later the train attendant came back through the train and stopped at my seat and pointed above my head. I looked up and my light had changed from green back to red. She asked me something in Japanese which I didn't understand so she got her English handbook and asked "Where is your destination?" to which I replied "Takasaki." She suddenly had this worried look on her face and said "This is now the Utsunomiya line. You needed to change at Omiya to the Takasaki line!". Now my train info hadn't told me that and if I hadn't bought the green car ticket then I would have finished up in Utsunomiya (in a completely different part of the country to Takasaki) eating gyoza dumplings instead of enjoying an onsen!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I jumped off at the next station and went back to Omiya where I switched across to the Takasaki line and continued on to Takasaki station. At Takasaki station I switched, again, over to the Agatsuma line where I ended up in Nakanojo. Nakanojo is the nearest train station to Shima Onsen and from Nakanojo it's another 45 minutes by bus. All up it took about 4 1/2 hours (not including the delay due to the train mix up) from my station in Tokyo.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I jumped off the bus and made the short walk to the ryokan I had booked, Ayameya Ryokan (website <a href="http://shima-ayameya.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;">here</span></a> in Japanese)</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlQ7ZCiZBI3dfRa3JGTA07hAp_nve_uHGv3KjYM5gSxzKumHzRcWARaZn0vCXYIk2YKEYh10chO2aA5WPsCqtQ5mLqzqSkWMzlEVbn87liZQFGOtfSJTywUeD8cefA8nmWtw2_NTlKEqTQ/s1600/DSC_1161+-+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="366" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlQ7ZCiZBI3dfRa3JGTA07hAp_nve_uHGv3KjYM5gSxzKumHzRcWARaZn0vCXYIk2YKEYh10chO2aA5WPsCqtQ5mLqzqSkWMzlEVbn87liZQFGOtfSJTywUeD8cefA8nmWtw2_NTlKEqTQ/s640/DSC_1161+-+1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">and walked inside. I was met by one of the owners who was very, very friendly (not a lot of English though) who then showed me to my room.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx5yiyb_ErkQlJGuqjWkUw-iC9I78LNN7gMJhcC29NvXIt-DZdmO3TFEKH3XNBirV-6IkxbaPu8Sfse-RuC5QitwbmdexnGB3ytkjVUwkFgjxm2kjE4Bb0ovaXaU-qbyr8JxlkJiNUcpQM/s1600/DSC_1118+-+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx5yiyb_ErkQlJGuqjWkUw-iC9I78LNN7gMJhcC29NvXIt-DZdmO3TFEKH3XNBirV-6IkxbaPu8Sfse-RuC5QitwbmdexnGB3ytkjVUwkFgjxm2kjE4Bb0ovaXaU-qbyr8JxlkJiNUcpQM/s640/DSC_1118+-+1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Very nice indeed!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">After setting my stuff down and checking out the room (local tv only, no cable and shared toilet outside of the room, definitely a more traditional place!) I went outside to have a look around the town. One of my friends, Ikuho chose that perfect moment to send me a message and tell me that I had to go to a particular little shop and try something called yaki manju. It is one of the local delicacies. Luckily enough the shop was just around the corner from my hotel so that made the decision easy. Walking up to the shop</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_-kJm2DfxFRTbgRJLiYkeE_q4LhTi1sh7fhMCQbY3MEcDKhuT5evlPc3SWdomhLR3-K6kj610V-628ZvsBYCQruLG72igdq-gTWezxPg4HDyn98M5sbCfNu_nGeasCaEZpYHzZHEBtd8x/s1600/DSC_1119+-+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: black;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_-kJm2DfxFRTbgRJLiYkeE_q4LhTi1sh7fhMCQbY3MEcDKhuT5evlPc3SWdomhLR3-K6kj610V-628ZvsBYCQruLG72igdq-gTWezxPg4HDyn98M5sbCfNu_nGeasCaEZpYHzZHEBtd8x/s640/DSC_1119+-+1.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I waited until the lovely old (about 80) lady looked up at me and ordered one yaki manju. Only a few minutes later it was ready.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNN42w-t-A1LlOYytD9xgx0X5jM1BZXUdYvTdijVHUZFnk-pwTzq5s7KPocoH0z1cUJImo68krKLytvd5e6uxBUxhf5c8pTteJvc62bs6loNwqjzkFioeChNKY7j_Nr9O39wP6X7l3xV8E/s1600/DSC_1120+-+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNN42w-t-A1LlOYytD9xgx0X5jM1BZXUdYvTdijVHUZFnk-pwTzq5s7KPocoH0z1cUJImo68krKLytvd5e6uxBUxhf5c8pTteJvc62bs6loNwqjzkFioeChNKY7j_Nr9O39wP6X7l3xV8E/s640/DSC_1120+-+1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I wandered around for a little having a look at my immediate surroundings. What I found was not too dissimilar to <a href="http://www.alifelessnormal.co/2016/11/immerse-yourself-in-old-town-charm-gujo_19.html" style="color: red;" target="_blank">Gujo Hachiman</a>, a small town in Gifu that I visited last October. Every Japanese person who has seen these photos has mentioned that it brings feelings of nostalgia for them, as though they are looking at Japan 50 or 60 years ago.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis_PhmbefNvmOOVcnvzHT2XaZ0YzqPqrv-_ajd9nE6cLAjIo30EmYq1D9nkdjb1bTLem2QfBqmmFcxxDKZRHkrnAt2HmW6O9ol_zsMQEnkD16EmqZpzA5IuppalvrmlWgOc0tDKVfrskUB/s1600/DSC_7589-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis_PhmbefNvmOOVcnvzHT2XaZ0YzqPqrv-_ajd9nE6cLAjIo30EmYq1D9nkdjb1bTLem2QfBqmmFcxxDKZRHkrnAt2HmW6O9ol_zsMQEnkD16EmqZpzA5IuppalvrmlWgOc0tDKVfrskUB/s640/DSC_7589-1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Running through the middle of the city was a river with banks lined with snow.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It was not snowing at this point, but the weather forecast was predicting snow over the next couple of days, so I was hoping not to be disappointed. I wandered back to the ryokan and decided to go and check out the onsen.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Now I should pause here and let you know that most onsen and sento (public bath) will prohibit people using their facilities if they have tattoos. It is for good reason. Tattoos in Japan are closely associated with the Yakuza so in order to prohibit the mafia from using their facilities, they make it a blanket ban for everyone. I have a tattoo which is a big reason why I don't often go to onsens. A lot of my Japanese friends, however, told me that I can cover it with bandage tape so that it is hidden and then it is not a problem, so this is what I decided to do for this trip. Covering up said tattoo, I went down to the onsen area. Now this ryokan had both an indoor</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">and an outdoor onsen.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis5jrdc5s39LgcY9gAPXwOjtM9ZHmmgDEyHeEznD6yJ3sN-Cp9qU-A6ia_JYX5CfLt79cF4LKApMuZwgmOg47j_GQeW9xrBbHRsdFakz-G4rgy0XVZqfmi9qeKkqd39sMadh6P_bfj0n7f/s1600/DSC_1182-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis5jrdc5s39LgcY9gAPXwOjtM9ZHmmgDEyHeEznD6yJ3sN-Cp9qU-A6ia_JYX5CfLt79cF4LKApMuZwgmOg47j_GQeW9xrBbHRsdFakz-G4rgy0XVZqfmi9qeKkqd39sMadh6P_bfj0n7f/s640/DSC_1182-1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Now, I will also mention here that there is pretty strict etiquette regarding using both onsen and sento. Here is a link to a <a href="http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2292_how.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;">guide</span></a> on how to enjoy sento and onsen from the good people at Japan-guide.com. Theirs is quite a comprehensive website that I often use.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">After enjoying a nice relaxing soak I decided to head out to find some dinner. The time was about 7:30 when I left the ryokan and I was surprised to find only 2 restaurants in the area open. This is a heads up to be careful about what time you go out for dinner or to get some drinks. Shima Onsen is essentially a relaxation place, not an entertainment town. There are no bars and the town shuts down quite early as most visitors are in their hotels enjoying hot springs. There are a couple of liquor stores where you can buy supplies to enjoy back in your room, but these are also closed by early evening, so make sure you visit them early!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I flipped a coin and opened the door of the winning restaurant </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9H9AUqvNxO8nMr-N1vE6Nc0BYB6KnESi6CwwNywK1lphaFkzJRG8ntdKioXf_UYhu6y0XVLyO6vBa9NoLSAQZs_P9oNtmj0SoBperhlrT92QfPQKbLUwu18ZzC6NtIjh1cjBpTYQDILf9/s1600/DSC_1134-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9H9AUqvNxO8nMr-N1vE6Nc0BYB6KnESi6CwwNywK1lphaFkzJRG8ntdKioXf_UYhu6y0XVLyO6vBa9NoLSAQZs_P9oNtmj0SoBperhlrT92QfPQKbLUwu18ZzC6NtIjh1cjBpTYQDILf9/s640/DSC_1134-1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">and walked in to find..........nothing! There were no customers, and no staff! Glancing around the room I noticed a button on the wall that looked like a buzzer so I walked over and pushed it. Hearing a faint buzz come from somewhere behind closed doors I hoped that someone had heard. About 2 minutes later an older gentleman (in his 80's) wandered through the door, took a double take then recovered and asked me to sit down wherever I liked (not a lot of foreign visitors to Shima Onsen I guess, but this was what I had wanted when I selected Shima Onsen as my destination!).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I looked up at the menu board to make my choice.