MASTERING THE ART OF SUSHI

     Julie Child gave Americans the Art of French Cooking.  The Tokyo Sushi Academy gave this American the opportunity to be a culinary artist for a morning and to make what the world has embraced as the ultimate finger food...sushi.

     Encapsulated into a 3-hour course is an hands-on experience learning to make this popular finger food which everyone can master.  Best of all, you get to eat what you create !

     Within a 2-minute walk of the Nishi-Shinjuku exit of the Marunouchi Metro line is the hidden world of the Tokyo Sushi Academy.  Serious culinary students from around the world come here for 8-weeks of intensive instruction in the art of creating sushi.  I on the otherhand was tiptoeing in for a sticky morning of what can best be described as "a two fingured symphony."

     If I didn't find the real students separated by only a glass partition intimidating enough, I thought I had bought the farm when a three color schematic with the steps to manipulating rice, fish and wasabi was presented.  I find my best learning is by doing and not thinking.  Following charts has never been my forte.  Oh well., here we go.

     I was immediately put at ease by an apron, my very own work station, a tub of prepared sushi rice and three French vsitors who saved my ego from total destruction by being more perplexed than I or Julie Child.

The process was light hearted and organized in immaculate Japanese fashion to be inclusive vs. exclusive.   Our instructor spoke better English than I and made the morning entertaining without being Benihana'esque.     

My sushi creations were relished with cold mugi-cha, one mouthful at a time until they were completely gone.  And now, me thinks I need to catch the Metro to Tsukiji and sit at a counter and see where a few more years of practice can take me. 

                       

For further information about this experience visit:

http://www.sushitokyo.jp/apply_pri.html

Tokyo Sushi Academy

8-2-5 Nishi Shinjuku

Shinjuku, Tokyo 160-0023 Japan

BONSAI: Creating Nature in a Dish

     As with many cultural things in Japan, Bonsai (pronounced bone-sigh) has it's origins in China.  Legend has it, a Han Dynasty (206B.C.-220A.D.) Emperor created a landsape in his garden representing the hills, valleys and forests of his kingdom so that he could view it from his palace window.

     Fast forward to the Heian Peridod of Japan (794-1191 A.D.) when a Buddhist monk brings this miniturist landscape design to Japan.   This small island country not only understood but embraced the concept.  The Japanese understood the utiliarian beauty of miniturizing Nature to the extent that they metamorphosed this Chinese model and elevated Bonsai to an art which is now recongized as exclusively Japanese.

     Bonsai literally translates "dish planting," and was an early-on province for only the wealthy noblemen of Japan.  It was from the 17th century that bonsai broke it's elitist bonds and was embraced by the wider populace.  The merchant class and their demand for the esthetic brought bonsai to the practiced art as we enjoy it today.

     I had an opportunity this trip to visit a Bonsai master, Kunio Kobayashi, in his home, workshop and museum.  Etched on his face was the love for each of the ancient treasures he has been charged with nurturing.   I sat and had tea and Japanese rice crackers with him while he talked about his art and his family.

     He showed me around his collection and pointed out some of the different types of trees, explaining the form and shape.  He showed me the 40 year development of a maple which was recently published in a Bonsai magazine.

     I knew at that point I was a goner.   Like so many passions, I should have started at an earlier age.  But, Master Kobayashi unleashed me in his studio, gave me a sapling, some clippers and wire and sent me home with a greater understanding and appreciation for the beauty that we can each create even in a few hours.

Shunkaen Bonsai Museum

Nihori 1-29-16 Edogawa-ku,

Tokyo,  Japan 132-0001

http://www.kunio-kobayashi,com/

TAKAO SAN: Mount Takao, Tokyo

TOKYO'S MOST  POPULAR MOUNTAIN GETAWAY

    

     Located just one hour from Shinjuku Station are the wild forests of eastern Tokyo.  Thick pine woods, hillsides blanketed with Rhododendron and Azalea abound.  In Spring, the cherry blossom prevails, in Fall the flaming Japanese maple reins supreme.

