Pork Perfection

I am standing here at my favorite Yakiton (Pork not chicken) establishment in Tokyo. This venerable establishment has served this neighborhood, salarymen, OL's and other everyday folks for over 80 years.

This is my kind of place. There is a rule here that my aunt informed me of. If you do not drink or if someone in your party is not drinking (alcohol), you will not be served. My aunt learned this the hard way. She does not drink. Consequently, she has to wait for my uncle or cousins to come home after drinking to enjoy the morsels of pork served here. They do take out here, more as a courtesy to appease the wives and kids at home for their customers. I am not standing in front of the take-out window, must drink.




Their specialty is the tataki, locally known as tsukune. The tataki is minced pork much like hamburger. Beyond the flavor, what make this special is the texture. The meat and other parts are coarsely ground. There is a pleasant crunch when you bite in to the tataki which complements the flavor of the tare.

This establish caters to the normal working folk. Nothing pretentious here. Just value. There is only one choice of draft beer. One choice of sake. Bierly's Orange or Cider. No coke.... Just the basics.

Prices are kept low by using pork. They use all parts of the pig. This year, we discovered a new menu item, the Teppo (pig's head). It was the best, I regret not knowing about this before. It is roast pork on a skewer, only better. Fat Meat Fat. As my Lee would say "That was awesome!!!"




Other dishes include cartilage, skin, liver, gizzards and other parts. These are called Horumon in Japan.




Our favorite dish here is the motsuni. It is miso based stew of tripe. The tripe is stewed until it is so soft that it melts in you mouth. The soup is so rich. This is one of those places that you don't want to ask when was the last time that they washed the pot. Honestly, I do not think the staff is old enough to remember.

Day 3 Old and New

 

This picture was taken on the grounds of Zojoji Temple in the Shiba neighborhood Tokyo. Zojoji is the temple of the Tokugawa family and is the burial site of several family members. Buildings on the grounds date back to the 15th century.

In the background is Tokyo Tower.

The temple in the forefront and the Tokyo Tower in the background shows the contrast of traditional and modern architecture.

Sake

Drinking Jizake is something I look forward to in my travels to Japan.
Jizake 地酒　means local sake. What does this mean. Well, it is akin to microbrews in the US. The sake is distributed on a limited basis and is often only found on a seasonal basis. The limited distribution makes it more like a fine wine. Every season brings a different trait to the same sake.

Our favorite spot to taste and purchase sake is the Meishu Center in Hamamatsucho.
Why do we like to frequent this shop.

Well, first and foremost is the friendly staff. This trip was the second visit
for us to the Meishu Center. It was nice to be greeted with a friendly smile and gracious irrashaimase. I was really tickled that the staff remembered us from last
year.

Secondly, the selection is just awesome. Their selection may not be the most extensive, however I was not able to find one sake sold there that could be found on the shelves here in Hawaii.

The staff is attentive and knowledgable. Each of us had different traits that we enjoyed in sake. Malcolm prefers a more fruity flavor to his sake. I prefer dry more subtle flavor. Kurt prefers nigori sake. Well you get the picture. The staff was able to make recommendations that suited our palates perfectly.

I bought a bottle of sake there. Unfortunately, my schedule did not allow me a second trip there to purchase more sake. But, the rest of the gang went back on friday to purchase a few more bottles.

Meishu Center is on my itinerary on every trip to Japan.

As you can see from the picture, we made quite a splash there. In hindsight, we drank a lot of sake. Too much, nah.

Special Thanks to our friends at Meishu Center for their hospitality. We will definitely visit again.

Edo Tokyo Tatemonoen 4 (Toden)

This is a picture of a street car (toden) at the Edo Tokyo Museum. Street Cars were once a common form local transportation in Tokyo. The Tokyo Street Car system was very efficient prior to the development of the current subway, train and bus system.

This is a recreation of a street car headed for Shimbashi. A network of Street Cars running through Shimbashi, Daimon and the surrounding area was the main mode of transportation at the time.

Our group stays at the Shiba Park Hotel in the Shiba area. We did not notice any signs of Street Cars that ran through the area. No remnants of rail lines. However, we did notice that the main streets were a little wider. In fact, the street which Daimon is located at seems to be pretty wide for a 2 lane street in Tokyo. HMMM, I wonder if the line once ran through the gates of Daimon????

Currently, the only street car line that I know is the Toden Arakawa Line. This line runs from Waseda (University) Station to Minowa Bashi.