torakris

I'm really enjoying all the pictures, but I'm surprised that pedestrian mall looks so relatively deserted. I thought the Tokyo area was very crowded. ← This picture was taken about 10:30am, it was too early for most Japanese people to be out..... The Japanese seem to be slower about doing things in the morning, many stores don't even open until 11:00am! and almost nothing opens before 10:00. Places around here don't get crowded until lunch time and peak (especially on weekends) is around 2:00. It is was quite a bit more crowded 2 hours later.

This really depends on the tome of year, the time of month and my mood..... During the winter I tend to spend more time in the kitchen basically because I have no other place to go and it is the perfect weather for braised meals and stews. I can easily spend 2 hours in the kitchen and not think anything about it. I also do a lot more baking in the winter. In the summer I do many more fast meals, more pastas and salad and bread meals. I probably average 30 minutes to an hour in the kitchen on most days for dinner prep. This is probably longer than most Japanese women... This week has consisted of pretty fast meals so far as I have been to busy posting here to actually spend time in the kitchen.

oops I forgot to add the finished pork... I like all my meat rare and I cooked it to 145 F and let it rest until it hit 150F

Friday dinner roast pork, the recipe is from Jamie Oliver this one pound roast (460g) was the biggest they had at the supermarket so I had to "beef" it up with some onions. I seasoned it with salt, pepper and fennel seeds (I love fennel seeds!) and seared it in a fry pan, I then added it to the baking dish with onions, garlic, bay and rosemary (both from the garden) and a couple chugs of white wine. It was then covered and baked. while that was baking I did the rest of the prep the finished dishes kabocha and camembert gratin (topped with panko and EVOO), I buy whole kabocha and usually use about 1/3 at a time, so I still have a third left. green leaf lettuce and shredded carrots with "1890 style French dressing", the dressing is from David Rosengarten's It's All American Food and it is REALLY good! the wonderful olive bread from Carrefour This was probably my most expensive meal recently at about $12, I try to keep all dinners under $10 (1,000 yen ) for the 5 of us.

today for a snack Julia's friend brought over a bag of potato chips pizza flavored with camembert and cheddar cheeses...

One of the most famous spots in Tokyo for hanami (cherry blossom viewing) is the area around the Imperial Palace. My husband is currently working 18 stories above it, these are some pictures he took today with his cell phone. The pictures were taken from the top of here this is an old picture back when it was only 12 stories high, they finished the 18th floor today, This is right on the corner at Kudanshita station and will be the new headquarters to Aozora Bank.

hhmmmm... haven't decided yet, maybe I will get it in something before this blog is over. I have something in the oven now and it is smelling wonderful!! pictures to come....

I just found this at the site I linked to: Transit passengers waiting for ongoing international flights are asked to go directly to the departure gate of their connecting flight. Those wishing to leave the restricted area must obtain a temporary entry permit. Arrangements for these permits can be made with your airline prior to departure.

I am pretty sure kazuo is right, people on layovers can not leave the airport. am trying to remember but I am not even sure if you can go into the main part of the terminal.... You defnitely can not leave the terminal you are in, can you find out which one you will be landing in? Here is the Narita English homepage.

right now I am drinking

Here is what I purchased, today was payday! I was really dissapointed at Carrefour's selection today the prices were high and nothing looked good.... the couscous was a steal at 1 kg for 248 yen ($2.40) and I can't go there without getting some kind of bread, today it was an olive bread. I also picked up some instant ramen and dijon mustard at Kaldi (a worldwide import store) my non-food items the shirts were $6 (600 yen) each and I love the Wizard of Oz......

I again forgot to mention that lunch cost 1500 yen about $14 and the water (which was free) was bottled water, I don't know too many restaurants here that do that... Some pictures of the cherry blossoms on the way home

I forgot to mention that although it looks like roads running through the middle, the whole area is actually closed to all traffic.　Ｔｈｉｓ　ａｌｓｏ　ａ　ｐｏｐｕｌａｒ　ｐｌａｃｅ　ｆｏｒ　ｐｅｏｐｌｅ　ｔｏ　ｂｒｉｎｇ　ｔｈｅｉｒ　ｄｏｇｓ　as well and if you don't own a dog the pet shop there will rent you a dog for only $15 and hour!! We had lunch at Vietnam Alice a Vietnamese style restaurant produced by former Iron chef Yuataka Ishinabe, mostly it is over priced but the lunch is reasonable. We had the lunch special that consisted of a variety of appetizers and a choice of pho or Vietnamese curry. We bot had the pho the last time and I wasn't really impressed so we went the curry route. It was good but a little heavy for a lunch and we both felt overly full after the meal. The dessert was some kind of jellied tea, it had a really smokey flavor that neither of us cared for. The dessert we had last time, a mango jelly, was much better. the appetizer plate (one person) three dipping sauces the curry and dessert I like this restaurant because it has terrace seating and it was a beautiful day to sit outside, I just wish the 3 dogs at the next table would have stopped barking.....

