Japan Trip - Shopping

One of the things I wanted to buy during this Japan trip was a broom.
Broom is just a cleaning tool, but when it's carefully made by craftsmen, it's beautiful.
And the idea to clean the room with a beautiful piece of art made me excited.

Shirakiya Denbe has been making hand-made broom since 1830.

They made me try several brooms because each hand-made broom has slight difference and they wanted me to chose the one with right feel for me.

The one I liked the most was very light and moved smoothly. Unfortunately, it was too long to fit inside JC's trunk.
So I bought the one which was 60 cm long, a little bit heavier but felt smooth.

This broom catches every bit of dust, and small enough to clean the tiny space where vacuum can't reach.
When this broom becomes old, you can trim the edge and keep using until it becomes too short. Eco!

Japan Trip - Marie Claude

One Sunday evening, my longtime friends took us to a French restaurant which is not trendy or hip, but serves honest and well prepared food.

Marie Claude is a French restaurant in Akasaka, Tokyo.
It sits inside a building quietly and hard to find, but once you are inside, you find cozy and welcoming feel.
Their dishes are also cozy and welcoming, and good quality.

Appetizer.

Ham and melon.

Pickled pumpkin was sweet and sour. Interesting idea.

Scallop tartare.

The carrot dragonfly gives cute seasonal feel.

Fish crudo.

Onion Gratin Soup. Very authentic.

Duck Breast with Crushed Black Sesame. This combination was magical!

Gratin Dauphinois was amazing, too.

Marie Claude doesn't have the glare of Michelin Star restaurants.
This is more like home food, but very, very carefully made.
The owner chef runs the kitchen alone: it's not easy to run this business in Tokyo and cook all day by herself but she keeps the restaurant opening because she genuinely loves cooking and sharing it with others.
Her dishes reflect that: pure love and passion.

Japan Trip - Tempra Yamanoue

Tempra is deep fried vegetable or seafood, like fritter.
The integral part of Tempra is its crispy texture, but this is not easy to achieve, so one of my wishing list what to do in Japan was eating good Tempra.
There are famous Tempra restaurants which are, unfortunately, hard to get in, but you can find lesser known hidden gems.

Tempra Yamanoue is a Tempra restaurant in Yamanoue Hotel.
This hotel is a small, classic, almost nostalgic hotel near Jimbocho the book town.
There used to be many publishers around there, and some known authors like Yasunari Kawabata or Yukio Mishima stayed at this hotel to focus on their writing.

The restaurant is on the ground floor.
We chose the lunch course.
Tempra was served one by one, right out of the fryer.

Shrimp head. This was served with salt.

Shrimp. Fresh and sweet. 

Fish. Crispy outside, soft and juicy inside.

Seasonal vegetables. Soft pumpkin and crispy Renkon.

Mukago. Part of  Yam.

Rare ingredient but I like this.

Kakiage-don and Miso soup

Simple ice cream

Exactly what I wanted after deep-fried food

It took almost one hour to finish the course.
If you are in a hurry, there is Tendon (tempra on a bowl of rice) too. Many people were ordering this and it looked yummy.

Every piece had perfect texture. My wish and stomach were fulfilled.

Japan Trip - Shrines in Tokyo

Atago Shrine is dedicated for the Deity of fire.
This Shrine was founded in 1603 to protect the city from fire.
It's near the Kamiyacho station.

You have to climb up this stairs to reach the Shrine.

It's said that you will have successful career if you climb up this stairs.
Going down this stairs was more challenging than climbing up, though.

Before prayer, you have to cleanse hands and mouth.

 
The Shrine is on the top of the hill.
It's surrounded by trees and calmness despite the fact that this is in the busy city.
Even though you didn't come here for religious purpose, it makes you feel that something is here.
  

About 10 minute walk, there is another Shrine.
Kotohiraguu in Toranomon.

This Shrine is in the middle of the buildings.
Of course nobody built a Shrine among the buildings; this Shrine was founded in 17th century.

Finding this in a midst of concrete jungle is surreal.

When I looked the gate closely...

There were sculptures of four Deity.
This is rare, I think.
At least I've never seen something like this.








The Shrines in Tokyo means not only religious community but they also provide precious nature and relaxing space, physically and mentally.
This gives great relieve for people living in this insanely busy city.

This is a tiny Inari Shrine we found in Ginza between buildings.

It was early morning but people kept coming and praying.

Japan Trip - Chateau Mercian Tokyo Guest Bar

JC wanted to try as many Japanese wine as possible, so we visited Chateau Mercian Tokyo Guest Bar in Roppongi.

They offer wines by a glass (120 ml)  or half a glass (60 ml).
Our choice was Koshu, Merlot, and Muscat Bailey A.

Three wines, half a glass

Here's JC's tasting note:
Chateau Mercian Koshu Taru Jikomi (Koshu Barrel Fermented)
Bruised apple/pear, fresh dill, grass, citrus, fresh watercress, under-ripe yellow peach.
Medium plus body. Smooth. Oily and creamy texture.

Chateau Mercian Yamanashi Merlot 2014
Roasted and fresh bell pepper. Pyrazine. Red cassis, raspberry, plum, vanilla, brioche.
Light sweet pipe tobacco. Red cherry.
Medium minus mineral. Medium Tannin.

