March 1, 2009
Takarazuka
Apologies, I just remembered that I did do something new and interesting after adventures with Tarou and Souda. I went to a Takarazuka performance.
Because of the strictly Male-only Kabuki theatre (which is one of the main causes of the cross-dressing phenomena now seen in the Japanese entertainment industry), a Female-only theatre was set up which was called the Takarazuka. People in Takarazuka have to be gorgeous and sing, dance, and act. They put on large, glamorous productions and have been doing so for many decades.
The reason why I went along was because my Great Aunt, a massive lifelong fan of Takarazuka, told me that an iconic old theatre in Shinjuku was about to close down. This was the Koma Gekijyou (Top [like a spinning top, so name because the stage has a number of sections that spin] Theatre) in Kabukicho, well kown as a rather sleazy area of central Tokyo. More about that later.
So I sat down in the magnificent theatre, wondering why anyone would want to demolish it and build a new one. My great aunt me told me of times when there was a weekly Takarazuka radio program with singing and other entertainment. She sang me the theme song. I was also told that one of my mother’s cousins, the beloved Seio-san (now one of the excecutives at Mitsubishi and yet still only able to afford a 5 room apartment) used to perform in the Koma Theatre as a child actor. Yet another person in my massive family who is into the arts. I guess this explains why mother think it’s a shame that I want to be a Psychologist when I can sing and dance. More about that in another post, perhaps. So, while trying to imagine Middle Aged and portly Seio as a small child in Period dramas, the show started.
And I was completely blown away. There were large dance numbers about Sukiyaki, and at least 4 subplots all kept together with surprising strength. The show was about, of all things, Takarazuka during World War 2. There was much underlying sadness and resentment about the war. and then someone announced that they had to become a famous Takarazuka star quickly, as they had a terminal disease.
Cue Clare desperately trying not to cry. Terminal disease is a cheap shot damnit *sniff*. That, and long dialogue about performing on stage being the best part of life and the girl wanting to die on stage at the end of a big number.Then a scene where the girl, lying in bed, with her fellow performers singing the song she loved most.
Cue Clare crying her eyes out. Blast.
So the show ended, and I was in love. Shame I fell in love with a theatre that was due for demolition in the following weeks. Mmm, spinny theatre.
Isuzu, my great aunt, told me that her friend owned a nearby Tonkatsu (Crumb fried pork) restaurant so we went there for dinner. Doing so meant we had to walk through a large crowd of hosts. Unfortunately they ignored me (rejected ;_;) so I can not report on their luring techinques. I can note appearance.
- They all had similar hair, and this in turn was similar to Mimasaku Akira’s hair in the first seasonof Hanadan
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Host hair. But it was pointier at the top
- Most of them had expensive, tailored, shiny suits
- Pointy shoes. So very very (very) pointy o_O.
- Oh, and they were all mildly attractive, if kinda sleazy looking.
- Pointy pointy pointy
Isuzu and I walked through the group completely unharmed. How disappointing.
Tonkatsu = delicious. Especially the Tonkatsu in Kabukicho. Omunomu
Next time I post, it will be about Hakuba. Until then~
December 13, 2008
Shitamachi/Nippori
Today I went to Nippori (it’s on the Yamanote Train Line). It is considered the ‘poor/commoner area’ of Tokyo
With a guide (and his grandson) who knows my great aunt and mother, we wandered around the streets, looking at the unique Meiji/Taisho/even earlier era buildings that littered the streets.
Things to Do:
- Walk around the streets near the station and look at the old buildings
- Eat food-
- Ramen - Chinese style noodles in thick broth. I can give you specific directions if you comment.
- Pork- Same shop as the Menchikatsu, see below
- Dango – Small balls of rice paste that have been cooked over a flame. Nippori is known for ‘Habutae dango’, which are abnormally non-spherical and not very glutinous
- Manju – Small cakes; the ones found in Nippori are hitokuchi (literally: one mouth, indicating they are small enough to be eaten in one go) and come in delicious flavours such as Black Sugar, Green tea and yuzu (a Japanese winter citrus)
- Crumbed mince- you will immediately be able to tell when you come across the famous stall selling these menchikatsu (mince katsu, ‘katsu’ referring to the Japanese answer to Schnitzel); out the front of the store are a number of signs plastered with screenshots of various Japanese TV stars eating the famed menchikatsu. They are really very nice, and there is often a queue.
