this and that

So, after they pulled out all the plants around the apartment, they jack hammered the area that once held our apartment's name plate.

I wish they would give us visuals of what they plan to do instead of the manual thingy we got..oh and they plan to change our apartment's name AGAIN! grrr

Whenever people build or take down something, they usually put up these sheets, to kind of muffle the sounds

Nowadays, no one uses a hammer when constructing, it's one of those "gun like" types...so all you hear are these "pow" "pow" sounds...I've often wondered if they've ever missed whenever they "hammer"…

Yep, they do...if you look closely at this photo you’ll see nails, that had "stabbed" the sheets and are sticking out!! eep!

I opened the canned butter I bought from the Hokkaido antenna shop...and gasped when the flip tab on the can's lid gouged the butter...

By the way, this butter is delicious! creamy and a little salty

oh and the corn curry dressing that I bought on the same day as the butter is delicious too, more curry than corn flavor 

Big furry Tokyo People, I think I posted this furry one before...

I would be so nervous if my parking stall was this one...

Oh and they are also redoing our apartment's lobby area...

And the building next door, is coming up...hopefully they won't block my view of Haneda Airport...

The boneless spareribs that I found in Yokohama was so meaty and tender, lots of pepper, delicious

The iburigakko potato salad was delicious, the dollop of cream cheese made it rich

(Iburigakko is the smoked takuan from the Tohoku area)

The osmanthus oolong , that I bought in Yokohama, is semi fermented and has a slight floral aroma, I enjoy this both hot & cold

This week was super warm, I think they said April temps?! and coming next week, we're supposed have rain and Mother Nature will fling us back to winter temps.

Hoping they are able to stop the wildfires in Iwate soon! so many lost their homes in the earthquake many years ago and again in this fire

Have a safe weekend!

don bancho

After our cat cafe debut, we tried a new (to us) Western style restaurant called Don Bancho.

Apparently they are part of the Butabancho group, small izakaya (bars/pubs) serving all things pork.

Pick and pay for your meal at the machine near the door.

Then be seated at the counter.

And while you are waiting for your meal, enjoy their minestrone-ish soup, more soup than "stuff"

I ordered the omurice..this was so so...1180 yen (tax included)

While I appreciated the original "ketchup" on the omurice, I felt everything was a bit too salty

Satoshi ordered the mixed fry...1480 yen (tax included)

He said it was "just okay"

Dunno that we'll be back, but we were glad we got to try this place.

Don Bancho

7-42-7 Nishikamata

Ota, Tokyo

Open: 11:30-14:30 (lunch) & 17:00-21:00 (dinner)

*cash only

monday

Monday was a National Holiday observing the Emperor’s Birthday, we decided to check out Ikegami Plum orchard since online, theysaid it was 60% in bloom. 

When we got there they said it was at its peak.

Most of the blooms were so high up, so it was hard to photograph close ups...

For lunch we checked out a soba shop, Katoriya, that Satoshi had been wanting to try.

This tiny shop serves soba & udon. 

Satoshi had their curry udon…1100 yen (tax included), which uses spices from Koshindo, a spice shop in Jiyugaoka.

He said it was spicy and that he enjoyed this

Kat tried their kurumi (walnut) soba 1150 yen (tax included)

Loved this! there were bits of walnut in the tsuyu (dipping sauce) and the tsuyu itself was shoyu based and creamy from the ground walnuts

In business for over 50 years, I’m glad we tried this shop and now have another to add to our rotation.

We’ll be back

Katoriya

7-11-4 Nishikamata

Ota, Tokyo

Closed: Fridays & Saturdays

Hours: 11:00-18:00 (Sundays), 11:00-18:15 (Mondays-Thursdays)

*cash only

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Yesterday, on the spur of the moment, we decided to go to Katsuura, to check out their big hinamatsuri.

If you remember, Kat went last year, her adventure is here.

We still missed the morning market because it takes almost 4 hours to get there by train.

FYI: The trains do not run too often in this area, so it was miss a connection to use the restroom then wait an hour for the next train or “keep going” until Katsuura.

We chose the latter and thankfully there was a toilet on the train on the last leg to Katsuura…whew!

Lunch was at Ocean, a tiny shop serving all sorts of things.

Satoshi tried their katsuo zuke don...1400 yen (tax included)

(This area is known for their large catches of katsuo.)

Raw katsuo (bonito) is marinated then placed on top of rice...he said he enjoyed this.

Kat tried the Katsuura Tan Tan men...950 yen (tax included)

This tan tan men is unlike the types with sesame paste in the broth, Katsuura style uses chili oil, large pieces of onion and minced pork.

