this and that

cold sweets at Okagean (the Japanese food version of Komeda Coffee)

this place is always easier to get into (the Komeda Coffee next door always has more people waiting in line)...

they offered us a choice of where to sit...one table was the deadly one we had the last time we were there, so we chose the other table that they had available...

Satoshi had their matcha mixed soft serve while I had their Nishio matcha shaved ice…so good and very needed in this blazing weather 

Doyo no ushi no hi... Satoshi and I shared one unagi for dinner the other night

I topped our unadon with myoga and okra

the heat is brutal this year, we'll need all the help we can get to survive the summer..

The sunset on Saturday night

Tried the hiyashi chuuka at Gyoza no Osho, not sure what type of sauce it was (because of the black bowl) but the lemon added a lot of brightness to the dish and was really refreshing.

This cold pasta dish at Kamakura Pasta was so refreshing.

The “sauce” was a gazpacho type "soup" topped with amaebi (northern pink prawn), edamame, zucchini, eggplant, basil and tomatoes...

Since I had so much "soup" leftover, we ordered a piece of bread to mop it up.

I thought it was kind of ironic that this shop let me order a piece of bread, remember the one that wouldn't let me when I had a salad? it is actually the same company different "brand" 

I had envisioned a teeny piece of bread, but it was quite huge.

Would definitely get this pasta dish again.

I will be on summer vacation starting today.

I hope you have a nice summer...be well, be kind

live and learn

if you remember, back in April I found this...

well, this past Sunday was the day that started the 2 month period for me to pick it up.

we should've read the police report because the department that handles the monies aren't open on weekends or holidays...boo!

so we went all the way over to the station for nothing...

Satoshi was upset but we should've read the report...

Yesterday was a holiday, so I went back today.

Like most Japan public offices, you need to show them your paperwork, show identification.

Then they make you wait...thank goodness not for very long

I had to sign that I received the 5000 yen bill and was on my way.

On the way home I stopped in at Shirai to buy us some inarizushi and dango with part of the money.

All in all this was a good learning experience.

sunday morning

Sunday morning, I checked on the cocoon and it looked like it would emerge at any time...

After showing the photo to Satoshi, I went back out on the lanai

And it had already emerged from its cocoon!

I ran back inside to get my phone

And barely got this video...

I think this is the same species that we had last year and even if this species is not good for my blood orange plant (because it eats the leaves), we were still happy to be able to see it emerge and go on its way.

arakawa & kita

Yesterday, we went to check out the other half of the Toden Arakawa Line (Tokyo Sakura Tram line)...if you missed the previous adventure (Oji to Waseda) we went on before.

Minowabashi is the east end of the line.

We realized they have a 1 day pass (400 yen for adults), so we decided to get it for this adventure.

Loved the street art nearby

Buy the 1 day pass from the teeny kiosk near the Minowabashi station.

Show the pass to the driver as you get onto the street car

Our first stop was Higashiogu 3chome...

To look for Suzuki Seiya's MLB manhole cover, which was located in front of Soma Kogyo, a metal factory

(The artwork was done by Yu Suda.)

The factory was closed, but we talked story for a bit with another couple who had gone to see Sugano Tomoyuki's manhole cover

We hope to check out the two others in Kanagawa Prefecture soon! (probably when it gets cooler)

Lunch was at Donpey, a tonkatsu shop...was featured in "Kodoku no gurume" ("Solitary Gourmet) season 3, episode 10

Also if you have watched "Shinya Shokudo" ("Midnight Diner"), the stripper, played by Ando Tamae, this is where she grew up and apparently her brother runs the tonkatsu shop

The tonkatsu comes with a housemade demi glace sauce poured on top, if you want the sauce on the side you need to tell them when you order.

Satoshi had the full sized teishoku while Kat had the half size...total 2250 yen (tax included)

I was surprised that the breading of the tonkatsu was still crisp even with all that sauce on it.

The demi glace sauce seemed to be tomato based and not too rich

The pork was juicy and super tender.

Kat had mugi gohan (barley rice) while Satoshi had white rice

Kat didn't have miso soup while Satoshi did.

The food comes out quite quickly and we were glad we got to try this place.

Across from the Miyanomae station, is the Ogu Hachiman Shrine

At the Arakawa Shako Mae station, there is a tiny area with these two retro street cars

The retro street cars are right next to the "garage" for the street cars that are running on the Toden Arakawa Line

From there we went to Oji and checked out Meijido

I love this bakery and have to come whenever I am in the area.

