First time I’ve ever been in to the Mitsukoshi honten. The lobby is old fashioned and grand, like Takashimaya, or indeed like the grand old department stores in your city, if they still exist. One thing that’s different here is this impressive, incredible sculpture in the main hall. What does it all mean? I was […]
Month: August 2010
- Kanda
- ...
Edokko sushi, Kanda (江戸っ子寿司)
Edokko is a chain born and bred in Kanda, with a good half-dozen stores all clustered around the west entrance to the JR station. You’ve probably seen the yellow signs. Oh, unless you never go to Kanda, which I imagine is most of you. Well, here’s the glamorous environment that they serve fine fish in. […]
- Italian
- ...
Il Silene, Kamakura
Kamakura has a surprising concentration of Italian restaurants. The best looking ones are surprisingly full, even when the rest of town is fairly empty during the day and leaning toward ghostly at night. Il Silene is up near the big shrine, but seriously hidden in a basement. You could see their sign on the street, […]
Nakamuraya, Enoshima (中村屋)
You’ll have noticed from all the pictures that I think walking around Tokyo and looking down little alleys is one of the funnest things in life, way more funner than, for instance, being beaten with branded leather goods. In the case of Enoshima, as you climb out of the shopping area, you’ll see all sorts […]
- izakaya
- ...
Uohana, Enoshima (魚華)
Enoshima in August isn’t a preferred destination as far as I’m concerned – because it’s a preferred destination for so many people. Last time I went, there was a line hundreds of people long to get on the Enoden at Fujisawa (no lie – all the way from that station, across the plaza, and into […]
- izakaya
- ...
Kudan, Gakugei Daigaku (件)
There’s a first for everything, and a slightly different personality to every neighborhood of Tokyo. This was my first time to visit Gakugei Daigaku, and I’d like to say its personality reflects a bit of its college roots. The few streets that I saw seemed cheaper and funkier than the average suburb, with a bit […]
- Kanda
- ...
Daito ramen, Kanda (大斗)
[Nov 29, 2010 It is with no great sniffling that I alert you to the closure of this establishment. It’s now a ‘salt ramen’ specialist.] Restaurant politics are interesting in Japan. There’s a concept of family trees, and places can proudly advertise the fact that they derived their expertise from a famous parent. Do they […]
Ryuryuken ramen, Ochanomizu (龍龍軒)
Today I introduced Preacher to the delights of both Hakata ramen and taking the train somewhere for lunch, still getting back in 50 minutes. A mere two stops away from the office is Ochanomizu, where a pleasant view of the Kanda river awaits as you cross from the subway station toward JR and the main […]
- izakaya
- ...
Ippou, Ebisu (一歩)
Boy do the hits keep on coming. Coming a little too fast, but we have to soldier on in the name of fun, sociability, and education. Ippou is in a small street on the east side of Ebisu; depending on your proclivities, you may know it as the street also containing Aotea Rangi, the New […]
- izakaya
- ...
Ishii, Shinbashi (いし井)
Boy do the hits keep on coming. Coming a little too fast; I kept sitting back contentedly while eating and drinking with Woody, thinking “Phew, that was a hard week. Glad it’s Friday night!” It was Tuesday. What’s happening in Shinbashi around quitting time? I mean this semi-rhetorically, because if you have to ask, you […]