Takeo Kikuchi - Japanese Fashion

Takeo Kikuchi is a Japanese designer who is part of the top scene in Japan. I found one of his boutique shops, TK, below Okayama JR train station, in the endless shopping mall there. If you need something really cool and spiffy for a night out in Japan (or anywhere), then I highly recommend TK. The prices are not cheap, but one can probably afford a single shirt or hat, etc., even on a budget. It's important in Japan to be conscious of your image, even more so than in America and elsewhere. So, if you want to fit in and be cool, I suggest starting a collection of fashionable clothing for informal situations. Here is the link to Kikuchi's webpage.

Also certainly of note is the brand A Bathing Ape, led by Japanese fashion star Nigo. And, their official website. Don't spend too much!

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.

Made It to Takamatsu!

Well! I have made it to Takamatsu!! It's great here. I feel really relieved, because everyone is so nice. The food is delicious! I have found a great yakitori restaurant. I'll find out the name. It's on my bike ride home from work (yes, I bike in a suit and tie)... And on monday, I'm going to some mountains that are connected by a wooded bridge. It sounds so nice so I'm really looking forward to it. Photos from that to come!

I wonder how they see me...

People told me before I came to Japan that I would probably be stared at quite a bit. That's because I'm a foreigner, or gaikokujin, living and working in Japan. In places like Tokyo, it's quite common. But as one gets farther out into the countryside, naturally, it's less common. At first, I didn't really notice. But today I did notice quite a few people looking at me. Actually, one person seemed to be scared and ran away. Hmm. Am I scary? Haha, I don't think so. But there are reasons for the confusion. I heard that in Japan, men should wear dark colors. So, I wear a black coat and black shoes. When I finish work, I am often still wearing my black suit pants. And it's cold now, so I bought a hat, which is black. Uh oh, that's a lot of black... So that's part of it. I am also about a foot taller than most people, and yes, I'm one of only a few Americans in Okayama right now. I guess I should make more of an effort to fit in and look as friendly as possible. I just wonder, what kind of appearance would make people more comfortable? Any ideas?

Anyway, last weekend I went to beautiful Korakuen, the garden shown in this picture. It was so nice, and the weather was great. You can see from the image what a nice place it is. I had a really good time walking around and taking photos. I wanted to share this image with you all. If you have a chance to visit Okayama, I really suggest going to Korakuen.

Coming up: I have found so many great restaurants here. There are two in particular that I will write about in the near future.

A Note from Okayama

Here is a letter I wrote to my dad. Hi dad, ah you know how international keyboards are. i guess i hit a button that turns it into a japanese font of english letters, unreadable. but anywayi had my first day of training and it went great! everything here is really convenient as hell. cant explain it hardly. this net cafe is cheap and swanky and has jazz playing, a huge library of books to read, they will bring me various foods if i want etc. i have found some great izakaya restaurants, those quaint kind of mom and pop pubs and they also serve ridiculously good food. i havent had a bad bite since i got here. although i cant find an apostrophe. tonight i had kara-age, which is really tasty fried chicken with mayo, but the english barely does it justice. it just melts in your mouth. at lunch i had eel, grilled fresh and properly, not like the kind that comes in a bag frozen. at the train station i was able to buy a lunchbox of sushi wrapped in cherry blossom leaves, also outstanding. took the bullet train from the airport to get here. my own computer cant connect to the internet yet so i cant send pictures yet, but here is kind of like a japanese version of manhattan i guess. kind of like times square but suddenly there are old fashioned streets with nice architecture, and its kind of divided into districts depending on what kind of atmosphere you want to walk in. japanese language is coming back to me as i am using it every day for all kinds of transactions. ordering food, finding a place to buy a fingernail clipper, and so on. it is really remarkable already, and i think as i get to takamatsu and more in the countryside area i will like it even more. its not too hectic here, not overwhelming, but i still like the countryside. i have the day off tomorrow so my friend is coming to visit, except she might be coming down with a cold, so we:ll see about it tomorrow. then starting monday the training will be more rigorous, though the trainer is a really nice guy, ironically named the same as my younger brother. wearing a suit for this job gives me a real sense of pride. actually having this job does too. i feel like some kind of international specialist,and according to my visa stamp, that is what i am considered here, so i feel really good emotionally as well. i do miss everyone a little already, but all i can　say is you guys gotta get your butt over here some time. it rules! tell me whats　new on your side. id like to read more from you too. talk soon!

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...