Went a little krazy since it has been awhile...we got okara doughnuts, satsuma imo (sweet potato) sesame bread, apple pie, chicken katsu sandwich, mentaiko sandwich, chocolate danish and milk france…1920 yen (tax included)

As we walked to JR Oji station, we stumbled upon a replica of the Nagasaki Peace Statue

Apparently the people who live in this part of Tokyo want to strive for peace in the world so they asked Kitamura Seibo, the sculptor who made the Nagasaki Peace Statue (and also an honorary citizen of this area of Tokyo) to make a replica for their ward.

It was blazing hot and humid but we were glad we got to see and do all that we did.

Donpey

2-2-5 Nishiogu

Arakawa, Tokyo

Closed Sundays

Hours: 11:00-13:30 (lunch), 17:30-20:30 (dinner)

*cash only

marugame seimen

Wanted to try the summer version of Marugame Seimen's udon bento

I looked at my archive and realized I tried it but this year's version was different and had 3 variations:

One with more veggies and buta shabu (poached pork)...690 yen (plus tax)

Another variation is buta shabu with ume…690 yen (plus tax)

And another variation is daikon oroshi with ume...430 yen (plus tax)

I tried the one with the veggies and buta shabu...

I added daikon oroshi (90 yen plus tax) and added my own ume because I wanted to try all the different versions at once...bu bu! (sound of a pig in Japanese)

I enjoyed this, besides the eggplant, okra and pork, there was kinpira and tamagoyaki…lots of food!

I was going to get Satoshi the same thing but then I saw their special for the summer...cold shio seafood udon...920 yen (plus tax plus 50 yen for the container), so I got this for him instead.

The broth that they give is shio (salt) based...they also give you green onions (not pictured)

Satoshi said he enjoyed this.

I'm glad we tried these.

Marugame Seimen

Le Front Kawasaki 2F

Closed when Le Front Kawasaki is

Hours: 10:00-21:00

ps Tokyo's rainy season ended yesterday, which leaves us with blazing weather and maybe typhoons here and there

this and that

not sure but think it was my 1st time trying City Bakery's brookie (brownie cookie) super chocolatey! love!
 

This melon ice bar was junk...way too sweet and no fruit juice in it at all.

Satoshi liked it though

Loved this choco mint  cup...that chocolate circle goes all the way down to the bottom of the cup! 

Zunda (sweetened edamame) anpan from Yashi pan...different but delicious!

Tried a new (to me) musubi from Family Mart...ume okaka, this was delicious! ume filling on top and okaka (bonito) on the bottom...would get this one again

while looking for ice cream at Family Mart, I stumbled on these frozen fruit thingies by Aohata, the company that makes those cool jars of jam.

Bummed that they didn't have "pairs", so we could both try each one, but these were refreshing!

Found these new (to me) furikake by Hagoromo, which makes canned seafood, especially tuna...looking forward to trying these.

Found these again!

As the post uploads, Tokyo is still in rainy season...and boy did it rain this week.

The gross part of it was it was still super humid.

Lots of places flooded because they had these "bands" of rain that only fell on the same area for a long period of time.

It's the start of a 3-day weekend, have a safe one

tsukune

Tried these pre-made tsukune the other night.

Just cook in a frying pan, no need oil (lots came out while cooking!)

7 pieces...299 yen (plus tax)
 

We ate these with chive sauce and a little black vinegar

Would definitely get these again!

finished

the reno guys made a bench for people to sit outside...

that table is tied down with cable...hoping no one steals it.

and a little nook near our lobby

They are still renovating the empty apartments in our building, so it is still noisy, but I think the bulk of our renovations are over

 

confirmed

the other day, I confirmed that the feathery one...
 

comes to check on the bugs

though I also think it might be one of our ancestors in another form...

sounds of summer

Sunday I went to check out the furin (wind chimes) at Ikegami Honmonji.

Apparently there were 500 of them hanging from different areas on the temple grounds

But first, gotta climb up the stairs...

Was surprised to see cosmos...usually we see them in the Fall

There was still some hydrangea here and there

Here's a short video of the wind chimes...

The semi (cicada) were chirping too

Usually when the cicada start it means that our rainy season is over...

That hasn't been officially declared, so we'll have to wait to see what the weather dude says in the coming days.

The other night we had a major downpour...flooding all over Tokyo

Then the temps dropped 10 degrees...that was nice...

We're back to humid and hot...

There is a typhoon approaching...#5 (Nari) hope there won't be too much damage if any

Have a good week

kanno seimenjo

In our neighborhood, we have a noodle maker, Kanno Seimenjo.

In business since 1949, they supply over 3800 restaurants in Japan

Not only do they make ramen noodles to match different types of soups, but they also make some dim sum items like gyoza, shumai, spring rolls and nikuman (pork bao), oh and pasta too.

I had no idea they were very popular.

Over the years, the factory that makes the noodles was relocated from our neighborhood to other areas of Tokyo.

