My friend Etsuo recently suggested that we get together for dinner at Sunaba, one of his favorite soba restaurants. "We can have toshi-koshi soba," he exclaimed, excitedly. Ah, yes! Toshi-koshi soba, a serving of buckwheat noodles eaten at the end of the year. The noodles are symbolic in a couple of different ways. Soba noodles, … Continue reading Symbolic Soba for the New Year
Month: December 2023
Miyashita Park: green space in the sky
Ghibli may have created an animation of Castles in the Sky, but Tokyo's Shibuya Ward has created a real-life park in the sky. Miyashita Park was once a rather forlorn little playground park wedged between Meiji-dori and the Yamanote train line, just north of Mitake-dori (ie, a few hundred meters north of Shibuya station). The … Continue reading Miyashita Park: green space in the sky
The Nihonbashi Seven Lucky Gods Walk: An exploration steeped in history and tradition
Seven Lucky Gods walks are a popular new year's activity and this Japan Today article is published just in time for readers in Tokyo to use it in the coming new year period. (Note, there's a list of other walks at the end, too.) Since the article does not include a dynamic map, one is … Continue reading The Nihonbashi Seven Lucky Gods Walk: An exploration steeped in history and tradition
Sushi: Breakfast of Champions!
An early morning visit to the largest seafood market in the world is still high on the must-do lists of many visitors to Tokyo, even after the market moved to its new location in Toyosu a few years ago. A visit to the Toyosu Seafood Market is more “sanitized” than one to its predecessor, Tsukiji--at … Continue reading Sushi: Breakfast of Champions!