Finding a Tokyo address

One day my 4G mobile internet connection refused to work and my battery had almost drained to 0% while looking for an address in 台東区 (Taitō-ku), one of the 23 special wards (kanji: 特別区; tokubetsu-ku) of Tokyo, in English referred to as cities. I had just gotten off the Odeo Line at Shin-Okachimachi Station and I quickly memorised the address but then my trouble began: how to read a Japanse address?

Japanese addresses start with the largest geographical entity first. But in this case I got the address from a website written in English and the address was adapted to western style: 4-25-10 Taito, Taito-ku, Tokyo. I knew I was in Tokyo and to be more specific in the city of Taito (台東区) so then I had to look for the next geographical entity, which in this case was the number 4, which refers to the city district 4 or 4-Chome (四丁目). Luckily I was already there.

Next is number 25, which is the banchi (番地) or city block followed by number 10, which is the gō (号) or house/building number. This can be written as follows: 25番10号 (25-ban 10-gō) or simply 25-10 on the gaiku-hyōjiban 街区表示板 or town block indicator sign. Sometimes this is followed by another number, which is the apartment number, necessary in big apartment buildings.

In this case that number was missing and I soon found city block 25 with the help of a kind lady in front of Takecho Park. Now all I had to do is find building 10. In the photograph below you see I'm standing in front of building 3. Very close! All I had to do is walk around city block 25 to find building 10.

From large to small. City of Taito, 4-Chome, City block 25, House/building number 10. For administrative purposes a postal code (〒) and prefecture is added in front of the full address. In this case the prefecture is 東京都 (Tokyo-to). The address I was looking for is written in Japanese as follows: 〒110-0016 東京都台東区台東4-25-10.

Taito-ku 台東区

4-Chome 四丁目

City block 25 番地.

Building 10 号.

Why was I looking for this particular address? I wanted to visit Shinohara Maruyoshi Furin, a small glass blowing and glass painting studio that produces Edo period furin, or wind chimes (fu=wind, rin=bell). During the Edo period (1603–1868) the Dutch introduced the technique of glass blowing in Nagasaki and in the 19th century glass furin became quite popular in urban Edo due to the low price. I bought two Edo furin. One with a painting of a brown robed Daruma and a bright red furin with a painting of a ship and the character 宝 (treasures) written on the sail.

Tsukiji Fish Market

Next to the famous Tsukiji Fish Market, where tuna and many other marine species are being sold wholesale, there is an outside market for the public with plenty of fresh fish, pickled vegetables, knives and kitchenware. My hotel was practically around the corner of Tsukiji so I headed to the market for breakfast every single day. There were plenty of restaurants catering to locals for a hot breakfast soup.

Some days I preferred raw tuna. The more fatty the tuna, the lighter color of the flesh and the more expensive the fish will be. The fatty part of the tuna is called toro, which is divided in two cuts: chutoro and otoro. Otoro, the fattiest portion of the tuna, is found on the very underside of the fish. 

I was just as impressed by the selection of pickled vegetables at the outside market.

From Otoro.com

Akihabara (秋葉原)

The district of Akihabara in Tokyo has its fair share of adult stores. These stores are intriguing, the higher the floor, the more adult the merchandise. The first floor is basically family friendly Studio Ghibli merchandise. One thing, which struck me was the noise of hardcore porn soundtracks being played on the adult themed floors. I resisted spending any money in these stores. Outside the leaves of the trees were golden. December can feel like autumn in Tokyo. The figurines interested me, though.

The figurines are sculpted in 3D before being produced. I am still upset for not preordering the below figurine based on cosplayer Iiniku Ushijima (うしじまいい肉). Illustrator ERIMO drew up the concept art, and model sculptor Sakurako Iwanaga brought that concept art to life in 3D.

2D concept art by Illustrator ERIMO

3D sculpture by Sakurako Iwanaga.

Miso 味噌 heaven

In Tokyo I decided to bring back one recipe back to Amsterdam. I chose miso soup (味噌汁 misoshiru). It is a deceptive simple soup.

First you need to make the stock called dashi (出汁, だし). It is a stock made from kombu (kelp) and kezurikatsuo, shavings of preserved, fermented skipjack tuna (katsuobushi).

I bought two types of kezurikatsuo. One made from 100 percent katsuobushi for a clear (ceremonial style, I was told) broth, and one made from a mix of skipjack tuna and cheaper unknown fish. The latter makes dashi for miso soup since the miso will mostly overpower the dashi. For each batch of 1 liter stock you need 30 grams of shavings. There are many variations. You can add niboshi (煮干し) or shiitake.

Basic dashi recipe
Clean a postcard size of kombu with a damp cloth without removing the white powdery "umami" substances. Put the kombu and 1 liter of water in a saucepan for at least 30 minutes up to half a day. kombu’s flavor comes out naturally from soaking in water. 

Slowly bring to a boil over medium low heat. Just before boiling remove the kombu. Turn off the heat to let the dashi cool down.

Add the katsuobushi and bring it to a boil again. Once the dashi is boiling, reduce the heat, simmer for just 30 seconds, and turn off the heat. Let the katsuobushi sink to the bottom, about 10 minutes. Strain the dashi through a sieve lined with a cheesecloth set over a bowl.

Furikake
You can use the left over kombu and katsuobushi to make furikake. Chop up the kombu into small pieces, combine with katsuobushi, and cook it in a saucepan. Optional: once the katsuobushi separates, add in a mix of sugar, mirin and soy sauce. Cook until the liquid evaporates and the flavor is absorbed, then sprinkle in sesame seeds before removing from the heat.

