Inogashira park, Kichijoji.

Inogashira park, located at Kichijoji, Tokyo, is one of my favorite place to take a rest.

Kichijoji is a famous place as many small stores, beauty shops, and restaurants alike gathering by the narrow streets and on the corner. Seemingly, people come here to enjoy shopping.

 

 Meanwhile, it has relatively big park near the station, named Inogashira park. There is a tiny zoo inside it, many people are taking a rest, walking with a puppy. I definitely love this whole scene. 

A lot of cherry blossom trees are planted, so you can enjoy picnic in the spring.

Here, I found a picture that took this spring in the park :)

But you can enjoy this park any season. 

Summer, you stop taking a breath beneath the shade of trees. Autumn, you would be relieved to see lots of leaves are turning their colors from green to yellow, or red. Winter, we sometime have snow. Probably children are throwing snow balls on the snowscape.

There are four seasons in my country. I especially like summer, but enjoying every season as well. And it has passed more than one year since I came here to Tokyo. Yet I am not bored at all. Seasons are always changing. So is my life. I hope to enjoy my life whatever happens.

Sumida Aquarium and Sky Tree.

I visited Sumida Aquarium this week. It was a hot day, and I had a heavy camera, I couldn't help but diving into air-conditioned facility.

This aquarium is also expensive to the admission fee like other aquarium in Japan; \2,000, or about $24? ( I don't know current rate of them).

It's not big. Opened along with Sky Tree, newish sightseeing spot in Tokyo.

I like Nagoya port aquarium better... Am I a person of localism? ;)

Beautiful... but I don't like it since I can't eat it...

Sumida Aquarium is located by the Sky Tree. I also visited it.

Sooooooooooooo....

Tall ! It's 634-meter-high ! I wasn't able to catch whole shape ! By the way, it says "Solamachi", meaning "town in the sky". Although I wanted to climb up this tower, I didn't because there are numerous people lined up to be waiting to climb, I even couldn't see the head of it.
Moreover, it is too expensive to persuade me to go there; the admission fee for two observation decks are \2,000 (about $24) and \1,000 (about $12) each. If you want to climb top deck, you need must pay \3,000. I don't afford it !

From Harajuku to Roppongi.

Today I took a walk from Harajuku to Roppongi. While Harajuku is a Japan's main birth place for fashion and so forth, Roppongi is, is.... hmmm.... difficult to say ! It's a business district, as well as rich people gathering.  Well, let's take a look :)

Because I walked here in the late morning, there were few people around there.

You probably cannot imagine, but in the Christmas season, there are special illuminations by trees. And that time, there are massive people here and there. you can't run, walk faster, only you can do is just following the crowd. Most people in my country are not Christian though.

 I took some rest in the MacDonald that started new service so called "McCafe by Barista " first in this branch in Japan from day before yesterday. I have my own espresso machine in my home, for the record.

By the way, I moved to Tokyo from Nagoya last year. I was born in Nagoya, had been living in Nagoya, and I thought I will live in Nagoya forever. That time I even didn't know where Shinjuku or Shibuya is  in Tokyo. Sure, I know the name, but only know the name.

Anyway, I was astonished one thing that everything in this town are finished even bicycles that are parked illegally on the road ! It's a all the different from my town...

On this picture you can find national flag in Japan. It's unusual, seemed that Meiji emperor died 100 years ago and it's a memorial period this year.
Why is it unusual to find national flags ? There are some reasons for that. One main thing is because it's considered "The symbol of war". Mid 20th century, Japan invaded neighboring countries with waving this flag. And when we lost, many people thought flag was a kind of symbol of war. That is why we don't show flags. There is long controversial discussion whether we show the flag in the public schools.

........Sorry, it's not a place to talk about politic matters. I am terrible with it as well.

On the way from Harajuku to Roppongi, it's quite quiet. I guess most people who go to Roppongi use trains. That could be better than walking on the hot, humid street like me.

This is a symbol of this place, "Roppongi Hills". Many famous companies are in it.

It's a busy district, I may only person who had nothing to do and just shoot photographs ;)

Tofu, bean curd.

Tofu, known as bean curd is one of our common food in Japan. Like any other foods, tofu was also come down from China, but developed own way in my country. The price of it really depends on where and which one you buy, but among $0.5-$2.5 for one or two portion. Although I always eat cheapest one, $0.5, I bought $2 one today. I haven't eat it yet, I am really looking forward to taste it today !

Ochazuke, rice with tea.

Ochazuke is a simple food that is made from pouring tea with rice and toppings. This time I made it with grilled salmon and mitsuba, a kind of herb and boiled water instead of tea. Sounds difficult to make it by yourself ? Not really. Ochazuke is a simple dish as I said, so you just put what you have in your refrigerator when you want to eat it. Fish, seaweed, natto, whatever.
Actually, it was first born as a fast food. You just mixed rice and tea when you don't have time for preparing food. Since rice is a staple food in my country and all of us drink tea, we all could make it whenever we want. I myself don't eat it very much because I rather eat bread, but it is another traditional fast food in Japan.

