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eG Foodblog: torakris - Pocky and the geisha

torakris

By torakris
in Food Traditions & Culture

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torakris

torakris

Posted
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Posted
The main reason I am asking its that want to know a country of origin. A couple weeks ago my kids and I bought a large wall map and we put stickers on all of the countries that we eat foods from and I am not sure where to put the sticker from last night.

At some point we need to see a picture of this map. :smile:

I will get that done!

currently my laundry is hanging in front of it...... :blink:

Kristin Wagner, aka "torakris"

 

torakris

torakris

Posted
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We then took the elevated train line yurikamome back to Odaiba. This is a great train (if not small) that is completely run by computers, it is unmanned. It also runs through some of the nicest spots in Tokyo including Shiodome.

Back at Odaiba we took a rest on the boardwalk and we were in luck because a group od "rock n rollers" was performing. I am not sure if this is even what they are called anymore, I haven't seen these kinds of kids around in over 10 years.

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they play songs, mostly Japanese rock n roll songs from the 80's and dance and sing. It is fun to watch and Hide had a great time dancing along with them..... :biggrin:

Back in college this was the kind of music I listened to almost everyday, I had some Japanese friends who were really into this.

this car probably belonged to them.... :biggrin:

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there are really some intersting cars here, it is hard to see but there are black lace curtains that run the whole interior and a sort of "wing" that sticks up almost a foot from the top back of the car.

Kristin Wagner, aka "torakris"

 

torakris

torakris

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Since we snacked all day we weren't really hungry for a big dinner so we stopped at the food court at Aqua City (one of te many "malls") in Odaiba.

The kids had McDonald's, we really do not eat McDonalds this much.... :huh:

My husband and I went to Hawaiian Bowl, I had the tuna poki donburi and he had the loco moco, they both came with a small salad and drinks. I had an iced tea.

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on the way home we ran into some typical Tokyo traffic

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and we also drove past Tokyo tower, this was actually one of the places built by my husband's grandfather..

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sorry not the best of pictures.

On the way home we drove to the home center and picked up the picnic table we had ordered, my husabnd has just finished putting it together. I will get a picture of it tomorrow as it is dark outside now.

Kristin Wagner, aka "torakris"

 

Dejah

Dejah

Posted
Posted

Wonderful blog, Kris. :smile:

Egg of some form seems to be present in many of the food photos. Are eggs used as a filler, for appearance, or extra protein?

The chocolate banana that Hide was enjoying, is it fresh or frozen?

Dejah

www.hillmanweb.com

Pan

Pan

Posted
Posted

Kris, I'm impressed that it is safe not only to swim in Tokyo Bay but to eat shellfish from there. Shellfish concentrate toxins by nature because they eat by filtering water and I would think they would usually be one of the first parts of the ecosystem to run into problems when there is a release of raw sewage or industrial pollution. With such a high population density and, presumably, concentration of industry in the Tokyo area, how has the government ensured water cleanliness in Tokyo Bay?

Michael aka "Pan"

 

andiesenji

andiesenji

Posted
Posted

this car probably belonged to them.... :biggrin:

gallery_6134_1053_44990.jpg

there are really some intersting cars here, it is hard to see but there are black lace curtains that run the whole interior and a sort of "wing" that sticks up almost a foot from the top back of the car.

Amazing how much it looks like some of the "low-riders" in vogue with many of the Hispanic youth around here. The "spoiler" on the back is to hint that the vehicle has a lot of speed, more power under the hood than a regular one from dealer stock.

"There are, it has been said, two types of people in the world. There are those who say: this glass is half full. And then there are those who say: this glass is half empty. The world belongs, however, to those who can look at the glass and say: What's up with this glass? Excuse me? Excuse me? This is my glass? I don't think so. My glass was full! And it was a bigger glass!" Terry Pratchett

 

torakris

torakris

Posted
  • Topic Starter
Posted
Wonderful blog, Kris.  :smile:

Egg of some form seems to be present in many of the food photos. Are eggs used as a  filler, for appearance, or extra protein?