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">While I couldn't understand everything on the menu, I could understand enough to order some food.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">After placing my order, the owner wandered off and prepared my meal. He had kindly turned on the television for me and I was treated to a Japanese wildlife documentary. Pretty soon my food came out.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I started devouring it (it had been quite an adventurous day and I had worked up quite an appetite) and the old man proceeded to sit down a few metres away and started watching TV. After a few minutes he started chatting away with me in Japanese. Now I could only understand about 30% of what he was saying but I was acknowledging everything he said so he figured that I could understand so he kept on going! We had a fabulous conversation (with very little input from me) and before I knew it the bowl was empty. I paid the lovely gentleman who thanked me for coming and told me to come back anytime. With a contented belly and a smile on my face I headed back to the ryokan for another soak in the onsen.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I think I will finish this update here. There should be another one or two posts about Shima Onsen to come so please look out for them.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Thanks, as always for reading, leave me a comment below to say Hi, and I will see you soon for part 2. Bye.</span>jase8auhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14582069302006499855noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3985569382279836889.post-45301631895791485452017-03-03T04:54:00.001+11:002021-06-06T23:36:21.764+10:00Perfect tempura at the Hilton Hotel Odaiba <span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="background-color: #eeeeee;">One of my students, Natsumi worked at one of the restaurants in the Hilton Hotel Odaiba and I had been meaning to go there one of these days to eat at her restaurant. Well she recently told me that she was changing jobs soon so the decision was made to go and have lunch at Sakura restaurant at the Hilton Odaiba. I asked Tetsuya if he was willing, being a former chef, he is always willing when there is food involved.</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">I met Tetsuya at the hotel and we made our way to the restaurant and were lead to our seats. Now the Sakura restaurant has 4 different areas. The main restaurant, the teppanyaki counter, the sushi counter and the tempura counter. Natsumi had recommended the tempura counter as it was the one with the best view. She certainly wasn't wrong!</span></span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="background-color: #eeeeee;">Soon after being seated our tools were placed in front of us!</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="background-color: #eeeeee;">Soon after came a small appetizer. </span> </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFwDIKn2USqemTMUCTdHSBrYeQMctOoIOA2coL3AVKNFYLA4rtu_-wmglHnDfWGRF6pjNSfO_u6p1cWmBVWf4i96XsZPD7DPPrYoLpQWTsSZf0dADXonKAaRGxC_Ehfqo7Kt5J7lQ9Q7NT/s1600/DSC_0004-1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFwDIKn2USqemTMUCTdHSBrYeQMctOoIOA2coL3AVKNFYLA4rtu_-wmglHnDfWGRF6pjNSfO_u6p1cWmBVWf4i96XsZPD7DPPrYoLpQWTsSZf0dADXonKAaRGxC_Ehfqo7Kt5J7lQ9Q7NT/s640/DSC_0004-1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Tetsuya asked what it was and the answer came back, "Shirako" with no other explanation. I had heard this word before and I was wracking my brain trying to remember what it was. "Don't ask," Tetsuya said, "just eat". Suddenly I remembered that my food and wine writer friend, Eriko (my gourmet tour with Eriko can be found <a href="http://www.alifelessnormal.co/2013/09/gourmet-tour-of-tokyo.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;">here</span></a>) had recommended that I try this food. Now if only I could remember what it was. Suddenly I remembered.........fish sperm....... Tetsuya and the restaurant staff looked with bemusement at my horrified realisation and continued watching intently as I picked up half of it and slowly put it into my mouth. "How was it" I hear you asking. Well, it kind of tasted like fishy cheese. Just that sample proved to be enough for me though...</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Next, the chef brought out a sample of what he would be cooking up for us. I nice selection of seafood and vegetables.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2KCrVP1zBYi6UWKdMWTf6eO06ibOgOgqxWKsXhklK6ZLq1P1ahqPjapYadrCmmeE2w-PRP02m-s3VOdT6xgWXbzh86jGbECLmUQpVo2Ejmm3k8SdbXc6d1n4LlclLfZoj5712p-57Cedl/s1600/DSC_0005-1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2KCrVP1zBYi6UWKdMWTf6eO06ibOgOgqxWKsXhklK6ZLq1P1ahqPjapYadrCmmeE2w-PRP02m-s3VOdT6xgWXbzh86jGbECLmUQpVo2Ejmm3k8SdbXc6d1n4LlclLfZoj5712p-57Cedl/s640/DSC_0005-1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="background-color: #eeeeee;">Now I am not a big lover of shrimp / prawns so he had included some extra fish for me. As he began cooking, Tetsuya asked him how long he had been working in this restaurant. "22 years, since the hotel opened". Wow, our food was certainly being cooked by one impressive chef!</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">First up, Tetsuya was served some little tempura shrimp legs.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: #eeeeee;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">while on my plate, whiting (</span><span face="sans-serif" style="color: #252525; font-size: 15.104px;"><span style="color: black; text-align: center;">シロギス</span><span style="font-size: 15.104px;">)</span></span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">.</span></span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="background-color: #eeeeee;">Now whiting are a hugely popular fish variety in Australia and they have a very delicate, light taste. This took me back to my childhood when I used to catch whiting with my Uncle and Grandfather!</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Next up was some canola flower.</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp6YQZR5EOX0PlF4EFbVbhL81fi5PoLO5pH2Bioj4rDsiuaiTU1CJamwk5pITXCyUaEAuP639gt1IatlyeSR7fZUXVfLhWcL395La1TsEp7ii-5bTpMHD1XGRglqTNx6t3AYKGQAWApCAO/s1600/DSC_0014-1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp6YQZR5EOX0PlF4EFbVbhL81fi5PoLO5pH2Bioj4rDsiuaiTU1CJamwk5pITXCyUaEAuP639gt1IatlyeSR7fZUXVfLhWcL395La1TsEp7ii-5bTpMHD1XGRglqTNx6t3AYKGQAWApCAO/s640/DSC_0014-1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="background-color: #eeeeee;">These had a nice fresh, herbaceous, light oily taste to them. This was my first time to eat these and they were good.</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">After that came some lotus root (</span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #212121; font-family: inherit; white-space: pre-wrap;">レンコン</span><span style="color: #212121; font-family: inherit; white-space: pre-wrap;">).</span></span></span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="color: #212121;"><span style="background-color: white; white-space: pre-wrap;">Lotus root is a vegetable that I love, the starchy crunchiness was wonderful so this disappeared pretty quickly!</span></span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="color: #212121;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">At about this point I realised that the chef was preparing each ingredient separately and timing the serving with perfection, a short wait after the previous one, just like a good sushi chef does. He would start preparing each one as we were enjoying the previous one.</span></span></span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="color: #212121;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Next up was a scallop (</span></span></span><span style="color: #212121; font-family: inherit; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="background-color: white;">ホタテ貝). </span><span style="background-color: #eeeeee;"> </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #212121; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">This was soon followed by a slice of onion (</span></span><span style="color: #212121; font-family: inherit; white-space: pre-wrap;">玉ねぎ)</span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="color: #212121; white-space: pre-wrap;">.</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq6BMkz0-HQzXBwbqlYjDmSrcciWeh9I7niq50H8xcgnctTpx_WI3TuGSsVG_7tUeCGziGotx-Mnhec1MWTA7rDKT3qwX8_49BF9yKeCACw5G5t8He1xr_KE3Vfb5uVglfMwU_5X0c7TeS/s1600/DSC_0024-1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq6BMkz0-HQzXBwbqlYjDmSrcciWeh9I7niq50H8xcgnctTpx_WI3TuGSsVG_7tUeCGziGotx-Mnhec1MWTA7rDKT3qwX8_49BF9yKeCACw5G5t8He1xr_KE3Vfb5uVglfMwU_5X0c7TeS/s640/DSC_0024-1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #212121; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="background-color: white;">Now, I had never had tempura onion before now, so this seemed to be a strange choice, but it really worked. The onion had been cooked to perfection, retaining enough juiciness and crunchiness that, combined with the crisp tempura coating, made this one of the highlights!</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #212121; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">And here's another quick shot of the onion (<span style="font-size: x-small;">with that wonderful view....