What’s left in our neighborhood is their office and distribution hub.

In the mornings, you can see their tiny trucks lined up in front picking up their orders of noodles to be distributed.

Will try to see what things they sell to the public so we can try.

eggplant gyoza

Tried a new (to me) recipe yesterday, eggplant gyoza

In the past we've tried recipes like this one and this one that substitute other things for the wrappers

This recipe uses eggplant as the wrapper

Eggplant Gyoza : Lettuce club 7/2025 : 2 servings (12 gyoza)

3 eggplant

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon oil to pan fry

Filling: 150 grams minced pork

1/3 of a bunch chives, minced

3T green onion, minced

1/2 clove garlic, grated

ginger, minced

1 teaspoon miso

1 teaspoon sesame oil

Dipping sauce: 2 tablespoons shoyu (soy sauce)

1 tablespoon vinegar

After cutting off the top of the eggplant, slice it lengthwise to about 7 millimeter thick slices

Sprinkle  the eggplant slices with salt and let sit for about 10 minutes.

After the 10 minutes, squeeze out as much water as possible

Mix the ingredients for the filling

Put 1 tablespoon of filling on 1/2 of the eggplant slice, fold and fry in a pan heated to medium with oil

Fry each side for 3 minutes

Use dipping sauce and enjoy!

NOTES: I think my slices might have been a little thicker than the 7 millimeters, so I used toothpicks to hold the gyoza shut

Then took the toothpicks off when the gyoza got limp enough to stay shut

I think maybe zapping the slices in the microwave might have been better, so that they would release more water and "fold" better

Especially the "ends" of the eggplant  which had more "skin" than flesh was the toughest to "fold"

In Japan they sell chives in bunches, about 1 or 2 inches in diameter...so I used 1/3 of that

I didn't have green onion, so I left it out

I ended up cooking it longer than the 3 minutes on each side

For the dipping sauce I used black vinegar and pepper.

We enjoyed this and gyoza snob approved this too.

I'll try this again, hopefully it will be easier to do the next time.

this and that

This lychee bar used Okinawan salt and 12% lychee fruit juice...this was really refreshing.
 

Replanted the blood orange...its root were coming out of the bottom of the pot and the leaves were turning yellowish!

Need to buy a little more soil to fill up the pot...

black sesame banana soy milk smoothie from Vie de France...I should've drank it at the bakery, but walked all the way home...so I added some ice when I got home

You can choose between milk or soy milk, I chose soy milk

Loved that this was sweet only from the banana.

Would get this again.

Akita ice cream...Chigama ice...Satoshi said this was like sherbet

We had this after seeing the movie "Kokuho", sat in the balmy shade and enjoyed this

I chose the chocolate banana...eat fast, this drips!

Yesterday I had my yearly physical, I usually try to make the appointment for the morning, but when Satoshi called for me they only had afternoon times, so I was hangry by the time I finished at 13:45

if I did eat something it was supposed to be a piece of bread with nothing on it or udon without any seasoning, no milk, eggs, sugar or fats and it had to be done by 7:00...

I decided to drink a cup of almond milk, for some protein...oh and I had to stop drinking water 2 hours before my appointment, but with the heat being as brutal as it is now, I stopped an hour before my appointment instead of the 2 hours...hoping my numbers will be okay...

This was my lunch...cold brew, pastrami broccoli sandwich and a doughnut at Vie de France

This pineapple soda bar had 30% pineapple juice, was delicious and refreshing!

guess what I found on my blood orange...guess I missed this one,  I wonder if that was what the pigeon was checking out...

I think I might cut the leaf when it turns to a chrysalis so we can see what kind of butterfly/moth it will be

This morning I checked and it had already turned into a chrysalis, and is positioned pretty well between the branch and the leaves, so Satoshi suggested we just let it do its thing outside...hope to see it when it turns into a butterfly/moth

yesterday was 7.10 = natto day...for our bakudan bowls, I had purchased this maguro with avocado from the supermarket, it came with this spicy sauce and egg sauce in those genius packets that you can find in Japan...the packet squeezes out both sauces out at the same time...

The spicy sauce seemed like a kochujang type and the egg sauce was a oozy egg type

Last night we had a major thunder lightning and rain storm...luckily Satoshi came home before it really poured

Some areas of Tokyo flooded with the krazy downpour

3rd peach of the summer...way better than the last time I posted about peaches.

How's this blingy beetle?! when I passed by in the morning, I took this photo, but on my way home, I noticed it got squooshed...boo!

Oh, I forgot to mention that at the beginning of July, the property management changed the name of our apartment building...as V suggested maybe the owner changed...anyway, what p.i.t.a.

Hope you have cooler weather than we do, have a safe weekend.