The chocolate banana that Hide was enjoying, is it fresh or frozen?

egg in some form or another is present in many dishes here, not only as a good source of protein and as a filler but also because of the color. It is very important to make the dish pleasing to the eye and have various colors is important.

the banana was fresh.

Kristin Wagner, aka "torakris"

 

torakris

torakris

Posted
  • Topic Starter
Posted
Kris, I'm impressed that it is safe not only to swim in Tokyo Bay but to eat shellfish from there. Shellfish concentrate toxins by nature because they eat by filtering water and I would think they would usually be one of the first parts of the ecosystem to run into problems when there is a release of raw sewage or industrial pollution. With such a high population density and, presumably, concentration of industry in the Tokyo area, how has the government ensured water cleanliness in Tokyo Bay?

I have to admit I have never really thought about it..... :blink: a lot of foods come out of that bay....

Tokyo Bay is sheltered by the Boso and Miura peninsulas. Facing the bay are Tokyo, Yokohama and other metropolitan centers. The world's largest industrial zone spreads out around the bay. Many ports are located here as well, linking Japan to other countries. The bay opens up into the Pacific Ocean, and until the mid-1800s, it was an important fishing ground, supplying huge amounts of fresh fish to the nearby city of Edo (present-day Tokyo). Even today, many kinds of fish and shellfish inhabit the waters, some notable examples being haze (goby), suzuki (sea bass), kohada (gizzard shad), kisu (sillago) and shako (mantis crab). A variety of fishing methods are still used to catch them.

more of the article and pictures here

Kristin Wagner, aka "torakris"

 

torakris

torakris

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Posted

I have no coffee in the house.....................

I am getting jumpy...............

I think I need to run to the store and pick up an iced coffee................

be back soon! :biggrin:

Kristin Wagner, aka "torakris"

 

prasantrin

prasantrin

Posted
Posted

Amazing how much it looks like some of the "low-riders" in vogue with many of the Hispanic youth around here.  The "spoiler" on the back is to hint that the vehicle has a lot of speed, more power under the hood than a regular one from dealer stock.

One of the strangest things about these souped up cars in Japan is that they are often station wagons or mini-van-type cars. Now where I'm from, station wagons and mini vans can never be cool, no matter what you do to them.

torakris

torakris

Posted
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wow! we just had a pretty strong quake just now. It was a 5 (on the Japanese scale) in the northeastern part of Chiba and a 3 in Yokohama.

Helen is over there I hope everyone is Ok. Tsunami warnings have also gone out as it was on the coast.

my husband just called to see if we were ok, he had it a little stronger and he is also 18 stories up.......

Kristin Wagner, aka "torakris"

 

torakris

torakris

Posted
  • Topic Starter
Posted
wow! we just had a pretty strong quake just now. It was a 5 (on the Japanese scale) in the northeastern part of Chiba and a 3 in Yokohama.

Helen is over there I hope everyone is Ok. Tsunami warnings have also gone out as it was on the coast.

my husband just called to see if we were ok, he had it a little stronger  and he is also 18 stories up.......

they have just announced it was a 6.1 magnitude

Kristin Wagner, aka "torakris"

 

torakris

torakris

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still shaking a bit here....

me, not the house. :biggrin:

At least I have my coffee now.

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I picked up some raisin rolls for us for breakfast as well and some pocky for today, these are tow little packets, one caramel and one yogurt.

Kristin Wagner, aka "torakris"

 

helenjp

helenjp

Posted
Posted

Yikes, that *was* pretty strong! Our phones fell out of their cradles, but I'm happy to report that the nearly-completed bentos didn't fall off the bench! :smile: .

I was interested to hear that your husband uses one of those 3-tier thermos lunch carriers - I thought they looked pretty good, but my aging husband said they would be too heavy to carry...

Sounds like you had a nice day yesterday! Busking at Odaiba...hmmm...future career there for my DS2, I do believe!

We had our "extra son" for the day, so I bribed our kids into buying the cheapest bento they could find with promises of icecream with the money saved, and walked along the avenue of cherries to our local temple, Hondoji. Extra son announced that he was astonished at our stinginess in proposing to walk to the gate of the temple and eat our lunch at the entrance, without going in. However, our thrift was rewarded - we arrived at 12:50, and found a huge notice proclaiming free entrance to the gardens from 13:00 :raz: . The strong wind was blowing petals into drifts, and the 3 boys staged "snow" fights, sprinkled them into the air, and made whistles out of the petals.

