Fukuoka :: Home to Hawks and Ramen

Last month, my husband had an opportunity to watch the final game of the Japan Series from the owner's box of one of the competing teams. That is not an opportunity you turn down, especially when it means you get a good excuse to take a weekend trip. I myself did not have a ticket to the game, but was happy enough to tag along for the 6 hour Shinkansen ride to Fukuoka.

Fukuoka is the largest city on the island of Kyushu. It is known for tonkotsu style ramen, my personal favorite. Typical ramen broth is made with a salt, soy sauce or miso base. Tonkotsu ramen, or Hakata Style, is made with a pork bone based ramen that is milky and very rich. One of the most famous ramen restaurants in the world (not an exaggeration) is Ippudo. If you've ever waited in that line in NY, you probably know why. Ippudo originated in Fukuoka and serves up a bangin' bowl of tonkotsu ramen. Another famous chain in Japan is Ichiran, which I wrote about way back when.

Going straight to the source. It's what dreams are made of. This humble looking bowl of ramen may have been the best thing I've eaten since moving to Japan. *WHOA* To be fair, there were a lot of factors working in its favor - it was cold, I was eating outdoors and I had just drank a 500 ml bottle of beer on my own. 

"Eating ramen outdoors alone?" you may have asked yourself. Why, yes. Fukuoka is also known for their delightful yatai - outdoor nighttime food stalls. And since I didn't have tickets to the game, I wandered around downtown Fukuoka in search of ramen. As with most places, some of the best food can be found in or near the red light districts. What can I say, pervs just know how to eat. These yatai along the river were just a stones throw away from some pretty seedy stuff. Gross or convenient, depending on who you are. 

Meal of champions. 

Fukuoka is also known for their adorable bite-sized gyoza.

The opposite of bite-sized - a sumo wrestler. November is sumo season and along with the Japan Baseball Series, there was also a big tournament over the weekend. 

It's really hard to find experimental sushi that is not gross, but I managed for find something really unique and delicious at a conveyor belt sushi restaurant in the basement of a shopping mall. This is raw salmon nigiri brushed with mayonnaise, half-cooked and caramelized with a blow torch, topped with a slice of jalapeno pepper and cracked pepper. I really wish this shop had an outlet in Tokyo because it was amazing. 

Oh yeah, the baseball. Now, as you may know, I am a big Yakult Swallows fan. The Swallows made the playoffs this year and even beat their nemesis, the Yomiuri Giants, to move on to the 2nd stage. That's not nothing. But they eventually lost to the Chunichi Dragons. Needless to say, for various reasons, I was rooting for Softbank Hawks to beat Chunichi. 

This by the way, is a bronze mold of the hand of Sadaharu Oh. Along with being a lyric in a Beastie Boys song, he is also the original Homerun King of Japan and former manager of the Softbank Hawks. 

I watched Game 7 from the Stadium Gift Shop with a bunch of die hard fans who were also ticket less. 

And Softbank won! 

Perfect Day Hakone

Last weekend I went to Hakone with my new friend Dezza. (Nickname alert!) Dezza just moved here in June and hadn't left Tokyo since arriving. So we got on the Odakyu Romance Car to Hakone and had ourselves a day of fun and nature. 

One of the best things about going on a trip is starting the day with an eki-ben, a bento from the departing station, and eating it on the train while enjoying the views of the countryside. This bento was on the more expensive side, but it included 3 pieces of chu-toro (medium fatty tuna) so in my eyes, it was worth it. 

Our itinerary. 

Cooled off with a free footbath and kakigori (shaved iced) with ice cream on top at the adorable Naraya Cafe outside the Miyanoshita stop on the Hakone-Tozan Line. 

After a short ride on a cable car and a scenic stroll across a ropeway, we got to Owakudani, which translates to "great boiling valley". And that's exactly what it is! Hakone is known for its natural hot springs and at Owakudani, you can see (and smell) the source.

If you go to Owakudani, you might as well make the mini-hike up to where they sell the kurotamago, black eggs. These eggs are boiled in the hot springs and turn black due to a chemical reaction with the sulphur. I'm sure my dad can pop in and let us all know exactly what the reaction is but let's move on. 