</span>).</span></span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXimjX5RgYfT4l5bezcVtitKMQdRXg5iTt0Od_AaEh3dkQmQPLP0DL6juKSnJFS2ZYhm1xK2ve2bLyFdZcGZBfub0X9nyzqHSCfX-44WQPH-mxgz0eZNXNwV0NFXgYD_tUGC0-VgqBmtVk/s1600/DSC_0025-1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXimjX5RgYfT4l5bezcVtitKMQdRXg5iTt0Od_AaEh3dkQmQPLP0DL6juKSnJFS2ZYhm1xK2ve2bLyFdZcGZBfub0X9nyzqHSCfX-44WQPH-mxgz0eZNXNwV0NFXgYD_tUGC0-VgqBmtVk/s640/DSC_0025-1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #212121; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><br /></span></span><span style="background-color: #eeeeee;"><span style="color: #212121; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Next the chef serve up some lightly battered squid (</span></span><span style="color: #212121; font-family: inherit; white-space: pre-wrap;">いか). </span><span style="color: #212121; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">As with the shrimp and scallops, I don't eat a lot of shrimp but the crunchy texture of the batter contrasted nicely with the chewy texture of the squid.</span></span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMI0rd5i38lb4RA1HguFabvLTFIrqvJJI9eBr4RjRnA15LhyphenhyphenEEbLIe5GwsEC71MgEi_puMHZZVtgwC8LltPMwJPTCm53SysZve0l5wvslS1ckwnSS0laM4Zs1XBpQofjDvsKd8NefR1QxE/s1600/DSC_0030-1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMI0rd5i38lb4RA1HguFabvLTFIrqvJJI9eBr4RjRnA15LhyphenhyphenEEbLIe5GwsEC71MgEi_puMHZZVtgwC8LltPMwJPTCm53SysZve0l5wvslS1ckwnSS0laM4Zs1XBpQofjDvsKd8NefR1QxE/s640/DSC_0030-1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSzqjEQlptYViR0cshZ4M7iNWnO7K6-AWpLXR5oG1LvdedEmlkGv_rdveICm7DkYjKZDwOKpiTOZScVFA6ZqxH4Ko9LXea87m_oE1C_ef2ruz9FetBK9ASytRHpwn9Cp4smIEkSvPIhjmA/s1600/DSC_0031-1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSzqjEQlptYViR0cshZ4M7iNWnO7K6-AWpLXR5oG1LvdedEmlkGv_rdveICm7DkYjKZDwOKpiTOZScVFA6ZqxH4Ko9LXea87m_oE1C_ef2ruz9FetBK9ASytRHpwn9Cp4smIEkSvPIhjmA/s640/DSC_0031-1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: #eeeeee;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">This was followed by some tempura eggplant (</span><span style="color: #212121; font-family: inherit; white-space: pre-wrap;">ナス).</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQz74bJjZLKcMgSH48EAgcwLCFxz0QA9PaQJsvrololXWUxWFaFWyxGkgxkiNy9Vdh2qRAfBo2FZCs2wrtunR_AUxqr6IQ-0Ef8u8Nxz41rc53W6M3RIOb80fl3drShHlAs9Ix0yIXXVYX/s1600/DSC_0041-1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQz74bJjZLKcMgSH48EAgcwLCFxz0QA9PaQJsvrololXWUxWFaFWyxGkgxkiNy9Vdh2qRAfBo2FZCs2wrtunR_AUxqr6IQ-0Ef8u8Nxz41rc53W6M3RIOb80fl3drShHlAs9Ix0yIXXVYX/s640/DSC_0041-1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="color: #212121;"><span style="background-color: #eeeeee; white-space: pre-wrap;">This was so soft and tender, the chef had cooked this one to perfection. I noticed at this stage that he was watching us eating and starting to prepare the next item accordingly. Each required different cooking times and he was timing everything to perfection.</span></span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Next up was a</span> <span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Japanese favourite, loved by so many people here, sweet potato (薩摩芋). The chef told us not to season this with anything, just to eat it straight. While not a big fan of sweet potato, I would have liked to dip this one in a sauce, but I'm sure fans of sweet potato would love it!</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjElMgafzg8N5kmhUJNINLfnqNvVFxaiwo4zn2vbQbVmMvEm0lfhgx3VfWQRZ8jbDVJudzy0x24LgLwt8oTwfq-xCLSWOhGDIedfAMwHoRaZE_rNARPlDWQbZVkL14epgPfDEh6z2FZS6Fy/s1600/DSC_0045-1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjElMgafzg8N5kmhUJNINLfnqNvVFxaiwo4zn2vbQbVmMvEm0lfhgx3VfWQRZ8jbDVJudzy0x24LgLwt8oTwfq-xCLSWOhGDIedfAMwHoRaZE_rNARPlDWQbZVkL14epgPfDEh6z2FZS6Fy/s640/DSC_0045-1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: #eeeeee;"><span style="color: #212121; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">After that came some saltwater eel (</span></span><span face="sans-serif" style="color: #252525; font-size: 15.104px;">穴子). Freshwater eel (</span><span face=""arial" , sans-serif" style="font-size: 14px;">鰻) </span><span face="sans-serif" style="color: #252525; font-size: 15.104px;">is more common in Japan, but this one was a good match for tempura. Soft and tender and with a delicate flavour.</span></span><br />
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<span face="sans-serif" style="background-color: #eeeeee; color: #252525; font-size: 15.104px;">With that item, we had reached the end of our course but suddenly Natsumi came out and told us that the chef wanted to prepare us an extra dish for free! We settled on a rice dish with chopped up tempura pieces mixed in.</span><br />
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<span face="sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #252525; font-size: 15.104px;">The condiments were seaweed, yukari (dried, ground shiso leaf) and sesame seeds. These were promptly thrown in top of the rice bowl.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYcq9RGoK516ZXeBQhN9V8nsRZonjAvCrCma2jqvJEVoW6ymzTjUOIRi01Np4Ya_ewV8k9PNo-hus-CIiBDnVxFCUb5HdzlRvLodLEklhN8cTkNJips82VXKlep-Wul6Rps87Hp8Svrzsi/s1600/DSC_0058-2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYcq9RGoK516ZXeBQhN9V8nsRZonjAvCrCma2jqvJEVoW6ymzTjUOIRi01Np4Ya_ewV8k9PNo-hus-CIiBDnVxFCUb5HdzlRvLodLEklhN8cTkNJips82VXKlep-Wul6Rps87Hp8Svrzsi/s640/DSC_0058-2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span face="sans-serif" style="background-color: #eeeeee; color: #252525; font-size: 15.104px;">After polishing this one off, we were served with desert, mochi balls with sweet red beans (sorry, couldn't find a Japanese translation).</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOdXnmA7oezWwawT10GB8YYInRxHwtez9EeJG5ICtl-6fqcIpX207KYfJldvTHG08hyphenhyphentbNS1ek22mlBRI9m317RSUuishIrmg5_5jpU663pNp7LYm-MkFwGK86LXCdMBX1MnCrWLrBh9na/s1600/DSC_0061-1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOdXnmA7oezWwawT10GB8YYInRxHwtez9EeJG5ICtl-6fqcIpX207KYfJldvTHG08hyphenhyphentbNS1ek22mlBRI9m317RSUuishIrmg5_5jpU663pNp7LYm-MkFwGK86LXCdMBX1MnCrWLrBh9na/s640/DSC_0061-1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span face="sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #252525; font-size: 15.104px;">And just like that, it was all over. It had been an amazing dining experience. The chef was an utter professional and delivered a complete dining experience. My thanks goes to Natsumi and her chef at the tempura counter at the Hilton Hotel Odaiba. We had a great time!</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXunGCs2N1Gkq0YZl6vDGlXaA45ypVF3a_A2e5Azk7hdnvm01bHFFZowt1ICPNDQOhzIOLU4RsJru45EC14RWSyhznK5l3tevH8m8LGmJkHVMMyuP559c-ZpxONj9zwxmyogNQiNRkHfTq/s1600/DSC_0084-1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXunGCs2N1Gkq0YZl6vDGlXaA45ypVF3a_A2e5Azk7hdnvm01bHFFZowt1ICPNDQOhzIOLU4RsJru45EC14RWSyhznK5l3tevH8m8LGmJkHVMMyuP559c-ZpxONj9zwxmyogNQiNRkHfTq/s640/DSC_0084-1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span face="sans-serif" style="background-color: #eeeeee; color: #252525; font-size: 15.104px;">Well, that's it for another post. I highly recommend going to the Hilton Odaiba, Sakura restaurant for a high class dining experience. I thoroughly enjoyed it! Thanks for reading. Please leave a message below and sign up for email updates on the right side of the screen. Also, please share the post if you know anyone who would like to read.</span><br />
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<span face="sans-serif" style="color: #252525; font-size: 15.104px;">Take care, and see you next time.</span></span><br />
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<span face="sans-serif" style="color: #252525; font-size: 15.104px;">Cost: tempura course - 5,000 yen.</span></span>jase8auhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14582069302006499855noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3985569382279836889.post-22959226728099324342017-02-13T01:53:00.000+11:002017-06-15T03:01:22.877+10:00Step Back in Time - Nihon Minkaen Folk House museum<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">First of all, sorry for the long break. I took a couple of months off of visiting places for the blog. Work got a little crazy busy and also my sister and her partner came to visit around Christmas time so I spent some nice times showing them around My Japan. Also, during that period, the domain name lapsed and I hadn't realised it. Luckily no-one else snapped it up and I was able to get back on line!!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Having said that, I am back and already have things to write about!! Hang on for another year of exploring Tokyo and Japan and finding more hidden gems.