#sorry for the bad quality pic but I took it from across the street and don’t feel like walking all the way back to it now

[dead-malls]

Star Market. Somerville, MA. This grocery store closed in 2007 and has been sitting empty with its labelscar visible ever since. Photo taken by me 6/13/18.

[roamingmom]

You finally made it to Tokyo. Where do you possibly start?

The Japanese capitol is swimming with a whopping 38 million people. You’re likely overwhelmed and tired. So tired. The jetlag is a painstaking reality after your 12 hour (maybe longer) haul.

Depending on the time of day you arrive – you might want to take a power nap. I did and it saved me. After a quick disco nap – I could face the glorious mania that I came to see.

Shibuya Crossing

No other place in Tokyo highlights the sheer madness of the city better than Shibuya Crossing. Some accurately refer to it as the Shibuya Scramble.  People literally seap from every imaginable angle.  Picture Times Square on crack. Each street light has an estimated “2500 people crossing” at any given time.

Shibuya Crossing

Shibuya Crossing

Shibuya Crossing

Shibuya has lots of night life: restaurants, clubs and izakaya (informal Japanese bars).

Kobe Beef (a quick lesson).

We had our first dinner in Shibuya.  Of course, we went straight for the mouth watering Kobe beef. Not to be missed. The infamous Wagyu (meaning: Japanese Cattle) is good but Kobe (a strain of Wagyu) is a whole other off-the-chain level of goodness.

To be labelled Kobe, cattle must meet the following criteria:

Bullock (steer) or virgin cow.

Tajima-Gyu born within Hyogo Prefecture.

Fed on a farm within Hyogo Prefecture.

Meat processed within Hyogo Prefecture.

Marbling rating (BMS) of 6 or higher on a 12 point scale.

Meat quality rating of 4 or higher on a 5 point scale.

An overall weight not exceeding 470 kg.

Source my: Steak University

Mouth watering Kobe Beef

Kobe Beef in Tokyo

Just eat it. Once it melts in your mouth, you’ll forget the price tag.

Tsukiji Market

You have to hit the fish market when in Tokyo. If you’re a sushi aficionado – it will blow your mind. If you’re not a sushi lover – then you might be in the wrong city.

To be clear – Tsukiji Market no longer holds the famous tuna auction. Tsukiji is a sprawling outdoor street market. The tuna auction has moved to the brand new Toyosu Market (indoor). If you want to watch the tuna auction – you must apply to the online lottery.

Time your visit so you can have lunch at Tsukiji. It’s teeming with all types of traditional Japanese food but it’s best known for sushi.

Tsukiji Market

Tsukiji Market

WTF, right? – scary fish?

Delicious Sushi – Tsukiji Market

Lots of Temples

Zojoji Temple

Nestled amid sakura (cherry blossom) trees in the heart of Tokyo is where you’ll find this little gem.

The temple is the burial ground for six Tokugawa (Edo) shoguns. The shoguns ruled through the Edo period (1603 to 1867), the final era of traditional Japanese government, culture and society. The long reigning shoguns (supreme military leaders) ruled for over 250 years.

Next to the Temple is a garden rowed with small stone statues called Jizos. The sweet faced Jizo statues wear little red knit hats and sometimes bibs. They are beautiful – some are adorned with beads and others have trinkets and flowers next to them. Sadly, the Jizo represent miscarried, still born, or children who died young. In general, the Jizo is said to protect over all lost souls.

The Daibonshu Bell

Cast in 1673, it weighs 15 tonnes and tolls 6 times twice a day.

Daibonshu Bell

The Zojoji Temple is also beside the Tokyo Tower. 

Seisho-ji Temple

Not far from Zojoji is Seisho-ji Temple in the heart of Tokyo cloaked by skyscapers. This is a peaceful place of medidation and seems to be off the tourist radar.

Roppongi Hills

A short walk from the Tokyo Tower and the downtown temples will put you in Roppongi Hills.  A trendy urbanization with apartments, cafes, restaurants and shops. Also, a great place to view the sakura blossoms in April.

Sakura Blossoms

Sakura Blossoms

Sakura Blossoms

Takeshita Street

Takeshita Street is an pedestrian shopping street in the Harajuko District of Tokyo. It’s known for it’s colourful whimsical shops – popular with teens. It’s also a haven for sweet lovers. Candy shop after candy shop adorn this zany strip.

Take 5 on Takeshita Street in Tokyo, Japan

Yoyogi Park

Near Shibuya Crossing is Yogogi Park. A sprawling park with loads of green space and lots of people. Also home to the Meiji Shrine, a Shinto shrine dedicated to Emperor Meiji and his wife.

Senso-ji Temple

Tokyo’s oldest Buddhist temple dating back to the 7th Century. It was heaving with people so I took a pic from across the street.

