Every year, our friends in Japan get together and go for a camping trip. We load up a van, squeeze in, spend 3 hours driving to the Izu Peninsula and set up camp on a beautiful beach. Swimming, snorkeling, relaxing and enjoying some food, wine and beer makes for a perfect celebration at the end of a long hot summer. Plus it feels great to get out of the city and into what seems like another world compared to our Tokyo life.

After a few hours in the sun, we enjoyed some pork and chicken skewers, chicken drummies, and grilled vegetables for dinner, cooked by our friends Triston and Justyna.

Simple, fun, and exactly what I needed to remember one of the many reasons why life in Japan can be so wonderful.

Today, I wanted to take you out of my kitchen and on a journey to historic Japan instead. Before I go on, I would also like to mention that my sister is in Tokyo visiting from Minnesota. It has been a wonderful and strange feeling to have such an important part of my life at home suddenly present in a place that is so far from it.
Some days, I sit around thinking about what I wouldn’t give to have my family see what life is like in Japan. This past week has been surreal and I don’t want to face the fact that in a few days my sister will be back on a plane going home to snowy, cold Minnesota.

The photos from this post were taken during a day spent in Kamakura, Japan. The weather was crisp, and the leaves have a hint of color, making the scenery even more magnificent than it usually is. Kamakura is a gem that is not too far away from Tokyo. In just over an hour, my sis and I were transported from the intense city to a place that, although still crowded, has maintained its small town charm. From the freshly made rice crackers to the dozens of purple potato-themed goodies, the town is bursting with great culinary finds in addition to temples, shrines, and the Daibutsu.
It really is amazing how much one can find in just a short train ride from Tokyo. If you do travel to Tokyo some day and would like to maintain an affordable budget, I would highly recommend looking into day trips to Kamakura, Hakone, etc. Send me an email if you need any suggestions or help with planning!
As if spending the day with my sister in a place as beautiful as Kamakura weren’t enough, I enjoyed an amazing lunch as well; charcoal grilled pork belly served over sticky rice and topped with an oozing, luscious egg. Perfection.

As I said before, it is difficult to come to terms with the fact that visitors must leave. There is a great comfort in the familiar faces from home that is greatly missed when the time is done. Fortunately, there are always great memories to help relive the warmth and familiarity.

While we were in Kyoto, Jenn, Brad and I walked through a food market on our last day. The huge, crowded strip was packed with fresh seafood, stands serving regional specialties, and many, many more Japanese foods.

I kept waiting to take a good picture of these guys with the octopus. Once they noticed me, one just turned and smiled!

One of the most interesting things we saw at the market ended up being the dashi flakes. Dashi flakes are fish flakes used to flavor a lot of Japanese dishes. The fish looks like it’s been petrified and resembles a piece of wood. When it reaches this stage, it is shaved into the thin, airy flakes you see in the photo below. Incredible!

We saw tempura, and tea…

Mochi, a soft, chewy rice cake filled with bean paste (left) and some grilled fish (right)…

Even though the market was crowded, it was a great opportunity for Jenn to see the wide variety of foods available in Japan. Even for me it seemed overwhelming to see all of the strange and unusual foods I now consider relatively familiar. Who knew?

Today was a big day. Like, really big.

My friend Jenn and I went to Shibuya first. We paid a short visit to the “busiest Starbuck’s” for a little pick-me-up before our long day of walking, where I tried to take a picture and was reprimanded…in Japanese…and I caught it all in this photo!

Apparently, you are not allowed to take photos at the Starbuck’s in Shibuya across from the train station. This is second time I have experienced this (the first time, Brad was trying to take my picture and get a video). Apparently we are not allowed to steel their “this is how people stand in line at the Shibuya Starbuck’s” secrets. Whatever.

After our caffeine fix, we went to Omotesando. Here we stopped by Omotesando Hills (a high end shopping mall), then went to Fujimamas, an Asian fusion restaurant near Harajuku. We had a large dinner planned, so we split the Swordfish burger with black sesame mayonaise and a sweet, gingery salsa. Their cheesecake looked dynamite as well, but we had to pass.

After taking a stroll around Meiji Gardens, we headed back home to freshen up before a much anticipated dining experience. Matsusakyagyu is a yakiniku in the Futakotamagawa area, very close to the train station. Yakiniku basically means BBQ’d meat. There are charcoal grills in the center of the tables where you cook your own bite-sized pieces of meat.

Our first courses included steak tar tar, kimchee, and beef tendon in a delicious sauce served over greens. This was only the beginning of the meat experience.

The waiter sets three different dipping options in front of each person at the table. One is soy sauce, to which you add freshly grated wasabi (another do-it-yourself experience), the second is a sesame sauce, and the third is a delicious salt flavored with what I think was sesame.

After ordering, the waiter bring a cube of fat to the table. Using bamboo tongs, the fat is rubbed on the grill to keep the meat from sticking. Now comes the exciting part…

The first plate was thinly sliced beef tongue. Not usually my first choice, as my experiences with tongue have been tough and chewy, but this was different. The meat was tender and delicious. The next platter was incredible- beautiful pieces of beef tenderloin, beef cheek and rib. The meat grills beautifully and ends up with a crispy layer on the outside (the marbeling in the meat is perfect, as you can see in the photos).

After you have grilled your beef to your liking, it goes straight from the grill, into one of the dipping options, then straight into your mouth for savoring. Wash it all down with a sip of Malbec. Amazing. The final touch was a small scoop of vanilla ice cream and some barley tea. At the end of the meal, you don’t feel bogged down and painfully full either. The portions are reasonable and the food high quality. LOVE it.

