teamEggers

Hanami: Naka-Meguro / YoYogi

“Spring” is the only season I’ve ever tagged in the blog, which… makes me wonder. Why? I don’t even particularly like spring. If I had to pick a favourite season, fall wins by a landslide. The colour palette is way better. But with spring… it’s easy to focus on how drastic it is.

April rains, and rains. And it’s hot and it’s cold. And then you blink, and in an instant if seems as if the whole world has exhaled. It’s quite breathtaking, when you come right down to it.

So it’s no wonder then, that I post about spring so often. And springtime, in japan, is quite the place to be.

We’ve talked about hanami, yes? It’s perhaps the very best piece of japan we can take home with us: the tradition of stopping what you’re doing to celebrate the fleeting beauty of things. Celebrate how good things are. Be outside with your friends. Drink, merriment, etc. Have a… corona?

When that’s what they’re selling out of trucks on the side of the road, that is. The evening in Naka-Meguro, I think we ate dinner a total of 7 times. Julie, jon and I literally stopped at every food vendor that looked tasty, split something and moved on. I was so full I could have been rolled into the river, and I might not have minded.

Japanese girls have this adorable way of standing next to the low-hanging blossom and flashin the peace sign for the camera. If jon were an adorable japanese girl, this is what he might look like:

**

Another day, another park. More springtime.

Japan is not a place for the claustrophobic.

But for those who stay, it’s totally worth braving the crowds. What a cool place to have been able to live in.

I had to keep reminding myself that I might not be anywhere else like this again. We met Emi and Reece at a party on a sunday afternoon, in yoyogi park. It was exactly how you might imagine a party in a tokyo park look like: loud music (until the cops come and tell them to turn it down), booze, & dancing. And a lot of people.

In my natural state, I’m kind of a downer and have to be coerced into have a good time. Thanks, jon. (On the flip side, look at my fantastic glasses. Ashley said I was “so fitted” or something with this coat.  I think she meant I matched.  Am I an old lady because I think teenagers speak a different language?)

Also… Emi and Reece are so totally perfect for each other… they even match today:

Gyoza Stadium

Boy, we’re winding down here. Only a few more adventures left to tell you about, and even fewer left to be had.

Somewhere or other, I heard about the Gyoza Stadium: a dumpling-theme park in Ikebukuro (northern Tokyo).

The Stadium brings together what they consider to be the 11 best gyoza shops in the country, and each has about 5 different offering at their mini-restaurant.

The sum of all things combined is: 1. a very full belly, 2. some over stimulation, 3. a really chaotic environment. The walls were dark, the lights neon, and in true Japanese fashion, there were people everywhere.

I hadn’t ever considered “pot stickers” as more than the ubiquitous appetizer in asian restaurants, and I was surprised by their variety! Here’s one covered in leek and raw tuna:

At the same stand we found one of my favourites of the day: a very simple black pepper filling, topped only with fresh lemon juice.

Most Gyoza-ya have the standard 3 bottles on the counter, and you mix your sauce as you like it. For me: mostly soy, a whallop of rice vinegar, and about three drops of chili oil. Okay, so I’ve lived here for 8 months and can’t speak a lick of the language, but at least we learned how we like our food.

We asked Julie to come along for a couple of reasons. First, Julie’s always up for anything and she’s quite possibly the best lunch companion a girl could ask for. Second, a food theme park? right up her ally. Third (and most selfishly), we could try WAY more gyoza with a third person helping us!

While most gyoza are filled with pork, we found one that was filled with Japanese beef. They shop suggested that we skip the sauce as it was so flavourful inside – boy, were they right! It’s a good thing jon’s used to me spilling all over myself. Those things were juicy!

As an aside, it’s got to be next to impossible to live in Japan as either a vegetarian or someone who doesn’t eat pork. The little piggy juice is *everywhere*. Which leads me to our next stop…. ramen-ya! Come on, we couldn’t not get ramen. Even if we were so full I wanted to explode.

So this place is called Ganko and it’s a famous line of restaurants around the city. I’ve come to really love a good soft-boiled egg. It makes life… smoother.

What looks like an elaborate March Madness bracket, is really the Ganko family tree. Each family member has their own location!

I had heard from the blogosphere that this place was really spectacular – though I can’t remember exactly what it was that was worth mentioning. It was good, don’t get me wrong, just perhaps not worth an hour-long train ride on its own. But, if you’re in ikebukuro and are hungry, look for the awning with the bones.

See you next time!