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">People who regularly read my blog know that I love Japanese traditional architecture and I am always on the lookout for places to visit to enjoy it. I have visited places near and far to enjoy it including <a href="http://www.alifelessnormal.co/2016/11/immerse-yourself-in-old-town-charm-gujo_19.html" style="color: red;" target="_blank">Gujo Hachiman</a>, <a href="http://www.alifelessnormal.co/2014/04/a-weekend-in-mountains-takayama-and.html" style="color: red;" target="_blank">Hida Takayama</a>, <a href="http://www.alifelessnormal.co/2014/02/a-weekend-in-mountains-takayama-and_25.html" style="color: red;" target="_blank">Shirakawago</a>, <a href="http://www.alifelessnormal.co/2015/07/nagano-nakasendo-and-magome-best-laid.html" style="color: red;" target="_blank">Magome and Tsumago</a>, <a href="http://www.alifelessnormal.co/2015/02/stepping-back-in-time-narai.html?q=narai" style="color: red;" target="_blank">Narai</a>, <a href="http://www.alifelessnormal.co/2013/10/showa-period-japan-shibamata.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;">Shibamata</span></a> and <a href="http://www.alifelessnormal.co/2014/08/little-edo-koedo-kawagoe.html?q=kawagoe" style="color: red;" target="_blank">Kawagoe</a> to name but a few. Almost one year ago I visited an outdoor museum, the Tokyo Edo Open Air Museum (blog posts for which you can find <a href="http://www.alifelessnormal.co/2016/03/300-years-of-japan-in-one-place-tokyo.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;">here</span></a> and <a href="http://www.alifelessnormal.co/2016/03/300-years-of-japan-in-one-place-tokyo_13.html" style="color: red;" target="_blank">here</a>) and at the time, one of my old workmates, Jason, recommended another, similar place to go and visit, Nihon Minkaen. I had previously tried to head there on a Monday a couple of months ago only to find it closed (Apparently a lot of museums are not open on Mondays in Japan). I recently had another free day (which was not a Monday!) and decided to head there again for a look.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Nihon Minkaen opened in 1965 in Kawasaki, only 30 minutes from Shinjuku on the Odakyu line. It, as with the </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Tokyo Edo Open Air Museum, opened to preserve the history and the beauty that traditional Japanese architecture is renowned for. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As opposed to the Tokyo Edo Open Air Museum which showcases a broad range of Japanese architectural styles over the years, Nihon Minkaen displays old Folk houses from around Japan. It displays some of the beautiful Gasshou Zukuri style houses that are typical of eastern Japan as well as other farm houses and merchant houses (the number of exhibits currently sits at 25).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I arrived at Mukogaoka-yuen station </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">and set off on the short 20 minute walk from the station to nearby Ikuta Ryokuchi Park where the museum is located. Stepping straight inside, I grabbed a ticket and went through to the indoor area which has some displays showing and talking about various regional architectural styles.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As you can see from the last photo, there is plenty of information in English both at the displays and also at the front counter where you get your ticket.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Moving through this area I stepped outside to the main section and immediately felt a surge of excitement as I could see the first of the buildings just ahead. There is a path to follow that winds its way through all of the exhibitions. Being that it is located in a park, you are surrounded by the sights and sounds of nature which only adds to the experience!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">First up was a large early 19th century house that had originally been located in Fukushima prefecture which is located about 240km north of Tokyo.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Very nice!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The walk through the area was really nice and while I won't show you all of the buildings, I will show you a selection of them. While I was there, there was some reconstruction of the pathway that you follow and also some reconstruction of one of the exhibits so some of the nostalgia is interrupted by construction equipment.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This next one is a lovely Gasshou style farmhouse built in the early 18th century which was originally located in Toyama prefecture on the Sea of Japan east coast of Japan.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This style of architecture is distinctively identified by its steep sloping thatched roof. This area of Japan is renowned for its heavy winter snowfall (some of the heaviest in the world) and the steep roof helps the snow slide off.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This next farm house was built in the late 18th century and it's original location was Yamagata prefecture, almost 300km north of Tokyo</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The epitome of rustic, don't you think?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Next up, a village headman's house that was built in the late 17th century. This one did not have to be relocated very far at all as it was originally located in Kawasaki city, where the museum is also located.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This next one was also originally located in Kawasaki and is a small shrine that was built in 1863.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Next up, another village headman's house built in the late 17th century from nearby Kanagawa prefecture.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I just love the old wood used in all of these buildings. Of course you would have been in a bit of trouble had a fire broken out, but the the use of something as natural as wood gives all of the buildings a wonderful earthy look!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This next grand building was originally located in Shirakawago, a place famous for the Gasshou Zukuri style of building. It was originally a farmhouse before being moved in 1958 to near Kawasaki station where it was used as a traditional Japanese restaurant. It was subsequently move to the museum in 1970 and is currently used as a soba restaurant that feeds the museum visitors. Talk about interactive displays!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I will mention here that you are able to enter all of the houses to see what the interiors look like. While you may not be able to walk through the entirety of the house, you can see what some of the rooms in each look like.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A real glimpse into the past. Life was very different!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Wandering around such a beautiful and historic place was a damn good way to spend an afternoon. It was nice and quiet and peaceful. The surrounding park was shielding the sounds of the city outside and it felt like a calm, serene hideaway hidden in the middle of metropolis.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Before too long, it was time to step out of the cocoon and back into reality. Thoroughly satisfied I made my way back to the station amongst the cacophony of city noise. Yes, I had enjoyed those last couple of hours......</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I recommend putting aside a good couple of hours to leisurely stroll around the museum and to fully enjoy it. Obviously, different seasons will present different looks, vibrant green in summer and beautiful reds and yellows in autumn, but it is definitely worth a look in any season.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Admission cost: Adults - 500 yen</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> Students - 300 yen</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> Junior High School students and younger - free</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Hours: March - October - 9:30am - 5pm</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> November - February - 9:30am - 4:30pm</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Official website: http://english.nihonminkaen.jp/</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did visiting it and I hope you also get the chance to visit at some stage int he future.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Please leave me a message below and sign up for email updates when I upload a new post, or bookmark the page and I hope to see you back here soon! Until next time, bye!</span>jase8auhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14582069302006499855noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3985569382279836889.post-84965705645503589302016-12-09T03:28:00.002+11:002017-07-12T16:52:03.238+10:00Immerse yourself in old town charm - Gujo Hachiman: a true traditional Japanese town (part 6)<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This is part 6 in a series of posts about a recent trip to Gujo Hachiman in Gifu. I recommend reading </span><a href="http://www.alifelessnormal.co/2016/11/immerse-yourself-in-old-town-charm-gujo.html" style="color: red; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" target="_blank">part 1</a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">, </span><a href="http://www.alifelessnormal.co/2016/11/immerse-yourself-in-old-town-charm-gujo_7.html" style="color: red; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" target="_blank">2</a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">, </span><a href="http://www.alifelessnormal.co/2016/11/immerse-yourself-in-old-town-charm-gujo_15.html" style="color: red; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" target="_blank">3</a>, <a href="http://www.alifelessnormal.co/2016/11/immerse-yourself-in-old-town-charm-gujo_19.html" style="color: red; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" target="_blank">4</a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> and <a href="http://www.alifelessnormal.co/2016/12/immerse-yourself-in-old-town-charm-gujo.