Winter this year in tokyo is extremely warm. So warm that shots of the autumn trees were still possible in mid December which is especially true for ginkgo trees. Urbanization has not affected Tokyo badly. Trees blend in well with the bustling city and its people such that cherry blossoms viewing and autumn trees (maple, ginkgo,etc) can be widely enjoyed within the city itself.
The last of the autumn-like winter before gearing myself up for the real cold winter months ahead…
The dismantled bicycle that I saw on my way to work few days ago was still around at the same spot this morning. In Japan, it is a must to purchase a garbage disposal ticket in order to dispose off bulky waste (Eco-friendly measures).
So, please refrain from illegal dumping!
No, your eyes are not playing trick on you. These clam shells known as “Meretrix lusoria” are GIANT compared to normal ones in the market and they taste quite good. Most convenient thing is that you don’t have to wait for the sand to be removed.
Simply love claypots during winter. They keep the body warm. Plus the fact that you can just dump basically anything that you have in your fridge is a big convenience for well,, you can call me LaZYBones, but the word I want to use is “BUSY PEOPLE” like me.
Though the picture doesn’t tell enough about the taste, fyi, the taste wasn’t bad at all. *WINK*
Meretrix lusoria
claypot
I went to this cafe known as “charaku” today.
Though it is sitting just a mere 2 mins walk away from JR Chuo line mitaka station (north exit), most probably only regular customers knew about it because of its “hidden location”. The cafe has a very quiet ambience which I like very much.
And yes, the aroma of the curry. It fills the air some 20m or so away from the shop before even reaching. Upon entering the shop, one is greeted by those nostalgic Japanese music that the cafe is always playing. Well,,, you can call me old, but somehow I feel calm listening to them.
For just 900yen, the cafe offers set lunch with choice of either curry or spaghetti + salad + soup + coffee or tea. I am just wondering if it’s ONLY Japan’s cafe in the world that offers set lunch??
The exterior image of the cafe with terrace seats for those who smoke or would like to enjoy a bit more of the sun.
Cafe entrance
For those who wants to escape from the sun, go inside to indulge yourself in the nostalgic atmosphere.
Interior of cafe -- Table seats
For those lonely souls, opt for the counter table without worrying about having to share seats.
Interior of cafe -- Counter seats
The shop has many such small ornaments all over and thought they blend in well with the antique look of the interior.
Small little decorations
Finally, my healthy curry rice set came. Of course it tastes as delicious as it looks, but its unlike usual image of a curry because Japan’s curry is NOT HOT at all.
Its time to get back to work again after some moment of quiet time..
Curry set lunch
Effective space utilization techniques extending to bicycle lots. — Tokyo
It is grateful to know that the payment machine is linked to commutation ticket, so that choice of card payment other than cash is possible. How convenient!
And by the way, You know WHAT!?
The machine is on “24 hours guard” by a famous security company in japan. I bet the security company welcomes such business with big smiles. （*^o^*)/
Finally I found a little bit of time to update the items I bought at the outlet last month.
My “shopperholic button” is being triggered again after lying low for a while..
Oh there goes my saving plan for this month ….
To start with, these are the two bottoms that I bought.
Here I come, outlet park…
I chanced upon the sale information on the TV. “SALE UP TO 80% OFF” IT SAID.
Wow! Who could RESIST ??? So I was on immediately on my way the very next day.
Nestled in the outskirts of tokyo, mitsui outlet park is an outlet mall (like a factory outlet) whereby most of the Japanese fashion bands are gathered. I always enjoy shopping here, but as the place of my living is far from here, I seldom come UNLESS… they are having sale of course. ＼(＾-＾)／
A feel of the presence of autumn with the line up of trees with their leaves already turned golden.
A university located just beside the outlet. Couldn’t help envying the students..
An image of the outlet (looks very westernized).
An image of the shops in the outlet。
Yesterday’s foul weather finally gave way to a bright warm sunny day today. Such fine day gives an urge to go out to enjoy the good weather. I visited the home of a friend whom I had not seen for ages.
Come to think of it, visiting someone’s home in japan is a very rare chance for me and especially its someone that I haven’t been seeing for years. I must have gotten too excited and all I could remember was that I was talking, eating and drinking non-stop. I had a whale of a time.
The home is very cozy. On top of the furniture and layout, in my opinion, a bit of decorations here and there certainly does the additional work. I must say I have no idea when it comes to home decorations. I thought I have no sense and so, I couldn’t be bothered with it. But obviously, you don’t need to be an expert for some minor transformations. All it takes is a bit of imaginations, a bit of effort and a few playful touches. I picked up a few items that I thought seems interesting.
Some decorations on the door to greet you to start your morning with before heading off to work.
Didn’t know that the combination of dry flowers, twigs and small little decorations can turn into something creative d(^o^)b.
Oh no! All I know is that this was from Germany. Don’t ask me what it is because I was too busily trying to take pictures than listened to the explanation (￣へ￣|||) .And by the way, the numbers ended at 24.
With a few imaginations, even old plain pine cones can turn into wonders.
Good company, good food, good weather what other else to ask for? Moreover, I was presented with special souvenirs (rice cracker). A deserved to be mention is that the cracker come with a momiji (maple leaf)! WOW, its really beyond beyond description. Creative!
Finally, I knew that maple leaves ARE EDIBLE. It just tastes like ………… leaf, that’s all (LOL). Of course, the cracker is nice.
I took lunch at one of my favourite japanese restaurant called ootoya.
Besides chinese food, Japanese food tops my list of favourite foods. Not that I had experience with so many different types of cuisines around the world, but my preference for food are those which are “light”. When I mean “light”, vegetables are a MUST, oily foods are out, all meat only dishes are out, serving must not be too big (I must admit that I am not a big-eater) and foods that are saltish is a No No.
In general, the food balance for Japanese set lunch or dinner (known as teisyoku) are very well considered. Few types of vegetables usually accompany the set with miso soup. Its important for people like me who don’t do much cooking to include a bit of intake of every kind and they make me feel healthy.
Today’s lunch set is claypot stew chicken cutlet. I must admit I am 100% satisfied. (*^o^*)/
I have never ceased to be amazed by the beverage vending machines of Japan. There are always a wide choice of variety ranging from sport drinks to mineral water to tea to coffee and others for one to choose from. Occasionally, there are even seasonal beverages, new types of drinks or even new flavors up for grasp. The vending machines are never left empty. The stocks are always replenished even at the most remote part of the country.
See, this vending even has a LCD display showing latest new!
Just wondering if there are other people besides me who will try to read the news?
Beverage machine
By the way, you don’t need to understand japanese to identify which are the cold drinks or which are the hot drink ones. Its differentiated by the color of the price tags where blue represents cold drink and red represents hot drinks.
red and blue price tags
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