Japan Loves Festivals!!!

I have found it interesting that the Japanese people seem to really love festivals.  They love anything related to showing the spirit of a festival or a holiday.  So much so that they have seemed to embrace Christmas, not for it's religious meaning of course, but rather for the holiday decorations and festive spirit that are associated with it.  In fact in early November when I visited, I saw Christmas decorations already up close to my hotel in Tokyo.  Amazing.

Back in May of 2004 during a visit up in Sendai, our group just happened to come across a festival parade in full swing going through the downtown.  Many different groups were dressed up in different colored outfits.

It was a very impressive sight.  Incredible organization. Incredible participation.  Incredible spirit!

Spaced in between many of the various groups were these really cool looking floats (or that is what we would call them in America).  That is probably not the right word.  They were quite large, and obviously built with much care and color.

All of the people seemed to be having a very fun time.  We watched for around 30 minutes as they passed in front of us down the main street of downtown Sendai.  Many thanks to my friend Ken who took some of these great pictures with his at the time very new, cool camera.

Yes, it seems that everyone in Japan loves a festival.  And what is wrong with that?  Nothing!!!

Then and Now

I am not sure why, but I have always been fascinated by pictures taken from the same spot and with the same view from long ago and then present.  You can see what has stayed the same, and what has changed with the passage of time.  In that regard I submit to you two photos.  The first, which is one of my favorites and was mentioned here, was taken in December of 1994.

I tried to take a very similar picture from around the same spot on my recent trip in November of 2011.  Here is what it looks like today.

I was a little bit off on my spot and angle, but I think it is still effective, and an amazing example of change.

Nov. 2010 Japan Trip - Post #11: Matsushima Bay

It seems a bit more difficult to recount stories from my trip to Japan in November of 2010 now that I have returned from my recent visit.  There are so many new stories to tell.  However I am determined to fully chronicle my special 2010 trip with my wife, and thus this effort will continue.  I will mix some new in with the old, as the beauty of this blog is that there is no natural order of things by time, but rather just by what happens to be in my head at the moment.

With that in mind, I would like to share with you a wonderful afternoon we had out on Matsushima Bay in Nov. of 2010 with my good friend Sam.  Sam met Mary and I at our hotel (the Century) for a planned boat cruise through the bay and then lunch over at Shiogama before heading back for the return trip.  Sam knew a decent Italian restaurant over at Shiogama, and with Mary's culinary range being a bit narrow, I was eager to get her some food she would feel more comfortable with.  Matsushima has a number of different boat companies that operate various trips around the beautiful islands that dot the bay.  We chose one and off we went!

It is about a 30 to 45 minute ride from Matsushima town over to Shiogama.  It is a winding traverse, through the famous Matsushima oyster beds as well as the pine tree covered islands.

There seems to be a tradition of feeding the birds (seagulls) from these boats.  They even sell food at the docks to make it easy for you.  For some reason, I do not see the beauty in this tradition, as I think it is unnatural for birds to be fed by humans.

The resulting flock of hungry participants crowd the skies off the back end of all of the boats and to me slightly detracts from the amazing beauty of the scenery all around you.  A minor detail, but hey, I am a purist.

Once at Shiogama, we took in a nice lunch which included salad and very good thin crusted pizzas.

The lunch was perfect.  A nice place with a view of the harbor.  Very good Italian food, and the beer was refreshing.  Sad to note that this place, which was right in front of where the cruise boats dock was wiped out by the tsunami just four months later.  I doubt they are going to be able to rebuild it, but we shall see.

The ride back to Matsushima was not as smooth as the first leg of the journey.  Regrettably the waves splashed water over the windows which rendered some of the pictures we took useless.  Once back in Matsushima, we took a walk along the main road through town.  While we did just take a lunch not too long ago, we decided to stop in at one of the waterfront restaurants because I said that while here I wanted to try Matsushima's famous oysters.  We found this great little place on the second floor of a small building right around the corner from our hotel.  It was a traditional style place where we sat on the floor.  We ordered a small plate of oysters, half of them raw, and the other half baked.  They were the best tasting oysters I have ever had.  I just wished I had taken a picture of these beauties before I swallowed them down.  They were so good, I could not decide which one's I liked better!!  All in all, another great day in Japan.  Thank you Sam!!!!

My Friend Matsuzaki-san

So after my recent trip to Japan, I think it would be most appropriate for my next post to talk about a former co-worker friend of mine Matsuzaki-san.  I have known Matsuzaki-san for a number of years, as his work and mine brought us together while he was stationed at our factory up in Tagajo.  Then a few years ago he transferred assignments and worked out of our Tokyo HQ.  During that time, our business was not related, but I still kept in loose touch.  Here is a picture of Matsuzaki-san from a "meeting" in Tokyo in 2006.