- Karintou - hard biscuit-type things covered in sugar.
- Go to the puppet shop - 笑吉 is open Friday, Saturday and Sunday. If there are more than 3 people about you can watch a cleverly performed puppet show and you can even have the puppet draw a picture of you. Or, if you’re feeling particularly spendthrifty, you can have a puppet made to look like you. Unfortunately today was closed because the shopowners had a special event to perform at, but I may go back.
- Buy Chiyogami- Chiyogami is Japanese paper, often hand made, with designs printed on using traditional carved wooden blocks.
My experience of Nippori was somewhat rushed. My guide kept insisting on taking photos of me with everyone in sight and was slightly inebriated, which was unpleasant. Trying to avoid him unwittingly led to me walking through the interesting parts of Nippori too quickly. I hope to go back alone sometime, at which time I can tell you more about the area.
December 11, 2008
Omunomunomu
This, rather than being an outline of what Japanese food there is, will be more of a description of what I ate/ food things I saw.
So, I will skip the plane food
Drinks! Cold tea is my drink of choice in Japan. Oolong, green, and houji tea are the most common. They are available for 120-150 yen at any vending machine.
Green tea and/or water are offered as a service when you sit down in any restaurant
Ice coffee does not mean what it means in Australia. It means straight coffee, on ice. Ice milk coffee （アイスミルクコーヒー） is more like the ice coffee in Aus.
Hot, loose leaf tea of many many varieties are on offer, mainly in department stores and other food establishments. My personal favourite is Kaga Bou Cha, tea made with tea plant stems.
Readinf up on your katakana will help you successfully read and order from the menu of most coffee/tea places. One acception to this is 抹茶, which is green (ie unfermented) tea. It is pronounced Ma(slight pause)tcha. A common form of this, found in coffee shops and the like, is Matcha Latte, where milk and green tea are mixed. This is slightly sweetened and generally quite delicious.
Coke and all those other soft drinks can be found in Japan, of course. They come in cute bottles that are made of the same thing as cans are. Vending machines are your friend; take a few minutes to look at the ones that will inevitably be on the end of your street or in the lobby/basement of your hotel.
I can’t really help you with alcohol, though I can recite a few facts. The Japs invented dry beer; Amie will tell you that Asahi Super Dry is quite nice, and should be tried if you are a fan of beer. There is also sake, which is generally made by fermenting rice. Shochu is also popular and can be made by fermenting just about anything; most prefectures have their own special type made from local produce. This ranges from citrus to various tubers to other fruit.
Now, food is not restricted to raw fish. Japanese food has many many layers, and it would take a lifetime to describe them all fully.
Fish- Being a small, island nation, Japan has always loved fish. Fish is more commonly consumed than steak, and steak is very expensive. Handy tip: if you want to order a steak in a restaurant in Japan, remember that any steak you order will cost a lot more than it should, and will be half the normal thickness. Sushi and sashimi, though cliche, are good if you know where to go. Sometime next week I will probably be going to Tsukiji fish market, where tuna are bought for millions of dollars. Fresh fish is, surprisingly, hard to come by at times. Sushi comes in a number of types, such as nigiri (slice of fish or other sea creature on top of a small portion of rice) maki (seafood, rice and sometimes some sort of vegetable wrapped in nori (roasted seaweed) and also temaki (the roll, as above, but done yourself; the ‘te’ means hand). Other types include chirashi (where a number of vegetables and plants and herbs are mixed with seafood and egg and spread over rice, often in a round bamboo container) and oshi (vinegared fish is put on rice, in the nigiri style and then pressed for a period of time). The rice in all these is vinegared.
Fish is also grilled on a wire net and can be mushed.
My favourite type of sushi is with Ikura (salmon roe).
Also: the mystery of toro.
The Japanese love their fatty fish. Especially the fatty part of tuna, and it is found in the belly and tail of certain fish. It’s delicious flavour is sought after by restaurants and shoppers, and ou toro (literally: big toro, meaning it is very fatty) is considered a delicacy and is very expensive, followed by chu toro (middle toro) and toro.
Up until a short time ago, tuna toro could be bought in Australian fish shops for approximately $2 a kilo, such was the ignorance of Australian fish shops. Those were good days.
I will write more, about noodles, tomorrow
There will also be a recount of my trip to Harajuku
‘night folks