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;">5</span></a> first.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Morning broke the next day and it was time to have a last breakfast in Gujo Hachiman. It was just as big and as extensive as the previous days.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Japanese sure know how to fuel themselves for the day to come!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We checked out of the ryokan and set off with the friendly owners waving us goodbye. There was, however, one last thing I wanted to check out. Now many of you who have visited Japan or who live in Japan will know of the very realistic plastic food models that most restaurants and eateries in Japan display to show off what food they cook and serve. Well guess what? They were invented in Gujo Hachiman and the town is still responsible for upwards of 80% of production in Japan! On our walk back to the station we stopped in at a couple of shops to have a look.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">How awesomely delicious it all looked! But don't worry, each of them had a "do not eat" warning......</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We enjoyed one last piece of Gujo Hachiman as we made our way back to the train station.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And even the train station was amazing!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The train from Gujo Hachiman back to Nagoya is also well worth taking as it is a beautiful, quaint little train of only one carriage!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The scenery is stunning as the train winds it's way along the Nagara River.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">All too soon it was over and we arrived back in Nagoya. Having some time before catching the bus back to Tokyo, I was able to catch up with good friend Sachiko for dinner. It was good talking to her and with what she said, combined with a wander around the station area of Nagoya, I am convinced that a trip to Nagoya needs to be made. Thanks Sachiko!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Climbing onto the bus, I reflected on the last 3 days. Gujo Hachiman had been all that I was hoping it would be and more. The subtle, unpretentious charm which permeates throughout the town, the buildings, the castle and the people was incredible and it was a pleasure to be able to be experience that for a few days. However, a return trip is in the works as there was still a whole lot of the town that I didn't get a chance to see and my Mother, who reads my blog and who is planning a trip to Japan next year, has said that Gujo Hachiman is on her list of places she wants to see when she visits, and that is quite alright with me!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Okay, costs.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Bus ride from Tokyo to Nagoya - 7,700 yen.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Bus from Nagoya to Gujo Hachiman - 1,850 yen</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Miharaya ryokan - 8,000 yen per night (including those amazing breakfasts!)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Train from Gujo Hachiman to Nagoya - 2,490 yen</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Bus ride from Nagoya to Tokyo - 7,200 yen</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">(correct at time of writing)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Well, there it is, the last post about Gujo Hachiman. I really hope that you enjoyed reading and following the series as much as I did experiencing it. Gujo Hachiman is definitely well worth a visit when you come to Japan and it is quite English friendly! Please leave a comment below and share with someone who would like a read and sign up on the right-hand side of the page for email updates when I upload a new post.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">See you next time.</span>jase8auhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14582069302006499855noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3985569382279836889.post-74823634052708119052016-12-04T03:27:00.000+11:002017-07-12T16:52:15.432+10:00Immerse yourself in old town charm - Gujo Hachiman: a true traditional Japanese town (part 5)<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This is part 5 in a series of posts about a recent trip to Gujo Hachiman in Gifu. I recommend reading <a href="http://www.alifelessnormal.co/2016/11/immerse-yourself-in-old-town-charm-gujo.html" style="color: red;" target="_blank">part 1</a>, <a href="http://www.alifelessnormal.co/2016/11/immerse-yourself-in-old-town-charm-gujo_7.html" style="color: red;" target="_blank">2</a>, <a href="http://www.alifelessnormal.co/2016/11/immerse-yourself-in-old-town-charm-gujo_15.html" style="color: red;" target="_blank">3</a> and <a href="http://www.alifelessnormal.co/2016/11/immerse-yourself-in-old-town-charm-gujo_19.html" style="color: red;" target="_blank">4</a> first.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We rose early the next morning at 8:30 (well, it is early for me....) and wolfed down a breakfast of champions.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We had rice and pickles,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">sweet potato and potato salad,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">fruit and fish,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">and potato gems (or tater tots to my friends from the USA), egg and pasta. Yes, that's right, pasta for breakfast!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We were going to need those carbs as today we were going to do a bit of walking. Finishing up breakfast we headed outside (into the rain) to find a taxi. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Our plan was to head to Otaki cave for a bit of cave walking. Otaki cave is a Limestone cave that stretches for about 2km, of which 800m is open to the public. The taxi ride took about 20 minutes (and about 3,000 yen. Unfortunately there is no bus so the only options are taxi or rental car) and upon arriving made our way to the ticket window.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Unsurprisingly, considering the weather and the fact that it was a week day, the only people in sight were 2 staff. We grabbed our tickets (1,000 yen) and made our way to the cable car which took us up to the cave entrance.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Now, this is definitely not an experience to be had if you suffer from claustrophobia. In fact I spent the first five minutes praying that an earthquake would not strike before I settled and really started enjoying it. There are signs all around, in Japanese, although some are easy enough to understand!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Working your way around the cave involves some bending over at the waist to clear low points and there is also a little climbing to be done, although they have made that as easy to do as they could.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Unfortunately some overzealous visitors, who have insisted on touching instead of just looking, have broken some of the stalactites and stalagmites which has forced the local authorities into protective measures.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Unfortunately this kind of spoils part of the experience, but you cannot blame them for doing it. Unfortunately (again), some people are just stupid.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Now I am not a cave guy, in fact this was my first cave, but I couldn't help but be impressed by what I was surrounded by. As I was walking along, I wondered how many millions of years it took for some of these natural masterpieces to take shape, and what the cave would look like if I was able to come back in another one million years.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Looking at them I realised that they were probably some of the oldest things I have laid eyes on. Amazing.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">About halfway through the cave opened out and we entered a room and inside the room a couple of statues had been carved into the wall</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">and dropping down from a height of thirty metres was the main feature of the room, a waterfall.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The unbroken sound of the waterfall was in stark contrast to the ghostly silence that we had walked through to get here. I could imagine that this was a spot where quite a number of Buddhist monks had come to do their water training!