So why do I have this post to profile this man?  Well a couple of years ago (maybe a little less), Matsuzaki-san retired from the company.  He moved back to Sendai, and pondered life after the company, and what direction he should go in.  Then fate stepped in and guided him.  The disaster of March 11th, 2011 as everyone knows caused much heartache and suffering in the Tohoku region.  Matsuzaki-san felt compelled to act.  He joined the "Save the Children Japan" organization, and since then has been assisting with all of their activities related to the recovery efforts up north.  On my recent trip, Matsuzaki-san was kind enough to join a group of coworkers for an after hours party up in Tagajo.  He asked me if I knew of the group Linkin Park and that they had just visited Japan.  Coincidentally, I had just watched the video below BEFORE I went to Japan, so I said yes and that I heard they went up to Ishinomaki City.  He was surprised that I knew, and said he was a part of the Save the Children group that went with them.  When I returned to the U.S., I watched the video again, and if you look closely, there he was, Matsuzaki-san.  I hope you can watch this video all the way to the end.  It is really good stuff.

It really made me feel good to see Matsuzaki-san again, and to hear of his recent job and efforts.  How fulfilling it must be for him to help the children up in Tohoku recover from such devastation.  If any readers feel so inclined, feel free to make a donation to this worthy cause.  The website can be found by clicking on this link:  http://www.savechildren.or.jp/jpnem/eng/index.html.  At our recent party in Miyagi, I had a chance to sing one of my favorite karaoke songs with Matsuzaki-san, who is quite a good singer - Louis Armstrong's "What a Wonderful World".  Here is a shot of it, before Matsuzaki-san had to leave for the night.

Despite such sadness and despair, there can be found happiness and hope.  I plan to keep in touch with Matsuzaki-san in the future, and will make a strong effort for our paths to cross again.  I am proud of him and what he is doing, and am happy to call him my friend.

My eyes have seen, my hands have touched, my heart has felt . . .

Well I finally made it back to Japan.  It took twelve months, but circumstances made it feel like twelve years.  The most anticipated trip in my 17 years of engagement with Nippon ended recently, and it was without question, the most moving trip I have ever made.  It is very difficult to accurately describe it in full.  Of course the highlight was visiting our factories in Miyagi prefecture.  Seeing the damage caused by the earthquake and tsunami first hand is of course much more powerful than seeing pictures or watching the television.  Eight months after the beginning of this disaster, and there are still plenty of reminders around to let you know full recovery is still quite a ways away.  This picture shows a freighter at the Port of Sendai.  The back end of this ship is actually hanging out over the water.

Here is a picture of a house in Tagajo.  It is so strange that such a house is so obviously out of place, swept off it foundations and moved by the powerful tsunami, yet the other surrounding structures show no apparent outside damage.

Such is the case in Tohoku.  Devastating damage, and right next to it, signs of a strong recovery under way.  Much has been written about the strength and resolve of the Japanese people.  However to me, there is no way to put into writing just how strong, and how resilient these people actually are.  I have seen this incredible strength and resilience first hand - at our factories, as well as at neighboring businesses that I have frequented throughout the years of my travels.  I have physcially touched these places with my own hands.  My heart has felt the great spirit that resides up in Tohoku.  I feel a great sense of honor to know many of these people who have sacrificed so much.  My life has been enriched by this experience, and I will make a strong effort to remain inspired in the future by what I have seen, what I have touched, and what I have felt.

Yebisu Beer Museum

Back in 2004, I had a chance to visit the Yebisu Beer Museum, which is located in/near the Sapporo Beer headquarters building a short walk from the JR Ebisu station in Tokyo.  Being a beer drinker with a discriminating palate :-) , I have always liked Sapporo, and more specifically the Yebisu brand.  While not impossible, it is a bit difficult to procure here in the United States.  The museum is located on the grounds of the original brewery, which was established in the late 1800's.  Nothing remains from that original plant, but the museum informs us of it through a very nice set of exhibits.

After you run through the various artifacts and brewing processes which are laid out in detail, there is a very nice and modern tasting room where you can sample many of the Sapporo family brands, including Yebisu!

We of course had to try them all, and my good friend Federico, was an eager participant.

It was in December, and I remember it being cold outside.  Due to my unquenchable thirst I made a go at this can, without success.

I think there are some other cool places around here, and someday if I have more time I might plan on a return visit.

Good Ramen in OC? Hai!!!!

