Tokyo Food Diary part 1: Ramen, Tsukemen, Udon

On this trip, we wanted to re-acquaint ourselves with the authentic tastes of various genres of Japanese food that we have been eating outside Japan. More traditional fare, we had during our ryokan stays (click here and here to see those posts).

We had just about a week in Tokyo and managed to eat ramen, shabu-shabu,  tonkatsu, Japanese curry, izakaya dining, yakimono, localized Italian and French. First up is ramen. Our first bowl on the trip was eaten at the Kagoshima airport. Nothing special.

It so happened that a few of our friends just finished skiing in Nagano and were on their way back to the US. Before they got on the Narita Express at Tokyo JR station, we met for a couple of hours and suggested that we go eat tsukemen つけ麺  at the food street (ichibangai) beneath the station.

We heard of this noodle place – Rokurinsha 六厘舍 – through Lucky Peach, a magazine/webzine edited by David Chang of Momofuku fame in NYC.  There is a world of information and insight on ramen on Lucky Peach – start here.

The line for the restaurant wrapped around the corner. We waited patiently for about 15-20 minutes and bought our ticket at the machine.

The concept of tsukeman is simple: one bowl of intensely-seasoned broth and one bowl of plain boiled noodles. You dip the noodle in the broth before slurping it up.

At Rokurinsha, they provide a small heap of ground katsuobushi (dried fish flakes). They also consider dipping and slurping as something difficult to master without making a mess – they gave us tourists paper aprons !

We encountered a branch of Rokurinsha at Skytree – a new cultural/shopping centre on the Sumida side of Tokyo. If you want to see more about tsukemen, watch The Mind of Chef – season 1, episode 1 – in which David Chang talks about ramen including tsukemen.

Our next ramen stop was at Ippudo 博多一風堂 –  it was a late night dinner around the corner from our apartment in Aoyama. The restaurant is located in the basement of a building with another noodle restaurant on the top floor (but it was closed).

Ippudo is probably quite familiar for folks from New York. We tried their first store near Astor place in 2009. They have now opened a second store in midtown near where we used to live.

Founded in 1985 near Fukuoka, they appeared to have branches in major cities all over the world – London, Sydney, Singapore, Hong Kong, etc.

We tried different varieties of ramen and were happy with all.

Chinese-style, spicy.

Chris asked for extra noodles.

They seem to provide a lot of extras (8 items) on the table to customize your noodle experience.

Last but not least, in Shibuya, Chris had a bowl of udon with oyster tempura, oysters happened to be in season.  It was delicious but the deep-fried nature of the oyster was lost in the clear soup.

Well, our noodles experience has been limited to chain restaurants thus far – we have to return and try the masters.

Sunday Anti-War Protests in Harajuku 原宿, Tokyo

On Valentine’s day February 14, Sunday, we encountered a protest in Tokyo.

Harajuku is the geographic area spreading from Harajuku JR Station south along Omotesando down to Meiji-dori. It is better known internationlly as a center of youth fashion – especially Takeshita dori (竹下通り).  After we crossed Meiji-dori, Sue and IT stopped at a vintage clothes stand to peruse second hand fur coats and kimonos.

We heard them at first, then we see a column of protesters led by a police van, clearing the streets ahead the crowds.

 

“Smash Fascism ! Abe out !”

 

 

Rappers doing their thing on trucks were leading the chant.

 

 

“Take Back Democacy. Keep Calm and No War.”

 

 

“Teens stand up to oppose war.”

 

People from all walks of life participated. Not just young people.

 

 

Young and old people, men and women – . “This is what democracy looks like …”.

 

 

The protest was very organized and people were behaving. But it created a huge traffic jam on Omotesando all the way back to Aoyama dori.

 

 

We saw the protesters again just outside the Harajuku JR station.

 

 

“No nukes. No war.”

 

 

“Make some noise, Tokyo”

 

They certain did make a lot of noise. A peaceful successful protest indeed.

Sushi Matsue 松栄, Ebisu 恵比寿, Tokyo

We had about a week in Tokyo and wanted to reacquaint ourselves with as many different genres of authentic Japanese food as we can. We managed to have sushi (see below), yakimono, wagashi, ramen, shabu-shabu, tonkatsu, localized chinese, french and italian, japanese curry and izakaya snacks (see later posts). We had lunch with IT’s friend who made the reservation at Matsue.