     Today, I was a city slicker going with the school groups and the strollers.  From the Takaosanguchi Station where the Shinjuku train deposits, it is a brief stroll to Kiyotaki Station and the cable car.

     Here are some of my delightful cable car companions...

     The cable car provides Japan's steepest verticle ascent.  It runs 1,000 meters between Kiyotaki and the ridge line, taking 5 minutes.  I sat facing downhill and thought I was going to tumble into the lap of the gentleman seated across from me facing uphill.

From the end of the cable car, strollers continue to Yakuo-in Temple.  This Buddhist temple was established in 744 by the orders of the Emperor Shomu.  The founding abbot was Gyoki, the charismatic priest who was instrumental in the erection of the Great Buddha of Todaiji Temple in Nara. 

The balance of the stroll to the summit was less than 20 minutes.   Not to diminish the experience,  there were Tokyoites with their orange mohawk hair and leather jackets, stylish young maids in their heels and senior groups with their tan hiking hats and towels around their necks.  

And lest you fear from the possiblity of starvation,  there is little chance as the summit comes complete with a panoramic view of Mt. Fuji and Yokohama and ten assorted vending machines, plus the ubiquitous omiage shop selling ice cream cones, okashi (Japanese junk food), key chains and other momentos of a lovely excursion into the wild.

 

Tsukiji Fish Market

SUSHI FOR BREAKFAST, ANYONE?

One of the MUST-DO things in Tokyo is the Tsukiji Fish Market. For those who view food as the single best cultural indicator of a people, Tsukiji is the embodiment that consolidates the Japanese culture into a pin point experience.

Japanese food is all about fish and Tsukiji is the largest fish market in Japan, if not the world.

I need to define the geography and protocol of Tsukiji. The area is huge and divided into the Inner Market and Outer Market.

You will hear intrusive descriptions of 3:00am wake-ups. This rarefied time is to experience the tuna auction in the Inner Market. While I do not discount the significance of this small part of the Tsukiji experience, I also do not think everyone needs to see the behemoth frozen sale of the day's top catch. Aside from the fact that the area is limited to only forty visitors per day, the thriving beehive of seafood activity is going strong at a more humane 7am or 8am.

To experience the Inner market it is best to come in rubber boots and grungy attire. What visitors are treated to are every sea creature known to man and then some. Octopus, squid, cuttle fish, mackerel, bonita, bream, yellowtail, urchins, eel, bright red fish, black fish, flat fish, blow fish.

If you are squeamish, stay away.

It is a slimy, squirming warehouse of rubber aproned males hacking and sawing.

The dangerous feature are the motorized jitneys which haul palettes of eviscerated fish from cutting table to trucks for delivery. It is the haste with which these jitneys scurry around the warehouse floor that has caused many an accident. The Tsukiji Inner Market is a working thrum of movement and the polite Japanese, as hard as they may try, have had mishaps.

What I recommend is heading to Tsukiji at 7:30am or 8:00am. Take the Oedo subway line to the Tsukiji Shijo station. It is a short 5 minute walk to the Outer Market.   As you pass through the Outer Market you can eyeball the many treats which will engage a more leisurely look once you have peaked at the Inner Market.  You will pass through a gated area to the warehouses which comprise the Inner Market.  Here is the blood and guts of the "fishy" activity.  Though the auction is long over, the real work, the cutting and hacking, the dividing and packaging is taking place. 

Be very vigilant as the sights will distract and the jitneys will get you !

After you have seen the Inner Market and taken 300 fascinating fish photos, return to the relative peace and quiet of the Outer Market.  Head straight for the closest sushi counter for the freshest sushi breakfast on this planet.  Itadakimasu = Japanese for bon appetite!

About Osaka

OSAKA, The Kitchen of Japan


I have 24 hours to discover the essence of Osaka. I always balk at the numerous articles condensing places into 24 to 72 hour bullet points. There are many cities which remain illusive even after years. As with friendships, some things must be earned over time not rushed.


So, it is with a certain reticence that I approach my short time in the third largest of Japan's cities.