I am going to stray off the main topic of being inside of Japan to once again give some kudos to a wonderful Japanese restaurant in Orange County.

On the occasion when I use LAX for a domestic business trip, I usually find myself making the one hour plus drive home late at night after the return flight.  This allows me the chance to stop at my favorite Orange County Ramen shop - Shinsengumi in Fountain Valley for a nice dinner.  Yes, we have some great Japanese Ramen shops in Orange County.

For some of you who have visited me in Orange County, you may wonder why I am not saying Santoka in the Mitsuwa food court in Costa Mesa is not my favorite.  Well, it is a very close call.  Actually, it might be a tie.  But what breaks the tie is that this Hakata Ramen shop has a side dish that I have fallen in love with - Takana Fried Rice.

Takana Fried Rice is a fabulous combination of rice, some kind of meat I think (I suspect pork), egg, a pickled, green leafy vegetable (mustard greens???) and the final touch of thick strands of ginger.  It is really, really good to my taste.  While it may seem a little over the top to have the starch of rice in addition to the starch of noodles, for me it is the perfect combination.  Here is a picture of this meal, one of my favorites in Orange County!

The regular bowl of this Kyushu style ramen does not include the egg.  I put it in there anyway, because I like it.  Here is a picture of the Takana rice being fried in the hot wok.

There are a few of these Shinsengumi restaurants around the greater Los Angeles area.  Their main component is a Robata - Yakitori style grill.  There are many, many items on their menu and all of the ones I have tried are very tasty!.  It is a really popular place.  Immediately next door to the Fountain Valley Robata - Yakitori restaurant is the Ramen shop.  They share a passageway between them.


This shop also serves up some very good gyoza. An all around great place. Only problem is there is always a line out front (see the first picture). The wait is worth it. Trust me.

Oh one last thing. For all you competitive eaters out there, like Ken and Hank K., why don't you stop by for some of this?

Nov. 2010 Japan Trip - Post #10: Matsushima ah!

When Mary and I planned to stay in the Tohoku region for a couple of nights, it was really a fairly easy decision on where we would stay - Matsushima!  Yes that's right, just swallow deeply when it comes to paying the bill for it is not cheap, but it is definitely worth it.  We decided to stay at the Matsushima Century Hotel, which was a little bit less expensive than some of the other behemoth properties that cater to the swells of Japanese (and foreign) tourists that this city is dependent on for it's main commerce.

The Century is perfectly located right on the edge of Matsushima Bay, and the views out our window are the same views that have fascinated visitors to this amazing area for centuries.  We had wonderful weather while we were there, but one of the great thrills of this hotel stay was Mary and I sleeping on futons for the very first time.  And we LIKED IT!!!!

Yes you may laugh and think the hot spring bath and views should be the best.  Well I did try the bath, and it was interesting (a bit too hot for me actually, but still refreshing), but the futon was a really wonderful experience.  Please pardon our messy room below, but unless I showed you, you may not believe me!  And look at the door.  Mary even took her shoes off.  How polite!!!

Strolling around this small town is wonderful.  There is a big temple there (Zuigan-ji), but we did not get a chance to visit it (next time).

I will have a couple of more posts on this Matsushima visit before we leave this amazing town.

This will not be the last time I visit this place (hopefully).

Japan in America

About 3 months or so ago, I was surfing on the website "Yelp", when I came across a sushi restaurant in my home town that I had never heard of before.  I was shocked to see that it was rated extremely high.  How could this place be here without me knowing about it??  My old Japanese friends who have visited here have tasted some of the other popular sushi restaurants near my house that are quite good.  This one though was different.  It is really good, and it combines traditional Japanese sushi with some nouvelle French style cuisine.  The result is very impressive.

From the outside, it is nothing special.  It sits in the corner of a small shopping area and if you didn't know it was there you might drive right on by it.  However once you walk in the door, it reminds me instantly of being in Japan.  It is a relatively small shop (like Japan), with a counter that seats around 12, and tables that seat maybe 3 times that much.

The owner is a nice man named Hideki-san.  He and his wife run this place.  His wife's sister actually works for the same company that I do in Tokyo, so we exchanged some stories.  This restaurant is less than two years old and I am very hopeful that they make it.  It is not easy in this business where I live as there is a lot of competition.

The quality of fish here and the preparation is extremely high.  I am looking forward to taking some of my Japanese friends here to see if they agree.  Oh, and the name of this place?  It is called "Bistro Anju".  I highly recommend it (and so does my wife)!!!

