Ueno Park
Stopping the last three nights in Ueno. The Cultural Centre, says the Rough Guide, based around Ueno Park. Temples, Museums, Art Gallery’s and a Zoo. So Sunday morning, I have a walk, it’s a lovely morning. Monday is a Public Holiday, celebrating the founding of Japan 11th February 660BC. If I don’t write it down, I forget yesterday. I mention this, as it accounts for the amount of families that are out. It is packed, there are stalls selling traditional crafty things, leather, textiles, pottery, surrounding these stalls are the food vendors, all neon, flashing lights and the noise is tumultuous as they all hawk their wares.
There are jugglers, conjuourers, samurai shows and ninjas. They weren’t very good ninjas obviously.
There is a large Temple on an island, on the way towards this are food stalls again, this time a lot less low key, more in keeping with surroundings. The sights and smells of the previous stalls have awakened my appetite and are a lot less intimidating. It is still breakfast time. I decide on squid or is it cuttlefish, I’m invited to pick one from a tray of identical looking fillets, all shiny, lustrous and dead. I’m a little hypnotised by his hands and blades as he cuts and cooks the fillet on the giant hot plate, it is only then that I see the colour of his tunic, I revert my gaze in the hope that that will somehow make it white again. The seafood is excellent, there is something about fresh, of that more later.
F
I can confirm there are Museums, Temples, Art Galleries and a Zoo, because I walked past all of them.
Enoshima
In a narrow minded Britisher way, even though I’d done a fair bit research, some major things I didn’t realise. It’s a mountainous country. If it isn’t flat it’s a mountain. All the flat bits are built on or paddys, if it’s possible to get it terraced, it is. For rice. This time of year, February, the mountains are all snow topped, it makes for wonderful vistas.
Forget to mention the Monorail yesterday using it specifically in my quest for ticking off transport types. It runs from Haneda Airport, to central Tokyo and is the standard type with the rail underneath. Tokyo does it a little different, it puts the rail above and suspends the vehicles above. In the main it follows the roads, so quite surreal, passing cars and busses and going straight over red lights. It was actually a British invention and we know how that goes.
There was a destination though, not just out for the ride. One of the other things I didnt realise, and being an island seems even dafter now, they have beach resorts. Im off to the seaside.
Sushi
There is sea, there is a harbour, there are fishing boats so there is Sushi. Actually, you don’t need any of those things, Sushi is everywhere.
The restaurant I pick, stays to type. A central cooking and preparation area, lined with glass fridges and counter seating. Behind the counter seating is table and chairs, completing the eating area are the raised booths around the outside with some screens and the sunken tables, within the steps is space for your footwear.
It is still a point at the picture menu, which is the best type. I order a mixed platter and watch the chef, in his spotless whites, prepare the dishes. Rolls and kneads the rice in to a navvies thumb size piece, deftly smears an almost see through layer of wasabi, then with a huge knife cuts a sliver of fish from a fillet, continues on to the next piece, cleaning the blade in between to save cross contaminating the subtle flavours. There are three cuts of tuna, yellow tail, salmon, shrimp. Wrapped in seaweed comes salmon roe and minced tuna belly. It comes with a delicate fishy broth, some shredded ginger and a little saucer of soy for dipping. Surreptitiously watching the locals to get the technique right, a tiny bit of ginger, put the Sushi on to its side, pick up, a quick dip in the soya and the whole thing goes in to the mouth. The taste and texture is amazing, the soft moist claggy rice, the succulent fish that melts away, the little bite of the wasabi as the rice and fish seperate. It’s not hard to tell why it’s so relished.
In one of the booths a large family group are eating, there is no children’s menu here, the kids all woofing down the same food as their parents without a second thought.
Not quite sated, a 2nd round beckons, seared mackerel and sea eel. The mackerel skin is just flashed at with a blow torch to crisp up the skin. I wouldn’t order the sea eel again, the taste a little smoked and spicy was fine, the texture however, like that bit of tube you get in ox liver.
Convenience Stores
Are all over, seems like you are never more than 5 minutes from one. They are all designed for people on the go. The range is immense from your pot noodles, through to crisps, on to the sandwiches, sushi, noodles dishes. All have a section of steamed dumplings, some with brine bowls with floating thing. All have a microwave so can ping your fresh noodles, or a hot water supply for your pot ones. Some even have a little seating area.
Street Wise
Strangely with all this food to go, it is frowned upon to eat whilst walking, either back to the hotel with it, stand at the front of the shop or inside. Never on the move.
Smoking has similar rules. You cannot smoke whilst walking, this applies to parks as well. There are provided little fenced of areas every now and then.
Light controlled crossings. Red means red, and everybody waits, without fail. Can’t see any traffic? Still you wait. Except if you are a car, you can turn off the main road and through a crossing even when that crossing is green. They do though, always.
Trip to Japan 