Today Hide and I went to the Grandberry Mall with some friends of ours. this is an outlet mall near our house and I quite nice to stroll through though I rarely buy anything.... There is also a Carrefour, a French supermarket, that I really like. Some pictures from the mall the crepe buggy and the more savory ones

good question.... and one I really don't know the answer to... I probably learned it initially from the same cookbooks that I learned Japanese food from. My ex-boyfriend was also Japanese and we lived together for almost 4 years in the US, he did not like American food or basically anything non-Japanese for that matter so I had to cook Japanese. I also traveled to Japan with him 3 times for about 2 months at a time andI probably learned more from his mother. By the time I started dating my husband I probably cooked better than most Japanese women....

I always thought of iced coffees as a very Japanese thing... 10 to 15 years ago everyone in Japan was drinking iced coffee and when I would ask for it in the US people would just stare at me and have no idea what I was talking about. Matcha lattes are quite common and they even show up at Starbucks and other similar coffee shops.

Those sound very much like something you would find in Japan. The jellied stuff is called zeri here, and the kinds with some kind of fruit suspended in them are very popular.

What you have just written is what I have always thought as well, body temperature is what I have heard. It can be hard to get the perfect sushi unless you are sitting at the counter of a very well trained suchi chef.... This is why it is best to order it piece by piece one at a time.

Jason, welcome to eGullet and the Japan forum! I just checked out your link for Yuzumura and all I can say is Wow! I am looking foward to hearing more from you.

280 for a donut (about $2.50) that is pricey. There are too many donut shops in jaapn except for Mister Donut and I love their coconut donuts but I only buy them when they have their 100 yen ($1) sale days.... I used to have a Mister Donut at the station by my house but it closed about 2 years ago and I don't think I have had a donut since.

I forgot to add it is 8:00am and I am still drinking iced coffee and have nothing to eat yet...

That sounds just like Arden. Same age as Hide, if I remember correctly. He subsists on cheese, soy milk, almond butter on toast, and pretzels. It's really strange - he used to eat just about anything, but suddenly became very picky. Not sure why, but we keep offering all the things we eat and hope he'll branch out again soon. I'll definately give kabocha a try - whatever works! ← This too came on quite suddenly for Hide, he was never a great eater but now he just refuses almost everything.... They will grow out of it eventually I am sure. I just try to keep some of his favorite foods around, like yogurt and almost any fruit.

I can taste diiferences in water drunk straight but when it is used to make something like coffee I don't notice any difference. I refuse to spend money on water and drink tap water, as do all of my kids. The Japanese do not drink much water and I have some friends that almost never drink it. My kids are asked at a friends house what they want to drink they always ask for water and most people can't understand why they would pick that over juice or tea...

the "why is rice so expensive in Japan" thread

I think for the elementary aged school kids physical exercise it what keeps them slim, after school the parks are filled with kids, you see them riding bicycles all over the city and swimming and soccer are very popular after school activities. Though fast food is quite popular it is eaten in moderation (for most people ) and the Japanese also eat a more fresh produce than other countries and with more variety. this is what I posted in the kyushoku thread I linked to a page back, this is the Japanese version of the food pyramid: In Japan the food pryamid is actually a circle blink.gif , just like in the picture shown above. There are 6 food groups and the following information I am taking from my boshi techo , this is the "mother's handbook" that all pregnant women receive that records information form doctors visits, weight, blood pressure, urine test result, etc as well as information from the hospital after the birth about both the mother and baby. It also has a section in which the doctor notes all vaccines given and records everything from the health check the child has from birth until age 5. It is also sort of an all purpose pregnancy child book giving information on health and general wellness for both mother and child. my last child was born in 2000, so the information is from that edition, I doubt it has changed. Anyway the 6 groups (in parantheses are the examples given in the book): 1. protein (fish, meat, eggs, soy products) 2. foods high in calcium (milk, milk products, fish bones, seaweeds) 3. foods high in vitamin A (carotene) (green and yellow vegetables) 4. foods high in vitamin C and minerals (other vegetables and fruits) 5. grains, foods good for energy in sugar form (rice, bread, noodles, potatoes) 6. fats, foods good for energy in fats form (oils, butter, mayo) The Japanese circle focuses on balance and rather than saying how many servings of each group the recommendation is to eat 30 different kinds of foods everyday some from each group