Firework.

My friends and I did and watch fireworks last week. It's always difficult to take pictures of them...

And I found difficult to do fireworks in Tokyo as well. Many parks don't allow people to do it. So I went and asked to city hall where I should do it. They said, "There's no place to be allowed to do in this city, but as far as you don't make too much noise or someone don't call police, it might be alright."
hmmm... so called, accepted silently? Back my hometown, it has much place to do it ! I miss my hometown !

Izakaya.

"Izakaya" is a kind of the restaurant that serves foods and alcohol (but mainly alcohol) in Japan. There are a lot, lot of izakaya in my country. In the building near the stations, main streets, and so on. Actually, I normally don't drink any alcohol. I don't drink sake, whiskey, wine, anything. I only drink it when I am in my home and nothing to do like Friday's night. But only sometime.
Not like countries I traveled, many people seem to enjoy drinking alcohol both in the restaurant and their home. There are not severe restriction in this country (needless to say age restriction and so forth).
Oh, I almost forgot to say; Is this picture izakaya? Yes, but it "was" a izakaya. It's preserved in a museum near my home because of sophisticated and traditional architecture.

Kushi bar.

Last weekend I walked along the narrow street and found kushi bar. The word "kushi" originally meant "stick", but we sometime use this word with this dish in the picture; grilled chickens stick in bamboo sticks.
First I didn't know how to order, so I asked. "How to order? Just take as much as you want, and show sticks after that." The owner said to me. Any kinds of kushi were about $1 each, I took 3 of them.

There, it was a menu on the hood. Unfortunately, I barely have had a expensive to eat kushi, I had no idea what they meant. I ate three, and all of them were great :)

My Super Cub.

My motorcycle, "Super Cub 50 custom". I have a license for riding on the motorcycle, but I love this tiny, rather small engine one. This motorcycle was first made more than 50 years ago, and still producing.

To tell the truth, I didn't like the shape of this for the first time. Business-like, slow speeds, everything... You can google the word "Super Cub 50 custom" and find the original shape.. Sorry for Honda, but I hated it. So, I changed it. I changed the engine, color, even steering wheel. Many years of customizing, spent for 2 or 4 years, I finished it.

Now ? I really love it deeply ! But I left it in my hometown Nagoya because it's difficult to keep motorcycles in Tokyo. Difficult to find a parking lot (It's really difficult...), difficult to run on the narrow roads, and some bad people cut its seat or steal the parts. That's why motorcycles are not sold well in Japan these days. I like riding on it. It's not like cars though they run on the same road. Motorcycles...always love ;)

Sushi?

When you hear the word "Sushi", what do you imagine? Probably many of us think "cut fish on the rice". Yes, it's the sushi, but that's not all. This picture is also a kind of sushi ( I made it ;)), so called "Tekone-sushi", meaning "Sushi that is handmade". hmmmmm.... That's not perfect translation.... Hard to say in English since all of sushi are handmade...
Anyway, truth be told, this fish was brought near Fukushima, the place that became suddenly famous because of Tsunami and Nuclear disaster last year. I am terrible with talking about political matters, so I don't say about it. The fact is that there are good deal of a fish that was found near Fukushima in the supermarkets. They investigated carefully for sure, but should we eat them? And many kinds of fish come and go in the sea, is that safe to eat fish that was brought other place? Fish is irreplaceable for Japanese. I hope we are able to eat it safely.

Can you eat raw egg?

Let me talk about the egg today. I like eggs very much. Boiled, scrambled, fired...always taste good. But remember there is another way to eat it; raw :) Do you eat raw eggs in your country? I really like it ! When I don't have time for cooking or prefer to eat simple dish, I just put rice on tea bowl and add a egg and soy sauce. Oh, it's not cooking, just mixing ;) Nevertheless, that's extremely yummy !

There is wide spread culture to eat raw egg in Japan. Also, we eat many things in raw.

Fish, and even beefs sometime.

Fortunately, eggs are not expensive. Around $2.2 for 10 eggs. Is this disgusting to eat a raw egg? Or can you eat it?

Taiwan noodle, specialty food in Nagoya.

Taiwan ramen, or Taiwan noodle is a specialty food in Nagoya, my home town. It is called "Taiwan", but said that there is no such food like "Taiwan noodle" in Taiwan, although it has food alike.
This plate I ate was taken in the small noodle restaurant which my friend's parents run. I am one of the heavy repeater of it since I was high school student. I really love it, but any time I go there, there are not so many people sitting and eating in this restaurant. Though I always worry about it, I like something "Not popular, but only I know" things ;)