07 February 2008

tokyo

today, i explored tokyo with Masa


Masa is my good friend's (lolo - howbourgoise) friend. currently, he lives in tokyo, although, he does miss michigan. Masa took me around for a crazy day.


we started out in Asakusa, known for its temples. at the sensoji i picked my fortune and of course it was the unlucky one. after laughing it off, i tied it to a string to rid myself of it. Masa explained i was actually very lucky since it is very hard to pick that fortune.

yeah sure - masa.



next we went on to search for the otaku, people who obsessively love anime, often watching it with no sleep. at "tech town" -- success! there we found many otaku and experienced our first maid cafe! here girls dressed like anime maids and greet you with "welcome home, master" or "mo-eh"
after an interesting cup of coffee we moved on to lunch.


okonomi-yaki
flour batter+egg+cabbage+meat and griddle cooked with special sauce = delicious!



the afternoon was spent shopping, visiting more temples and drinking more coffee in Harajuku & Aoyama. this district reminded me of paris with its tree lined boulevard. the streets were filled with young japanese ready to spend money. here we wandered into the central park of tokyo and discovered the most beautiful and peaceful meiji shrine.




next dinner.
nothing beats beer and yakitori
ok i lied the the hamachi kama did!

dinner was awesome!!
- salmon sashimi - some kind of fish - hamachi kama - pork with tomatoes- yakitori -

yakitori, grilled bird, made from several bite-sized pieces of chicken meat skewered on a bamboo skewer and barbecued, usually over charcoal. often japanese eat this with beer.

the yakitori we ate:
nankotsu..chicken cartilage (the best)
kawa..chicken skin, grilled until crispy
tebasaki..chicken wing
other..all parts of the chicken mixed together



i got lost in translation





in the end it was a great day - thanks Masa!


i heart tokyo!


1 comment:

Lauren said...

Oh, what a great post and a FULL day! I liked your descriptions and the photos also. You must have had so much fun. I loved the "otaku" and maid cafe part.
Good job Katie, so glad you get to hang with Masa! Thanks for keeping us posted on your travels.