Great Dinners in Japan: Torizen

So I got to thinking, if there are people out there who are actually reading this blog, they may think all I do in Japan is go out to dinner.  Well with more than 30 trips to the Land of the Rising Sun under my belt, which average 5 nights a pop, that comes to over 150 dinners.  So yes, I have had a LOT of dinners in Japan!!  :-)

There are a few though that stick out above the others (quite a few actually, heck maybe even most!!!) and one of these was a special night in Tagajo in October of 2008.  After a meeting at our facility, a group of coworkers and I went out to Torizen, a great restaurant just around the corner from our plant.  It has kind of a unique facade, as there is a waterwheel in the lovely garden in front, and the building itself almost looks more like a house than a restaurant.

Inside, there are different sections in the restaurant, with different table set ups.  Some have their own cooktops I think, and then there are private rooms that can accommodate groups of say 8 or more.  They have FANTASTIC fresh fish among other things.  This was one of the few restaurants where I have actually eaten uni out of it's own shell.

Anyway on this particular night my friends had booked a private room, and we enjoyed a wonderful meal.  It was a really relaxing evening, with great food and great conversation.  At the end, we took the following picture.

Now in searching through my photo archives, I realized I didn't have any good shots of the front of Torizen.  As you can probably guess, Torizen was quite severely impacted by the Tsunami.  However, I believe I have heard that they have reopened.  I will try to get some confirmation on this.  I was sent the following picture of the front of Torizen taken just days after the Tsunami.  Quite a mess unfortunately.

I do hope to return to this fantastic restaurant once again, and share another meal with friends.

Japan Trip - Mako Playing Blues Alley Again

I am making a much anticipated trip to Japan next month.  It is my first trip since the Great Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami on March 11th  It will surely be a very memorable trip, and I look forward to it very much.

I also wanted to let everyone know Mako-san has another show coming up at Blue's Alley in Tokyo.  She will be singing there on Sunday, November 20th.  She will also be selling her first single there I believe.  A very special time for her!  Regrettably, I will miss her show by just a few days.
http://www.bluesalley.co.jp/schedule/live.html

When the starter gets tired, it's time to go to the bullpen - Osamu's Place

Here in the U.S., it is baseball season playoffs time, and I thought I would use that theme to describe this post.  One night not too long ago in Kita-Shinagawa, I had the pleasure to go out in Japan with my old friend Tom and his beautiful wife Mimi.  We had a nice dinner, and then decided to have a short Karaoke practice session at my favorite spot Tampopo.  On this particular night the Master and Mama-san seemed a bit tired and closed early (probably right on schedule that particular night, but it seemed early to us!).  We did not feel we were "done" with our session, so we seeked out another place that might be open down the "Tokaido Road".

It was actually a bit late (just after 11:00 maybe), when we stumbled up some stairs, down a hall, to a closed door with the faint sound of music inside.  We opened the door, and voila!  Inside was a smallish karaoke shop that was oriented to western (American) music.  It was called "Osamu's Place" (I think.  I took a business card but at the moment cannot find it!).

This place has only a few tables, and there was another small group of people in there when we entered.  They left after a short time, and then another group came in and took their place.

In this fuzzy picture is the Master "Osamu" (I hope I am getting his name right!!!).  He was a very nice guy, and was happy we came in.  Well the second group that came in was a few guys along with a couple of ladies.  It was also a niji-kai for them.  After a number of songs, one of the guys gets up and sings "Desperado" by the Eagles (quite well I might add).  When I acknowledged his song by calling out the name and artist at the beginning, we started socializing a bit with this group.  I then sang "Take It Easy" by the Eagles on my next turn.  We had fun with this group, although they did not speak English (Tom and Mimi handled the translations).

The picture above is of Tom, himself a very accomplished karaoke singer.  I have found so many of my Japanese co-workers to be amazing singers.  This has really impressed me.  Pictured below is Mimi (sorry again for the blurry picture).  She is also a very good singer!!!

We ended up having a really good session with this group of people who came in.  The one guy (who sang the Eagles song) worked for Fujitsu in sales and he gave me his card.  I think we finished at around 1:00 a.m. or so.  You never really know what is going to happen when you venture out in Tokyo.  This was a perfect example of the beauty that can await.

The Leader of the Ichi Ryu Yatai Mura

My favorite Tokyo restaurant, the Ichi-Ryu Yatai-Mura in Kita-Shinagawa, is very capably run by Mutsumi F.  Mutsumi-san has always been so kind to me, ever since the very beginning of my visits to this wonderful place.  In return for this kindness, as well as always good food and drink, I have given this place my loyalty.  I have always wanted to take one of their boat cruises (they have one boat that is anchored off the deck in the back).  Their boat is appropriately named the "Mutsumi Maru".  One of these days, I will make it (I heard they have Karaoke available on the boat at nights - this also draws me to it!!!).