They say that you'll extend your life by 7 years for every egg you ate. I had 2, generously dipped in salt so...with my math that's something like 13 and a half years. Not too bad. 

Other things that are not bad: clear views of Mt. Fuji! We picked the perfect day to visit Hakone. On clear days, it's a great place to see Fuji but many people are left disappointed because it's usually too cloudy to see anything. Earlier in the week, we had a lil typhoon sweep through Japan. Generally speaking, typhoons are bad. But it did clear away the clouds and drop the temperatures for a few days.  

There are lots of "black" themed foods around Hakone, including this black steamed bun. Looks gross, but it was delicious. 

Of course. 

After taking the ropeway down, we crossed Lake Ashi in this ridiculous boat. Beers, boats and Japanese pirates. Just another day in Japan. 

And finally back down to the main station for some tenzaru soba (tempura and soba with cold dipping sauce) and cold sake at Yama Soba. 

This little dish is a specialty of Hakone. It's goopy and slimy, which is a good sign that people in Japan love it. It was very yummy and wish they had given me more. It's a mixture of wild mushrooms from the area on top of grated daikon radish. 

And of course, it wouldn't be a proper trip to Hakone without a dip into an onsen, or hot spring bath. We  went to the Yumoto Fujiya Hotel and relaxed in their indoor and outdoor baths before taking the last train back to Tokyo. Obviously, you can't take pictures in the onsen because everyone is naked, but this is the path to the hotel. Isn't my camera kind of boss?! It's a Samsung TL500 and I highly recommend it. 

And in case you doubt that I actually went to Hakone, here is proof! A certificate from the Hakone Tourist Association!

Hakone is only an hour and half away from Tokyo on the Odakyu Line from Shinjuku. You can do it all in one day like we did, or you can book a night in a traditional ryokan and really experience Japanese hospitality and cuisine. It's a great trip either way.

An Unexpected Trip To Nagoya

Hello friends. It's been a busy and stressful week but thankfully, it's starting to chill. We woke up Tuesday morning to some grim news about an emergency unfolding at the Fukushima nuclear power plants. The news sounded scary but I didn't panic until I started getting emails from work telling me the office was closed and to stay home. People, (mostly foreigners and women and children) started making plans to leave the city and head south or home; basically anywhere far away from the reactors. Long story short, we went to Nagoya where Squidward's firm rented temporary office space for them to work from while things cooled down (no pun intended).

Were we in any immediate danger? In retrospect, probably not. But you know what? When people start panicking around you and the words "radiation" and "nuclear meltdown" start getting thrown around, your natural reaction is to panic too. I'm not an expert on nuclear reactors and as adorable as the Chief Cabinet Secretary was in his workman's jumpsuit, he wasn't giving out a lot of information at the time.

So we're back in Tokyo now. I had heard that Tokyo was totally normal despite reports of a mass exodus. Tokyo is definitely not normal right now. Sure, shelves are fully stocked and there are people around, but this is definitely not the Tokyo I left on Tuesday. The city is dark. Literally. Many shops and restaurants are closed or open for only lunch or dinner. The famous Shibuya lights are off, trains are running at reduced schedules and most escalators in the subway are off too. This is all in an effort to avoid blackouts.

So, what'd I do in Nagoya? I tried my best not to watch a lot of news, especially western channels. I watched a lot of news stories twice - the original broadcast in Japanese on NHK which reported the facts and then the CNN version which was made to make me cry. To be quite honest, I was totally confused by all my friends' Facebook statuses telling me that they were in tears over what they were watching. I totally get it now.

I visited the Nagoya Aquarium on a quiet Wednesday afternoon. It was the perfect place for me to reflect and take a deep breath. I've been to quite a few aquariums in Japan and this one is pretty well put together.

We were hearing that food and supplies were running scarce in the Tokyo area, so ABC Cooking School friend and I picked up some stuff to donate to Second Harvest Japan. We looked pretty cool buying 12 packs of ladies sanitary napkins and baskets full of Soy Joys. 

By the way, this is where I recommend donating to Second Harvest. They have trucks making daily runs to Miyagi Prefecture, where the tsunami hit. These trips don't pay for themselves!