My hotel is the functional, Swisshotel in Namba, a thriving district with a favored jumble of small restaurants, bars, coffee houses and shops. I head off from the Swisshotel with no preplanned destination. My map indicates a river so I amble in that direction and happen down a covered arcade with knick knack shops, coffee houses, restaurants, cafes, shops and more coffee houses, restaurants, cafes and shops, and then even more of the same. It seems never ending.


Are there enough people in Osaka to make all of these prosper?


While I ponder the city's ability to thrive in over abundance, I happen onto a street called Dotonbori. In this former theater district, the Broadway of Osaka, I find bars, arcades, clothing stores, more cafes, restaurants, coffee houses and discos.


I am getting it. Osaka eats and entertains.

The Wonder of Baggage Delivery

HOTEL-TO-HOTEL BAGGAGE DELIVERY

I am the ultimate proponent of take only what you care comfortably carry yourself. Because of this credo, my normal suitcase is a backpack.

On this trip, I was given the opportunity to have my backpack shipped from hotel to hotel and may in future adopt a more liberal view of proportion and self-porterage.

Takuhaibin is a convenient service available in Japan for sending luggage door to door nationwide.

Here's how it worked for me: After two days in Tokyo, I was scheduled to travel to Kyoto. I got up the morning of my departure, showered, dressed, packed my backpack and took it to the lobby bell desk. I then proceed to board the Shinkansen Bullet train to Kyoto.

On arrival I was met and whisked to a Japanese French fusion lunch at the wonderful Okumura Restaurant in the ethereal Gion District . This was followed by a visit to the iconic Golden Pavilion, Kinkakuji Temple.

After a further stop at Kiyomizu Temple with it's breathtaking hilltop views of the city, I was taken to the Hyatt Regency Kyoto, next door to Sanjusangndo Temple. After check-in, there in my room I find my backpack.

Yamato Transport started the service in the 1970s and remains the market leader with their Takkyubin service. Although it is a registered trademark, Takkyubin commonly refers to takuhaibin services in general. Other major companies include Sagawa Express (Sagawakyu) and Nittsu (Perikanbin).

Tourists with limited ability to lift and haul their baggage can conveniently have it shipped from arrival airports to hotels and from hotel to hotel.

Zazen in Kyoto

DOING ZAZEN.

Zazen is seated mediation. Zen integrated the ancient Indian methods of yoga meditation into Buddhism. Dogen the founder of Soto Zen who first defined the method of zazen in Japan, attested that "zazen is satori in and of itself." In zen sects zazen is the most important practice, the study of Buddhist scriptures is secondary.

Zazen consists of choshin (adjusting one's body), chosoku (adjusting one's breath), chushin (adjusting one's mind). Zazen is to attain enlightenment, our true nature or Buddha nature, a state of no-mind in which body, breath and mind are unified. Most of us pay attention to what is outside ourselves - looking, listening, talking - but if we turn our consciousness inward and place all attention into zazen, our delusion and attachment will peel away and we will realize everything is perfect as it already is.

There is a wonderful opportunity offered my Taizo-in, the oldest of the sub-temples amongst the Myoshin-in Temple complex in Kyoto to experince Zazen and satori. Founded in 1404, an outsider like myself can step back in time, create a seated space in the serene garden atmosphere of this Zen temple and empty myself of the traffic on the I-405, seventeen work projects that await my return, the responsibility of an aging parent and the six pounds I need to loose. The last is especially beneficial and worth the trip to this sanctuary.

                                                  TAIZO-IN TEMPLE
                                                   Kyoto, Japan
                                                   http://www.taizoin.com/

The Shinkansen

THE SHINKANSEN


Many travellers to Japan feel that one must see Mt. Fuji to make their trip complete. While I don't disagree, I should not having climbed it six times, I do think the single best Japanese experience is the Shinkansen.