The onion gets super soft and sweet when simmered in the broth, and amazingly the chili oil was not too spicy.

Mix everything well, so you aren’t just drinking a layer of oil 

Apparently, this dish was created to "warm" up the fishermen and ama (female divers) after a day in the cold ocean.

Loved the thin noodles!

You can find several shops in the area serving their own versions of Katsuura Tan Tan Men.

Unlike the weekday that Kat visited, this was a Sunday, so there was a line to see the hinamatsuri at Tomisaki Shrine.

Kat just took a photo from afar

After a 6 year hiatus, they brought back the large display of dolls at Kuste, the local culture center.

Since I had heard there was a slope/hill to be climbed to get to the center, I kinda didn’t want to see this display, but I’m glad I did, it was amazing to see! 

an auditorium full of dolls!

Many many dolls and many many people too.

500 yen entrance fee at Kuste, but free if you came by train and received one of their free tickets! luckily we received a free ticket.

A small sign that Spring is coming...

I'm glad Satoshi was finally able to experience this event.

Ocean

701-4 Tona

Katsuura, Chiba

Hours: 9:00-20:00 (Mondays-Fridays), 11:00-20:00 (Saturdays & Sundays)

cat cafe nyankuru

On Cat Day, we visited a cat cafe for the 1st time, Nyankuru

We were greeted by this furry one
 

For 1100 yen (tax included), you get one free drink and 30 minutes with the furry ones

I had a glass of green tea while Satoshi had melon soda

Most of them were sleeping...it was really warm inside the cafe

The furry ones weren't too active, most people visiting either watched tv or read a book

Children are asked to keep their voices down and not chase the furry ones.

It was an interesting experience and we were glad to be able to visit this cat cafe.

Nyankuru

7-4-6 Nishikamata, City Kamata 4F

Ota, Tokyo

Hours: 11:00-13:00 & 14:00-20:00 (weekdays), 11:00-20:00 (Saturdays & Sundays)

fujisan

Today is 2/23 or Fujisan Day...our favorite mountain in Japan.

It is also the Emperor's birthday...tomorrow is a holiday observing his birthday.

(photo taken at Oshino Hakkai in 2016)
 

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Went to Yokohama and went to the tea house that we went to before the pandemic, Gokuchaso

This time around I ordered their tea set...1400 yen (tax included), this comes with a char siu man, and some dried fruits.

The tea I chose was a jasmine...the price of the set is determined by the type of tea you choose.

After some instructions, I was left to just enjoy the tea and atmosphere

It was quite empty so I just "people watched" whoever was there.

My "food" came...the char siu man was piping hot

Different from the type of bao we have in Hawaii, this was "fluffy" and filled with sweet char siu, similar flavors to the kind we have in Hawaii.

Before leaving I also bought some kinmokusei (osmanthus) oolong tea...540 yen (tax included), look forward to trying this in the coming days

Then I walked around Chinatown...char siu 

Peking duck

The decorations for Lunar New Year were still up

The wind was still very icy but the sun was out and I'm glad there were not a lot of crowds

this and that

How are you doing?! It’s been fahreezing here, no snow though which makes me kinda sad, I mean if it is gonna be this cold I’d like to see at least a flurry

I’m scared for the people on the Japan Sea side, they have had non-stop snow! some cannot leave their houses, their rooftops are at its max for the amount of snow it can hold

And it looks like these conditions will only get worse in the coming years with global warming

Changing the subject, I was kinda shocked to see our Donki with cans of crab “just out”…aren’t these usually the ones that are locked up in Hawaii?!

oxalis glabra (I think), so pretty!

I wanna know how the bird (probably a crow) pooped on the pole & wall?!

keeping warm & zen

Valentine’s for Satoshi was a box of Fazer milk chocolates, he really enjoyed the ones I received from friend Lily, and I was able to find them at Tokyu, so I bought him a box.

Since Valentine’s is all for “the guys”, Kat bought her own Valentine's...mint chocolates

keeping warm and zen

this ume tree in a nearby pocket park was so nice to see

The price of rice is still super high and there is still a shortage, so much so that they are planning to release several tons of the emergency rice...I wanna know who said that there was enough rice?! 

And I want the other guy who said that it is stuck somewhere to investigate to tell us exactly where it is stuck...we're thinking someone is stockpiling it so that they can jack up the price even higher...yesterday, on the news it was said that a huge amount was illegally sold to China...sigh

NOT Tokyo People...he sure bought a lot of figurine things! oops my finger!

so purple

Tokyo People: he looked like a delivery guy

another 3 day weekend coming up here...have a safe weekend.