Oldest Buddhist Temple in Tokyo

Honourable Mention

Akihabara – “Electric Town”

This is a shopping street with every electric gadget you can dream up.  Sorry, no pics.

Where to Stay

We stayed in Tokyo Bay which was perfect. It’s a little removed from the madness of say Shibuya and other downtown areas. Yet it’s walking distance to Tokyo Tower, Zojoji Temple, and Tsukiji Market.

About Tokyo

There is very little English spoken. If taking a taxi, have the name of your destination on paper and present it to the driver. Note: d/t the upcoming 2020 Olympics – English street signs are being put up.

  The taxis are clean, drivers are well dressed and typically wear white gloves. Taxis are reasonable if travelling en masse, as we do.

  The subway system is meant to be really efficient and reasonable. But see above: 38 million people in the city. I didn’t go anywhere near the subway.

  Tokyo is clean. I found myself carrying around my rubbish (sometimes for blocks) before finding a bin. A bit inconvenient but it works. The streets are spotless.

  Traffic is not that bad. Most people don’t seem to own cars and travel by subway. You can actually move around the city quite efficiently in a taxi.

  You must have an International Drivers License to rent a car. Not something you likely want to do in Tokyo, but we ran into problems later in the trip.

  The currency is Japanese Yen. Quite a few places don’t take credit cards, and International ATMS are found in all 7/11 stores. Weird, I know.

  Despite the tens of million of people  – your personal space is respected.  Nobody pushes or crowds and somehow pedestrian traffic flows without mayhem.

Japanese 101

It’s important to know a few words in the language of the country you’re visiting. Simple manners go a long way – wherever you are.

A few simple words that will win a smile every time:

Hello – Konnichiwa

Good bye – Sayounara

Thank you – Arigatou

Please – Kudasai

Good morning – Ohayo

Good night – Oyasumi

Excuse me – Sumimasen

I hope you liked this post.

Pleaes stay tuned for….

Confessions of a Geisha Stalker

How to Eat like an Okinawan

Still here? Drop me a note. Or read more below. x

The Bag On The Train

Paradise Lost

A Fiver for Australia.

  3 Days in Tokyo You finally made it to Tokyo. Where do you possibly start? The Japanese capitol is swimming with a whopping 38 million people.

[sandwichbully]

(Finally get to talk shit about) TILT, 26 October 2018

EDIT: OK, so the camera on my phone just decided that it needed time to consider maybe storing the photos. Here is a picture of the sub, I’m putting it right up front, at the top, where it needs to be.

We now return you to this evening’s episode of Sandwich Bully as it originally aired.

What you are about to see is not Tilt’s meatball sub.

   The camera on my phone just decided it didn’t want to save any of the three pics I snapped of my meatball sub that I ordered tonight only half in reference to a tweet twatted out by Tommy, because it was about meatball subs and then I got to thinking about how I wanted a meatball sub but I wasn’t going to go to Subway because Subway is fucking gross (sorry, BC, but they’re fucking gross) so I looked up “meatball sub 55404″ on the Googleplex and saw that Tilt has one and they’re like a block and around the corner from me.    Or are they around the corner and a block?    You’ll never know!    No, seriously, you’ll never know. Nobody who does know ever comes to my apartment.    Anyway, I swore I would never have a Tilt hot dog because I’m not paying seven dollars for a fucking hot dog. This is a meatball sub, though. This is different.

