Ginza: Shopping heaven

My good Aussie friend Amy visited Tokyo last week. I was, and still am, in Tokyo for job interviews so we went to Ginza for some shopping.

Amy and I met each other in Japan.  She was an exchange student and I was her host sister. We had such a good time together, although our friendship grew relatively slowly after she went back to Australia. Now married to a wonderful husband, she loves traveling the world with him, mainly to enjoy skiing.

Since she was staying in a hotel in Shinbashi and she had only several hours before heading for Narita, we decided to walk to Giza to find something nice and Japanese.

As it turned out, I was a fantastic guide. (I believe so)

First, she wanted to try some Japanese sweets and green tea,  so I took her to a major department store called Mitsukoshi, where we could try some sweets and tea before buying.

Second, we went to the traditional stationery specialty store, Kyukyodo, where we found some beautiful writing paper and envelopes. Other things you can find here are beautiful boxes decorated with Japanese paper and postcards with traditional Japanese flowers. You can also find beautifully printed pieces of paper which can be used for gift wrapping.

"And what else?" I asked.

Amy said, "Shoes."

"Alright. I know exactly where to go!"

Then we went to Diana, a good quality Japanese shoe maker. Diana is not a very expensive brand but they make really good shoes. Most shoes are priced between $150 to $200. Amy's shoe size was 26cm, which was in the "L size room" on the top floor.

There we were, on the top floor. A shoe heaven for tall girls.

30 minutes went so quickly. We were lucky as winter shoes were on sale. Sales person was kind enough to show all the other stocks that were hidden in the store room. Amy was so excited and said,

"You took me to a baaaaaaaaaaad place!"

"If I buy six pairs, do you think that's too many?"

"Brian's going to kill me if he knows this...!"

......and ended up buying four pairs, instead of six. She looked so happy.

I felt like doing something very helpful. If you need a shopping guide in Japan, please give me a call.

Botan (poeny flower)

In Ueno Park, Tokyo, we can see beautiful Botan (poeny) flowers. 

Their bright colors are really something to see in winter.

I like this flower cuz my kimono has lots of botan flowers....!

The botan festival will continue until mid February.

Don't forget your camera!

Eat THE eel n rice

One of the things that I missed about Japan was eel. Sometimes it was available in Australia, usually in rolled sushi with cucumber. I tried once and couldn't swallow the eel which was like rubber. Yuck! If you can't fix it right then don't serve it anyway.

Japanese eel is beautiful. It's steamed and char-grilled with special thick sauce (usually each restaurant has a story for that sauce, such as "we've used the same sauce for over 100 years!( by adding new ingredients to the old one)" Eel goes lovely with white steamed rice. It's just delicious that way, but in this particular restaurant my friend and I religiously go to eat, we can have more fun with that.

OK-...so this is it! Called Hitsumabushi. On the right is the eel on top of white rice. Behind the bowl is a soup to eat WITH eel and rice. Next to the soup us some toppings - seaweed, chive, and wasabi. On the center of the tray is another soup.  And some pickles.

You can enjoy about 3 to 4 bowls of "eel and rice" but each servings can be different. First you eat the eel and rice as they are. This is delicious enough. Second you put some topping and eat it. This is what I like the best. Third you put some topping and pour the soup (the one that's behind the big bowl) on top of it, making it look like a porridge. This is also very good. And you can enjoy the last servings just as you like.

You can enjoy eel like this in Nagoya. The restaurant I go is the most famous one, I think. The name is Atsuta Horaiken. (I wonder who need this info but anyway)

It is a luxury for Japanese to eat eel. Well at least for me it is. Since I am unemployed and have no money, my friend was kind enough to buy me the lunch. YAY!

Phone interview coming up later this week. Research, research, research......

New Mobile

I've got myself a new mobile. It's OMNIA VISION by Samsung. It looks like iPhone with large touch panel with only three buttons. My father got me the first one when I was 16, and since then I've used ７, count them, SEVEN mobiles so far.  Among them, this new mobile of mine is the best and the coolest. I cannot be happier.

I got this one the next day I came back to Japan. I was still missing Australia a great deal, especially because I felt like I've left a half of my heart in my ex's hand.... but I knew I had to move on and start something new immediately. After I got my new number and getting several "welcome home" messages from my Japanese friends, I started feeling excited. This phone will bring back my Japanese connection, this phone will make me meet new people, this phone will help me find a job, a place to live, and hopefully, a person to call a boyfriend.

Late at night my mate gave me a call after work. He's my ex-work colleague and a really good personal friend. Married with one daughter and another on the way.

"When did you get back?"

"Just yesterday. How are you?"

"Tired. You should know. I feel horrible to think that I'm going to be USED by the company until I retire. I'm paid slightly more than before, but busy like hell. Oh, and by the way, are you coming back (to the company)? The president mentioned you at the meeting this week."

I was surprised. That president wants me back? Looks like I already have a job offer, which is nice to know in this economic situation.

I'm going to apply some today.