Matsue is a serious sushi place without the high-end Michelin prices. Like many of the famous sushi restaurant, it looks inconspicuous on the outside. Matsue is within easy walking distance from the Ebisu station.

Founded in 1966, the restaurant is a little larger than some of the most exclusive sushi places (that we saw on TV), but still tiny compared to restaurants in the US or Europe. Reservation is a must here, apparently according to Tripadvisor.

We sat at the counter facing the chef who spoke some English. Very friendly and attentive service. Sue and I ordered omakase.

Unlike many other sushi restaurants, there was no refrigerated counter separating us and the chef. None of the fishes was on display.

Octopus and abalone.

The chef advised us not to use soy sauce as the pieces are all appropriately flavored.

We started with some warm dishes, like this slightly charred scallop which was to be wrapped with the toasted lightly salted seaweed, and eaten like a sandwich. It was divine.

We can see tiny flakes of salt in a few pieces. And no soy sauce was needed.

It was more than 10 years ago when we last visited this metropolis. The Tsukiji fish market 築地市場 was not a tourist hotspot at that time, and now it needs crowd-control measures every morning. There we had the reputedly freshest sushi in Tokyo. 

In November 2016, in preparation for the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics, the Tsukiji market will be closed and moved out of central Tokyo. It is the loss of a landmark for Tokyo. Several local magazines are publishing special issue to commemorate its closure, given its operation since the 1930’s. 

The luxuriating texture of uni (sea urchin).

This restaurant liked to use the torch on its sushi.

Their rolls were particularly tasty as they paired the fish with some subtle pickles – excellent, never had this before.

IT ordered a piece of unagi (eel) but it looked rather pale compared to those we had before (not grilled ?). Apparently it was great.

We were probably the last customers to leave the restaurant. The chefs were cleaning and preparing the pieces for dinner – we saw many kinds of seafood, including snow crabs.

Matsue was definitely an experience that cannot be had without local guidance. Highly recommended.

FYI, Matsue has a newer restaurant of the same name at Roppongi.

 

Yakusugi Land 屋久杉ランド, Yakusugi Shizenkan 屋久杉自然館

Yakushima was registered as a UNESCO World Natural Heritage Site in 1993. It is also called “the island of ancient forest and water” because of the huge Yaku cedars, which are over 1,000 years old, moss and abundance of rain.

According to wikitravel, the island’s forests are not virgin. Hundreds of years ago, most of its ancient trees were cut for lumber. The stumps remain everywhere, often uncorrupted and covered with moss or sprouting other trees, including second and third-generation Sugi – in the continually regenerating forest. The remaining Japanese cedar trees over 1000 years old are termed yakusugi, and many revered trees have been given individual names.

Sennensugi (千年杉, thousand year cedar) in photo below.

The symbol of Yakushima is Jomon-sugi or the Jomon cedar that is estimated to be between 2100 years old (the oldest date that can be confirmed by carbon-dating of core samples) and 7200 years old (based on its size). The course to visit this tree is 10.7km (6.7 mile) long one way from the entrance of the mountain and it takes about 10 hours for a round trip. Obviously we did not attempt this journey.

The Jomon-sugi was probably first discovered hundreds of years ago by Edo period loggers, and, like the other ancient cedars, it escaped logging due to its irregular shape. It was rediscovered in the 1960s and has since been protected along with the rest of Yakushima’s forests when the area became a national park.

Yagusuki Land 屋久杉ランド is not a theme park despite the “Land” in its name. It’s actually a wonderfully scenic area of forest that was logged in Edo times and now offers a variety of easily accessible hiking trails that pass a number of fine yakusugi specimens.

There are 4 circular trails to follow: ranging from 30 mins to 150 mins. After our daylong hike in Shiratani Unsuikyo the day before, we took it easy and followed one of the shorter trails.

The scenery here is beautiful and similar to what we saw at Shiratani Unsuikyo  – lots of moss-filled forests.

Streams with moss-covered rocks.

Yakusugi Land is just south of Anbo and from there a 30-minute ride by bus up an increasingly narrow and winding mountain road.  We saw families of monkeys on the roadside sunning themselves.

Human activity being a relatively small part of island life, there is abundant wildlife, notably a large deer and monkey population. Unlike some places where monkeys and humans interact, Yakushima monkeys are not fed by residents or tourists and so do not approach cars or persons for food.

On my return trip, we stopped by the Yakusugi Shizenkan 屋久杉自然館 where a lot of interesting facts and history are on display.

