Lazy Friday Afternoon

Lucky you.  You were going to be reading my rant today about something I don't like about Japan - the excessive use of plastic bags and packaging and the questioning as to why, plastic bottles need also to be shrink wrapped.  But you have been saved by the lovely Sophie, who I have met through my new yoga center, YogaJaya in Daikenyama, and the wonderful ayurvedic diagnosis and massage she has just given me.  

My dosha is 'Pitta' apparently - I like eating, am competitive and choose aggressive sports, which doesn't sound like me at all!  So now I'm sitting here in the sun, with my ripening tomatoes, and a lovely cup of herbal tea, not feeling quite so angry about the world.

Instead I'm going to tell you about a new area I discovered yesterday, called Jiyugaoka which is about 20 minutes from home on the bike.  Its probably the closest I've come to having real energy in a town, to which I can relate and I would describe it as Tokyo's version of Ladbroke Grove.  Its full of little bustling cafes, design and clothing shops.  I actually found a Next, Talbots and a Laura Ashley (are they still going?) which I wouldn't exactly describe as 'cool' but maybe for some.  I had lunch with a lovely friend of Sergio and Blair's who is Japanese but has been living in Rome for 20 years.  She greeted me at the station with kisses and a big hug - something I've never actually seen another Japanese person do.  We ate pasta in a cafe and finished it off with a perfect macchiato (yes Piers!), again something I haven't found elsewhere, and talked for hours about Japan from our perspective as outsiders.  

I liked the area so much I dragged M there later for dinner.  We found a tiny tapas bar called 'Mariscos Boo', where we sat along a packed bar that could have been in Madrid, bar the Japanese faces.  In so many ways, the Japanese take something that has been invented elsewhere and adapt it, usually making improvements in the process - loos being a good example.  In the same way, when a Japanese chef takes another cuisine, the recipe is adapted and a Japanese version of the dish is created.  As we were unable to read anything on the chalked blackboard which hung above our heads, the chef took control and amazing dishes popped up from behind the bar in perfect intervals.  Our dinner consisted of creamy chilled soup in tiny cups, followed by fish carpacco with a delicious salad, tasting of aniseed.  M also had a large platter of meats which made him very happy.