Food Adventures Part 2

Finally it's weekend. So I thought about going to a place where many young people hang out, but where it is not too crowded. In a city of the crowds, it is sometimes important to have a place where one can relax oneself in a more "chilled" manner.And that's what I did. We (meaning my friends and I) went to Shimo-Kitazawa. It's a place quite close to the more pulsing center of Japanese fashion and youth life style Shibuya. The streets in Shimo-Kitazawa are quite narrow. The atmoshphere is all relaxed (not crowded, but also not empty) with warm and friendly-looking food stalls and some interesting clothing and accessories shops. It was definitely worth a visit and we ate some good okonomiyaki there! Okonomiyaki - Japanese Pancake Okonomiyaki is like lots of different ingredients put together on a teppan grill. It literally means "as you like", and so there are many varieties. :) We had Hiroshima-style Okonomiyaki which has soba noodles in it! :) The place was quite cozy and old-looking. It's an atmosphere quite fitting for a litte more relaxed eat-out. So here are some pictures of the dishes that we had. :)


 

Food Adventures Part 1

Well today I came home totally done. Not because studying was so difficult, but because
I ate so much that I couldn't move. So it was not that bad that I had to commute from
downtown Tokyo to my hostfamily's place for about an hour! That's why I will probably
not write that much today. Maybe let's make this one about food!

First: Lunch Set. Tonkatsudon + Soba. Japanese "Schnitzel" with Rice and Soba Noodles. I wanted to try out food outside of the Cafeteria. So we went to one of the many stalls around the university. It was a simple, straight-forward and nice student lunch. You can choose your food from a little vending machine with pictures (like the ones for drinks) outside before the shop. After having paid, you get a receipt and give it to the cook in the shop. There was also other simple stuff like Ramen or Udon. It's an everyday place for commoners who need their daily cheap (but not bad) food... especially university students!







Second: Yakiniku. Grilled Meat.

This is a Japanese classic. You order your meat and side dishes (like rice, vegetables, sausages...) and grill your stuff yourself. It is that type of food that one should eat with a lot of friends. The fun thing about food culture is maybe not only the food itself and its quality, but the right atmosphere and warmth of friends coming together to eat, drink and have fun! And the heat of the grill (and the fragrance of the meat on it...) probably helps create a splendid atmosphere for that!! I think the main problem with fast food for example is not that it is unhealthy, but that it is so cold and boring. You often eat it alone or on the way and there's no relaxing and talking at all... so maybe it would be good to learn to cherish life a little more eating great food and by eating it with other people

Kids and Bugs

         Well today was another hot day in Tokyo. It's pretty hot and humid, so walking around and crowding in the morning and evening rush subways was a pain. At the same time, I think air conditioning can also create massive headaches. And Japanese people do believe that too much air conditioning (over night) is bad for your health. So what to do... I guess one just has to bear with both heat and cold at times.

         Anyways, today my host brothers came into the room with some beetles they caught at their grandparents' farm. It seems to be a great joy for Japanese children (rather boys than girls) to catch big beetles in the summer and keep them in a box. My host mother even bought "animal food" (looks like some jelly put into a petri dish) for those not-so-tiny creatures. They even seem to get bigger day by day. lol Well here's a pic. Hang on for some real food action!! ;)

Hey again!! :)

       Today I had my first day at university. I don't want to talk too much about the classes.
Let's talk about cafeteria food. I don't know what you usually think about cafeteria food,

but I personally don't like it that much. Most of the time it tastes stale and boring... "mass-produced" food that has no love to it. I feel like a robot being fueled with his daily energy dosis.
A lot of people eat at the cafeteria. I thought the low quality couldn't be helped in the end.

       When I ate with other international students in the cafeteria of Meiji University, it was surprisingly delicious though. You could choose between different rice bowl menus with different meats and vegetable, ramen or noodle soup menus, really restaurant-like looking fish menus and various little snacks like onigiri (Japanese riceballs). The prices were all around or less than 500 Yen (5 Euro). Today, I went out of the cafeteria both stuffed and happy. If it could be like that at my university in Bonn... >.<

So here is a picture of my food today. Donburi! :)

Hello Japan!!

Hey everyone! :D

       I have arrived savely in Japan and slept for 16 hours yesterday (Sunday).Right now I am living in small Abiko City in Chiba Prefecture with my host family. The Japanese food I have gotten so far was very good and typical. I didnt take pictures at that time, so maybe google if you dont know. I haaaad... Shouyu Ramen, Tonkatsu Rice, Yakiudon, Chicken Curry.

       Today I went off to buy my train ticket, exchange some money and then did some shopping in a nearby city. I spoke (or tried to speak) Japanese only. It was quite difficult to understand everything, but I survived. Something was clear from the start... maybe even before coming. You know how in Germany the service can be quite impolite or unfriendly (you have complained about that too right?). Japan feels quite different. The customer is the king. It feels like the service person is like a "servant" to you (the words match). They use respect language only and bow after you`ve bought something. But I would not say it is warm or friendly. It is just a standard of politeness. I wonder if that is a good thing? :]

        The most interesting part of today (I guess not much happened today) was seeing a Japanese Doener (!!) Kebap store selling it for 500 Yen (5 Euro.. wow expensive). So no country is safe. The Doener will eventually conquer the world I guess... (haha)

        From tomorrow on, I will have classes at Meiji University in the middle of Tokyo. I will also be able to put up some interesting photos starting from tomorrow! So thats it for the moment.


Keep cool and leave a comment if you like. :]