ogikubo

it was our first time getting off at JR Ogikubo, they have 2 shopping arcades one at the South exit and one at the West exit

even though we had breakfast, we were hungry and this teeny bakery, Honey's freshly baked "smells" drew us in...

banana coconut cake for Kat and freshly out of the oven salmon tartine for Satoshi 

 

after our quick snack, we made our way to the areas we wanted to see

follow the arrows on the ground

Tekigaiso is the home of former prime minister Fumimaro Konoe

beautiful kept home, loved the windows...the table had inlaid abalone shells on it!

the hallways had many windows too

the Ogikubo Conference was held here in 1940 between Konoe Fumimaro, Tojo Hideki, Yoshida Zengo and Matsuoka Yosuke, it was here that they discussed whether Japan should have closer ties with (Nazi) Germany and (Fascist) Italy 

there is a park below that I think was also part of the huge property...can you see Satoshi?!

nearby is the Kadokawa residence, the founder of Kadokawa Publishing, Kadokawa Genyoshi

the front door

This property was a bit disappointing because the areas open for viewing were sparse

about a 3 minute walk away is the Otaguro Park, which is the former residence of Otaguro Motoo, a music critic

The property is beautiful and they have a light up of the fall foliage

His residence with the grand piano and listening area was beautiful with all the windows too

Lunch was actually our "plan B"...Indian curry Spice

fancy interior

keema curry add poached egg...1550 yen plus 150 yen (tax included)

this was spicy 

I thought I wouldn't be able to finish but I did

Satoshi had their shrimp curry...1750 yen (tax included)

this was spicy too, he was perspiring...

we are glad we tried this place

After lunch we walked from Ogikubo to Koenji

It was a beautiful day to be out and about

Tekigaiso

2-43-36 Ogikubo

Suginami, Tokyo

Closed: Wednesdays and year end (12/29-1/1)

Hours: 9:00-17:00

*admission: 300 yen adults

Kadokawa Residence

3-14-22 Ogikubo

Suginami, Tokyo

Closed: Wednesdays and year end (12/29-1/1)

Hours: 9:00-17:00

Otaguro Park

3-33-12 Ogikubo

Suginami, Tokyo

Closed: Wednesday and year end (12/29-1/1)

Hours: 9:00-17:00

Honey

5-29-8 Ogikubo

Suginami, Tokyo

Open daily: 9:00-19:30

*cash only

Spice

5-16-20 Ogikubo

Suginami, Tokyo

Closed: Mondays

Hours: 11:30-14:30 (lunch), 17:30-20:30

**lunch only on Sundays

*cash only

midnight diner spicy konnyaku

The latest dish on the latest episode of "Midnight Diner" was spicy konnyaku

Super easy to make

just break the konnyaku into bite sized pieces with your hands

put into a heated pan and after the water comes out from the konnyaku, add your soy based sauce

I used dashi shoyu, a little sesame oil and chili

There is also konnyaku with chili in it, but I haven't seen it in the stores recently

Anyway, not really a recipe but super easy to put together

oh and lots of fiber so it might not be too good to eat a lot in one sitting

saying goodbye

My Dad’s brother recently had some health issues which he was recovering from but passed away suddenly

We will miss his kindness and all that he did for our family

Thank you Uncle, you will be missed!

culture day

11.3 is Bunka no Hi (culture day) (cool art at JR Ueno station)

I think all the museums have free admission on this day

the special exhibits still require admission, but you can see their permanent collections 

our first stop was the National Museum of Western Art, right outside of the JR Ueno station

It was quite packed, so instead of hovering around the art pieces, I was more interested in the architecture and interior

the lighting

the stairwells

and the exterior...check out all the pebbles! on the walls

next door is the Museum of Nature and Science, this is the one with the big whale out front

so many families with little ones...it was a little too crowded for my liking...

loved the high ceilings with stained glass

the view from the top floor

stained glass up close

the stairwells

then we went across the street to the Tokyo National Museum and went into the Toyokan (East Asian Art)

the exterior

the main building (Honkan)

loved the interior!

the mosaic on the walls!

too many people here as well

the high ceilings with the beautiful lightning

beautiful staircase, that go up to the exhibits we didn't pay for, so weren't allowed to go up

there is a garden area, which will look beautiful when the leaves change color

go out to the gardens if you feel overwhelmed by all the people!

building with Horyuji collection

beautiful interior

Even though I wasn't too interested in the art pieces, I enjoyed all the architecture/grounds and we got to experience it for free

If you are in Japan on November 3rd, and are interested you should check it out.

It was our first time checking out these museums and taking advantage of the free admissions

sunday

The drama that we watch in the mornings is based on Uno Chiyo's life

We found out that our ward's folk museum was having an exhibit on her life, so we went to check it out.

When we first moved here, we actually went to this museum, but I guess I never wrote up about it.

Parts of our area was a popular place for writers to work and live and was called Magome Bunshimura
 
All the exhibits are in Japanese, though they do have some QR codes for you to scan so you can listen to details about different authors

I loved this print by Kawase Hasui

Lunch was at Cheval Cafe

The terrace was pretty popular on this day so we were seated indoors

Order by QR code...some of their choices were sold out

Satoshi chose their hamburg & aji fry…1450 yen (tax included)

Kat chose their chicken namban…1420 yen (tax included)

I thought the portions were a little small for Satoshi/guys but the food was tasty

And I would've appreciated the veggies being cut to bite size, guess I could've asked for a knife

Dunno if we'll be back since it is quite far from where we live but we are glad we got to try them

Down the hill is Maison Ichi, a bakery

Apparently they are highly rated on food app, though reviews on the map app, says otherwise

we tried their marron coppe (a soft hot dog bun type of bread filled with chestnut paste and chestnut bits) and their fig cream cheese (a hard type of bread filled with walnuts, cream cheese and dried figs)

we are glad we tried this place too, though it is also quite far from where we live, dunno that we’ll be back

The weather was blazing this weekend, so we made sure to get out and enjoy the weather

Cheval Cafe

2-3-1 Nishimagome

Ota, Tokyo

Closed: Mondays

Hours: 11:30-15:00 (lunch), 18:00-21:00 (dinner)

*cash or paypay only

Maison Ichi

2-2-1 Nishimagome

Ota, Tokyo

Open daily: 11:00-20:00

Oh and we also went to check out the area where Uno Chiyo used to live

We were surprised that there are so many hills in our area, our legs were jelly afterwards

midnight diner ninjin shirishiri

was inspired to make ninjin shirishiri with spam after watching the latest episode of “Midnight Diner”

This version uses spam, egg and ground sesame seeds
 

used my mom’s grater

 

nowadays, I usually make this dish using chili crisp and no egg, using spam was a nice change