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It was time to make our way back outside all too soon so we continued following the maze of trails and staircases around working our way back to the surface.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">On the way out, Tetsuya pointed out something very interesting. Inside the darkness of the cave, with no sunlight, there were tiny plants growing!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Now that was really interesting. It challenged everything my biology teacher had told me. No wonder I never liked biology!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Finally we re-surfaced</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">and realised that where we had exited was only about 40 metres away from where we had entered despite all of the walking, crouching and climbing that we had done!.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We walked back down to where the cafeteria was and got ourselves a well-earned snack</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">and a frosty beverage to wash down that hard earned thirst.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And we were not the only ones thirsty.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We made our way back to the ryokan and later that night, as I had promised the night before, I made my way back up the spooky dark hill that was shrouded by low lying clouds to look at the lit up castle. Making my way up the hill I found that the hilltop where the castle was was in clear skies, giving me a spectacular look at the castle.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Amazing. I went back down the hill a content man. This was the icing on the cake as far as this trip was concerned!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I will finish this one here for now and start working on what will be the final post in the series in the next couple of days. Thanks again for having a read, I appreciate your support. As always, please leave a comment below and share if you know someone who would be interested.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Until next time, bye.</span></div>
jase8auhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14582069302006499855noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3985569382279836889.post-78717000488495231802016-11-19T03:21:00.001+11:002017-07-12T16:52:29.857+10:00Immerse yourself in old town charm - Gujo Hachiman: a true traditional Japanese town (part 4)<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This is part 4 in a series of blog posts about a recent trip to Gujo Hachiman. You can find part 1 <a href="http://www.alifelessnormal.co/2016/11/immerse-yourself-in-old-town-charm-gujo.html" style="color: red;" target="_blank">here</a>, part 2 <a href="http://www.alifelessnormal.co/2016/11/immerse-yourself-in-old-town-charm-gujo_7.html" style="color: red;" target="_blank">here</a> and part 3 <a href="http://www.alifelessnormal.co/2016/11/immerse-yourself-in-old-town-charm-gujo_15.html" style="color: red;" target="_blank">here</a>.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It was getting close to dinner time, so we ventured back out to the street in search of something to eat. I had done a little research and had a place in mind, however, they happened to be closed (I hadn't researched enough.....). Oh well, what's a couple of intrepid travellers to do in this situation? Walk into a random restaurant and hope for the best, of course. So that's what we did.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The name of the place? Amanoya. Nice little place, kind of an izakaya. One of the staff spoke excellent English, she had spent 2 years living in Australia (some of you may say that that discounts her from being able to speak English!).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Looks good right? I won't spend too much time on the restaurant here </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">(stay tuned for an announcement in the next few weeks....)</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">, just to say that the staff were very friendly, the food good and definitely worth a visit for a meal when you come to Gujo Hachiman .</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">After dinner I went back to the ryokan to grab my other camera to take some night time pictures of the town. At night is when a little old quiet town like Gujo Hachiman reveals its magical side, one that is quite otherworldly!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I will stop the talking here and just let the photos do their thing.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Simply breathtaking, and these photos don't begin to do it justice. Just an incredibly beautiful place to be and an amazingly peaceful place to walk around at night.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As I was wandering back to the hotel, I happened to look up into the sky and saw this......</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">the castle, illuminated! Right then and there I decided that the next night I would be taking a walk back up the hill to get a close-up look at this vision. What a way to end the night!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I'm going to end this post on that note. I hope you enjoyed the night tour of Gujo Hachiman. Please leave a comment below, tell me what you think and feel free to share with someone who would like to have a read. Also, to save time, why not sign up on the right column to get email updates whenever I upload another post.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Thanks again, and see you soon for the next installment.</span>jase8auhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14582069302006499855noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3985569382279836889.post-7290864554004491572016-11-16T01:31:00.002+11:002017-07-12T16:52:40.377+10:00Immerse yourself in old town charm - Gujo Hachiman: a true traditional Japanese town (part 3)<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="color: #444444;">This is part 3 of a recent trip to Gujo Hachiman in Gifu. You can read part 1 </span><a href="http://www.alifelessnormal.co/2016/11/immerse-yourself-in-old-town-charm-gujo.html" style="color: red;" target="_blank">here</a><span style="color: #444444;"> and part 2 </span><a href="http://www.alifelessnormal.co/2016/11/immerse-yourself-in-old-town-charm-gujo_7.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;">here</span></a><span style="color: #444444;">.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We got back to the ryokan and checked in. I had chosen this place because of the beautiful old style rooms. I would love to live in a place with rooms like this!</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">And outside the window?......</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Incredible, the water was so clear, so pure and pristine. The clear water that runs through the town of Gujo Hachiman is a big source of pride for the residents. In fact, a nickname for Gujo Hachiman is "the Water Town". All around town there are water springs called "mizu fune", which translated means "water boat". They are 2 or 3 tiered systems with constantly running water. The top tier is for drinking and there are cups left at the mizu fune for anyone to use for drinking. The lower tiers are for washing fresh vegetables or even rinsing clothes. (My photos for these didn't turn out so well but the kind people at the Gujo Hachiman Tourist Association kindly let me use 3 of theirs. Please go and check out their full English website with so much more information about the town by following the links below the photos).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">(source: Gujo Hachiman Tourist Association website. <a href="http://www.gujohachiman.com/kanko/water_e.html" style="color: red;">http://www.gujohachiman.com/kanko/index_e.html</a>)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">This water then runs into street-side canals that run all across the town,</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">(source: Gujo Hachiman Tourist Association website. </span><a href="http://www.gujohachiman.com/kanko/water_e.html" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">http://www.gujohachiman.com/kanko/index_e.html</a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">(source: Gujo Hachiman Tourist Association website. </span><a href="http://www.gujohachiman.com/kanko/water_e.html" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">http://www.gujohachiman.com/kanko/index_e.html</a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">some of which have carp in them to eat any food scraps that might find their way into the water system,</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">and then back out into the river. This is a centuries old ecologically friendly system which keeps the water so clear and clean. Amazing, why can't more places do this?!</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Now seems like a good point to stop this post, but I will keep working on the next post which will have quite a few photos of the town at night and I will hopefully have that finished in the next day or so.