In today’s short break in the rain, I really enjoyed walking around Kanda. It’s like 4 blocks and 40 years away from Marunouchi. Just great. That will require some explaining, since I’ve previously said how ordinary it is.
First, I managed to have the shrimp in chili sauce that I’ve been thinking of for ages. After a fun interlude after ordering wherein I realized I had only about Y300 in my pocket and ran into the street looking for an ATM, the food turned out to be quite decent. I was impressed by the freshness of the shrimp (which actually seemed sweet, juicy, and, wait for it…fresh!), the relative lightness of the sauce (I don’t think it would glow in the dark. However it wasn’t especially spicy.), and the large quantity of fresh onions mixed into the sauce and fresh cabbage sliced underneath. With (wakame tofu) soup, pickles, rice and almond tofu dessert, Y880 seemed like a good price.
So Kanda! Maybe there was something in the chili sauce, because as I walked through Kanda station from the west to east (Squirrel, I saw your ramen, 3 doors down from Wise, and will try it soon, especially if you come), I recaptured for a few minutes the magic of being on vacation in Japan. It’s been years since I felt this way, but I used to love the sort of different world, excitement around every corner feeling that being here gave me (I’m easily excited). In this case, I found several restaurants I want to go to (Thai, soba, sushi). More importantly I also got briefly but completely lost in a crowded, non-modernized environment full of interesting-looking people. What are those shops promising ‘lunchtime relaxation’?
Oh, and I’ll probably err…expose myself a little bit by writing this, but I saw a hardware store called ‘Dicks Tool’, which I need to go back and photograph so that you’ll believe it’s really there.
Fangs for the memories!
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