A tree limb of the Jomon-Sugi that fell due to heavy snowfall several years ago is exhibited here. One can attempt counting the annual rings  – magnifying glass provided.

There are photos, movies and hands-on exhibits showing the island’s natural wonders and the history of the logging industry.

The cedar tree harvesting began in the 1650’s which were made into shingles for roofing (hiragi) due to its high resin content and resistance to rot.

A short walk away is the World Heritage Conservation Center. More photos and models were shown here about the island. Perfect for middle schooler as a field trip.  Parts of it were under renovation.

Overall, because of the remoteness of the island and difficulty of the terrain generally, there are relatively few tourists. And the fact that it was offseason, we had the places to ourselves. We loved it.

Comparable to the red wood forests in California, this is Japanese treehuggers’ mecca. See our post on Shiratani Unsikyo here.

 

 

Finding 13, part 5

Well, tomorrow is Friday the 13th of May 2016.

We are not superstitious about the number. We just happen to live at No. 13 now and I used to work at Room 1313 on the 13th floor. I(Chris) am just curious about the other No: 13’s – how they look and what’s behind them.

As you will see, we have been snapping pictures of no. 13 around the world …

Paris, where French Food with a nice menu is on offer

Constigliole d’Asti, Piedmont – hairdressers

Alright, this is not a street number but it is on the street.

Funchal, Madeira – Art of open doors project at Rua de Santa Maria

Cartier, Paris

Somewhere we forgot where …

Museum Hundertwasser, Vienna

forgot …

forgot also, despite the smirking head

Studio for sale 

 

That’s all for now.

Click the links to see part 1, part 2, part 3 and part 4.

 

 

 

Jomon no Yado Manten 縄文の宿 まんてん, Yakushima 屋久島

Jomon no Yado Manten (JNYM, 縄文の宿 まんてん) was our lodgings for 3 days on Yakushima 屋久島. It is 1-minute walk from the airport, basically just across the 2-lane main road that circumnavigates the island. The airport is really an airstrip and it closes after the last flight left or landed in late afternoon.

Between the two ryokans that we stayed, Yakakutei in Kirishima and JNYM, the onsen is hotter in Kirishima. Both had an open air section. Which is better ?  It is down to personal preference.

JNYM has better atmosphere in that the inn is more spread out, closer to nature, and feels sunnier overall. We enjoyed staying at both.

Like Yakakutei, we had a meal plan with this ryokan – breakfast and dinner. This option is more critical here because there is not even a 7-11 in sight – only a few vending machine at best.

At JNYM, one of the dinners is a proper casual kaiseki.

By this time, we were quite spoiled and expected nothing less every day.  =P

Being on an island, the fishes were unquestionably super-fresh.

Whole flying fish deep-fried.

Seaweed, sour – cleansed the palate it certainly did.

Pretty.

Yes, we know what you are thinking, but this is how it was presented to us.

Strange looking shellfish which we found in our soup. Never seen them before.

Nabe

To be fair, in our opinion, Yakakutei provided better food. Click here to see Yakakutei. But this was more than adequate.

Since this place is catered to hikers, the meals were less elaborate or fussy, and more Western, especially in the morning.

They even gave us packed lunch one day for our hiking. We enjoyed our time there and are happy to recommend JNYM.

With this level of service and food, why would we want to stay in a regular hotel ever again in Japan ?

 

 

Shiratani Unsuikyo 白谷雲水峡, Yakushima 屋久島

Shiratani Unsuikyo was our first hiking destination on the island – it is a ravine – with a pretty name (白谷雲水峡, white valley cloud water ravine). It is one of the three most recommended hikes for the island – probably the top choice.

We took the bus from Miyanoura which climbed the inland mountains. The road was surprisingly well-paved and wide. It must have been upgraded over the years due to the popularity of our destination, tour buses are expected. But there were hardly any cars on the road.

The ravine is part of the Kirishima National Park which offers a network of reasonably well-maintained hiking trails that run along and around the ravine. We picked one that on paper will take two and a half hours roundtrip – from no.1 to no. 13 and back via no. 12 – the longer loop. It took much longer, as we expected, knowing our legs.

Shiratani Unsuikyo can be closed during a heavy rainfall as the rivers can become too dangerous to cross. We were lucky in that it did not rain so there was no wading across the streams (we had to hop across at least two small ones) – the small photos in the notice board above illustrate the difference in volume before and after rain. The streams are indicated with a ” ! “.