Ate some delicious food such as this inside out オムライス (omelet rice). 

My favorite Nagoyan treat? きしめん. Kishimen are flat udon noodles and they're a Nagoyan delicacy. They're cheap and fun to slurp. 

Took a day trip to Ise which is famous for it's shrines, most notably Ise Jingu, the holiest shrine in Japan. Kyoto is also known for their shrines, but the ones in Ise are not like anything I've ever seen in Japan. They are simple, very traditional and even though the majority of the site is off limits to the public, it's still a great place to visit. This might be the one place in Japan where you can't find a vending machine. It was a nice peaceful day. We just walked around the forest that surrounds the shrines and took in the 500 year old trees and power spots. 

What is a power spot you ask? Well, this is a relatively new craze in Japan. Crash course in Japanese spirituality: In Japan, there's Buddhism and there's Shinto. If you're Japanese, you are Shinto. Shinto isn't a religion, but more a spiritual guide. Many Japanese are both Buddhists and Shinto. Shintoists believe that their deities take the form of rocks and trees and some of these rocks, trees and shrines have been deemed "power spots" by travel agencies. 

 This explains why so many people were hugging trees and waving their hands over rocks throughout the forest. 

 On our way back to Tokyo, I ate some delicious red bean filled mochi while whizzing by the countryside. It's hard not to think about how acres of land that looked just like this just a week ago are completely gone. 

And on that, I'm going to end with a few more donation options. 

The True Test of Love :: Climbing Mt. Takao

Mt. Takao is located just 52 minutes from Tokyo on the Keio line. If you're in Tokyo and want to work off some of those ramen, katsu curry and cream puff calories, spend a day at Takao-san. I used to think that the -san added to the end of mountains in Japan was a cute way of showing respect to nature. "Mr. Fuji looks beautiful today!" Doesn't that just seem like a very Japanese thing to do? Well, I was wrong. It is actually the on-yomi, or Chinese reading, of the character for mountain 山. (The kun-yomi, or Japanese reading of that character is yama.) 

There are 7 trails to choose from and a cable car that will drop you off halfway up the mountain. On this particular day, we took the Inariyama Trail up and followed Trail #3 down. They were challenging but not impossible and served as a nice cross training day for me. There's a good combination of man-made and mother nature made steps. If you can muster up the leg muscle and are a little lucky, you'll be rewarded with a clear view of snow topped Fuji-san in the distance. In the first photo, all the way to the right, you can sort of see it/him/her. 

There are a lot of snack shacks at the peak selling food to help you refuel for your descent. One of the signature dishes in the winter time is とろろそば (tororo soba). Soba, as you probably know, are Japanese buckwheat noodles served either in hot broth or with a cold dipping sauce. The white goo on top of my soup is raw grated nagaimo yam. Japanese people love slimy food. Have you ever heard of natto, or fermented soy beans? Slimy. Super slimy okra? They love it! Well, leave it to the Japanese to find the food that most resembles mucus and turn it into a delicacy. It doesn't taste like much but was fun to eat. However, it did make the noodles extra slippery and kept falling through my chopsticks. They really make you earn it at Takao. 

There's lots to see and do on the mountain. Since the longest trail is only about a 90 minute hike, spend some time taking in the sites and attractions. There's a buddhist temple, monkey park, waterfalls, creeks and a beer garden just to name a few activities. Along your hike, you'll also come across little statues begging to be photographed. such as these little dudes in red caps and bibs and that angry fox. 

This was actually my second time climbing Takao-san. I tackled Takao-san alone the first week I arrived in Japan. Blammo was on a business trip and had also hiked it solo before I got to town. If it seems weird that we did it separately, it's not. Apparently, there's a superstition that if you climb Takao-san as a couple, you will break up. YIKES! Some people swear by it and discouraged us from doing it. Other Japanese friends had never even heard of this so-called love curse. 

Perhaps it's our New Year fortunes, but so far, Blammo and I have not parted ways and do not currently have plans to do so. (To my knowledge.) You're apparently not supposed to eat together at the McDonald's in Kichijoji either. I think we may need to test that one out now that our love has stumped good 'ol Mt. Takao. 