Chateau Mercian Hosaka Muscat Bailey A Selected Vineyards
Ripe/ overripe blackberry.
Passion fruit, cranberry sauce, pastry cream, vanilla custard.
Sweet baking spice, clove.
Acid is high but soft. Medium plus body.
It's complex and Zinfandel-like.

All the wines we tried so far were from Yamanashi, which is in central Japan.
We enjoyed them but wanted to try something different, so we ordered another glass from northern part of Japan.
I didn't know that wine grapes were grown in those areas.

Chateau Mercian Omori Riesling
Grapes come from Omori, Akita.
Aroma reminded him of Mosel.
Honey wax, light tropical fruit such as mango or passion fruit, chestnut, lemon, lime, candied citrus.
Preserved peach, fresh green shiso.
Medium plus mineral. Flint, oyster shell, petrol. High acid.

I thought Akita was too cold to grow wine grapes, but this wine surprised me in a good way.

It was lunch time so we ordered food.
We came here for wine, but food was good, too.

JC enjoyed Japanese wine so much that he went back to this Bar next day and tried Sparkling Muscat Bailey A (Hosaka no Awa) and Chateau Mercian Hosaka Muscat Bailey A.
He liked them both.

Japan Trip - Yakitori Isehiro

Yakitori is considered to be quick, cheap food.
However, some restaurants carefully select the ingredients to use and serve high-quality Yakitori prepared by skilled chef.

Isehiro is a Yakitori restaurant near Tokyo station, founded in 1921.

Facing on narrow street but easy to find.
They only use free-range chickens from contracted farmers and cook with Binchotan charcoal.
Their dipping sauce is as old as the restaurant itself.

We sat at the counter, in front of the grill!

The dinner course menu started with Chicken Breast.
Usually I find chicken breast dry and it's not my favorite part of chicken, but this one was sooo soft and juicy!

There were organs, too.
Again, these are not usually my favorite parts, but they had good flavors and didn't have the distinct smell, which I don't like.

They don't add anything to make Chicken meat ball hold together.
It had pure chicken flavor.

Chicken Skin. This tends to become greasy, but they made this piece soft and juicy.

Simple Chicken Soup tasted simple and gorgeous!

Each piece was bigger than usual standard and made us so full.

As for drinks, we had Sake (Garyubai, Junmai-Ginjo) and Shochu (Iwaizumi).
Both were good pairing with Yakitori.

The chef and cooks not only cooked but also served for customers so they were busy, but they were willing to answer to our numerous questions.
When they realized that we (especially JC) genuinely appreciated and were curious about what they did, they suggested what JC would be able to do to experience most of it when we would come back to Japan next time. What a kind offer!

Good food is great by itself, but when it is combined with wonderful people, priceless.

Japan Trip - Katsunuma Wine Country

Katsunuma is the wine country in Japan.
You mostly find Japanese varietals there such as Koshu or Muscat Bailey A, but some wineries make French varietals, too.

Koshu is Japanese white wine grape varietal which is a natural hybrid of Vitis Vinifera.
It's believed to be introduced to Japan from Europe through the Silk Road during the Nara Era (710~794).
Koshu wine reminds me of Sauvignon Blanc with softer acid.

Muscat Bailey A is a hybrid created to suit with Japanese soil and climate.
It is a cross between American and European varietals.

We visited Grace Wine first, and tried all the wines on the list.

None of them disappointed us.
Their Koshu were great, and we especially liked these two.

These wines are from the same vineyard but the one is oaked and the other is not.

They also make estate wine with French varietals: Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Chardonnay.

We both loved Merlot.
JC liked Cabernet Sauvignon, too. He thought it was classic style and reminded him of Graves.

We didn't know where to go next, so we asked for their recommendation about good wineries nearby (good wineries know where to recommend, from my experience).
They told us to visit two wineries in the walking distance: Diamond Shuzo for Muscat Bailey A, and Ikeda Winery for Koshu.

the vines are trained high to avoid water damage

Katsunuma has beautiful scenery and it was a beautiful sunny day so we  enjoyed the walk, but when we arrived at Diamond Shuzo, they were closed for lunch break...
It was quite shocking to me because I was really really looking forward to trying good Muscat Bailey A, but I didn't have time to wait until they opened so we went to Ikeda Winery.

Ikeda Winery has small but nice and clean tasting room.

The lady looked puzzled at first (later I learned that I was supposed to make an appointment in advance. Sorry!) , but as we enjoyed their stunning Koshu and asked questions, she became more lively and enthusiastic.

I confess that I wasn't expecting to enjoy Japanese wines so much before, but those wines were great!
JC still regret that he didn't buy a bottle. After long walk, he wasn't thinking clearly.

Before leaving Katsunuma, we had to try their local cuisine.
This is the Houtou restaurant Minaki.

hang bitter persimmon to make them sweet

The building was cool, but the people there were even cooler!
I told them that we had to catch the train in one hour, and they not only tried to hurry to prepare our food, but also they arranged taxi so that we could be at the station on time!

Thanks to their thoughtful action, we enjoyed our meal without worry.

Houtou is flat noodle cooked in Miso, I love these comfort food.

view from the station

Then we were back to hectic tourist life in Tokyo by late afternoon.