Osaka: Takoyaki Stand

Takoyaki chefs prepare their specialty in Osaka.

A Day in Marugame

This weekend, I took the JR Train to Marugame. I went to Zentsuji temple, which has a lot of special features. For 500 yen ($5) you can go to a special hallway downstars in total, total darkness. It's even better if you close your eyes to avoid any ambient light. Touch the left side wall with your left hand, and silently repeat the chant that they tell you before you go inside. It is a bit disorienting to be in total darkness, which adds to the spirituality of the experience. I felt that I was outside of my body while doing the chant. Eventually, the hallway leads to an inner sanctum, where you can pray. For anyone who is interested in Buddhism, I suggest it. After you come up from the passageway exit-side, leave your shoes where you left them before, and take some of the leather slippers for walking around. Directly outside, you can see what is photographed here, and much more.

There was another outdoor temple, whose name I cannot remember. So I'll just tell you a story about it. It's up in the mountains, so you have to walk up and up countless steps. Maybe about 500 or so, winding through trails and trees. The birds were calling. As we walked up, a Buddhist priest was on the way down. As we passed, he simply said, "good day" and we said "good day" and each kept walking. There was nothing particularly special about that moment, and yet there was. For the rest of the day, everyone we passed said good day. Before that moment, everyone had walked silently. After walking to the top, seeing the incense pot and offering some prayers, we walked down as well. Then I went to Marugame Castle.

The view from the top of Marugame Castle's grounds is definitely worth it around sunset time. Toward the end of the day, we slogged up the steep slope to get to the top. The castle itself is closed until the end of February, but there is a great 360-degree view. A man was jogging up the slope as I stood there and the breeze swept by. Anyway, the important this is: what would life be without dinner?

So I went on to Ikkaku, the well-known chicken restaurant. (This character on a lit blue slab is their sign.) I have to say, it fully met my expectations. As we walked in, the greeter bowed, and led us directly to a table. There are two choice, either hina-dori (young chicken) which is soft and easy to eat, or the oya-dori, which is much more chewy, but in many people's view has more flavor. I got the oya-dori and chowed right into it. Hold the bone with a napkin and use chopsticks to help yourself eating it right off the bone. I also ordered a rice dish that came with cubes of chiken in it, as well as a side of soup. (I think that was the tori-meshi, from memory.) The restaurant's reputation holds: it was absolutely delicious, and wonderful way to end the night.

Yakitori in Takamatsu

I have found a great place for yakitori in Takamatsu. It's called Daikichi, which I think means "best fortune" or something like that. It's small -- what we would call a "hole in the wall" in America -- but the flavors are delicious and the atmosphere is very nice. I suggest trying tsukune and o-nigiri, as well as various chicken parts. Let me give you some background on what yakitori is. The chef will put small pieces of meat on a thin bamboo stick and grill them with sauce right in front of you. Use your chopsticks to slide the pieces of meat off of the stick and onto your small dish, and then to eat with. When you have finished, put the bamboo stick into the small jar on the counter. Eat the o-nigiri (rice ball) with your hands, because it is cooked to have a crisp shell and is easy to hold but difficult to cut with chopsticks. If I can get hold of the exact address, I'll post it, but I would say it is not a far distance from another excellent restaurant called Surfers. Both are not a terrible distance from "Number One Hotel." Any taxi can take you right to it from downtown Takamatsu for about 500 yen ($5). Expect to spend about 1200 yen ($12) at the restaurant, unless you feel like trying lots and lots of food. English is somewhat spoken at Surfers by a man named Jiro, but it is not spoken at Daikichi, as far as I know.

In related news, the New York Times today published an article about the Michelin Guide's Japanese edition. The guide had to adjust its rating system because it found so many excellent restaurants. However, one response was, basically, "Japanese food was created by Japanese people, so how can we rely on a bunch of foreigners to tell us what is good or bad?" Hmm, good point. Perhaps a Japanese writer could solve the problem. In any case, I'll continue to review places that I like, even if it is from a foreign point of view.

Hello from Maine!