Jenn and I ended the day at a restaurant our friend in Tokyo call the “Plywood Place” because we don’t know the name. It is just a little izakaya with a very ‘local’ feel. Over an appetizer that resembled the bottom of a lake, some cold sake and ika karage (fried squid), Jenn and I indulged in some girl talk.

]]> http://www.tokyoterrace.com/2009/05/words-cannot-describe/feed/ 2 http://www.tokyoterrace.com/2009/02/more-kamakura/ http://www.tokyoterrace.com/2009/02/more-kamakura/#comments Mon, 23 Feb 2009 04:01:00 +0000 Tokyo Terrace http://tokyoterrace.wordpress.com/2009/02/23/more-kamakura/

Rice crackers are probably my favorite snack food in Japan. They are light, crispy, flavorful, cheap and relatively healthy. In Kamakura, we went to a small shop where rice crackers were made fresh and sold individually for 50 yen each. As soon as I saw this, I had to try one.

The fresh rice crackers were warm and dipped in a sesame flavored glaze. The woman making them folded a small piece of nori (dried seaweed) on the bottom of the cracker. This helped keep my fingers from getting sticky and made for a delicious last bite. After enjoying our snack, we bought some small bags of rice crackers to sample different flavors. Our favorite flavor was Uni (sea urchin). They also had different curry, nori and pepper flavored crackers.

After our adventure at the rice cracker shop, we went off for more sightseeing. A lot more sight seeing, in fact. We did a lot of walking, viewed more temples and found the beach. Click here for more about what we saw.

The restaurant we went to for dinner was the perfect remedy for two tired, cold travelers. Horetaro, a restaurant specializing in okonomiyaki (savory pancakes),was a short walk from our hotel. Okonomiyaki are not like the traditional breakfast pancakes served on Saturday mornings. Instead, okonomiyaki are made with chopped vegetables, meat and seafood. The best part (aside from the taste) is that you get to make the food at your table.

The waiter brings the ingredients to the table in a bowl. Everything is raw and piled separately in the bowl, so the first thing to do is mix the ingredients to make a batter-like consistency. Once the ingredients are mixed, the contents of the bowl are poured onto a griddle in the center of the table. When the okonomiyaki are cooked through, they are transferred to a plate and topped with sauces and other Japanese condiments like soy sauce, mayonnaise, fish flakes, etc.

Brad and I tried two kinds of okonomiyaki: pork with wasabi (our favorite), and squid. The wasabi flavor was unexpected in a pancake but added a welcome bite to the dish. Enjoyed with some sake, this Japanese meal was a new and welcome form of comfort food.

Kamakura showed us a different side of Japan. We were introduced to “old” Japan through the many temples and shrines we visited and became familiar with some traditional and not so traditional foods from this little island. I hope to return to Kamakura to see what else it has to offer.

]]> http://www.tokyoterrace.com/2009/02/more-kamakura/feed/ 0 http://www.tokyoterrace.com/2009/02/kamakura-japan/ http://www.tokyoterrace.com/2009/02/kamakura-japan/#comments Sat, 21 Feb 2009 23:01:00 +0000 Tokyo Terrace http://tokyoterrace.wordpress.com/2009/02/22/kamakura-japan/

This past week, Brad and I had two days off of school. We decided to travel outside of Tokyo to escape the busy city. Since the break was short, we chose to travel somewhere that would require little travel time. The best place we found was Kamakura, Japan. An hour south of Tokyo, Kamakura feels like another time period. There are numerous shrines and temples to visit, beaches and of course, great food.

Our first day in Kamakura began with a stop at a coffee shop. We arrived around 11am and needed a little caffeine before we started sight seeing. Along with our coffee, we shared a small snack. In many coffee shops around Japan, different foods are made with hot dog-like sausages. We happened to have one wrapped in a croissant. Although this is not my favorite food in Japan, it hit the spot at this particular time.

Our first destination was the Daibutsu, or Great Buddha. The statue is beautiful and breathtaking. To read more about it and the other places we visited, click here.

After spending some time exploring, we left the Daibutsu and made a couple stops to sample local food. The first thing we tried is something easily found in Tokyo. Mochi, rice cakes covered in a miso sauce, have a great flavor and a funny texture.

They are gooey and served warm on a stick. Ours had sesame seeds on them as well.

Purple sweet potatoes are popular in Kamakura. They are used to make potato chips, lightly breaded and fried potato cakes; my favorite food made with these delicately sweet potatoes is soft serve ice cream. Yes, that’s right…purple sweet potato ice cream (pictured above). It is actually a light lavender color and tastes a little like vanilla with a hint of sweet potato. My family makes a dish at Thanksgiving each year made with sweet potatoes, brown sugar, cinnamon and marshmallows. The purple sweet potato ice cream reminds me of the sweet potatoes from that dish, only more mellow.

That night, Brad and I went to a restaurant above the Kamakura train station. It is actually two restaurants that work together. The first, Tenten, specializes in tempura while Furin serves fish and seafood. Brad and I each ordered a combination of sashimi, tempura, miso soup and salad. To help get rid of the chill that night, we enjoyed some warm sake.

Speaking of warm sake, I did a little research on how to heat sake. Here is how to make your own warm sake:

You will need:

Sake pitcher (heat resistant- most are made of ceramic)
pot of hot water
Sake

Fill the pitcher with sake. Carefully place the sake pitcher upright in the hot water. When you see small bubbles rising from the sake, remove the sake from the water. Do not allow the sake to boil. If it gets too hot the taste will be ruined. Pour the sake into small sake cups and enjoy!

I think I will let you all digest that for now. Tomorrow, I will add more about our second day in Kamakura. Thanks again for reading and feel free to share your thoughts!

]]> http://www.tokyoterrace.com/2009/02/kamakura-japan/feed/ 0