The Bullet train as it is affectionately know to us foreigners is a hyper experience of modern mechanization. It is a train like no other because it is operated by people like no other.
The hustle and bustle of any Japanese train station is immediately quelled when you step on board this platypus nosed creation. Immediately, and I mean immediately, the Shinkansen silently departs and the platform conductor bows to you as he sends you on your way.
Then the on board conductor trips the electronic eye and silently enters your car, he bows too. Graciously he makes his way to your seat, clips your ticket and as he exits the car, he bows again.
Next, the refreshments cart. A female attendant enters your car, she bows and lilting entreats you to bento boxes or coffee, tea, etc. Mesmerized, I watch as she bows again as she exits.
I have to go to the restroom at the front of the car. I quietly get up go to the door which opens as I approach. I get this now. I turn and bow to the car as I leave to releave myself.

Roppongi

ROPPONGI DISCOVERED

In the eight or nine times I have been to Tokyo, I have never ventured into the quarter called Roppongi. Why you ask? For the same reason I did not get to Santa Croce until my third trip to Florence. For the same reason one cannot see everything in the Louvre in one visit. Life is all about choices. Sometimes we get to things immediately, sometimes it takes five or six tries.

I am staying at the Grand Hyatt Hotel located in the fashionable Roppongi Hills division of Roppongi proper. This is at last my opportunity to experience this neighborhood whose reputation is one of a foreign enclave where the greater percentage of non-Asian faces can be found in the crush that is Tokyo. The area is know for it's endless variety of bars, clubs and eateries catering to the eclectic needs of the Gaijin.

I arrived on a Saturday evening and the streets resembled Bourban Street, New Orleans on any weekend. These revelers were still out Sunday morning when I went for my jog; most were deeply hung over.

The main reason to head to Roppongi when in Tokyo is the abundant choice of reasonable eateries of every ethnic variety. All are within easy walking distance of each other. Add to this the hip vibe of a youth-filled neighborhood and you will enjoy the areas flash and energy.

JAL Premium Economy

ARRIVAL NRT=Narita Airport, JAPAN

I had the privilege of flying Japan Airlines new "Premium Economy." It seems that all airlines will soon convert their planes to add this third (or fourth) class between Business and coach. Currently it is a confusing transition. Some carriers like JAL have changed the actual seats other carriers have only dsignated an already existing area in the forward portion of coach, some carriers have fleets which are half and half. It is another of life's conundrums.

My advise at this stage of the conversion game is to check and recheck to insure you are getting what you think,

What I think: it's worth the extra hundreds while Business Class is oft hard to justify for the extra thousands.

The JAL seats are two-by-two pods. The shell is stationary, the seat(s) individually slide forward. The pitch was such that I could actually step over the passenger on the aisle next to me without his having to get up. This was a good thing as he was quite ill and didn't move or eat the entire 11.4 hrs.

LAX - Tom Bradley Terminal

AT THE AIRPORT

Japan Airlines LAX to Narita. A pleasant contemplation of flying comes when I am boarding a Foreign Flag. Flight crews who will assist with baggage into the overhead have always been one of the top A-moves for this short person.
Most travellers hate airports. They are congested frantic places filled with maximum stress and McDonald's. I love them. For me they are the promise of a new adventure, a new beginning.

There is a cachet to the Tom Bradley Terminal at LAX. It is our city's international crossroads. Thousands of people going to exotic foreign lands, thousands of people coming from the same. When I fly from Terminal One I never feel the buzz of Bangkok or the veiled mystery of Dubai. Terminal One is for folks who only know the letters A - B - C. Tom Bradley is the promise of being lost in translation.

Omiage - Japanese gift giving

DEPARTURES

It's 10pm, the day before, and the normal jumble of packing is behind me. Along with my minamalist wardrobe, I have my backpack stuffed with Trader Joe's dried fruit. These omiage, gifts of arrival, are an obligatory gesture of Japanese society. Onerous for the giver, exciting for the receiver. Lest you think dried fruit common, in Japan the price tag is four times what I paid making my present and myself seem larger than life. Other sought after gifts are bottles of wine, Johnny Walker, all of which are far too heavy for my rule of: only take what 'you' can carry.