Hello everyone, from chilly Maine, northeast USA! This is where I grew up as a child, and I wanted to return one more time before leaving for Japan. Maine is known for lobster, probably more than anything else. We have a spoken accent here: the "er" sounds a lot like "ah," so words like "lobster" sound like "lobstah". That is, if you're a real native, but for some reason I don't use that accent even though I grew up here. Not sure why. I went with my father, who still lives here, to the lobster shack today to buy some to cook at home. It's considered a special treat because it's a little bit expensive, even here, where it comes from. But in New York it's much more expensive. And as far as I know, you don't see much lobster in Japan. So I felt it was a last chance to have the experience and enjoy it. Absolutely delicious... If you find yourself in Maine, visit Portland. It's worth the trip, and you can find this store pictured here when you are in the Old Port (the center of downtown). Maine has a charming countryside feeling, and I'll miss it when I'm gone, but I think that in Shikoku I'm likely to find similar charm.

Oishii Tabemono!

Today I was invited to a New Year's party, where lots of delicious food had been prepared and was generously served. Pictured here are very delicate sliced rolls of egg (the yellow), fish cake (the pink) and I'm not sure what the white one is but it was all so tasty! Not pictured is the wonderful mochi soup, which was actually the center of the cusine. I'm sorry but I was so busy eating I totally forgot to take more pictures. The event was at a Japanese Christian church, which was itself an interesting experience. When I think of Japanese religions, I often think of shrines, temples, Shinto, Buddhism, and so on. But the sermon at this service focused on Corinthians, from the Bible, although I couldn't understand well what was being said. The language was of course Biblical translation, so it was all the more difficult to understand. What was interesting was catching the switch in politeness levels between when Christ is speaking and when someone else is speaking. The only equivalents I can think of are thee versus thou. In any case, if you get an opportunity to experiment with either of these experiences, I would say, try it! It was very welcoming and an interesting life experience. Also worth mentioning is that New Year's was still being observed on January 6th at this event. Goes to show how important New Year's is within Japanese culture, even among Christians, while Christmas itself seems to take a back seat. Interesting...

Ikkaku Restaurant

This photograph was taken by bloggers who visited Marugame City, and give a savory account of their experience. It is definitely one of the restaurants I plan to try right away. My fellow bloggers note, "Since it first opened in 1967 this izakaya has become so immensely popular for its signature dish, that it has spawned branches not only on its home turf, the island of Shikoku, but also across the country in Yokohama City (near Tokyo) and soon in Osaka as well." Further, "Ikkaku's menu is short, simple, and straightforward consisting of 'Oyadori' (adult chicken), 'Hinadori' (young chicken), and a few other small dishes like edamame, salad, chicken rice, and soup ... once people have the Ikkaku experience, it is difficult to go back to eating tender chicken ... it is almost as if tender chicken does not have the flavor or provide the satisfaction that should come from eating this farmyard (or probably freerange in this case) fowl. And, as we cleaned the last bits of meat from the bones, we could clearly understand why..."

Sanuki Udon (さぬきうどん)

Takamatsu is known for delicious sanuki udon noodles. They are variously described as "a must try" by many sources. The city's own website tells us, "You can find good noodle shops everywhere in Takamatsu, which serve delicious specialties of noodle at reasonable prices. There is a variety of shops. Some are selfsevice shops where customers go to the counter and pick their dishes for themselves and some where they boil theirs and help themselves with the soup for it, some where they have to grate radish onto their dishes. Some shops go so far as to give noodle making classes to let the customers eat noodles of their own making."

A blogger at Japan Newbie has posted an interesting photo gallery documenting a trip to get fine Sanuki udon. Here are ways you can access Takamatsu.

In Yashima, there is Waraya, "a popular udon restaurant down the steps from the parking lot outside the Shikoku Mura exit of Yashima station, in a building that wouldn't be out of place in Shikoku Mura. If you go in a group, get the kazoku udon, an enormous wooden bowl of noodles, enough to feed four. (843-3115. Open daily 10am-7pm). (Let's Go)

Yum, Octopus Balls!

Have a look: this video from YouTube shows a local snack, called takoyaki. (Tako means octopus and -yaki means fried or baked.) You can find takoyaki in many Japanese restaurants in the Western world, but as the video shows, they are just not the same as in Japan. I remember from travels in Mexico that my favorite food was always from the vendors on the street. I don't care what anyone says, my vote is, it's delicious. The people in the video are speaking Japanese in a West Japanese dialect. So, food is a little different in Japan if you weren't born there. More on that later.

Where in Shikoku can I get this? You can always ask your local tourist office for directions and advice. If you live in Takamatsu city, the Information Plaza address is 1-16, Hamano-Cho (Tel: 851-2009). Just outside Takamatsu Station's south exit.