Surviving Saitama

I mentioned earlier that I went to Saitama this weekend and it was a lot of fun. People in Tokyo like to rag on Saitama. They jokingly refer to it as Dasai-tama. (Dasai means lame in Japanese) Sure, maybe you wouldn't want to live there if you're young and like to party but the area has a lot to offer in terms of weekend excursions, nature and history. I've never been to an onsen, or Japanese hot spring, so my friend offered to take me.

I started off the day taking the Shonan-Shinjuku line from Shinjuku Station in Tokyo to Omiya Station, the biggest hub in Saitama. It took 30 minutes and couldn't be easier. From there, I met my two Japanese friends and headed to a rental car dealer to pick up the pink Toyota Fritz above. If you've ever wondered what the majority of people in Japan drive, it looks a lot like a Fritz.

Cute car...but it's just not that cute when you have a semi-nervous/rusty driver at the wheel. Aside from showing me how great onsens are, the other reason for this trip was for my Japanese girlfriend to dust off her driving skills. I really didn't think twice about this, but WHOA...it got dicey here and there. A few things I learned in the car:

1. Freeways are expensive in Japan. We drove for about 20 minutes on the freeway and had to pay about $20. Ouch. 
2. If you slow down on the freeway for traffic, you turn on your warning signal. Safety first! 
3. When you rent a car that cost $22 a day, don't be surprised of the rearview mirror falls off the window. 

 First stop, Nagatoro for a boat ride down the Arakawa River. This was pretty fun and an unexpected addition to the trip. It turned out to be a really nice day to float down the river. Parts of the ride were a little bumpy, but the combination of smogless air and lush green mountains put me in a state of chill.

Next up? Off to Chichibu for lunch and some hot baths. We arrived at a small ryokan tucked away in the mountains of Chichibu. At first, things looked a little grim as we walked up to a run down building, cobweb covered building. But hiding right behind it was a charming little inn that served up one of the most satisfyingly delicious meal I've had in Japan thus far. Whoa. 

Why so yummy? Everything tasted really good, but beyond that, it was the perfect snapshot of what makes Japanese food so good. It was light but filling and had balance. The meal started off with hot green tea and grilled fish caught in the local river. Then fresh soba, a local specialty, with fresh mountain veggie tempura. We got 3 kinds of sauce for the soba. The dark sauce in the bottom right is regular mentsuyu sauce. To the right is a special local sauce made from walnuts. Aove these two is ground Japanese Mountain Yam, torojiru. This was new to me. I've seen it used on TV shows, but this was my first shot at eating it. It doesn't taste like much, but the texture is unlike anything I've eaten before. It's super gooey and slides right down your throat. The way to eat it is to pour (not easy) some into the dipping sauce, then dip your noodles and eat. It was also nice to eat tempura that went beyond plain onions, green beans and yams. Half of the fried veggies were unrecognizable to me and my friends, but they all tasted great. 

See mom, I ate it all! For dessert? A piping hot bath outdoors with natural spring water. Different onsens claim that their water has a special healing power. Our bath water was supposedly good for whitening your skin. Aside from being completely naked (no bathing suits allowed) in front of my friends, it was very relaxing and I look forward to trying out other onsens in the area. A few notes about public bath houses in Japan: 

1. If you're modest about nudity, onsens may not be for you. 
2. Baths in Japan, even at home, are not about cleaning yourself. It's about relaxation and is a very big part of Japanese life. Even at home, you shower first, then get into the bath. Bath water is often shared between family members and roommates. 
3. You must strip down to your birthday suit and bath yourself thoroughly before entering the baths. Nooks, crannies, the works. The bath area is in front of the bath so everyone can see how well you cleanse. 
4. Never dunk your head below the water. 
5. A lot of guidebooks will tell you that you cannot go to bath houses if you have tattoos. That is a slightly outdated rule. This was a roundabout way for bath owners to turn away yakuza members without actually having to say it was because they were gang members. 
6. Bring a small towel with you to help wipe away sweat and cool yourself off. It can also help shield your bits from the other bathers.