May 24, 2008

Tokyo (JAPAN)

A Typical Saturday: A Japanese Breakfast, Soccer Practice, A Walking Tour of Tokyo Harbor, Shopping for an Omatsuri, Drinks at a Brewery, and Dinner at an Izakaya

As is the tradition on Saturday mornings, I was up at around 7:00 am to chat and eat a king's breakfast with Kumagai-san. Despite warning her that I had practice at 10:00, and so could not eat much beforehand, no stops were spared when Kumagai-san prepared seven dishes for me. The real problem is that Japanese food is too tasty to turn down, and it is no exaggeration to say that she prepares some of the best varieties found anywhere in the capital city.

After a 10 minute walk to Gotanda Station and a 20 minute train ride to Ookayama - time that was spent studying my Japanese flash cards - I arrived at the Tokyo Tech soccer pitch 10 minutes before practice started. I quickly changed into my studs and joined the team for the opening kaigou (team meeting). Ogata-san, the team captain, briefed everyone on the upcoming practice and we set off warming up. This was followed by the standard stretching session, in which everyone pairs up and stretches with their partner's help (in unison with the team). Since we have a match tomorrow afternoon, practice was shortened to only two hours today. In truth, this was a welcomed-relief from the severe heat that has recently engulfed Tokyo. I am afraid that as the days tick by, and summer inches ever-closer, the heat will become an even greater problem.

Once practice ended, we raked the field and sat around chatting for an hour. I was invited by Hibino-san (a vice-captain) to join Kono-san and Ogata-san (vice-captain and captain, respectively) on a trip to an onsen (natural hot bath) on Monday. Hibino-san will be driving us two hours outside Tokyo to a place in Yamanashi Prefecture, so it should be an interesting experience. More importantly, it further signifies the progress I have made with the team that I have been invited by the top three players to join them on a non-soccer-related event. No longer are they just teammates, they are becoming true friends.

Upon arriving back at the house in kita-Shinagawa, I drank a couple bowls of miso soup to replenish my liquids and finalized my plans for the evening with Kumagai-san. We agreed on a walking tour of old-Shinagawa that would include: purchasing an outfit for an upcoming omatsuri (お祭り, or a Japanese festival) and visiting a place I found along the Tokyo docks with an amazing harbor view.

As for the omatsuri, Kumagai-san generously bought me a traditional outfit to wear so that I would fully look the part on the weekend of the festival. I will write more about all of this as the festival approaches (June 7-8). I was fitted out along the old-Shinagawa shopping street, which looks like it has not chained one iota since the 1950s (despite the upscale modernization engulfing it on all sides). Coincidentally, we also ran into Ichikawa-san, who is in charge of organizing the omatsuri and earlier agreed to take me under his wing for the event. He is a friendly and highly successful Japanese man in his 40's who speaks great English, so I am sure I will learn much from him during the event.

From the old-Shinagawa district we had a further 30 minute walk through the Tokyo harbor area. There were massive storage containers everywhere, and even larger machines used for lifting the freight onto ocean liners. As a result of my marathon-training and a general tendency to explore the city, I have become somewhat of an expert on the lay-out of Tokyo. In the process, I discovered a cargo-entrance gate that is not guarded by officers, and so can be entered stealthily. I felt bad about putting Kumagai-san through this because she is less-inclined to "bend the rules", so I first approached a nearby gatehouse to ask the guards if, "We can please have a look at the harbor scenery?" Naturally, their response was, "No, it that is not allowed. This area is off-limits" (plus another sentence that I did not understand, but Kumagai-san was keeping her distance so as not to get caught up in any of this).

I subsequently led the way to the lorry-entrance where we walked past slumbering truck drivers (who probably wouldn't say anything even if they were awake) and reached the waterfront. In front of us was an unadulterated view of Tokyo harbor from front row seats. Below are a couple of pictures... In the one to the left, the famous man-made island of Odaiba (お台場) can be seen, including the globe-like Fuji TV headquarters building. In the picture to the right, northern Tokyo is visible in the distance, along with the "rainbow bridge" stretching across the harbor.

As is evident from the storm-clouds in the pictures above, rain soon started to fall, and out came our umbrellas. To this day, I have yet to figure out how the Japanese people always seem to have an umbrella when it is raining, but somehow they do. The smart-asses out there will say they check the weather before going out, but doing so every day when the Tokyo weather is undeniably unpredictable defies my understanding. At least I have finally started getting the hang of it (after purchasing six umbrellas since my arrival - and losing all but two).

On the walk back, we decided to stop at the T.Y. Harbor Brewing Company, which is a local brewery/restaurant serving a high-end clientele in the chic Tenozu area.

Rather than having a full meal here, we sat in the bar area for about an hour sampling the different beer on tap and eating a toscano-styled olive pizza. Besides the great beer and food, I had a great time observing the many customers who came through the doors. Nearly everyone was dressed in the newest fashions, barring a handful of people (ourselves included) who live in the area and were just stopping in for a quick drink.

We decided against eating dinner at the brewery as it would be more interesting to try someplace new. Despite the rain, we walked back toward the old Shinagawa district where Kumagai-san wanted to try an interesting izakaya. The place specializes in the three main forms of Japanese osake ( お酒 or alcohol): nihonshu (日本酒, rice wine), shochu (焼酎, alcohol distilled from potatoes), and umeshu (梅酒, alcohol made from Japanese peaches).

I tried the taster set shown to the left, which included different brands of umeshu served in a variety of styles, such as with honey or mixed with a citrus fruit. All were equally delicious and smooth, which is a trademark of the alcohol (typically with an alcoholic content of 15-18%).

I had a bit of grilled seafood to go along with the umeshu. A large pot, filled with coals and used for grilling the food, was placed in the middle of the table. I sampled several different shellfish, which can be seen in the picture to the right, along with small fish that measure 5-7 centimeters in length. These are a typical izakaya snack, and are basically grilled and then eaten whole - the bones are small enough to chew without causing any harm.

After dinner, it was a short walk back to the house where I picked up my Japanese language books to fit in a bit more studying for the day. I am not sure how productive I was after all the beer and umeshu, but it never hurts to try.