patisserie akane

Up the street from Granza is Patisserie Akane.

A tiny shop that not only serves cakes, but also serves kakigori (shaved ice)

Since we were full from lunch, instead of eating their shaved ice, we decided to just takeout a few treats from here to try later.

Satoshi chose the natsu mikan gelatin...but was given this mango pina colada...

A passion fruit, pineapple mousse,  mango gelatin  topped with coconut cream, lemon guimauve (marshmallow), orange pate de fruit and coconut roche

When the staff reconfirmed if these were the two we ordered, I didn't pay attention and just said "yes"...

Unfortunately, they charged us for the natsu mikan gelatin...this mango one was more expensive...oopsa!

When I took them out of the box for us to try, it was then I realized they had packed the wrong item for Satoshi.

He was bummed that they gave him the wrong item but he said it was still delicious

Kat ordered the coconut annindofu (almond float)

Instead of the gelatin being almond flavored it is coconut flavored.

It was topped with melon, candied lemon and a melon gelatin.

I really enjoyed this one.

I hope to go back before summer ends to try their kakigori.

Patisserie Akane

2-31-11 Kamiikedai

Ota, Tokyo

Hours: 11:00-15:00 (Mondays), 11:00-18:30 (Tuesdays-Sundays) 

granza

Have had Granza on my "to try" list ever since we moved to Tokyo and then the pandemic hit and we finally got to try them yesterday..

A tiny shop that specializes in Napolitan pizza.

This shop has also won International contests with their pizzas 

We both ordered the A lunch...1600 yen (tax included)

It comes with a salad, the vinaigrette was tangy and a little puckery.

You can choose a pasta or a pizza..for one of our lunches we chose a pasta...they had 4 to choose from, this is their tomato sauce...it also had sliced sausage and peppers...delicious and garlicky 

for our other lunch we chose a pizza...they have 12 to choose from, I wanted to try one of their award winning pizzas

This is their STG.

STG stands for Specialita Tradizionale Garantita (Traditional Guaranteed Speciality) which means that the pizza is made from specific ingredients, made with specific techniques and uses specific ingredients

To add this pizza to our lunch we had to add an extra 750 yen (tax included)

The cheese was so buttery! simple and delicious.

(The other award winning pizza had crab on it and they also give you shoyu to eat with it...to add it to a lunch set you would need to add an extra 1450 yen (tax included)! the table near us ordered it and it smelled wonderful...will need to try it next time.)

We enjoyed our lunch here and look forward to trying other items on their menu...we'll be back.

Granza

2-37-6 Kamiikedai

Ota, Tokyo

Open daily 11:30-14:30 (lunch), 17:30-22:00 (dinner)

*Saturdays & Sundays dinner starts at 17:00

**cash only

around senzokuike

In 2019, the Katsu Kaishu Memorial Museum opened up to the public where the Seimei Bunko Library used to be on the grounds of the Senzokuike Park.

We went to check it out today.

There were many videos and artifacts explaining the life of Katsu Kaishu, who founded the Japanese Navy, and who was a peacemaker.

Loved the tile!

Katsu Kaishu and his wife are buried next to the museum.

Nearby is Myofukuji.

Super peaceful.

Down the street is Yukigaya Hachiman Shrine.

Shusseishi : stone to pray for success

Before becoming yokozuna, sumo wrestler Taiho, taught some children sumo in this area.

Then, in 1959, when Yukigaya Hachiman Shrine was built, and Taiho was promoted to yokozuna, he donated this shusseishi to the shrine.

Pretty flowers.

Lots of koi nobori decorated by children in the area.

Many had wishes and prayers written on them.

It was nice to walk around and get out and about.

Katsu Kaishu Memorial Museum

2-3-1 Minamisenzoku

Ota, Tokyo

Phone: 03.6425.7608

Closed Mondays

Hours: 10:00-18:00

Admission: 300 yen (adults), 100 yen (children up to Junior high age)

friday

Friday was a holiday.

Satoshi had plans so I went on my own adventure.

I started out by getting off the train at Ontakesan Station and taking a picture of Mount Fuji from the platform.

Then walking around Senzokuike Park.

The maple leaves are brownish this year.

Lunch at Santino with Satoshi because it turned out he had some time before his adventure.

I had their Napolitan.

Made with their fresh pasta the noodles were very chewy, the flavors were so-so.

Satoshi had their eggplant with bacon pasta which was kind of soupy.

We may be back the next time we are here.

The weather was beautiful and it was nice to be out and about.

Santino
2-30-1 Kamiikedai
Ota, Tokyo
Phone: 03.3728.5188
Hours: 11:00-22:00

kume kitchen

Sunday it rained for pretty much the whole day.

Recently though, the tourism office for our ward, Ota, started a stamp rally.

Stamp rallies are promotions where you fill up a booklet/sheet with rubber stampings from various places, kind of like a scavenger hunt.

When you fill up your booklet/sheet you can sometimes trade it in or show it to receive prizes...Japan loves this kind of promotion...

Since we aren't too familiar with our surroundings yet, this stamp rally is a nice way for us to get to know the area.

Anyway, this particular stamp rally has you eat at various shops to receive the majority of stamps for prizes...

So, since the weather was yucky...we hopped on the bus and went to the Senzokuike area (one of the areas for the stamp rally).

If you remember, we visited the park in this area back in May.

The reason we took the bus was to see areas that we usually don't see from the train.

Lunch was at Kume Kitchen.

Eating their haikara donburi was required to receive a stamp for the stamp rally.

Haikara is an old Japanese term for "stylish", "modern".

The donburi had a hamburger patty, egg, grilled veggies and demi-glace sauce....kind of like a loco moco.

I thought the rice was a bit mushy, but the overall flavors were good.

We'll be back to try the other items on their menu.

Kume Kitchen
2-30-3 Kamiikedai
Ota, Tokyo
Phone: 03.6421.9517
Closed: Wednesdays
Hours: 11:30-14:00 (Lunch), 18:00-21:00 (Dinner)

greenery day

May 4 was Midori no Hi or Greenery Day.

Mother Nature decided to wake us up super early (twice) with two teeny earthquakes...

After breakfast, we went to check out Senzokuike Park.

I learned about this park during the time we didn't have satellite television and I had to entertain myself with the local television programs...

This park is super huge and beautiful, we'll be back throughout the year.

We then went to Togoshi-Ginza, the longest shopping arcade in Japan...1.3 kilometers (0.8 miles).

Lots of businesses were closed for Golden Week, so we'll definitely have to go back.

Lunch was at Ramen Enishi.

Satoshi had their mixed bowl, which was topped with pork thigh and pork belly.

He chose his broth to be shoyu based. The other choice was salt.

He also ordered the special plate of toppings.

He said he enjoyed his bowl.

I chose the mazesoba...lots of noodles, hints of shiitake and lemon, this was also topped with a raw egg, some greens, puffed grains, a slice of pork thigh and pork belly.

Both meats were super tender and a little smoky.

This was super filling, but I really enjoyed the flavors of this bowl...we'll be back.

I really liked the Tokyu Togoshi-Ginza station too, so pretty with all the wood panels.

And to round out the day bonding with Nature, a hazy sunset with Mount Fuji.

Ramen Enishi
2-18-8 Hiratsuka
Shinagawa, Tokyo
Phone: 03.3788.5624
Hours: weekdays 11:00-15:00, 18:00-22:00, weekends & holidays 11:00-21:00