   Right from the menu. House-made meatballs, marinara, mozzarella, fresh basil, toasted bun. Nine dollars. A hoagie. A grinder. A real hero. The size of my dick forearm. Fuck yeah. Let’s do this. Let’s take this Twitter thing too goddamned far. Let’s get this meatball sub!    So I get to Tilt and, hey, just a reminder, they’re a pinball bar. There are tons of pinball machines. So it makes me wonder why the hell they’re playing Joy Division’s “Disorder” on the sound system when you can’t hardly hear it over all the fucking pinball machines. And then also why did they have MTV on behind the bar on mute?    So, yeah, of course I got this to go. Got a Coke while I waited.    It doesn’t take long to get my order. How could it? The guy brings me my food and asks if I’d like more another Coke. I declined and took my food outside, opened up the box and...    I’d like to take a moment to paint you a picture since the camera on my phone decided to just fail.    Close your eyes.    Shit, that was a dumb idea. How are you going to read this?    Guess I’ll just wait for you to open your -    Ah, good, you’re back.    OK, the closing your eyes part? Skip that. Just imagine that you are six years old. It’s December. You’ve been good all year. You’ve made sure of it. Why? Because there’s only one thing this year that you really really want. (In my case, being six in 1987, it would have been a Tomy Omnibot.) (But realistically, Teddy Ruxpin.) You’ve done your chores, you kept your grades up, you’ve earned merit badges, you have been the perfect child since last Christmas.    And then Christmas Day comes! You wake early, you barrel down the stairs, you attack the bottom of the tree while you wait for your parents to wake up. They come down and tell you Merry Christmas as you tear through gift after gift, looking for it! Craving it! Desiring it! The Tomy Omnibot!    One gift, two gifts, three! Four gifts, five gifts, wee! Six gifts, seven gifts, eight gifts, too! Here’s a ninth gift just for you!    ...    What?    ...    You look behind the tree.    ...    Is - Is this it?    But I - I thought - I wa-wanted the Tomy Omnibot. Your mom tries to comfort you. Get your fucking hands off me. You turn and you make it real clear to these people what kind of a disafuckingpointment this is: We had a goddamned deal. I bust my ass being a good little boy from December twenty sixth to December twenty fifth! I have not said bad words! I’ve cleaned that shit-stink catbox every day! I take out the garbage in this motherfucker! And I do it every day while pulling in straight As and not kicking the shit out of Adam Dunning across the street! I get screwed in my fucking ass every birthday because you shitheads had to birth me in January when everybody’s burnt out on buying presents! I ask for one! thing! A Tomy Omnibot! I didn’t “hint”! I didn’t “imply”! I didn’t leave fucking “clues”! I told you fuck-wits to your faces, in plain goddamned English back in April! April! that I wanted a Tomy Omnibot! You had plenty of time to save up for it, so don’t give me any of this bullshit about Santa’s factory being out of 'em! I’m six years old, I’m not stupid, goddamnit!    I’m murdering both of you in your sleep tonight! Jesus help me!

   AAAnnnddd that is pretty much how I felt when I opened the box because I had gone six hours thinking about getting a meatball sub and what I got?    What I got was not a nine dollar sub. Five, five fifty max.    Let’s address the size. Again, camera on my phone not helpful this evening so we’re going to have to use words: It fit completely on a hot dog bun. Not a jumbo hot dog bun, not a footlong hot dog bun, a regular off the grocer’s shelf hot dog bun. It had a few random pulls of mozzarella on it. No fresh basil, because there’s only so much you can fit on a fucking hot dog bun.    So I took it home, tucked it in my mouth, giggled internally at how stupid this all was that I was about to tweet Tommy a picture of a meatball sub because, hey, something good has to come out of this, and where the fuck are the pics?    Jesus help me.    So how did this taste?    How did this nine dollar, three tiny balls on a hot dog bun taste?    It tasted like I should have gone to Subway.

   Hmm? What’s that?    Oh, no, that’s the review. I’m saying that I could have gotten a sandwich twice as large for half the price that tastes exactly the same as this one at Subway. I couldn’t taste the mozzarella, any seasoning in the beef was overshadowed by the marinara, and what can I say about a hot dog bun? It’s white bread. Hell, Subway at least offers me Tuscan Herb and Sangria bread or whatever.    And I’m not just saying this because I’m pissed off about the price even though I’m pissed off about the price. I saw how small it was and I thought, “Well, maybe it will just blow my mind when I taste it,” and there I was let down, too.    Just like that day. Thirty one years ago. When everybody else got a Teddy Ruxpin Tomy Omnibot.    I really really hate talking shit about local businesses. I went over my rationale back in the opening to the Sandcastle episode but if you can’t be bothered to click the link, it’s like this: I know that one review from a barely read sandwich blog isn’t going to destroy a local business, I get where I sit in the ecosystem. That doesn’t mean that small stature gives me license to talk endless shit about somebody who put together a business plan, had to recruit angel investors and take out variable interest loans for start up capital, put their recipes and their food and their reputations on the line, and bravely ventures into an industry with an absurd failure rate.    But then there’s this part: THIS PLACE SELLS SEVEN DOLLAR PLAIN HOT DOGS AND HAS THE NERVE TO CHARGE YOU A QUARTER FOR ONIONS AND IF YOU DON’T BELIEVE ME BECAUSE THAT SOUNDS FLATLY BIZARRE, LOOK AT THE MENU.    So, I feel obligated to say it: I feel like I got ripped off. I feel like I paid twice what that sandwich was worth in terms of portion-to-dollar ratio, no matter how high quality the ingredients were, which doesn’t matter because none of them separately or in concert with each other tasted any different from the cheap Sysco crap I’m handed at any other place.    I get it, shame on me for not investigating further before putting down my debit card, I really only feel ripped off, they didn’t deliberately scam me, every clue was given that this was not going to be a satisfactory experience, and it was nowhere near as bad as the Sandcastle incident.    But still... Tilt?    Eragh...    I’m not going to say don’t give them your money. You can have fun drinking and playing Pinball there. Drink prices are in line with most other places and most of the machines take two tokens (psst! Up/Down’s machines take only one!) but I really can’t recommend eating there. Or getting it to go.