Snackventures With Paulina (Japan – Autumn 2018 Day 13)
The Boys wanted to have their own adventure today. Paulina wasn’t feeling great after yesterday and I did not want her to spend the day alone, so I stayed with her.
She expressed the desire to have Okonomiyaki so it was decided that we should go to Monja Street near Tsukiji – I liked that place that Chris took me to so much the other night, so we went there… but it was closed! Turns out that it was only open during dinner hours, and we were there shortly after lunchtime.
We roamed the street to try and find a restaurant that looked good – about half of them were closed, I’m assuming because it was after lunch and mid-week. This still left a good selection of places to eat monja or okonomiyaki… however, we got distracted by two melon pan bakeries so we stopped to purchase some… one was from a place that I had previously visited with Kyle in 2015 that I knew I loved, and one was called Tokyo Melon Pan, which I had not tried before.
I tried this back in 2015 and had to have another!
Tokyo Melon Pan – many varieties of melon pan there.
We saved our melon pans for later, in favor of finding our late lunch. Finally we settled on a place with an enthusiastic dude who asked us to come in – we chose to share a curry monja!
Curry Monja!
It was DELICIOUS and I’d definitely come back for food again! Part of the fun is cooking your own food but it was made even better by the guy who asked us to come in – he was very friendly and ended up talking with us about where we are from respectively and music – turns out that he really likes a Swedish band called Mando Diao! He was so enthusiastic and full of personality that we had to have our photo taken with him.
He reminded me quite a bit of Natsuki, Chris Broad’s friend and a frequent personality that appears in Chris Broad’s YouTube videos… awesome dude!
The monja was just enough to make us more hungry… but we saved our melon pan and opted to eat some cheap yakitori instead – again some food that I enjoyed with Kyle back in 2015 and wanted to try again.
Awesome Yakitori!
My memory of how good this yakitori is was spot on – very happy that we went here! Paulina seemed to enjoy it too.
We continued on our way… the ultimate destination being a place fairly nearby that serves takoyaki for a cheap price. On our way, we saw:
empty streets:
I felt the need for a selfie because my hair was sort of behaving. This is probably because the humidity was the lowest it’s been so far this trip:
The photo is blurry, and I am only just now noticing this as I’m writing this blog entry. Oops.
Police station was adorable – I’ve been meaning to snap a photo of this for the past three trips here:
Police station on Monja Street
On our way to takoyaki, we saw Tsukiji Hongwanji, a temple founded during the early Edo period in 1617. The original building burnt in the Great Fire of 1657. The current building was built by architect Chūta Itō – he was asked to build it in the style of Indian temple architecture and the results are stunning!
The temple was about to close for the day, so we only got to peek inside as they were shutting the doors to the shrine – perhaps I can fully explore the building another day.
Just up the block was the takoyaki place – Tsukiji Gindako – Gindako is actually a chain. I was hesitant to try them because I am not a fan of octopus, but Paulina talked me into trying hers… it was delicious!
Topped with a teriyaki type sauce, bonito flakes and a little mayo, it was great – the octopus was fresh, and was not chewy or super fishy tasting – it was just right! I’d eat it again.
Tummies full, we went home… I edited photos and a few hours later Paulina, Zack and I went for a walk and got CoCo Curry to go, ate at home and now I’m getting ready for bed. Paulina dubbed the day a “snackventure” and it was indeed!
Laid Back Day (Japan – Autumn 2018 Day 7)
It was just one of those mornings where I did not want to do or think about anything important… so I didn’t. Well, sort of.
Our AirBnB has been cozy but also not healthy – the entire bottom floor has a moisture problem, which I am certain is perpetuated by tennants not taking good care to ventilate the place and the owner not properly cleaning. The shower area was a disaster… mold and mildew everywhere, and I don’t mean just a little… A LOT.
Cleaning supplies were purchased… and I spent almost two hours yesterday morning just scrubbing the shower and tub area.
T W O H O U R S. It’s a small area too but there is tile and every single tile grout surface had mold. I was really tired after that so I took a shower and rested, then tidied up in one of the living areas. For someone who doesn’t have kids, I surely get into “mom” mode a lot.
The guys had been out at Karaoke the night before and all had hangovers… Paulina and I made plans to meet up with Chris for lunch at A Happy Pancake – a restaurant that serves soufflé pancakes! I have been seeing videos for a couple of years about them… Simon and Martina’s video on YouTube stands out as the one that REALLY made me want to try these pancakes. You can watch that here:
Paulina and I took a train to Omotesando…
I snuck a photo of sleepy commuters on the way to Omotesando.
we had some time to kill before meeting up with Chris so we decided to walk around the winding backstreets of the area to look at the trendy shops where you can find all manner of things… from used clothing to high end fashion and every item in between.
When in Omotesando, do what the Omotesandians do.
One of our destinations was B-Side Label, a store that I always make a point to visit when I am in Tokyo… their stickers are all made right there, and the artists that provide designs are all local as well so this makes me feel good about purchasing items there.
