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Christmas Cake

Merry Christmas Everybody! Today is a special post that relates to Japan AND Christmas: Christmas Cake! What is Christmas Cake, you ask? Well, Japan, as you may know, isn't a Christian Country, But they still have an odd set of Christmas customs. The day has become, much like in the US, a day for children's presents. A few children, I am told, even believe in Santa Claus. Outside of that, it isn't a family holiday like it is in the west. Christmas eve is a night for couples to go out and have dinner. thats about it. Traditionally it seems that KFC is an important part of Christmas in Japan, although, to be honest, I've never seen much interest in that particular tradition here in Tokyo (maybe it's different in other parts of Japan). What I do see a lot of is Christmas Cake. I don't really know why 'cake,' but thats what you get. There is nothing special about the cake itself, although strawberry seems to be a common trend. It's tasty and expensive (what else would you expect?).

Just FYI: I had sushi and crab-miso soup for Christmas Eve dinner, and I'll probably have some chicken for dinner tonight. A very different experience from "traditional."

No Update This Week

Hey everyone. Sorry to say there is no update this week, due to the fact that I was busy. But I do plan to update again soon, but I don't have any specific plans. Also, I will start a new feature dealing with (mostly) Japanese food and drink. Mostly I will get these from the convenience store around the corner.

Apart from that, Yesterday was the Emperor's Birthday (I didn't get invited to the birthday party) and tomorrow is Christmas so... Happy Holidays!

Motomachi-Chukagai (Chinatown)

Motomachi-Chukagai is the old gaigin (foreigner) part of Yokohama. On the one side o f the canal you have the European/American style area (which includes the Foreigners Graveyard [pic], and on the other side, you have (the much more visually interesting) Chinatown. Chinatown in %85 tourist trap/ %15 real Chinatown. There is also a Museum/mall called Daska [pic] that purports to be a "Historical time travel through Shanghai" (starting in an elevator). Mostly it's just a cheesy display, a surprisingly entertaining floor show, and a food court. as a side note, the bathrooms here are especially clean and nice. In general the food in the big restaurants is shockingly overpriced and (so I am told) suited to the Japanese palate. There are, however, many street vendors selling cheap, filling food such as Pan (called niku-man or whatever-is-inside-man) [pic] in many varieties; from beef and pork to green tea & red-bean. These, along with a moderately priced Tsing-Tao beer, were my lunch.

The night ended with dinner and drinks in Kannai: an developing nightspot in Yokohama, where hundreds of bars and restaurants can be found. In all, Motomachi is a good day trip if you live in Japan and want a simple day trip to see something different, but if you travelled all the way here to experience Japanese culture, you may want to skip this and head to one of the more Japanese-y places.

Tsukiji Fish Market (and photos)

Another Update. Today I went down to Tsukiji Fish Market! [tsukiji-market.co.jp] The biggest fish market in the world! or something.

For those of you who don't know, Tsukiji Market is the largest fish market in Japan and quite possibly the world. Upon entering the market from the Fish temple [pic] side it isn't all that impressive. This is before you realize that the market goes on beyond what you can see. There are over a thousand merchants selling their fish stock (2,500 tons a day). The entire area takes up about the same space as a football stadium.

We got to the market at around 6:30. Luckily we were early enough to see the tuna auctions. In a few warehouses near the back you can find the tuna auction by the singsong chant of the auctioneers. The most interesting of these was doing a little dance on his pedestal as he sold his giant tuna [pic]. The tuna themselves are impressive. Ranging in size from that of a large-ish dog, to bigger than two men. All of them are frozen to keep for however long until they need to be sliced and served. The tails of each are cut off to, I assume, check the fat content and color of the meat. Each tuna is inspected and graded before the auction and some of the better fish go for over a kilo (about $45 a pound).

Next was the market proper. Each of the 1000-plus merchants site in a carefully defined space and generally specialize if a few types of fish. The prices for fish here are drastically lower than what you would normally find in Tokyo supermarkets. The selection is amazing. Not only can you find local procured fish, but also fish from around the world.

One of the important things to remember is to try and stay out of the way. There are hundreds of shoppers and, even more dangerous, the little transport trucks that swarm over the small aisles. But honestly the tourists are fairly well tolerated, considering we are just wandering around their workplace, taking pictures as they go about their workday.

One of the more interesting moments was the escaping octopus [pic]! It slowly tried to escape while people danced around it (or just stepped on it) on their way dawn the aisle. Unfortunately for him, it was only a matter of time before he got scooped up and carried off back to the tank.

Last for the day was breakfast sushi at Daiwa sushi. It's listed as the #1 sushi restaurant in Tokyo by Zaggat. Unfortunately its only open from 5:30AM to 1:30PM, so you cant stop in for dinner sushi. The sushi set is large (and a lot of food for breakfast), but is very fresh. after looking at all the fresh fish all day, the tuna was unbelievably good, and a great way to end a trip to Tsukiji.

Click "Continue Reading" below to see the photos from this weeks adventure.