Shinjuku Sakura

This time we did Hanami (cherry blossom viewing party) right.  We're getting quite good at this.

First, we went to Mistukoshi and bought bags of those just made delicacies we always pass by but never have occasion to purchase.  The food stores in the basement of major Tokyo department stores are a picnickers paradise. They remind me of the food halls of Harrod's in London.  They're not as grand, but probably fresher.  Fresh made tonkatsu (fried pork cutlet with finely shredded cabbage and sweet sauce), just steamed shumai with dipping sauce, handmade noodles, roasted, sliced duck, two salads (shrimp and  octopus), a variety of desserts: sakura cake (of course), Taiyaki (fish shaped cakes stuffed with cream custard - Russell is addicted to these), freshly baked almond danish, a virtual cornucopia of tastes.

Second, we brought a friend, Nancy.

Third, we chose a great location: Shinjuku Park, best picnicking spot in Tokyo.

Fourth, we brought a tarp, although ours isn't blue.  It's from Better Homes and Gardens or as I like to call them, "Better Homes & Garbage."

Last, but not least, we brought lots of wine.  Yes, the park signs warned against bringing alcohol into the park.  Yes, they checked our bags at the entrance but didn't pull out either bottle.  They weren't cleverly hidden either.  Yes, there were temporary "No Alcoholic Beverage" signs posted every hundred yards.  But we made sure to sit as far away as possible from them.  No one bothered us and we weren't the only ones drinking.  The police seemed more interested in directing visitors to the best cherry trees, than enforcing the no drinking rules.  We were fine with that and finished off two bottles.

The park was crowded with sakura revelers, but not nearly as crowded as it would be that weekend.  We were there on Friday and the weather was perfect.   The blossoms were at about 80% I'd say.

Shinjuku Park is very large, with an expansive grassy area, flanked by cherry trees.  It also has a sycamore forest which is spectacular in the Fall, and a couple of glossy, koi inhabited ponds, with the requisite gently arching Japanese bridges, of course.  

Have friend will Hanami.

Picnic area framed with blossoming cherry trees.

The carnage.

Do you think he has any idea what his shirt says?

Do you think his parents do?

After the picnic we walked through the park admiring the well planned landscaping.  So did everyone else.

Weeping cherry tree - I LOVE these!

Now how do I get all these people out of the picture.

Do they have a "cut people out"option in photo shop?

Pretty in pink.

Life imitating art; art imitating life.

Yeah, this don't suck.

Requisite oriental bridge over water.

Sigh, so beautiful.

Under the canopy.

Cascading blossoms.

On the way back we saw this.  Sell out!  Richard Gere Hawking Orangina.  What the?....  Did I drink too much wine.

Sinjuku, I mean Shinjuku

This weekend Russell and I went to Shinjuku, twice.  The first, was on Saturday night.  We went there to frequent Russell's favorite tempura place that doesn't cost $500.   The name of the restaurant is Tsunahachi. He has a guy he likes to go to specifically.  So we went and sat at his guy's counter and had tasty deep fried morsels.   My favorite, if you can believe it, are the seasonal vegetables.  This time it was lotus root and broccoli rabe.  So yummy, so light, so crunchy.  They serve their tempura with three kinds of salt:  wasabe, seaweed and sea salt, plus two kinds of radish, regular and with plum.  Outstanding and reasonably priced.  Course the chef, taking a liking to us, (and everyone else who orders three bottles of sake), couldn't resist giving us the "special" fish.  And the deep fried eel bones are delicious, although it's a little alarming watching him "prepare" the eel which continues to wiggle even after being, um, "dissected."

Three different pre fixe menus or you can order a la carte.  All delicious.

Russell's tempura guy.  He has beautiful skin.

That's the eel and the squiggly thing on the plate is the eel bone.

The other squiggly thing, on the right, is the cap for the 3rd bottle of sake.

After dinner we walked around Shinjuku which is fraught with high rises and tons of neon.  Russell likes it because it doesn't feel like Roppongi Hills.  There are very few gaijin compared to Roppongi so you actually feel like you're really in a foreign country, well, aside from the Starbucks and McDonalds.

But the real reason we went to Shinjuku is because I wanted to check out the seedy part.  The seedy part is called Kabuki-cho.  It's like the red light district of Tokyo, except for their neon comes in all colors.  They have hostess bars where all the girls dress like French Maids.  Ok, but can they type?  Russell wanted to go into one, "for educational purposes." I redirected him to Baskin Robbins instead.   Very Japanese I know but ice cream is my favorite dessert.

Apparently they serve "chocolate crap" here.  I think they meant "crepes".

Nigerian guys troll for customers on the street and try to lure you in.  One guy who approached us, who was quite charming, told us his name was Austin Powers.  Uh huh - I'm sure that's his real name.  He gave us his card to prove it.

They also have hotels that offer prices for a "short stay" - two hours, "medium stay" - four hours or "long stay" - all night.  Why not twenty minutes?  Isn't that all it takes?

This one only gives you two choices - rest or stay.

Define "rest"?

Sunday we went back to Shinjuku but this time to Shinjuku Gyoen (garden).  We actually rode our bikes and had a picnic.  It was beautiful.

Isn't my bike cool?

$2.50 per person allows you into the park where the list of "Don'ts is longer than the constitution.  Russell and I determined one of the differences between L.A. and Tokyo is parks versus gardens.  Besides the Huntington Gardens in Pasadena, not a lot of garden action in L.A.  We walked through the Shinjuku garden and counted all the infringements:

No smoking and walking - several old guys doing this - check
No athletic activity - kids playing soccer, badminton - check
No dogs - purse pooches hiding in Louis Vuitton - check
No alcohol - us drinking wine - check

At least no one was blowing their horn.  That's not allowed either.

There are three styles of gardens within the Shinjuku Gardens: 

Japanese, English and French.

Why no American?  Oh yeah, that would be called a park.

This row of sycamores is probably glorious in the Fall, must come back.

"Hey can somebody feed me?  Throw your girlfriend in"

Thank God we didn't see anyone crayfish poaching.

Wide open spaces.

The women's public toilet had this convenient "add a seat" for your kids.

Or maybe for Japanese asses versus American ones?