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I hope you enjoyed this one. Please leave a comment below and share with anyone you know who would be interested in having a read.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Bye.</span></span>jase8auhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14582069302006499855noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3985569382279836889.post-25653462601101961202016-11-07T02:30:00.000+11:002017-07-12T16:52:53.054+10:00Immerse yourself in old town charm - Gujo Hachiman: a true traditional Japanese town (part 2)<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">This is part 2 of a recent trip I took to Gujo Hachiman. You can find part 1 <a href="http://www.alifelessnormal.co/2016/11/immerse-yourself-in-old-town-charm-gujo.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;">here</span></a>.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Gujo Hachiman castle is not a particularly old castle (relative to other Japanese castles), however it is quite unique. It was built in 1559 and for over 300 years it was home to various feudal lords. Its position high on the hill overlooking the valley was perfect as the rivers around the castle created a natural moat protecting the castle from potential aggressors. Prior to the Meiji period, which began in 1868, Japanese castles were important symbols of power for the local Daimyo. When the Meiji period began, power was returned to the Emperor and a centralised government was formed. Castles were viewed as a symbol of the previous feudal rule system and the Castle Abolishment Law was written which dictated that these "undesirable relics of feudalism" were to be demolished (luckily not all were torn down). Fortunately in the 1930's Japan realised her mistake and started rebuilding these treasures one by one beginning with Osaka castle in 1931 followed by Gujo Hachiman in 1933. Most of the castles were rebuilt using more modern materials such as concrete. Now, what makes Gujo Hachiman castle unique is that it was rebuilt using wood, the original material making it one of the few rebuilt wood castles. Enough of the history lesson, I know!</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Japanese castles generally come in two different colours, white and black. I recently asked a regular student of mine, Aya, what feelings she gets when she sees a white or a black castle and her feelings were exactly the same as mine. She said that when she sees a white castle it projects a majestic, dignified image while a black castle (such as Matsumoto castle) gives off a distinct formidable military, aggressive image. I often enjoy conversations with Aya as she knows a lot about Japanese history and is very interesting to listen to.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As we approached the castle, the grandness and majesty of the structure only stepped up even more.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Before heading into the castle itself I stopped to survey the town from above. It was a pretty impressive view!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Pausing to buy a ticket (310 yen) we headed into the castle grounds.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I knew where I wanted to be and that was right at the top so I started my way up the stairs straight away. Now I should point out that the stairs are quite steep, a cross between a staircase and a ladder, true mountain goat terrain, so please take care climbing.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As expected, the view from the top was incredibly spectacular!</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Imagine being the daimyo of Gujo Hachiman and having to wake up to this view each morning!!</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Stunning. As I have said previously, I come from a very flat place and I am always in awe of the beauty of mountains!</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I suddenly became aware of a group of schoolgirls standing a few metres away from me. Still taking photos I started listening in to their conversation as they were trying to figure out how to say something to me in English! "Should we photo take with us?..........Can you photo camera us?......." They were trying to figure out how to say "Can you take a photo with us?" Suddenly one of them said "May we take photo together?" That was good enough for me. "Sure!" I said. They were so happy. They started asking me questions, where I was from, what did I do, how long I was staying in Gujo Hachiman etc. For me, as an English teacher, I was so happy to hear them so excited to be speaking English. The average Japanese person is not confident to speak English as they are worried about making mistakes. I always say to my students, "never be worried about making mistakes, I make mistakes with English every day!"</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">What a wonderful moment it was!</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Saying goodbye to the girls we decided to head back down to the town again for a well earned beer before checking in to the ryokan. Walking through the town, what stood out for me most was that there was a total lack of pretence to the town. Yes, there were some beautiful old buildings,</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">but right next to the old buildings were sometimes more modern ones.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Gujo Hachiman was not trying to be anything except.........well, except Gujo Hachiman, and I was loving it!</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We sat down, enjoyed our beer </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">and just watched the town go about its life in front of us. <span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And what a blessing that was.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I'm going to finish this post here. Wow, two posts in one night! Thanks for reading these first two posts about Gujo Hachiman. I will keep working on the next one and hopefully have that ready soon. Please leave a comment below and don't forget to share the blog with someone you know who may be interested.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">See you next time.</span></span>jase8auhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14582069302006499855noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3985569382279836889.post-34114939852671973742016-11-07T01:18:00.000+11:002017-07-12T16:53:03.797+10:00Immerse yourself in old town charm - Gujo Hachiman: a true traditional Japanese town (part 1)<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">I have a folder in my bookmarks on my computer titled "blog places". Whenever I stumble across something that looks interesting and looks worth a visit I save it there. I often forget that the folder is there and other options come up for places to visit. A couple of months ago I remembered it was there and couldn't remember what I had saved there so I went in to check it out, and I am thankful I did. I discovered a website that I had saved for a place called Gujo Hachiman. Not remembering the name I went to the website and was greeted by a picture of a castle in the clouds and my next trip was immediately decided!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Located almost exactly in the centre of Japan, in Gifu prefecture, Gujo is a small town (by Japan's standards) of about 43,000 people. It is a castle town and is located at the junction of three rivers, the Yoshida, Kodara and Nagara rivers. Gujo is fiercely proud of its water and it is considered the essence of the town.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Good friend Tetsuya was again joining me on the trip and this time we decided to catch the bus from Tokyo to Nagoya and then decide from there whether to catch another bus or the train the rest of the way. We decided to use a bus company called Willer Express (they have a completely English website <a href="http://willerexpress.com/en/" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;">here</span></a> which also has an online booking system) as they have a number of different buses with different styles of seats from your basic through to "cocoon" seats with your own monitor with movies, music and TV programs! This is the one that we decided to go with.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We got on the overnight bus at the Shinjuku bus terminal and immediately were impressed by the futuristic looking seats</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">which reclined a lot further than regular seats!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Which is great if you can sleep on your back. I, however, cannot so I was resigned to six hours of movie watching (there are worse ways to spend six hours I guess).</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The bus stopped twice at roadside service areas for breaks of fifteen and thirty minutes and it was during the second, longer break that I decided that some 4:30am miso ramen was in order.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It was a lot better than I was expecting!