this and that

I went past that senior day care nearby and they had a pretty origami sakura tree.

Hibiya Park's tulips that Satoshi saw on his last day of work.

There was also a professional airman drawing happy faces around Tokyo. (you need to look at the photo upside down)

Satoshi didn't explain when he sent this so I didn't know what it was until the news did a story about it.

I had bought some lilies from the cute flower shop in our neighborhood. 

So happy they all bloomed.

I had this raisin bread in Asakusa bookmarked and found out it was sold at another shop also.

So when I went to the Ueno area, I picked up a small cinnamon raisin.

Packed to the gills with raisins...love!

So glad we got to try this and will definitely buy more whenever we are nearby.

Near Okachimachi is Tonkatsu Isen that has been around for at least 80 years.

They are supposedly the ones who invented the tonkatsu sandwich.

Their katsu is super tender that one is supposedly able to cut it with chopsticks.

Bummer the owner (a woman) was so cold. 

Still I'm glad we got to try them, and we will be back to try other items on their menu when dining in is safe.

The sandwich set up above also had egg salad and crab cucumber.

One thing to note is that they urge you to eat this sandwich within two hours of their making it. (um, please note that on your website!)

Was my first time to check out the cherry blossoms at Ueno.

I don’t know if they do this every year, but they had it sectioned off for one way traffic, to avoid crowding.

Too bad by the time I went most of the blooms had fallen.

Another week....leading into another weekend.

Can’t believe it has been a year since my cousin passed due to this virus.

Japan’s numbers are spiking due to the variants.

Our vaccinations are still moving at a snail’s pace.

Have a safe weekend!

Coffee &  Budopan Maizuru

3-33-9 Yushima

Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo

Phone: 03.3836.5406

Closed Sundays & Holidays

Hours: 10:00-18:00

Tonkatsu Isen

3-40-3 Yushima

Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo

Phone: 050.5456.1802

Closed Wednesdays

Hours: 11:30-21:00 

*cash only

sakura walk (tamagawa)

 I went back to the Tamagawa area last Wednesday.

Here is a short video that I made with the Reels mode of Instagram.

There was music on it when I uploaded it to IG, but lost the music when I uploaded it to youtube.

Enjoy!

sakura walk (chidoricho + kugahara)

Tuesday, it was overcast but I walked through Chidoricho and up to Kugahara.

There is a huge tree near the Tenrikyo church.

A tiny pocket park with a huge sakura tree.

The cherry blossom season is always so short.

 

lu rou fan

I have been seeing lu rou fan all around the internet.

And then Jenny posted a really ono (delicious) looking photo on her Instagram.

She sent me the site links to the recipes she used and when I went to the market pork belly that was already sliced in to “lu rou fan” pieces was marked down!

Something was telling me it was time to try.

I adapted this recipe

I had not tried lu rou fan before but thought I might be similar to rafute or kakuni.

Lu Rou Fan : adapted from Tiffy Cooks (2 servings)

238 grams pork belly, sliced 1/2 inch thick

1/4 cup fried onions

2 tablespoons shoyu

1 teaspoon five spice

2 teaspoons sugar

2 tablespoons sake

3.5 cups water

pinch of dried shrimp (see photo)

1 inch nub of garlic (sliced)

1 inch nub of ginger (sliced)

1 star anise

Saute pork until color changes

Add all the ingredients except fried onions and cook on medium-low for 1 hour.

Add the fried onions and cook for another 30 minutes.

NOTES: While this dish was really tender, I am not too sure why it was so salty.

I did add some dried shrimp because I had seen someone on tv put some into their lu rou fan.

Maybe it was from using an oshibuta (drop lid)?

Maybe I need to add more water? I re-read the recipe’s post and it said to put 5 cups water if not using an instant pot... 

Will try this again after I buy more fried onions. 

I’ll simmer it with the lid on (no oshibuta(drop lid)) and add more water.

I hope to try this again before the weather gets too warm.

Oh and I also made some aji tama, using the sauce.

Thanks Jenny for giving me that push to try this.

tokyo people x3

Uploading 3 of these here so I won't have a backload of them.

Sound off if you are watching this at work.

Enjoy! and thanks for watching.

this and that + sakura walk (tamagawa & neighborhood)

I told you the sunsets have been pretty spectacular...this one was last Thursday and totally caught me by surprise because it had been raining for most of the day.

It has been so warm that other plants have started to bloom ahead of schedule.

Like these mini azaleas I spotted on the sidewalk.

Last Friday, I went to check out the sakura near Tamagawa (Tama River).

There were quite a number of people out and about, even though the pictures look like I was alone.

At least it wasn't as krazy as the more popular spots like Ueno Park and Meguro River.

I spotted a cute dog in the doorway of a barber...I also spotted a foot near the dog and figured the owner was sitting nearby, so I took the photo from a distance so that the dog would not bark at me.

In our neighborhood, there is a very tall cherry tree...I worry that the branches will take out the power lines...

Down the street from that tree is this one.

And a little further down is this pocket park with about 6 or 7 sakura trees.

Then in back of the Family Mart nearby is this tree.

I heard that this property used to be a temple/shrine.

Ever since we moved here, I swear I can hear someone reciting Buddhist chants at 5-ish in the mornings.

(UPDATE: they cut down this tree)

This other pocket park isn't nearby to our apartment, but I had stumbled upon it on my way back from the market and marked it to check out the cherry blossoms there.

This year, no one is allowed to sit on the ground to hanami (view cherry blossom), the weird part is you CAN sit on benches to view them...some places like Shinjuku Gyoen are only taking reservations for people to enter to view the cherry blossoms.

Last Saturday, Satoshi went to a guide seminar near Tokyo Tower.

He sent me this photo of Tokyo Tower all decorated with koi (carp)

Japan's numbers are rising due to the variants & Spring Break.

Vaccinations are still moving at snail's pace.

The main branch of government is M.I.A. leaving the local branches to deal with this pandemic.

I still try to stay close to home and stay off the trains as much as possible.

My fave market has been too crowded, so have been going to the others I discovered nearby.

Anyone else have mask-ne? (acne from wearing masks)...I do because the weather has been so warm lately.

Last year my freesia did not bloom.

I wondered if I should dig up the bulbs and plant new ones.

Then this year some freesia blooms!

I'm glad I didn't give up on them.

Happy Easter, hope you are keeping your spirits up and have a safe weekend.

the start of something new

Back in December, I wrote this post, not knowing whether we would be able to stay in Tokyo or not.

If you didn’t know, Satoshi was working for a travel agency.

Over the years there have been things that have hampered travel like SARS, 9.11 just to name a few, but we were thankful that Satoshi’s company kept everyone employed.

Fast forward to this pandemic bringing business down, WAY down.

Luckily, his company was offering an early retirement package BUT only to a set number of people so even if he applied, there was a chance he might not receive the package.

We are thankful that they were even offering something, many other businesses in Japan were not.

Thankfully, he was approved and starts his “retirement” today.

Satoshi says he will study more German and eventually use his guide’s license to apply for translating/guide work.

I don’t think I can “retire” from housewife-ing though I will start to “train” him to do more around the house...

Since I don’t have to make Satoshi’s bento, I can wake up a little later...whoo!

I am also happy I don’t have to iron any more too (it's the little things!)

We are looking for somewhere to move to, but for the moment, we plan to stay where we are in Tokyo.

Hopefully this pandemic will be over soon or we can get vaccinated, so we can do things other than “stay at home”.

Just wanted to tell you what is happening and to thank you for always being a part of our adventures.