Miso
Miso comes in many forms. In Tokyo I found the shop Sano Miso which specialises in miso.

Sano Miso address:
1-35-8 Kameido, Koto-ku.
東京都江東区亀戸1-35-8.

I bought three types of miso. One made from uruchimai (粳米; rice), one from genmai (玄米; brown rice) and a miso paste from several grains including barley.

Below you can see the suggestion for each particular miso, which solid ingredients to add in the soup, like: potato, clams, fish and mushroom.

Garden of the Six Principles of Poetry

Rikugi-en (六義園) is a park in Bunkyō, Tokyo named after the Six Principles of Poetry. The poet-monk Shinkei's 'six principles' are: Allegorical Mode, Direct Mode, Panegyrical Mode, Mode of Precise Delineation, Metaphorical Mode, and Symbolic Mode.

Matcha 抹茶 for two.

Land Bar artisan

Walking into Daisuke Ito's Land Bar in the Shinbashi 新橋 district in Tokyo must feel like walking into an original 1920s speakeasy. A narrow staircase leads to a door in the basement of 3 Chome-15 Shinbashi.

The bar is tiny. Three guests were already sitting at the bar. Two empty seats remained. Daisuke Ito became a bartender to learn how to make the gimlet he tasted in Hisashi Kishi's Star Bar when he was visiting Tokyo from his native Sendai. Ito persuaded the master barman to hire him and learned the trade working 10 years under Kishi. Because of this reason I first ordered a gimlet. It was fun to observe Ito make my gimlet. While mixing he carefully tasted my gimlet twice to make sure the balance between the gin and the lime juice was just perfect. A gimlet can be sweet with added syrup. I was pleased Ito made my gimlet with just lime and gin.

For my second drink I asked Ito to recommend me what to order. Since I told him I was from Amsterdam he made me a cocktail with London Dry Gin No 3. This gin is distilled in The Netherlands in one of the oldest Dutch distilleries. For this cocktail he used two use huge blocks of clear ice, which has brought me to Land Bar in the first place. I wanted to observe this ice from close by. It takes 48 hours to make this type of ice. You have to freeze the water very slowly.

Notice the bottle on the right. Because I told Ito about my fondness for German wines he pulled out a bottle of Monkey 47 Schwarzwald Dry Gin. I never heard of German gins and even though I didn't drink Monkey 47, I sniffed from the bottle and this gin smells amazing!

The complementary glass of water also contained the clear ice. It is a beautiful sight. The roasted almonds and rice crackers complemented the experience. Ito pays attention to even the smallest detail. Perfection in 12 square meters.

Address:
東京都港区新橋3-15-6 村上ビル B1F.
B1 3-15-6 Shinbashi, Minato-ku, Tokyo.

Standing sushi bar

You can eat sushi in many ways. Famous are the conveyer belt sushi restaurants, you can get take away sushi at convenient stores and railway stations, and then there are the sushi-ya manned by the itamae 板前 or sushi chef. Eating in a sushi-ya can be very expensive. But then there are local standing sushi bars, where the itamae might concentrate less on presentation and more on taste. I was invited to eat in such a local sushi-ya. Since there was only space for six people, we had to wait outside for 15 minutes or so. Behind the counter were two itamae. The powerful smell of fresh fish made my mouth water.

We ordered okonomi style: a few pieces at a time. The itamae prepares the tane 種 (topping) and takes the sushi rice, moulds it into shape with his hand and puts the tane on top and serves it - up to two pieces at a time - one a wooden geta 下駄. This process repeats itself until you are completely satisfied. We ordered a sake taster with three different kinds of sake and we managed to drink six glasses of sake each.

I didn't even photograph half of all the sushi we ate. I concentrated mostly on the experience. Also, I cannot exactly tell the names of all the sea food. I was told the name of the fish or shell fish with each order but I couldn't remember everything. Trying to name different types of fish you can find yourself in a bit of a quagmire anyway. There are already 20 terms for members of the mackerel family. You really have to be an ichthyologist to name all the fish correctly.

Most sushi we ordered was nigiri 握り, which means 'shape by hand'. It is hand moulded sushi rice with a piece of (mostly raw) sea food on top. If the nigiri needs wasabi the itamae will add a little wasabi between the rice and the topping. The nigiri below looks like it was topped with Japanese seabass 鱸 Suzuki (Lateolabrax japonicus) but I cannot be sure. There is plenty of amazu shoga 甘酢生姜 or gari ガリto eat between the courses - ginger slices aged in rice vinegar and sugar.

The type below is called gunkan maki 軍艦巻き (battleship maki) which is sushi rice wrapped with nori 海苔 and a topping. In this case salty baby sardines. Fish eggs are also a popular topping.

Below: Kujira 鯨 nigiri. Illegal in most countries except Japan, Norway and Iceland. 

A small saucer with shoyu. Soya sauce can also be referred to as murasaki (紫) in a sushi-ya. It is good custom to quickly swipe the nigiri - fish side down - through the shoyu just once. Don't draw circles in the saucer with your nigiri.

We also ordered a cloudy rice wine which reminded me of makgeolli 막걸리. I am not sure how I should refer to this rice wine in Japanese. Is it simply unfiltered sake called doburoku (どぶろく or is there a more specific name?

Bowl of Sushi by Utagawa Hiroshige (Japanese: 歌川 広重; 1797 – 1858).