Every trip into this store is a sensory bombardment, from the colorful stickers and products to the employees filled with personality and friendly conversation… once again I forgot to actually take photos IN the store but here is a photo of the outside!
Here I am with two of my furry friends outside of B-Side Label.
As per usual, I had a difficult time choosing exactly what labels would be coming home with me and to make the choice an even more difficult one, they had limited run Halloween editions of some of their favorite designs as well as new Halloween designs – that’s mostly what I purchased, since one they’re gone… they’re gone.
The stickers that I picked up today at B-Side Label… these were a very small selection of the ones that I wanted most!
After spending a long while at B-Side, we wandered toward the main street toward Kiddeland and found some… unusual stickers on the pedestrian overpasses – this is one of the things that I enjoy about Omotesando & Harajuku… random stickers and grafitti.
Looks like some random couple wanted to leave a more personalized mark on the sticker colelction!
“look at all of these stickers!…. oh.”
We browsed Kiddeland and then heard from Chris that he had arrived near the location of the soufflé pancakes, so we met him there.
My soufflé pancake at A Happy Pancake had a beautiful berry compote – a little too sweet but definitely complex in flavor.
Foreground: Pumpkin Raisin – Left Berry Compote – Right – Hot Chocolate – Photo courtesy of Chris Danford
A Happy Pancake did not disappoint! The atmosphere was bright and refreshing – despite being on the basement level of a building, the green theming and large wall displaying photos and videos of outdoor scenes and plants set the mood for happy interaction – the three of us had a lovely time talking and consuming delicious foods.
I have never tasted a pancake quite like this – it’s texture is indeed similar to a soufflé but a bit more heavy… it has inspired me to try this out when I return to Vancouver in December… having never made a soufflé of any sort I cannot predict if my outcome will be a pleasant one or not but I have eaten enough soufflé to know if it’s actually good or not!
After pancakes I was craving some good coffee. Chris did a quick search online and found a trendy pour over place nearby. We walked to our destination and waited a half hour before we realized that this was more of an experience than anything… one person to guide you through the process of choosing your coffee and educating you on it’s origins… one person to make the coffee. There were six people ahead of us and it took 3 a half hour to get their coffee so we decided to look elsewhere and possibly come back to this place another day.
This was the entrance… literally a short square door to a teeny staging area.
A new place for coffee was found fairly quickly… and just up the street a few blocks. It turned out to be a blessing because both the coffee and the chai that we tried were amazing – neither needed sugar added, a sign to me that this is superior coffee indeed.
Coffee and Chai for us… the doughnuts looked delicious but we had just eaten sweet things so perhaps next time we will try them too. – Photo courtesy of Chris Danford
Drinks at Higuma Doughnuts x Coffee Wrights were excellent! I definitely want to come back here and try the other drinks that they offer.
Chris departed after the consumption of coffee and chai, Paulina and I continued on to Harajuku in search of a store that Paulina wanted to visit called Alice on Wednesday.
As the name suggests, it was indeed an Alice in Wonderland themed shop, very cleverly decorated… lots of cute things here but nothing that particularly spoke to me. I’d like to have this table though:
Such an adorable table! I think my apartment needs this in it. 😀
Browsing done, we went to Takashita Dori, the main street in Harajuku. It was getting late and as it was a weekday, many shops were closed so it was not too crowded with people, which is a pleasant change from the usual.
I don’t remember the name of this store that these stairs lead down to, but I do remember from three years ago that this is a second hand clothing store that was pretty awesome.
Sparsely populated night street of Harajuku.
Since businesses were starting to close, we decided to call it a night and took our tired feet home.
Day #20 – A Photo A Day 2013
Oooof! Today I am feeling worse than yesterday – no fair! I had photography plans for today!!!!
Ah well. So, today I give you… another window view from breakfast yesterday. (this time, panning to my left)
I like varying colors and the worn look of the window decal.
Worn Out Coca-Cola Window DecalWorn Out Coca-Cola Window Decal
Day #19 – A Photo A Day 2013
Despite not really feeling well, I made a bad decision to go to breakfast with Chris. Breakfast tasted wonderful, but my stomach is quite angry at me for selfishly trying to give my body sustenance!
It is my intent to go back to this restaurant when I am well and do a proper review of the offerings there, since I really did enjoy my meal other than the pain that my body is in, which is obviously no fault of that fine establishment.
This is the view I had at the counter that Chris and I supped at:
Lunch In The Window
It’s not a fancy place, but I think that adds to the charm. It’s lack-luster decor certainly doesn’t deter customers, as that place is always really busy.
Day #13 – A Photo A Day 2013
Back on the 8th I was still visiting the Portland/Vancouver area, and while I was there I met a friend for lunch at the Stardust Diner in Vancouver, WA… a greasy spoon that does not disappoint!
They have an amazing breakfast menu that’s served all day, really good hamburgers and the best milkshakes and sundaes around! I didn’t get a pic of the chromed exterior (think Airstream trailer, only HUGE) but I did remember to get a shot of their colorful menu covered in pictures of old-fashioned ads.
Stardust Diner Menu Cover
Mmmmmmmm… I’m really craving a sundae now!