Thursday, July 21, 2005

Harajuku and Enoki mushrooms wrapped in Bacon

Finally visited the famed Harajuku today.. and I can see why people make such a big fuss of it. Really big, fancy brand name boutiques next to bohemian cafes and indepedent kitsch fashion stores... there's alot of scope for imagination here and lots or opportunity for the creative juices to flow.
I took a picture of a single house along a strip of clothes stores. It just seemed so unique and incongruous among all the funky, jazzed up clothes stores around the area. Satomi and I headed to a sidewalk cafe later on and had the most scumptious cakes and watched the fashionable crowds pass us by.

By the time we had our fill of flipping through Vogue and Elle in the cafe and watching the world go by... it was already 5pm and we began to walk back to the train station to take the JR train back to Kemigawa Hama. It takes about an hour to get back from Tokyo.

Satomi's mom made the most yummy dinner tonight. She made Enoki mushrooms wrapped in Bacon, I had these in a Japanese Yakitori Bar in NYC and was raving about them to Satomi, so she suggested them when her mom asked her what she should cook for dinner. They were absolutely delectable; Satomi's mom also made these Gyoza with Shiso leaf inside and ... I'm quite certain I have never enjoyed any Gyozas better than those I had tonight.

So... as you can see, I'm getting very well fed here in Japan. But I'm not going to put on weight... coz' I went running today... haha... i explored around the area and I think japanese people have really learnt how to make the best of limited space. The phrase that would sum up how they have done this is ... 'small is beautiful'. From small plates, saucers and cups, to box like cars and Tiny gardens with beautifully manicured trees and compact but aesthetically pleasing homes.. Japan really does epitomize that phrase : 'small is beautiful' in more ways than one.

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