this and that

My friend J in Sendai sent us this box of frozen mochi filled with different creams (zunda, milk, matcha and hojicha) and zunda shakes.

Zunda is mashed soy beans that is sweetened.

Thank you J!
 

Tokyo People: how cute is this grandpa with his Hello Kitty bag!

Seen in Kagurazaka

Machida People: I was laughing at how this guy was sitting.

He’s an Uber Eats delivery guy

Thank you H and Greg! for the thoughtful care package.

Reconnected with this banana muffin from Paul. I hadn't been able to find it at any locations nearby, but found it in Machida!

As we passed, Satoshi was surprised when I turned around to go and buy some.

Sadly we've already eaten the two I purchased..

Miso senbei from Jinba, in Hachioji...sweet and salty...love!

Tokyo (furry) people: Tachiaigawa

Tokyo People: this guy was already tall, dunno why he had to wear elevated pink shoes!

Tokyo People: this one was already working on the 3rd!

It’s a 3 day weekend, have a safe one!

tachiaigawa

Tachiaigawa was an area featured on a local television program.

Since we hadn't been to this area, we decided to check it out.

Right outside of the station is a shopping arcade, most shops were closed for the New Year holidays.

There was a plant shop that was open.

They sold unusual succulents as well as rare plants.

Tachiaigawa (Tachiai River)

Statue of Ryoma Sakamoto, an active advocate for democracy and adversary to the Tokugawa Shogunate.

The Tosa Shimoyashiki (clan residence) is located nearby.

Bummer there was no actual objet/thing to indicate the area of the residence, just a "sign" on a fence.

Down the street, almost close to the next train station, Omorikaigan, is the Suzugamori Execution grounds which was used between 1651 to 1871.

Gruesome details of the different ways people were executed.

There was also a bridge called Namidabashi (literally tear bridge) where loved ones said “goodbye” to the prisoners before the were executed, I didn’t get a photo of the bridge 

At the Shinhamagawa Park is the Hamakawa Battery, a restored cannon.

The area was built in order to ward off the return of Commodore Perry in 1854 

We were glad to be able to check out this area of Tokyo

hachioji

Hachioji, I believe is the farthest west area of Tokyo.

It is more famously known for Mount Takao.

Since we didn't quite know what to do or see, we went in search of lunch.

And reconnected with Ippudo.

I tried their Hakata Chuuka Soba...this was delicious! the broth had depth, the thinly sliced char siu was tender, the thicker sliced char siu was super flavorful and tender, almost like kakuni!

Satoshi ordered gyoza, mentaiko rice and a bowl of shiromaru (tonkotsu) 

It's the year of the Snake.

Loved the wide walk areas

And the interesting designs on the sides of the buildings

This one was made out of all sorts of tiles

There was a geisha area

Loved the shutter art too.

It was nice exploring this side of Tokyo

machida

On the 3rd, we decided to get out early and head out to Machida.

It is still part of Tokyo, and we'd never been this way.

I was interested in checking out the Pokemon manholes that they had.

There are 6 of them in one park, Serigaya Park.

The google map points are spot on.

Loved all the sasanqua in bloom.

There were many sasanqua trees around the park

There was a graphic arts museum, but they were not open.

Enjoyed seeing some street art

And thought we could check out Maruya's taiyaki, but the info they had on social media was wrong...boo

and wouldn’t be open for another two hours

We ended up trying these croissants filled with sweet bean paste and butter...I tried the one with pumpkin and butter...the girl working the stand said she was giving out the warmest ones...ha! this was ice cold...boo!

We also went to Machida Hachimangu

And went through the "chinowa", to pray for good luck and good health

Chinowa is a huge ring made of grass like Chigaya and you need to pass through in a figure 8 pattern, 3 times, left, right, left, bowing each time before going through 

Then on the 4th time you bow and then walk straight through the ring to the altar and say a prayer

In front of the Machida library we watched a taiko & shinobue (bamboo flute) performance.

We were glad we got to check this area of Tokyo out.

It was still a bit too early for lunch, so we decided to check out Hachioji...

january the first two days

On the 1st, we did our usual things like hatsumode. No shops or restaurants were open around us, so we just laid low.

And had osechi for dinner. Nowadays we don't eat all the celebratory foods, we just purchase the ones we (Kat) like (s) to eat.

I also made tataki gobo , namasu and dashimaki egg in place of the datemaki type

I had wanted the one cup of Sawanoi sake, but the shop I went to only had this cute bottle, so that is what I got

On the 2nd, we went to see a Japanese movie, “Grand Maison Paris”

(We had seen the J-drama ("Grand Maison Tokyo") and was interested in seeing the movie)

A lot of the dialogue was in French with Japanese subtitles so I had to watch “by feel” because my French is bad and my Japanese reading is not so good

Keeping the French theme, for lunch, I wanted to check out Le Bretagne Creperie in Kagurazaka and were lucky they were open (most places were not)

They are part of the Breizh Cafe group and most of the wait staff speak French

Loved this, it made me feel like I was in France 

There was a one drink minimum and you each had to order one main dish,  desserts could be shared

Satoshi ordered the Galette Kagurazaka with white wine

Inside the galette was St Jacques crevettes (shrimp) poelees (pan fried), herbes sauce fruits de mer (herbed sauce for seafood), bechamel au crabe (crab bechamel), fromage (cheese) and creme fraiche

I ordered the Paysanne with red wine

This had potatoes, raclette cheese, sausage and a grainy mustard sauce

So cheesy and the edges of the galette were so crispy! love!

And then we ordered dessert to share...Dame Banane

Bananes poelees (Pan fried bananas), a la sauce Rhum caramel (rum caramel sauce), noix (nuts), raisins, chantilly and canelle (cinnamon)

So delicious, not too sweet, I usually don't like when bananas are pan fried, but this was delicious…total 9900 yen tax included)

A bit pricey for lunch but I hope to try other items on their menu.

After eating so much we walked from Kagurazaka down to Kanda to catch the train back home.

It was a nice day, glad we got out and about.

Le Bretagne Creperie

4-2 Kagurazaka

Shinjuku, Tokyo

Hours: 11:30-22:00 (Mondays-Fridays), 11:00-22:00 (Saturdays & Sundays)

end of december

Happy New Year!

Hope everyone had a safe holiday season.

Apparently putting the weekends and holidays together, one could have had 9 days off from work here.

Here's what we did...o-soji (cleaning) 

This year was a little more intense cleaning, since "my helper" was under the weather last year

Bad ramen at Ramen Zabuton...the broth was just shoyu, no depth, the noodles or something smelled, the menma was really l-o-n-g, the char siu wasn't seasoned and not tender and the egg was just boiled, not seasoned...

I.am.a.ramen.snob...ha!
 

One of the sunsets at the end of December

Grateful for the 93 year old grandma who gave this to Satoshi, it was so delicious!

I also learned that dried kaki which I learned as hoshigaki is also called korogaki (literally meaning dried tears)

we saw Mount Fuji from the pasta restaurant that we had lunch at one day

Krazy Tokyo People: the lady who terrorizes our cleaning lady!

She was sweeping up dried leaves in front of our building as well as picking leaves off of our bushes to throw into our lobby!

Oh, and from February until July, there will be big changes at our apartment, one is that there will be a lock on our entrance so "you know who" cannot just come in...

Tried the Craft Curry...it was just ground up roux, nothing special, glad I tried it but wouldn't buy it again, especially since there is sugar and flour in it.

Will post some of our New Year adventures in the coming days.