One of my favorite stories about Mutsumi-san is that one night I was having dinner in there with two friends, one of whom was Japanese.  At a table close by, a group of Japanese construction workers (complete with their fashionable baggy pants and special footware) were having a hard core drinking party.  We were later to find out they were celebrating the completion of one of those new Shinagawa Station area skyscrapers I talked about in a previous post.  There was probably eight of them, and they had a large water pitcher that they filled up with Shochu.  They would pass around the pitcher, and when it was your turn, you would stand up and chug that Shochu while the other clapped and said some kind of Japanese cheer.  It was heavy, heavy drinking, and these guys were getting very intoxicated.  Well after a little while, one of them comes over to our table and invites us to join them.  He was speaking in Japanese to our one local guy.  I thought hey this could be a very fun experience!!!  Drink with these local Japanese guys.  What a party!  Then what flashed through my mind though was how I knew my head would feel the following morning, and I did have business meetings the next day.

Just as all of these thoughts were swirling through my mind, Mutsumi-san, who was watching this whole exchange, quickly came over to our table and admonished the construction worker and told him to leave us alone.  She motioned him to go back to his table, which of course he did.  Mutsumi-san was looking after her loyal customer, and probably knew if we had entered into that madness it was not going to be a pretty sight.

Thank you Mutsumi-san for watching out for us, and for always being so nice each time I stop in for a meal.

Nov. 2010 Japan Trip - Post #9: Dinner in Tagajo

After visiting the Chuson-ji Temple (which has now received the coveted UNESCO World Heritage Site designation), we drove back down south to Tagajo to meet up with some additional friends for a group dinner.  Before we hit the round though, we stopped in one of the only open places outside of the Temple for some refreshments.  The walk around the grounds had built up a thirst in all of us!

I am not sure of the name of the restaurant in Tagajo, but it was a nice, modern style Izakaya type place.  Upon arrival Mary and I had a chance to meet my good friend Sam's wife and son which was very cool.  The decor of the restaurant was quite nice, and the company was of course fantastic.  Having two of my previous co-workers there (Henry and Miyazaki-san) along with my other close friends was quite special.  That they had all given up their Sunday nights to do this with Mary and me made it even more so.

We enjoyed many nice dishes, and everyone made us feel so welcome and happy.  At the end, one of these friends (and I am so embarrassed to say I forgot who - was it Tak, or Henry, or Tom?) brought in a nice cake for dessert that we all shared.

This was a great way to spend our first night in Miyagi.  When dinner was over, we took the following group picture outside.  Then, after transferring our luggage over to Tom's car he gave us a ride to our hotel in Matsushima where we checked in.  Thanks again to everyone who joined us at this wonderful dinner.

As a final note, can any of my friends tell me the fate of this restaurant after the March 11th earthquake and tsunami?  I hope they came out ok.

I'm Back! (again)

It has been a while since the last post, and I am sorry for the interruption. No excuses, just have been busy with other stuff. Anyway, I have a number of new posts in the queue that I hope to get out soon. So stay tuned! Thanks for your continued interest.

Phase Bar - Aoyama

One night after a nearby dinner just off the Omotesando in Aoyama, I was walking through the neighborhoods in search of some cool places to go when I stumbled upon the Phase Restaurant/Bar.  I was drawn in by it's modernistic, bunker style cement block architecture, and segmented business structure.  On the first floor (Phase) there was a clean and stylistic bar.  On the second Phase was a relatively small restaurant.  On the third Phase there was a small room that served as either a place to consume your bar drinks, or your restaurant fare.  We had a drink or two on the top floor, which has an open skylight ceiling that I imagined in the summer time might be quite fantastic.  I vowed to come back, the next time with a larger party.  I fulfilled my promise.  While I did not get any good outside daytime pictures of this place, thanks to the beauty of Google Maps, here it is!  Technically speaking it is in Kita-Aoyama.

We had a couple of nice party's on their third floor space.  In fact, we took it over one night and had it all to ourselves.  It was a wonderful time.  I cannot seem to find any mention of this place on the internet, and wonder if it is still in business.  It is another place that I would really like to return to one of these days.  For now though, it is just a great memory, and a reminder that there are thousands of cool places like this that are hidden all over Tokyo.

The party that this picture is from took place in 2005.  I love it when everyone is seen laughing.  A very good time that night indeed.  Do you remember it?

Spending a fun Friday night in Tokyo with good friends at cool places in one of my favorite things to do.