With harder economic times, cheap all-starch bentos can be found, but some of them are quite ingenious - instead of an acre of rice with a pickle in the middle, they have a small amount of rice with a topping at one end, and cold noodles at the other end!

Helenjp

* Pickles foodblog

* New Year foodblog

torakris

torakris

Posted
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Helen glad to here you guys are ok!

Is it just me or have there been A LOT of fairly strong earthquakes in Japan for about the past 6 months....

Kristin Wagner, aka "torakris"

 

SuzySushi

SuzySushi

Posted
Posted
Is it just me or have there been  A LOT of fairly strong earthquakes in Japan for about the past 6 months....

Seems to me there's been a lot of strong seismic activity along the whole Asian side of the Pacific Rim, from the December tsunami in Indonesia on northwards... :sad:

SuzySushi

"She sells shiso by the seashore."

My eGullet Foodblog: A Tropical Christmas in the Suburbs

jhlurie

jhlurie

Posted
Posted
Back at Odaiba we took a rest on the boardwalk and we were in luck because a group od "rock n rollers" was performing. I am not sure if this is even what they are called anymore, I haven't seen these kinds of kids around in over 10 years.

I just knew Elvis moved to Japan!

Is it just me or have there been A LOT of fairly strong earthquakes in Japan for about the past 6 months....

Well, heck, your whole side of the Pacific Rim...

I do think Japan and Indonesia share the same series of very unstable tectonic plates.

Jon Lurie, aka "jhlurie"

torakris

torakris

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our wall map

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most of the stickers are red but there are some blue, green and yellow, some parts are hard to see.

Kristin Wagner, aka "torakris"

 

torakris

torakris

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since I was taking pictures this morning..

My neighbors have a beautiful cherry tree, this is what I see from my dining room window. :biggrin:

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our new table

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it also has a huge parasol (2.7 meters in diameter) and a beautiful stand, these are still in the boxes as there is no point in putting them out since the rain has already started. The two innermost hexagons can be removed and a BBQ grill can be placed in the middle (there is a rack underneath). Sort of like Korean style BBQ...

my box of baby leaf lettuces has sprouted :biggrin:

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Kristin Wagner, aka "torakris"

 

torakris

torakris

Posted
  • Topic Starter
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For anyone interested in Japanese rock n roll pick up any CD by Eikichi Yazawa, the king of Japanese rock. He has a bunch of English cd's as well nad I found them easily in big record shops in the US. My mother even has a couple, she wa a big (early) Elvis fan.

My husband doesn't like Yazawa.... :sad: so I don't listen him much any more

This guy has a really incredible voice.... :wub:

Kristin Wagner, aka "torakris"

 

Chef Metcalf

Chef Metcalf

Posted
Posted
Back at Odaiba we took a rest on the boardwalk and we were in luck because a group od "rock n rollers" was performing. I am not sure if this is even what they are called anymore, I haven't seen these kinds of kids around in over 10 years.

gallery_6134_1053_48659.jpg

Thanks for sharing your life with us Torakris. :smile:

It's brought back lots of memories for me from when I lived there.

The rock and roll guys....I think they were called rockabillies?

We used to see them at Yoyogi Park on Sundays.

What a wild and loud scene that was!

Numerous bands playing side by side which melded into one deafening roar.

We'd always bring earplugs.

cm

Travelling Gourmet Personal Chef and Catering in Vancouver BC
pinkpau

pinkpau

Posted
Posted

Hi Kristin,

Thanks for blogging! I always get so excited seeing your blog. I'm from Msia but I love anything Japanese! :biggrin:

Your kids are adorable! Do they speak mainly Japanese or English? I'm trying to learn more Japanese cooking. The Chinese here use burdock too but mainly as a herb in soups. We use a lot of arrowroot as well, do the Japanese too?

Thanks for sharing with us your life! Hope to see more of your posts!

Visit me at: http://funkycookies.blogspot.com

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