walking from futakotamagawa

Yesterday we had an errand to run in Futakotamagawa and decided to walk home.

We bought some sandwiches for lunch and had them at Futakotamagawa Park.

The park has a Starbucks and the wisteria was blooming.

It was nice to sit outside and eat for a change.

The walk was hot and there was not much scenery...well, there were lions.

And pigs.

There are tennis courts...

Not sure what this statue symbolizes...

There were a few people fishing...good way to keep cool.

Sunbathing...

All sorts of people out on the walking/running path.

Super teeny death mobile that we spotted in front of the DIY store.

And then we had a second lunch...21195 steps.

We're supposed to hit summer temps today.

Hope you are having a nice week.

tokyo people

Bummed that the song I had attached to this video had some copyright claim...um, well don't allow the song on the clips app then!

Anyway...this one is silent...enjoy!

this and that

Came across blood oranges and bought some but most were dried out...boo!

Satoshi's co-worker also received the early retirement package and they had lunch together the other day.

He gave Satoshi these sweets as a thank you! we hope he enjoys his retirement!

When Satoshi and I were out walking we stumbled upon a new (to us) area...Umeyashiki.

Love the store fronts.

Like this fruit stand that has been in business for over 70 years.

Oogoshi makes all sorts of okazuya, main dishes as well as side dishes and has also been in business for over 70 years.

We tried their kakiage, a fried mix of shrimp and veggies...so good and not oily.

Saito Seimen which has been in business since 1961 makes noodles.

The cute grandpa that makes the noodles also makes yakisoba (fried noodles).

So delicious!

Sakaeya Bakery is also run by a nice elderly couple.

It is a little farther away from Umeyashiki, but I am glad we got to try them.

Their prices are super reasonable and look at how much custard cream is in their cream pan....filled to the gills.

Nearby Sakaeya Bakery is this pocket park...with a beautiful wisteria tree!

We also picked up Kirin Coffee's atsugiri tamago sandwich...a thick omelette sandwich with a little mayo and okonomiyaki/tonkatsu type of sauce.

We look forward to eating breakfast and lunch, actually just hanging out here when it is safer to eat in.

Satoshi went on two guide excursions last Saturday & Sunday...this is where he was on Sunday...Lake Ashi.

And the Hakone Open Museum...he says it isn't for "play"....yeah, but look how beautiful the weather is.. 

He was scheduled to go to Nikko tomorrow but it has been postponed because of our “stay at home” orders.

Last Tuesday I had a dental emergency....and after some discussion with the dentist, we pulled out one of my molars this past Tuesday because the gum was so weak and every time I would eat something it would be pretty painful with the tooth wiggling around.

There is a wisdom tooth that seems to be coming in, so hopefully it will fall into the extracted tooth's space.

There might be a little loss in translation, but did you know that Japanese in Kansai (West Japan) believe that when your upper baby tooth falls out, you throw it under the house so that the adult tooth will come in straight and strong...the lower baby tooth is thrown on the roof of the house so that the adult tooth will come "up" straight and it was also believed that it would come in strong like a rat's.

I'm sad that he had to pull it out, but glad there is no pain now...and how cute is the case that the dentist put my extracted tooth in.

Japan's case numbers have taken off due to the variants.

Unfortunately, in the past couple of weeks this non-aggressive type of state of emergencies have not been working.

On top of that Golden Week is coming up and it doesn't look too good with people all antsy to travel and get out and about.

Have a safe weekend everyone.

Oogoshi

2-4-3 Kamata

Ota, Tokyo

Phone: 03.3738.2036

Closed Sundays

Hours: 9:30-18:30

Saito Seimen (UPDATE: 2024 no longer in business)

2-1-4 Kamata

Ota, Tokyo

Phone: 03.3732.2621

Closed Sundays

Hours: 10:00-18:00

Sakaeya Bakery (UPDATE: 2024 no longer in business)

1-11-9 Omori Minami

Ota, Tokyo

Phone: n/a

Hours: Tuesdays & Thursdays 6:00-18:00, Saturdays 6:00-14:00

Kirin Coffee

7-7-20 Omori Higashi

Ota, Tokyo

Phone: 03.6424.4275

Closed Mondays

Hours: Tuesdays-Fridays 7:00-20:00, Saturdays-Sundays 8:30-20:00

onolicious hawai’i’s garlic shrimp

Kathy of Onolicious Hawai'i posted a garlic shrimp recipe and I finally got around to trying it.

It was simple and tasty.

• Hawaiian Garlic Shrimp from Onolicious Hawai'i
• 12 ounces shrimp (deveined, shell-on)
• 2 tablespoons mochiko
• 1 tablespoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 head garlic, minced
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• lemon

Devein the shrimp with the shell on and dry with paper towel (I used the toothpick method to devein)

Melt butter and add minced garlic and cook for about 3 minutes.

Take out of pan and set aside.

Dust the shrimp with mochiko, paprika, cayenne & salt.

Heat olive oil and place shrimp in pan in one layer and cook for 2 minutes on each side.

Add the garlic butter back to the pan and cook for another minute.

Squeeze lemon over and enjoy!

NOTES: the only hard part for me was deveining the shrimp with the shells on. The recipe comes together quickly. I would definitely make this again.

marenoya

There is a tiny daigaku imo shop in Kamata called Marenoya.

I had them bookmarked and when Satoshi and I were out walking, we noticed a line and stood in line for these.

Small size daigaku imo and thin cut daigaku imo.

These were delicious and not overly sweet.

I liked that they didn't stick to my teeth like some others do.

The thin cut was like eating sweet potato chips coated with the daigaku imo “caramel” sauce, some were crunchy and some were not.

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

Marenoya

3-2-1 Kamata

Ota, Tokyo

Phone: 090.1777.1351

Closed Mondays & Tuesdays

Hours: 10:00-18:00

takeno to ohagi

The other day on Instagram, my friend told me about the double sakura (yaezakura) that bloom at Sakurashinmachi...thank you!

Since we were already out of the house, we made a special trip to check them out.

The whole street is lined with these yaezakura trees, so glad we were able to see this!

One place that I have had bookmarked in this area is Takeno to Ohagi.

It is a tiny shop that makes ohagi.

They are so popular that when they first opened they would sell out within the first half hour of opening!

I stood in line for 40 minutes to purchase these.

Apparently they have 7 flavors daily...so I purchased one of each.

Koshian (smooth sweet bean paste), sakura (pink), fava bean (green), berry (pink/mauve swirl), pumpkin & apple (yellow), tsubushian (chunky sweet bean paste), coconut & lemon peel (white).

These were delicious! not overly sweet.

The price for each varied but total for this was 1860 yen (tax included).

Definitely for special occasions, I'm glad we got to try this and will be back whenever I need a special gift for someone.

Takeno to Ohagi (2023 UPDATE: no longer at this address)

1-21-11 Sakurashinmachi

Setagaya, Tokyo

Phone: 03.6413.1227

Closed Mondays & Tuesdays

Hours: 12:00-18:00 or earlier if they sell out

ikegami station

Our station got a facelift last year and last month they opened up some shops in the building.

Our public library moved onto one of the floors of the station building and there is a Starbucks next to it.

Hoping to hang out here once this pandemic is over...