Eat Local - April 29 (updated on May 6)

Turn left, and left again. Go one block and cross the street. Turn right and go about three blocks until it curves around to the left. You will come to a place that looks like Times Square.

Turn left just before the railroad station. There is an alcove between the 7-11 convenience store and the Docomo. Take the elevator in the alcove up to the third floor. You made it to Teppan Nihyakudo, and now you get to have dinner!

We were seated at a counter, right in front of the chefs. They were busy cooking teppanyaki, but it wasn't like anything you ever saw at Benihana's. It was much more down-to-earth, local-style food. The atmosphere was casual. 

There were seats for around 50 people, at booths, tables, and the counter. Under my seat was a cubby for my purse and pullover. Much appreciated because the food odors would otherwise permeate my outerwear. Menus were strategically used as dividers between every two seats to give couples a little more personal space.

They gave us an English menu, but it didn't help. We still didn't know what the types of dishes were. Even with photos. Several dishes could be ordered with "gristle." The desserts were at the front of the menu. I like that idea!

I decided to order something that had shrimp and avocado in it, and not worry about what else might be in it. The menu did not have an English name for whatever it was. Ken ordered "Chinese sweet potatoes" for a starter and "pork steak" for his main course.

They brought us warm washcloths to refresh with and then the show began. We watched one of the chefs cook numerous mounds of food. There were about four basic types. One looked like pancake batter with little green and red things in it. When it was done it would be folded in on itself and sometimes things would be put in the middle. Type two was sort of like an omelet. Type three was a big mound of vegetables and eggs with a few little slices of pork. It looked like a giant latke when it was ready, but then it was plated with a combination of brown, white, yellow and/or red sauce. When I say "plated," I mean it was places on a square of aluminum foil and put on something like a baking sheet with a handle. The fourth type was an egg dish that wasn't very cooked. It was placed on top of a pile of something that might have been shredded cabbage. 

One chef cooked all the meat and seafood, and also that hamburger and egg and gravy thing that looked like a Hawaiian Loco Moco.

It was all so interesting and fun to watch.

The Chinese sweet potatoes tasted like regular potatoes.

The pork steak was delicious.

They brought us some odd bowls with odd little spatulas in connection with my shrimp and avocado order. (It is expected that you will share.)

My dish was good, but I don't think I would get it again. It had a lot of ginger in it.

That was dinner. Now let me backtrack a bit. Today is a holiday - Showa Day. It is the beginning of Golden Week. Everybody gets today (Friday) off, plus all of next week. When we arrived at the subway station at around 11 this morning, this is what we found:

It was a little bit spooky.

Koishikawa Korakuen Garden was built in 1629 by the founder of the Mita branch of the Tokugawa clan as his second residence. It has been designated as a Special Place of Scenic Beauty and as a Special Historic Site. It is a true oasis of green and calm in the middle of a city. When you are half a block from it, you wouldn't even know it is there.Tall apartment buildings surround it on three sides Unfortunately, on the fourth side, there is one of those gigantic white puffy sports domes. When we were there, there was loud music coming from the dome. It ruined the ambience of the garden.

Who knew?

Full Moon Bridge: The reflection and the arch form a full circle

After the garden, we rode the subway over to the Yurakucho area to see if we could find the good yakitori place we had been to last night.  I don't know that I would have recognized it if we had walked right by it. It didn't have any distinguishing features.

 

Finally, we decided to make a decision. It was getting late. We were on a downscale street that was full of little bars and lunch places - nothing fancy - and we had to pick something. We picked a place on a corner because it had a lot of people in it. It seemed to be the Japanese version of a diner. The windows in front were plastered with pictures of food and prices. The menu was not in English and the pictures in the menu were hard to see if you didn't know what they were supposed to be. I couldn't figure out what to order. The waiter/cook brought me outside to look at the nice photos on the window. He waited patiently while I looked at all the photos. I ordered something that looked like a big round omelet with gravy on it. I wasn't going to eat it all, but it was so tasty I almost finished it. I still don't know what it was. And we did not take any photos during this part of our adventure.

This is where we did not go for lunch: A five-story glass and steel edifice dedicated to hamburger freshness. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After lunch, it was just a short walk to the Imperial Palace. It was easy to find because of all the tour buses. And because I had a map. I never go anywhere without a map. 

In front of Nijubashi Bridge at the Tokyo Imperial Palace

I think we saw this guy at the museum.

Here I am, trying to scare Godzilla.