</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The bus dropped us off not to far away from Nagoya station and we stored our bags in a train station coin locker and made our way off to find coffee. Before leaving Tokyo I had bought myself a selfie stick. I personally hate the things but I had bought one as I have a plan to start making videos on my travels, for Youtube, when I can build up the courage to put myself out there in public! It's very easy doing this, hiding behind a computer, but putting myself <b><i>in front</i></b> of the camera is something else entirely (Okay, I have made it public so there is now more pressure on myself to do it! Watch this space....) However, I broke it trying to put my phone into it before leaving Tokyo and despite all of our efforts we couldn't find a shop selling them in Nagoya before our next bus departure time at 9:30 am. Settling into the bus seat for the 90 minute ride to Gujo Hachiman I suddenly realised how tired I was dozed off into a restful sleep only to wake up (what seemed like only a few minutes later) to the bus driver announcing we had arrived in Gujo Hachiman. Having departed Shinjuku at night and travelled in the dark through to Nagoya (big city to big city) we were suddenly deposited in the middle of sleepy rural tranquillity.</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_kM3K8ywkBQ2DA4597AcjqJbvEVC-kPwpobzjBEz0SHNf4ErF-uhA8GDnk0gZpRxyVxqQPWIucnD1PfMCzjABedud7fcQLg8HDBPRElFj4IQsbH31IGjWf0bi-pOiTBlrLD6EYJNpWhpo/s1600/DSC_0256+-+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_kM3K8ywkBQ2DA4597AcjqJbvEVC-kPwpobzjBEz0SHNf4ErF-uhA8GDnk0gZpRxyVxqQPWIucnD1PfMCzjABedud7fcQLg8HDBPRElFj4IQsbH31IGjWf0bi-pOiTBlrLD6EYJNpWhpo/s640/DSC_0256+-+1.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Deciding to walk into town to our ryokan (Japanese style hotel) we set off and before long had entered the town. The buildings were beautiful and old and the streets narrow. You can see in the photo below that some of the houses have little partitions on the second floor. These are designed to provide some privacy from your neighbour.</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_EoAQ7YShOnjGiUqnWnXxrhhuPIyM_kOq1yh71NjBwfe5mP1fNGZVJPOeNvtWhnfk3u73no7kbSRWMTx4fKJquBnQ5lyy8rHvQa3Wy-11-if7v9VmjD8ps3CkIhyphenhyphenJ3Ce9QCMf_eRRj29V/s1600/DSC_0265+-+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_EoAQ7YShOnjGiUqnWnXxrhhuPIyM_kOq1yh71NjBwfe5mP1fNGZVJPOeNvtWhnfk3u73no7kbSRWMTx4fKJquBnQ5lyy8rHvQa3Wy-11-if7v9VmjD8ps3CkIhyphenhyphenJ3Ce9QCMf_eRRj29V/s640/DSC_0265+-+1.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Dodging oncoming cars we finished off the two kilometre walk and found ourselves at our ryokan in about 30 minutes. There are buses that swing past where you get off the highway bus but we decided against the wait (they come only every 30 minutes or so). you can also call for a taxi if your Japanese is up to it. It is worth mentioning here that there is not a lot of English spoken in Gujo Hachiman so come prepared with your Japanese phrase book and a mutual willingness to work together with the locals to understand each other! Of course, if you are Japanese or speak some Japanese, you will not need the phrase book...).</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We had arrived at the ryokan about 3 hours prior to check-in (which is at 3pm) so we left our bags with the friendly owners of Miharaya ryokan and decided that we would check out the castle before coming back to check into our rooms. We dropped in at the local tourist information office </span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQQMOCPB8Swh5YuSvKStmS3azvGjgVTwXw2YaavrUa_jPiu2WoTA0YwyXIkLcFdvUyPdH7N1NjGFVjcb7X7-bMAnU7LuuF5fSekvxJquo0FbW_UYqmATdLmAGO77lDycqVq9iLEsD5GKn6/s1600/DSC_0277+-+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQQMOCPB8Swh5YuSvKStmS3azvGjgVTwXw2YaavrUa_jPiu2WoTA0YwyXIkLcFdvUyPdH7N1NjGFVjcb7X7-bMAnU7LuuF5fSekvxJquo0FbW_UYqmATdLmAGO77lDycqVq9iLEsD5GKn6/s640/DSC_0277+-+1.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">and armed ourselves with a couple of brochures with English information and maps. Stepping back outside, into what was a beautiful day, we peered skywards to where the castle was.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKkA8V3IgzAzV5-McPPScK2Zdmglmvt7Ny0IKMecsfjDzq7uKfrzcGbpNX02apyZR7wN0tLSJmys2SAA7aegTFbpgt1JkMsgRwzMZ0iGV9KH1sz6XPBJb76nOynfyreeusJOl3mb45SGmZ/s1600/DSC_0283+-+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKkA8V3IgzAzV5-McPPScK2Zdmglmvt7Ny0IKMecsfjDzq7uKfrzcGbpNX02apyZR7wN0tLSJmys2SAA7aegTFbpgt1JkMsgRwzMZ0iGV9KH1sz6XPBJb76nOynfyreeusJOl3mb45SGmZ/s640/DSC_0283+-+1.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdhJlE3qhaLHZOxmgrPc119amZrudn_DSN1tmRlWWLLIfanpQ6_wAMQPREuzIvX_5y_yCWKkKHBijUYrLghxrNEFVGYUpB-XXm9kO_OSSXw0pvfkMhkR5AQeXfESIdx8sJActtwR4BdWfX/s1600/DSC_0279+-+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdhJlE3qhaLHZOxmgrPc119amZrudn_DSN1tmRlWWLLIfanpQ6_wAMQPREuzIvX_5y_yCWKkKHBijUYrLghxrNEFVGYUpB-XXm9kO_OSSXw0pvfkMhkR5AQeXfESIdx8sJActtwR4BdWfX/s640/DSC_0279+-+1.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Don't let the photos deceive you, it is only another 30 minute walk to get there. Yes, an uphill walk, but taken at a comfortable pace it should not be a problem for anyone. Alternatively you can catch a taxi most of the way to the top. Tetsuya and I decided to make the most of the sunshine and walk up. Walking up, you share the road with any cars that come along, but as with anywhere in Japan, drivers are extremely careful and respectful toward pedestrians so this is not a problem.</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvreWJCj-wkzn5x6DY_RFNrLDT9N2Vms_fycl4HsWtK5jpPNABZEXOuAAn1EuoAmjNUn9wrT5RpIoUuFfd31Uxqixq5uyr_tKrZZNSO4O38K_5axoBdLuHd9Z91hO1P0gufUJqH242eG-i/s1600/DSC_0294+-+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvreWJCj-wkzn5x6DY_RFNrLDT9N2Vms_fycl4HsWtK5jpPNABZEXOuAAn1EuoAmjNUn9wrT5RpIoUuFfd31Uxqixq5uyr_tKrZZNSO4O38K_5axoBdLuHd9Z91hO1P0gufUJqH242eG-i/s640/DSC_0294+-+1.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">There are also some step that work their way up the side of the hill for a quicker and more strenuous ascent.</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvZSAOrku5GeRrAApoZ6wh2ZtPvnL_h6WjsnlOD4hkJzuE1g8v326_yqBoEpnUjgWmbUhGRBQg27FJlduvnsp6xtDXwF12UDxeLWPkoaota1sZ6ubJIEh_tgXF8mISiwhym8CbuZfbtUBt/s1600/DSC_0298+-+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvZSAOrku5GeRrAApoZ6wh2ZtPvnL_h6WjsnlOD4hkJzuE1g8v326_yqBoEpnUjgWmbUhGRBQg27FJlduvnsp6xtDXwF12UDxeLWPkoaota1sZ6ubJIEh_tgXF8mISiwhym8CbuZfbtUBt/s640/DSC_0298+-+1.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Most people (except for the overly energetic school kids) were enjoying the walk up along the road.</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVwRKd8-iznaGPbUDKSfdKz0E888WOndp-qnb42iokQRkMri94lbyBn8pFX7MLGzf83b1IUyBs6ppzRdT8-cS6f746wFsIVQw1iiMg9vkaC0nNTLk9ZHeJ61jY_i-qfzeb3xOO3oWatMYS/s1600/DSC_0299+-+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVwRKd8-iznaGPbUDKSfdKz0E888WOndp-qnb42iokQRkMri94lbyBn8pFX7MLGzf83b1IUyBs6ppzRdT8-cS6f746wFsIVQw1iiMg9vkaC0nNTLk9ZHeJ61jY_i-qfzeb3xOO3oWatMYS/s640/DSC_0299+-+1.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcIdtuxs2i_RVqz5_LxnjXv4qOvPt1KCb84Qygqf2-iOLdZytbkHfILw0eazT5Fkedd7P9IRJlldnxKNpIv0yv3jGorLlohLV16uwpdICKppIdnRN_6a99YAKNwHKpG-GXOGoPmSsTBSj0/s1600/DSC_0301+-+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcIdtuxs2i_RVqz5_LxnjXv4qOvPt1KCb84Qygqf2-iOLdZytbkHfILw0eazT5Fkedd7P9IRJlldnxKNpIv0yv3jGorLlohLV16uwpdICKppIdnRN_6a99YAKNwHKpG-GXOGoPmSsTBSj0/s640/DSC_0301+-+1.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">There is a rest stop a little over halfway if you need to take a break and enjoy the view.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The season was early autumn and there was some colour creeping into the leaves of the maple trees that surround the castle.</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi26Hp4s7SrWjbDkAyMevaNPEp4hg0GecMCOvdVSBfof-UpjfZgGai4_8zRgJN3mVV4c0GSnwReZA1lBHIavlxbACOsofxRngLzVqSDSiOH9bJTaNvaPFTtDZOQRzDJzxard1T_g1rMbgJO/s1600/DSC_0319+-+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi26Hp4s7SrWjbDkAyMevaNPEp4hg0GecMCOvdVSBfof-UpjfZgGai4_8zRgJN3mVV4c0GSnwReZA1lBHIavlxbACOsofxRngLzVqSDSiOH9bJTaNvaPFTtDZOQRzDJzxard1T_g1rMbgJO/s640/DSC_0319+-+1.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I think that if we had made the trip a week later, the trees would have been stunning. In fact, the town has an autumn leaf festival that runs from early to mid November.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Suddenly, before we realised, the castle appeared.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I think I will finish this particular post here, it is getting a little long, but I will start working on part 2 straight away so that should be done in the next couple of days.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Thanks for reading this first part of the trip, I hope you enjoyed it. Please leave a comment below, I would love to hear from you. Also, please share the blog if you know someone who would enjoy it.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">See you soon for part 2.</span></span>jase8auhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14582069302006499855noreply@blogger.com0