4 posts tagged “day five”
CHINATOWN, YOKOHAMA, JAPAN
Today we visited Y O K O H A M A~! Ne....like I've said many times before (in previous posts)...Yokohama is my father's birthplace and hometown. So, therefore, today was an especially memorable day for me. I still have many relatives living in Yokohama...well, to be exact...most of my dad's relatives still live in Yokohama. Only one or two relatives moved to Tokyo with their respective families. However, I was not fortunate enough to be able to visit those relatives, due to everyone's work schedules. It is very difficult for all of the families to get together often (if at all) since each family has different work schedules. So, I was not able to visit my cousins and their families at this time.
However, looking on the positive side, I was able to visit the location of my father's former home. When I say "former" home, I mean that it is still my dad's home....the location space....but my relatives (aunts & uncles) decided to tear down the existing home (the original building where my dad grew up) and built an apartment tower there instead. Wait...I don't want to get you all confused here, so let me give you a little background info about my dad's house.
It all started with my grandparents. After World War II (WWII), my grandfather started his own business making mens suits (and at one point, making womens kimonos, but that didn't quite work out). He opened up a shop called "Rong Shing Tailoring Co." (Rong Shing being my grandfather's name). The store was on level 1, and the family residence was on level 2. Over the years, the store developed...and some time in thd 1970s-1980s, my aunt added a small cafe inside the store. (Trust me when I say that all of my aunts can cook authentic Chinese food...and they are GOOD at it.) Anyway, back to the story, some time between 2005-2006 my family decided that in order to make a better income, they should remodel the family store into an apartment tower, and thus...make money off of the rent they collect. The end result became...."Ryus Tower". That's the name of the apartment building. I don't know what it means, or if it has any meaning at all, but that's what my aunts/uncles chose, so I had no choice in the matter. My grandfather's business is still there, at that location. It's just been relocated to the 3rd level. It's still called "Rong Shing Tailoring Co." even long after my grandfather has passed away. The logo is a Billiards 8-ball with an "R" in the middle where the number "8" should be.
My dad's house is approximately 1.5 blocks away from Motomachi. Motomachi is a very famous and popular street which is a long street filled with restaurants, boutiques, designer stores, cafes, bakeries etc. There are a few residential areas sprinkled along the back alleyways of Motomachi, but the main street itself is a shopper's delight. We quickly visted Motomachi today...whilst on our way to visit a close friend of ours who also happens to live in Yokohama. While waiting to meet with our good friend, we visited a popular bakery. I'm not sure of the name of this bakery, since I cannot read Japanese characters, but at least the signage in the store window was written in English and it said "Established since 1888". Wahh!!! This bakery has been around since 1888?! Yes, it's true. Also, this was the exact bakery my dad used to go to when he lived in Yokohama. He used to visit this bakery every morning before school to buy a bun for breakfast. On top of that...my oldest brother used to visit this bakery often, whenever he would spend summer breaks in Japan as a child. I will tell you the exact name of this bakery once I can get my friend to translate the name. Until then, all I have to say is that this bakery really blows me away. The quality of their pastries is sooooooooo top notch...I just have to give them a shout out...and really pimp them out. I mean...I just have to brag about them for a second. They are just that good.
New layout...
So...now the time has come to meet up with our friend. Her name is Yukie (most people pronouce her name as "Yu-kee-ah" but it could be pronounced other ways). Our friend Yukie once lived in the U.S. and that's how we met her...through a friend of ours who lived in the same apartment building as she. Yukie just happened to have moved back to Yokohama around the same time we were visiting, so we just had to meet up with her along the way. That afternoon, we had such a fun time chatting about nothing, catching up on old times. Little did we know what Yukie had in store for us, as a little "welcome to Yokohama" invitation. That night, as we set out for dinner, Yukie brought us to a little sushi restaurant that she visits often, while spending time in Yokohama. Let me tell you....this sushi restaurant was THE BEST I ever had in my entire life. And it will probably be the best I'll ever have for a long time to come. The sushi chef was so much fun to talk to, and he would instruct us on how to eat each piece of sushi/sashimi/nigiri properly. (On a side note...sushi=raw fish + rice wrapped in nori; sashimi=raw fish, plain or topped with the tiniest garnish; nigiri=small, hand-rolled ball of rice, with a tiny dollop of wasabi, topped with raw fish or cooked sweet egg.) I can't fully describe how delicious each piece of sushi was...that would just take hours and hours to explain. BUT...............I will say this....WE ATE REAL WHALE SASHIMI. Yes, you heard it here folks. We ate raw whale meat, and it was TASTY as hell. (Side note: it tastes like beef sashimi.) Also, we got to eat sashimi that was still ALIVE! It was the "Geo Duck". We watched as the sushi chef prepared the Geo Duck nigiri-style, and just before he placed it on our dishes, he slapped it real hard...and thus made the Geo Duck wiggle and crawl around on our plate. Not only that, but we got to eat "Otoro" which is the fattiest, most delicious, most expensive part of the tuna used for sushi. For example:
- Maguro = tuna
- Toro = fatty tuna (fat, expensive, tuna)
- Otoro = ultimate fatty tuna (most fat, most expensive, most sought after, tuna)
Basically, Otoro is the "be all, end all" of tuna sashimi. Oh...did I forget to mention that toro is my all-time favorite nigiri/sashimi fish?! So, I nearly died and went to heaven after eating "otoro" for the first time. I metaphorically popped my sushi "cherry" after eating this.
