Only in Japan... Part V

I've caught up with my Japan food photos but there are still several Japan-related posts lining up in draft form, like this one in the Only in Japan series for example. I didn't do a post in this series throughout our time in Tokyo but it's better late than never.

Spotted this cool-dude-who-gives-zero-f*ck outside the Marunouchi Cafe Kai on the ground floor of the Kitte Building, across the street from Tokyo Station. Let's just say when you were minding your own business and then looked out the door to see guy sporting samurai hair, outfit, and hiking shoes, you just couldn't help but sneak a photo or two. I do wonder if there were a theater or film studio of some sorts nearby. Then again, he didn't look like he had any stage or film makeup on.

Tokyo Eats - Omotesando area

Hubby and I, and our friends too for that matter, only went to Omotesando a few times when we were in Tokyo. It wasn't because we didn't like it. We felt--for lack of better words--out of place there. Why? From our view Omotesando is really poshy, the all-grown-up-and-super-successful big sister of Harajuku. Ginza? Pffft, too touristy, which was why we spent a lot of time there because we could blend into the crowds of tourists. But there at Omotesando, our decidedly "un-hip" appearance stuck out like a sore thumb.

The Prada Aoyama branch.

Atago-jinja, Minato, Tokyo, Part III

A few days after we returned from Taipei, hubby and I took a late afternoon stroll in the neighborhood and promptly stumbled upon a festival at Atago-jinja. As you can see, it was still gloomy and wet after having rained cats and dogs earlier that day. We were quite surprised to see a festival going on as they usually just cancel and move to the next day.

Tokyo Eats - In the neighborhood Part V

The last of the neighborhood food photos, though not the last of the Tokyo Eats series as I'm still sorting through my photos.

Check out this beauty I spotted in a tunnel in my old neighborhood. The left wing tip had a small tear :(

Kinkatsu right outside of Kamiyacho Station serves up tantan men (aka dandan noodles) and other, erhhh, Japan-ized Taiwanese noodle soups. We walk by this place all the time but it was always crowded so we never went in. Then one night when we were bored with everything else and the place seemed vacant enough, we tried their tantan men. Really good, but holy hell it was salty. I thought I already eat too much salt (and I do!) but these noodles tasted like a block of salt! We never went back.

Tokyo Eats - In the neighborhood Part IV

More food in my former neighborhood, again, won't be the last as I'm still catching up on photos.

We didn't dine at the Atago Green Hills Forest Tower lounge as D&E got tired of the food and wanted to venture out. But still, over the new year (which was a long time ago, I know...), they actually served zouni, a traditional new year soup with mochi!

Zojo-Ji, Minato, Tokyo

Another fine attraction in the neighborhood I'd neglected to post about is Zojo-ji, yes, that famous Buddhist temple next door to Tokyo Tower.

Let's just say I've been behind on things, because hubby and I have actually been there a few times, a couple of times on our own, then with my family last December, then the last time with mum and aunt-in-law just this past April. The below photos are from both visits, so if you notice there are no leaves on the branches in one photo and then greenery in the next, that's why :D

It was a gorgeous spring day when we walked mum and aunt around the neighborhood then to Zojo-ji.

The Temple Next Door, Seisho-ji, Minato, Tokyo

Last August when hubby and I first arrived into Tokyo and spent the weekend exploring our neighborhood, I posted on our neighborhood shrine, Atago Jinja. It took me a whole year later to realized I'd completely neglected to post on the neighborhood temple also. Actually, I should say temples, because there are a few, but the biggest one is Seisho-ji (not to be confused with Senso-ji in Asakusa).

My humble opinion is that Seisho-ji stands out for the reasons below:
- It's sandwiched in between 2 giant buildings, the Atago Mori building and the Atago Forest Tower where our friends live.
- There's also a board outside the temple gate where they write a weekly poem kinda-sorta in the form of waka.
- The temple tolls its bell at 6pm everyday and you can hear the bell blocks away!

Atago-jinja, Minato, Tokyo, Part II

Here are more photos of Atago-jinja in our neighborhood, courtesy of several people, including my family who visited last December and mum and aunt-in-law who visited this past April. 

Tokyo Eats - In the neighborhood Part III (Picture heavy!)

More food posts because we eat out a lot ^.^ The spring was spectacular with all the blooms, though I nearly clawed my eyes out because of allergies. I took lots of sakura pictures but I'm behind as usual, so I'll post them later when I get there.

Tokyo Eats - In the neighborhood Part II (Picture heavy!)

More food pics from the neighborhood, from the Atago Green Hills Forest Tower and the Toranomon Hills Tower. Hubby and I made good friends with his colleagues, and all of us hangout and eat with E. and D. a lot, like a couple of times a week, at either their place or at the Toranomon Hills Tower.

From the Atago Green Hills Forest Tower Lounge, this steak plate is J.'s favorite. Hubby tried it once and now he orders it pretty often too. You have a choice of rice or bread. The bread is just a tiny wheat roll, but J. once made the mistake of ordering 10 grains rice instead and as you can see, it came out on a huge plate! For some odd reason, there's a huge difference between the bread and rice portion. Go figure.

Tokyo Eats - In the neighborhood (Picture heavy!)

Three months into our Tokyo stay and I'm finally posting about our neighborhood. It's very quiet around here, for which I'm thankful. We made a conscious decision to stay away from the boisterous and the lively after all. The only drawback is that most restaurants close at 8pm, the lights go out shortly after, and the small family-run shops and even parts of the subway station close over the weekends. We can always hop on the train if we want to go play, or walk, or if we're desperate enough, take a taxi, so I'm not complaining.

The first thing that jumps out at us in our neighborhood is Tokyo Tower.

The Shrine Next Door, Atago-jinja, Minato, Tokyo

You've probably noticed my blog name's changed again. It's back to Of Toys and Tokyo -- because hubby and I have moved back to Tokyo ^.^

Yup. We thought we were going to settle down but opportunity came knocking and we couldn't say no. I mean, I would never say no to Tokyo, and neither would hubby. So here we are in Tokyo again, 3 years after we moved home.

Anyway, we arrived on Thursday evening and spent Friday discovering our new neighborhood, basically walking the few blocks around our building to see what's what and where's where. On our way back, we realized there's a shrine right next door, okay, a few doors down from our building!

Those stair steps are really steep and going straight up. There's a second way up that's curved and less steep, but we like doing things the hard way ;D

Tokyo Tower, Minato, Tokyo

Several weeks ago, having caught a glimpse of the Tokyo Tower on our way to Oedo Onsen, hubby and I decided we had to go back to the tower sometimes soon. We finally did recently and I have to say it was really fun!

Actually, we didn't intend go to Tokyo Tower that night. Hubby is a bookworm so I wanted to take him to the Used Books District in Jinbocho to let him roll around in all the books he loves. There were so many used book stores and hubby went in almost every single one of them ^.^ We left the place shortly before dinner and hubby got himself a small loot - 2 hardcover books in beautiful condition for a mere 1,000yen! Apparently these are from a series books on classical Japanese literature and are an older edition that came out in the 60's or 70's. There is a newer edition of these books with minimal updates, only each cost somewhere between 6-7,000yen! Hubby says his professors all use the older edition anyway, referencing to the page numbers and specific footnotes and whatnot, so he is better off sticking with the same edition as theirs.