It must be spectacular during the rainy season here.

Yakushima is one of the wettest places in Japan (about 10,000 mm of rainfall in a year in the mountainous area).

It was very pretty here.

Beyond this bridge, the trail was no longer paved and it became steeper. We did not cross at this point as we took the prettier route (according to Wikitravel).

One of the main attractions of Shiratani Unsuikyo is a part of the forest that served as the inspiration for Miyazaki Hayao 宮崎 駿 (Studio Ghibli) – animated film Mononoke Himeもののけ姫 (魔法公主, Princess Mononoke).

There are more than 600 species of mosses on this island and they grew on top of each other forming dense layers on almost any surface.

The lead artist for the film – Princess Mononoke, spent lots of time here working on sketches for the movie’s forests – the sinister-looking roots were spreading and crawling over fallen logs and even living trees.

The altitude is 600m (1969ft) at the entrance and about 900m (2953ft) in the forest of Princess Mononoke.

The fact it did not rain also meant that the rocks were not slippery. Despite having the right footwear, it was still tricky to hop from one moss-covered rock to another.

Along the way, we saw many ancient cedar trees.

Some roots and trunks were so ancient that one can pass through the spaces beneath their roots.

Our turnaround point was the Shiratani hut – “white mountain hut” which is provided as a place where one can camp. We returned using a different path, the Kusugawa trail one that was used by loggers who harvested the trees in the Edo period.

Exhausted but it was good hiking, and made soaking in the hot springs and a multi-course dinner all the more deserving.

 

About Yakushima 屋久島

Yakushima is an island located in 60km (37.3 miles) to the south of the southernmost tip of Kyushu island. With a climate ranging from subtropical to cool-temperate, its diverse and highly unique ecosystem and beautiful nature have been highly regarded nationally but not generally known outside Japan.

Visiting Japan in February, where could we go ? – we asked ourselves. As far south as possible, but not Okinawa. That’s how we ended up on this island.

We flew south from Kagoshima and the flight was about 35 minutes.

The airport is tiny. This is the main entrance.

Our ryokan is near the airport which is on the east side of the island about half way between Anbo and Miyanoura. We did not know it was located just across the main road from the airport. The taxi driver had a good laugh when he found out where we were going and had to unload our bags.

Yakushima is developed only along its coast except in the west where the steep mountain slopes run all the way into the sea. A road encircles the island connecting the towns together, and the majority of Yakushima’s hotels, beaches, hot springs, and museums are within a short distance of it. The main attraction – the cedar forests are located in the mountainous interior and are accessed by a few roads from the larger towns, such as Miyanoura and Anbo, which lead to the various hiking trails and nature parks.

Miyanoura (above) is the largest town in Yakushima, home to the Miyanoura Port where the ferries from Kagoshima arrive and depart.

We did not bother to rent a car and relied on public transport to see Shiratani Unsuikyo and Yakusugi Land (see later posts). Buses run about once per hour along Yakushima’s coast. We passed small villages along the main road and saw a cemetery by the sea.

Vending machines by the main road.

Local hardware store and supermarket – also by the main road.

Since it was offseason, buses into the interior were down to twice a day: from Miyanoura Port to Shiratani Unsuikyo and from Anbo Town to Yakusugi Land.

We were quite worried about missing the bus since there were hardly any people living in the interiors of the island.

Anbo is the other town with a port. Most businesses appeared closed – well, it was a weekday afternoon.

We would have bought flying fish sashimi at this fishmonger if it was open.

The Mos burger (equivalent of McD in Japan) was open.

The island’s business is mostly farming and tourism.  Sweet potato from this and several islands nearby are well known within Japan. This shop in Anbo sells vegetables by a honor system, take what you want and leave your money in the bucket.

About 10 minutes walk on the main road from the airport, we found improbably an Italian restaurant – il mare – likely the only one on the island. The chef (likely also the owner) is Japanese. We were the only customer there for lunch. The place looked well kept so it must be more popular in the evening or during the summer.

Venison bolognese was prominently featured on the menu – the deer was sourced locally. IT tried it and I had a pasta al funghi myself.

Across the main road from our ryokan is a cedar wood workshop and showroom.  Beautifully-crafted pieces, quite expensive, but unique they are.

There is really not much to see or do on the island – apart from hiking, waterfalls, hot springs and seeing the primordial cedar forests. Just what we needed to escape the city for a few days,