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.  

Manga art museum

All the street furniture in our closest little town, Sakura-Shinmachi, seem to be is covered in cute little cartoon characters.  They also feature in shops, as stickers and life-size cardboard cut outs - the fish shop has a little cat licking his chops, for example.  The most repeated cartoon is a little girl with dark curls who appears almost on every available surface.  At first, I thought this was a whimsical feature of the neighbourhood - like the playing of 'here comes the bride' repeatedly on the street tannoy system.  Today however I discovered that these characters are the work of Hasegawa Machiko and the area houses a museum of her work.

Machiko was the first female Manga artist and creator of the comic strip Sazae-san - about a young mother and her family, which was hugely popular throughout Japan between 1947 and the mid 70's, and later turned into a cartoon animation.  These characters are those depicted everywhere in our town.  The series was comparable in popularity to the 'Peanuts' strip in the US and the museum, though small, is frequented by a large number of fans.

A little bit of North London

Ohio goziemus (good morning).

This time round, it seems a lot easier to be here, and one of the reasons is that we're no longer fighting the local food in favour of what is familiar.  Thanks to Lucy and David's wonderful cookery book birthday gift, along with Nicolette's cookery video sent in very welcomed arrival pack, we have been teaching ourselves the art of Japanese cooking.  I now know the benefits of mirin, dashi (homemade!) and sake.  

Even my breakfast consists of rice and 'natto' - fermented soya bean (see pic), which is a lot more delicious than it looks!

Yesterday though, a big fat envelope containing my latest redirected mail, plopped through the door, and with it, Elle Decoration.  English reading material is much appreciated these days, because its so rare, and I've even taken to reading direct mail.  Magazines now get read cover to cover.

This one contained some beautiful pics with flowers styled by the lovely Hayley and an article on Melrose and Morgan, a deli in Primrose Hill where I've spent lots of dosh.  I took it to be a sign, and loving made crab cakes, adapting some of the ingredients from the recipe provided, along with a green salad and proper vinaigrette.  Even using a knife and fork was a pleasure.  

After dinner, we sat on the terrace and listened to Sara Jane's brilliant award winning radio piece and I urge you to do the same before it runs out in 3 days.  Its about people living outside the walls of Pentonville prison and its really thought provoking.  It was a perfect North London evening, with the added benefit of gardenias on the terrace.  Here is the link to the piece:

http://tr.im/nYda

And here is the recipe, with my variations, which I think added to the taste.

MINI CRAB CAKES - you need about 2 per person and this recipe makes about 8

500g mashed potato

350g crab - white and brown preferably but I used tinned to make up the quantitiy

25g butter - mix this in with the mashed potato

zest and juice of a lemon

1 small red chilli, deseeded and chopped up 

1 clove of garlic

1-2 star anise - roasted and then pounded in a pestle and morter

1/2 shallot or little onion - chopped small

1/2 cup of chopped herbs - parsley, dill, tarragon or whatever you have - mine were from my herb garden

pinch of salt and pepper

By mistake I also added the yoke of an egg which was supposed to hold on the breadcrumbs but as I didn't have any, it didn't seem to matter

Basically bung all the ingredients into a bowl and mix with a fork.  Take a dollop into your hands and make 8 or so little cakes - this is weirdly pleasurable.  You need to stick this in the fridge for a few hours, in my case, 4.  When you are ready, put some flour on a plate and coat each side of the fish cakes.  Pour veggie oil into a non stick pan and, with the heat up high, brown the cakes on each side (about 2 mins each side).  Then stick them into a preheated oven for 15 minutes at 180 degrees.

Eat whilst reading the sunday papers, or watching TV or something else that will make me wildly jealous!

Weekend on the coast

After 24 hours solid rain, we decided to get in the car and drive to the peninsular about 150km south west of Tokyo. Once off the motorway, the journey takes you past the usual DIY and drive in restaurants, along with the not so usual pachinco outlets and paddy fields and then through, round and under a number of distinctive lumpy hills, covered in lush green tropical rainforest. At the end, we encountered a stretch of road that literally spiraled until we reached sea level and then on to the coast. And what a coast! Gloriously white sandy beaches, pretty coves where the rainforest pours down into the sea. Some with flat, cool water at the perfect temperature and others with larger waves, maximised by surfers bobbing about like seals. We tried a bit of both, breaking for lunch at a roadside cafe where we we ate roasted fish, sashimi and noodles, looking out to sea through the open doorway.

For me, it was a perfect heat. Not too hot and a cool breeze. Im so good these days with my sunblock and seasoning my limbs gradually. Not so for my beach accomplice. 'You look like an american' he quipped at my sunhat, turning down my offer of sun factor. This morning, he looks like a roasted tomato.

I thought I saw Geoff Vader!

Another delightful Japanese curiosity that has appeared since my last visit is the wearing of large visors by ladies of a certain age.  These are often pulled down to complete obscure the face and are often accompanied by shoulder length black gloves.  Looking like Darth Vader, they are commonly known as 'black widows'.  

Everybody knows that the Japanese live forever - 78 m Japanese are currently over 80 years of age.  There is also a national obsession with health and beauty, with life-extending pills and potions available at checkouts everywhere.  It seems that the over 60s are most determined to live up to the reputation, with 97.4% never leaving home during daylight hours, with an apparent fear of freckles!

Fukasawa fashionistas

I've talked about this before but I can't resist mentioning it again, particularly with the heat bringing out all kinds of weird and wonderful Japanese madness.  It seems that clothing for dogs, is the norm, particularly in Fukasawa, where we live.  In fact there are more dog shops, and beauty salons here for dogs than for humans.  The other morning, at around 9am, a lady walked past the house with a spaniel wearing a neck tie, striped t shirt and white Y fronts.  

It seems that here, ladies choose lap dogs over children - much easier perhaps, especially when they fit into your handbag.  Alternatively you can buy a push chair specially designed for your pooch, and pet strollers are as readily available as prams.  Groups of women sit having coffee with poodles on their laps, wearing cardigans and baseball caps.  I cannot imagine the conversation, or, more importantly, how this became normal.  

Another Tokyo Story

I've been back in Tokyo for a week an a half.  I haven't posted so far, mainly because I've been busy getting my act together and spending lots of quality time with M, but also because I've not felt like spouting much about the rather grim weather, having left London in all its glory.  

My plan is to start up my blog again to keep you posted on my antics, and I promise to pick up shortly in the next few days.  In the meantime, here is a pic of Tokyo (and they clouds) from M's 25th floor office.