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#foodie Japan

Okonomiyaki, Osaka-style.

Okonomiyaki; not sure if this was any different than any other kind of okonomiyaki found in Tokyo, but the restaurant was apparently specialized in Osaka-style cuisine.

I love the mix of sauces on top; I guess this could have been eaten by several people, but I ate it by myself since I was out alone.

I need to learn how to make this; people translate “Okonomiyaki” as “Japanese style pizza”, which sounds really odd. I guess there’s no real transliteration for the word–it just translates into “As you like it grilled,” which sounds even more odd. I guess just calling it “Japanese style pizza” helps Westerners understand the concept more.

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#foodie Japan restaurant

Okinawan Food


After spending the whole day out with my friend Mayumi , I realized that I really need to get out of Tokyo and explore more of Japan. I want to go to all the other “major” areas of Japan–Hokkaido, Osaka, Kyuushuu, Okinawa–and also to the more rural areas as well. I just need to explore more of the country; after all, there’s more to Japan than Tokyo, just like there’s more to the US than NYC, DC, SF, LA, etc.

I was perusing through Granduo today at the Tachikawa station; felt bored and restless, so I walked around the mall a bit and listened to some music. I went upstairs to the food places and found this little gem called Ichariba, which serves Okinawan food. I had never tried Okinawan food before, so I decided to venture in.

The menu had a lot of healthy items, including some items to preserve youth. I went for the Maguro rice bowl (raw tuna slices with rice), since the picture looked appealing. That choice was a good one for me; I needed something light and healthy to fill me up for the day, and this was it.

I’m not quite sure what the green or white stuff was, but nonetheless it still tasted delicious. Eating this dish made me really want to go to Okinawa soon!

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#foodie fast food Japan Japanese food

Sasebo Burger

This is a Sasebo burger–apparently the first “Japanese hamburger” originating from Sasebo located in Nagasaki. My friend Mayumi told me about the burger, and said that we should go eat it since she was going to be in Tokyo for the day.

I didn’t really know much about the burger, what made it special–but biting into it, I realized it was indeed unique. There’s egg included, and the burger is made fresh–this isn’t a fast food burger. We ate it at Zat’s Burger Cafe in Nakano; apparently Sasebo Burger is also available in Tachikawa at a small burger stand by the south entrance of the station.

The burger looks a little thick from the picture, but I felt it was a good enough portion for me. The restaurant was fun, relaxing–couches to sit on upstairs, just like a “regular” cafe. I wish I had known about this burger earlier on! I probably would eat it more if it weren’t for the abundance of burgers in the US already. Granted, I can’t get a Sasebo Burger in the US, but still, the idea of eating a lot of burgers in Japan makes me feel awkward.

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#foodie fast food Japan

Ramen shop.

I was craving ramen today, and happened to stumble upon a chain ramen shop by the Tachikawa station. Unfortunately, I felt a little embarrassed at the restaurant since I couldn’t find the “Call” button (it was located on the wall behind me), and a nice man gave me a coupon that I couldn’t read/understand until after I ordered my meal. Oops.

But, still, the ramen was tasty and quick. Wish there were ramen shops like this in the US.

Categories
Japan Life Decisions transportation

Fire incident on the JR.

It was one of those days where I pretty much felt that Fate/Destiny was telling me to not go through with my plans for the day. Originally, today I was supposed to go to an interview session for an English-teaching company. The emails bounced twice when I tried to reply to the company confirming my attendance, but I decided I would still go to the session to notify them of this situation. I hoped that they would still let me attend the session since the bounced emails is a problem with their system, not mine.

Ah, but then an acquaintance notified me of the chaos ensuing within the train lines; apparently, there was a fire along one of the train lines (perhaps, Chuo), and many of the lines were either stopped or severely delayed. I became a little worried since I had to take the Chuo and Yamanote lines to get to where I needed to go (Osaki). I thought maybe the train situation would be fixed by the time I reached the ticket gates, though…..

Arriving at the Tachikawa station, I approach the ticket gates and notice the swarm of people going in and out of the Nambu line entrance. It looked massively insane and headache-inducing. Since the Chuo was the main line towards Tokyo from Tachikawa, everyone had to resort to taking the Nambu line and finding alternate routes to get to central Tokyo. I sat outside of the ticket gates, watching the madness for a few minutes, until I finally decided, “I can’t go to the session. I’d probably show up late if I went through Nambu; plus, there’s no confirmation that I ever made it onto the list–why bother with all the trouble to arrive at the office when there’s no real confirmation?”

I took a risk and decided I would not deal with the matter. The Chuo line was supposed to start back up at noon, which was when the interview session would begin anyway. I decided I would save myself some money (1200 yen for a round trip to Osaki from Tachikawa! Whoa.) and trouble.

It was probably the best decision I made for the day. After all, I then had the day to relax and reflect on the busy week I have had.