The Sake Shop

My friends Malcolm and Nadine recently opened the Sake Shop in Honolulu.




Both Nadine and Malcolm have a passion for sake'. A few years ago, they had an idea of opening a sake' specialty shop. They saw an increase in interest in sake' and saw this as an opportunity to fill a niche in the market.



Sake' has been available in Hawaii for generations. Growing up in Japanese households our impressions of sake' is mainly the warm sake' that comes out of the gallon jug served warm on New Years. Now, we realize there is more to sake' than the warm stuff. As people start exploring the world of sake' they are surprised at the different varieties of sake' available. As you get deeper into sake', you realize that each sake' is unique in flavor and has its own distinct character much like wine.






Many of us have been at a Japanese specialty store staring at the bottles of sake' on display. Quite honestly, I have a difficult time making a decision on which one to buy. Sake' is not an inexpensive indulgence. Personally, the fear of making a $40 mistake buying the a bottle of sake' is a deterrent from trying something new. Honestly, do you trust the recommendation of a clerk that will read you the label as an explanation?


The Sake' Shop provides a valuable service for the new sake' enthusiast. I can now shop for my sake' with the assurance that I can get an honest evaluation of a sake' before purchasing. I can get informed recommendations as to what type of sake' that I may enjoy.




I hope that you can visit the Sake' Shop sometime.

Ginza Shopping..., for myself

Our last full day in Japan is always in Ginza. It is the day when we shop until we drop..., a lot of money. Ginza is the most wonderful shopping experience known to man. Anything money can buy can be found in Ginza.




Ginza is where this group of friends buys some omiyage for friends. Admittedly, we buy more omiyage for our selves. If you do not already know, Ginza is heaven to foodies around the world. This is where we stock up on confections and food items for personal consumption.



Our first stop is the Akebono shop in Ginza. Founded in March of Showa 23 or 1948, this shop started as a small confection shop in Ginza. It is located in the famous Ginza 4 chome intersection. The shop makes wonderful senbei, arare and confections. We were able to find daifuku and ichigo daifuku (a favorite amongst locals).

What I buy at Akebono is the kuri (chestnut) monaka (confection with bean paste between two wafers). Many people say that they can get kuri monaka at the Akebono shop at the Airport. Well, that does not cut it for me. The Akebono in Ginza sells the Monaka with one whole kuri. Not the bits and pieces filling sold at their other shops. (People from Hawaii know the difference between the $10 box and $2 box of chocolate covered macadamia nuts, same theory)

The Kuri is firm and complemented with the white or koshi an filling. The kuri itself is mildly flavored to enhanced its natural sweetness. The sensation of biting into the crispy wafer into the soft sweet center to get to the firm kuri is something that must be tried. Heaven.

In case you did not receive this as omiyage from me, don't feel bad. Nobody else received this from me. It is strictly for personal consumption by me and my family.

http://www.ginza-akebono.co.jp/




A picture of my mom and I in Ginza.

Yokohama Chinatown

After a fun day visiting the historic city of Kamakura, our next stop was the modern city of Yokohama. Well not as ancient as Kamakura but still historic. Yokohama is home to one of the largest Chinatowns (outside of China).




For the record, I am drinking coffee.

I admittedly do not know much about Yokohama. I was definitely lost in the Chukagai (Chinatown). My concept of Chinatown was more in tune with the ones in Honolulu, San Francisco and Vancouver. My expectation was that we could get a wonderful Chinese dinner at a reasonable price.

Well, my problem was that I did not know much about Chinatown. In fact I did not realize how expensive some of the restaurants were.

We had dinner at an upscale Chinese Restaurant in Chinatown. We were expecting to dine family style and share various dishes. We found out that this place served everything ala carte. They even charged for tea by the person.

It was not all bad. The food was very good in a Japanesificated Chinese way. Huh, what does that mean? Well it means very mild flavoring that accentuated the meat and vegetables used in the dishes. No strong gravy like the local places. The food was very civilized.



We soon ran across this man in front of this suspicious shop. (I think it's a front. shhhh!!!) People in the neighborhood affectionately called him Dai Lo. He was a wise and friendly man. We regret not meeting him before having our meal. I am sure that he would have directed us to an establishment that was more suitable to us.




In summary, Chinatown is quite an experience. However, I should have known that Chinatown in Yokohama is no different than Chinatowns in the US. You need to have one of the locals to direct you to the best restaurants...., lesson learned.

Tsuruoka Hachimangu

Our last site to visit in Kamakura was the Tsuruoka Hachimangu Shrine.
We road a tourist bus from Kotoku-in to Kamakura Station. (It accepts Suica)

From Kamakura Station we walked through a local shopping district to a mall area leading to the Shrine.





We were greeted by a grant Torii gate. This is the entrance to the Tsuruoka Hachimagu Shrine. Tsuruoka Hachimagu is the most important shrine in Kamakura. It was originally built in 1973 and moved to its present location in 1191.

Hachiman, whom the shrine is dedicated to, is the Shinto god of war. Minamoto Yoritomo invited Hachiman to this shrine to protect the Kamakura shogunate.



The steps leading up to the shrine was steep. It was quite a hike up the stairs.




We were rewarded a cherry blossoms (sakura). It was early March, too cold for sakura to blossom in most of the Kanto region. But Kamakura's close proximity to the Pacific Ocean makes it possible for sakura to blossom early.

Kotoku-in

Our next stop on our trip to Kamakura was the Kotoku-in Temple.



Getting there was pretty easy. A 15 minute walk from Hase Dera.
The walk in the cool autumn air was pleasant. We were still pretty close to sea level but as we walked inland it started to get cooler.




Kotoku-in is known for its statue of the Great Buddha (Daibutsu). The bronze statue stands 13.25 meters tall and weighs over 90 tons.

The Daibutsu is said to have been sculpted in 1252. This was during the Kamakura period when Kamakura was the capital of Japan. Kamakura was also the spiritual capital of Japan as well.

The Daibutsu was once housed in a structure much like the Daibutsu in Nara. A tsunami washed away the building. On the temple grounds, there are foundations of the pillars that once supported the structure.