Later on that night, after dinner, we went to a bar-type lounge called "Colors". Yukie's brother visits this bar quite often, so the bartenders all recognized her. We sat a table in the corner of the bar, which was very small. This bar could probably only hold 20-30 people max. This bar is very interesting. It's not like any other average bar. If you can't think of any specific drink you want, then the bartender will ask you what types of flavors you like, and he will make a custom drink based on the flavor you choose.
Until tomorrow............We'll be heading off to Asakusa to check out Sensoji, as well as make a quick stop at the "golden turd" also known as the Asahi Breweries HQ!!! Maybe a pit stop in Nakano to search for some rare goods and hidden treasures at Mandarake!! What vintage & collectible toys we'll find...you'll just have to wait and see... Later!
CHINATOWN and its surrounding areas
Today was the day when we visited my friend Naoko. Naoko has been one of my long-time and best friends since Kindergarten. We lived near each other (in america) for approximately 3 years before she moved back to Japan. We would keep in touch, but it's not the same as seeing each other in person. It was nice seeing Naoko again.Having dinner at a traditional-style Japanese restaurant, we had: okonomiyaki, yakitori and other delicious treats all traditional and all specialties of various regions. We even visited her parents' house, which by the way is freaking HUGE....and is located in one of the most poshiest neighborhoods. Her neighborhood is the most sought after (real estate wise), a lot of celebrity actors and sports stars live in her neighborhood...but alas, she has never spotted anyone famous herself.
Earlier today though, we stopped by Tokyo Midtown. Tokyo Midtown is a mixed development which includes office, residential, commercial, hotel, shopping and restaurants. The location is less than half a mile from Roppongi Hills. This place is brand new and was completed in March of this year. If you're a fan of architecture and art, then this is DEFINITELY the place for you. This building looks so futuristic and modern and just plain cool. There are a few really cool art galleries spread around, so you don't feel like it's one big office complex with a shopping mall attached. Plus, the Ritz-Carlton hotel there is so swanky........it's as posh as that Hyatt hotel that they used in the "Lost In Translation" movie. And guess what? The lobby (which is normally the first and/or main floor of the hotel) is located on the 45th level of this entire building. What The Fuuuuuu........?! Anyways, Midtown was cool, since it was newly built and there were plenty of good reviews about it and all of the gourmet restaurants it has. I mean, their food court will beat any of the food courts in any of our poshy malls. And they've even got an organic supermarket and a shop that sells nothing but organic, individually wrapped fruit. And of course the fruit will cost you your soul, but going "organic" is the new trend these days. Walking around the park is nice...lots of pretty landscaping, and a man-made waterfall trickling down a man-made stream. We would've liked to stroll around the entire span of the park, but alas, the heat was really frying our brains, so we decided to head off elswhere.
Where might that "elsewhere" be? Why it's Roppongi Hills of course!! And I've got to tell you something about Roppongi Hills: ROPPONGI HILLS IS LIKE A FREAKING MAZE! IT'S SO DAMN HARD TO FIND YOUR WAY AROUND EVEN WITH A MAP! Seriously, there are so many levels and half-levels and stairs and escalators and stuff. It was so confusing to get around, even when they have color-coded maps posted all over the place. The easiest place to get to was the TV Asahi building right next door to the South Tower of Roppongi Hills. Right by the front entrance of the TV Asahi building was a huge statue of...........................DORAEMON! Yay! There was a small gift shop in the lobby of the building where you could buy goods related to the TV shows that are broadcasted on TV Asahi. It was nice. Too bad we couldn't get passed the lobby though. Pooh. It would've been cool if we could've taken a tour of the studios and the stage sets. But no. Only employees were allowed beyond the frosty glass doors.
Attention all visitors: access denied. Authorized personnel only. Out.
