this and that

Mother Nature said "hey, you don't need Autumn" and slammed us into winter!

We were in single digits (Celsius) for the past couple of days...brr

oden hit the spot!
 

Tokyo People: this painter guy...he kept looking to see if he was making white footprints...he was!

Tokyo People: gotta carry the furry one out on a walk, especially when it is raining.

Looks like the temps will continue to flip flop

Have a safe weekend!

kurata pepper

Been wanting to try Kurata Pepper after seeing it on a show

Apparently Cambodian black pepper used to be the world’s best

After a war in the 1970’s the production decreased severely, and in 1997, a Japanese, Kurata, has been growing pepper in Cambodia.

I wanted to get the sampler pack but it was sold out so I bought some cashews & ripened pepper…3036 yen (tax included)

The cashews are coated with a rice powder, kind of similar to iso peanuts. 

Super flavorful, not “hot”.

Can’t wait to try the ripened pepper.

cop 29

Tuesday Satoshi flew to Baku, Azerbaijan for the COP 29, United Nations Climate Change Conference for work.

It was his first international trip since the pandemic

He was excited because he would be travelling business class!

From Narita, he took about a day and a half to get there with a layover in Dubai.

Of course, I asked him to look for the viral Dubai chocolate...

He couldn't find them and in the end got me chocolates made in Dubai...ha!

Camel milk and chocolate with dates, we'll try these soon.

He also went to the bazar (market) and purchased some tea.

Which looked like it has rose in it.

I opened it to make tea for Satoshi’s bento and it smelled fruity like a flavored tea, can’t wait to try it myself

Oh and he said the Emirates' lounge was better (and bigger) than his hotel room...ha!

Glad he came back safely.

bookroad winery

Been wanting to try Bookroad Winery’s wines since seeing her story on the television show “7 rules” 

Finally got a chance when she had a pop up at Tokyo Daimaru

The wines that she makes use grapes that she grows, and also grapes that are grown by others in other parts of Japan

I purchased a half bottle of Merlot, this used merlot grapes grown in Hyogo. This was a light bodied wine

I also purchased a tiny bottle of her sparkling wine made with Siegerrebe and Delaware grapes.

This was dry and fruity.

Apparently the label has foods that would match the wine...3267 yen (tax included) for both

I look forward to trying more of her wines in the future.

Bookroad Winery

3-40-2 Taito

Taito, Tokyo

Closed Mondays

Hours: 12:00-15:00, 17:00-19:30

thanks for today

Cousin D was here with his family.

Luckily we were able to meet up on their last day in Tokyo, last Sunday

We met at Ginza Six's Sanada, which we've been to before.

It was nice seeing them and it sounded like they enjoyed their first trip to Japan.

Another cousin C was also here with her family and we were lucky to be able to meet up on their last day in Japan, this past Saturday.

We went to Oraga Soba inside of Shinjuku Isetan.

It was nice catching up with them and it also sounded like they enjoyed their first trip to Japan.

Thanks for today C & D!

We appreciate you making time to meet up.

Safe travels!

tokyo people

Blurry Tokyo People: cleaning the grates above the walkway of the train station

these little ones were waiting for...

The Setagaya line's manekineko tram
 

They've started the construction next door.

Tokyo People: amazon delivery dude

Furry Tokyo People

Have a safe weekend!

slice of life

Recently blog friend Rick (who no longer blogs) and his family were in Tokyo

One place they ate at was a food truck called Slice of Life in Harajuku, which does Texas BBQ

Since I wanted to try, I went after my physical therapy and was there about 45 minutes before they opened at 11:30

The owner was super quiet to the point of where I thought he was rude, no “hello”, or “irasshaimase” even after I said “konnichiwa”

His wife on the other hand at least said “irasshaimase” 

When they finally opened, I ordered the A5 wagyu brisket…2700 yen (tax included)

This comes with rice, and sides

On this day, the sides were shredded cabbage and what seemed like chili

Since I planned to eat this for dinner, I asked for no rice and they took 100 yen off my bill.

The brisket was super tender! but I thought the portions of the meat and sides were really skimpy

I also took a little of their coffee sauce and bbq sauce to try but the meat didn’t need sauce and the sauces overall seemed to be bland

The foreign guy behind me ordered the plate with 3 different items (pulled pork, brisket and burnt ends, I think) he paid 7800 yen (tax included)!

I hope they gave him more food

Meh, not worth the hype