Old Friends, New Adventures, Salty Dogs

No matter how grown up and mature I think I’ve become, all it takes is the company of a good old friend to make me laugh until I cry and act goofy like a child. Thank you, Bethany! In the morning, I headed two stops on the Yamanote line to Shinjuku to meet two friends I’d shared my first summer in Japan with. I was pleasantly surprised at the relative (I mean relative!!) coolness of the air and the gray haze that covered the sky. A small and unexpected delight.

Shibuya was a-bustlin’ as usual, yet my train was not that crowded. Shinjuku station, however, was another story, but with Phish playing sweetly in my ears I navigated the crowds of seemingly directionless people and headed toward the south gate. No sooner did I scan my Suica card (train pass) when I was hug-tackled from behind!

Thank god I recognized the face – Bethany! Unfortunately now my train pass had been scanned but I had not advanced through the corral-like gate, so we had the pleasure of mucking our way through the service line and explaining as best we could what happened. I don’t think the woman behind the counter in the conductor hat and fresh-pressed uniform really “got it” but she waved us through anyway. Eri’s luminous presence found us shortly thereafter and we all embraced and smiled, so happy!

We had an excellent lunch of washoku (Japanese food), various set lunches. I ordered what we thought was fried tofu and the “healthy Japanese-style pork,” which came with a 16 grain rice mix and miso soup with inari (deep fried tofu strips). While delicious (see pictures!), I’m not sure how healthy it was after all: the fried tofu ended up being kind of like deep fried meatloaf. Topped with spicy mustard and a drizzle of thick, sweet ginger sauce, however, it was quite tasty.

Several hours of browsing/shopping in Shinjuku later, including a trip down camera alley into one of the massive five-storey electronic stores and a quick tour of Shinjuku station’s ridiculously overpriced mall floors (e.g. a cute but relatively simple headband for 12800 yen [about $136]!), and I was ready to go back to Shibuya. Nan-to-naku (“for some reason”), I really prefer Shibuya to Shinjuku. It feels more manageable and homey (well, as much as a metropolitan cluster f#%k of its scope can I suppose).

Bethany and I rambled about, catching up (i.e. hearing about how hellish her salary-man job was this past year in Japan – when a boss takes your chairs away for not answering the phone standing up after the first ring it might be time to explore new job opportunities) and shopping around. We checked out a street art exhibit (mostly European and American artists) and played dress up in the tiny three story building-store Shu Shu. First floor knicky-knacky jewelry, second floor contemporary designs, third floor vintage (lots of French designs) – my new favorite Shibuya haunt.

As the sun’s reflections on metal and glass descended westward, my inclination to drink a salty dog (vodka grapefruit with salted rim) grew stronger, so we headed to fifth floor izakaya for some bites and cocktails.

Wan is an Edo-period (16th-18thc) themed chain of izakayas. I suppose would be the equivalent of Applebees in the States. I came to love the place last summer. In fact, the comparison is pretty weak when you how much better Japanese restaurants are in general. We were led through a maze of corridors lined with small, enclosed rooms. You sit on the floor and push a button to send for service. Someone comes in about five seconds. Bethany drank a sweet apricot cocktail with an apricot-filled ice straw first, then moved to a fruity sour drink.Cold tofu with goma (sesame) sauce, raw tuna with onion and splash of cream topping crispy garlic toasts, chicken meatball with soft boiled egg…filled my belly to capacity, which wasn't much at this point. As it were, the heat and humidity over here really does a number on your appetite and general sense of well-being. They call it natsu-bate (“summer fatigue”) and it’s no joke. A long sunset walk through winding streets helped abate that hakike (nauseous) feeling, however.

Wine with Brian and Jean capped off a full day and secured my ticket to dreamland. (Okay, truth be told, I watched some of the latest Harry Potter with them – perhaps that did it?).