Monday, April 24, 2023

Ginza Nodaiwa

今から約一ヶ月前、3月の中旬に、久しぶりに銀座で会食してまいりました。

・・・おとうさん。

昔、日本のTV広告を何も知らず、この白い狗を見た時に…

「澁谷でもないのに、なんで狗がフィーチャーされているんだろう?」

…と、ほぼ独り言をつぶやいたら、一緒にいたオーマイさんが教えてくれました。

「これは、おとうさんです。」

…全く意味不明で、ついにオーマイさんが壊れてしまったと勘違いしました。(笑)

さて、おとうさんの像が飾られているのは銀座。
久しぶりですが、まだみんなマスク着けてました。

でも『会食は黙食』という制限がぬるくなってきたので、うなぎランチで集まりました。

場所はここ、銀座野田岩です。
上写真は開店数分前なので、まだ暖簾がぶら下がっていませんが、塚本素山ビルという、海原雄山みたいな名前のビルの地下にあります。お向かいには次郎すし、並びにはバードマンと、名店揃いの地下です。

予約手配してくださったオーマイさん、ありがとうございます。儂は以前 Skype で電話予約しようとしたら『妖怪 無限ループ爺』が電話を取ってしまい、精神汚染に陥りそうな酷い目に遭って、ここの予約が苦手になりました。

開店後、ほぼ参集していたのでただちに着席。
こんな席です。東の尾花と違って靴を脱いだり板の間に座ったりしなくていいのが最大の利点。

この日は、takimoni さんがバンコック支店へ 飛ばされる 栄転されるとの事で、その壮行会も兼ねています。

座ってすぐ、おしぼりをいただきました。
箸袋には有名な「釣り針に注意」の警告文が…。天然ものを頼まなければいいだけの話です。以前、天然ものを頼んだときの感想は『やっぱり特上うなぎの方にしておけば良かった』でした。

ここに来たら、儂はいつもこれです。
梅酒のオンザロックと一緒にウィルキンソンの強炭酸をもらって、割って飲みます。

アルコールがもっといける皆様は、ビールに続いて日本酒まで。
こんな… たぶん江戸切子?のクリスタルが出てきました。

さて、お食事の方はコースメニューでお願いしました。
最初は、こんなアミューズ?前菜?から始まります。

2皿出てまいりました…。
季節柄か、菜花のおしたしと、鰻の煮こごり風ゼリーです。

こちら、追加でお願いした「う巻き」です。
4人なので、こうやって取り分けやすくしてくれました。

取り分けたら、おひとりさま分はこんだけ。
真ん中に申し訳程度の鰻が入っていますが、脂が出るから全体が鰻の風味になって美味しい。

こっちも追加で頼んだ「野田岩風サラダ」を、4等分してくれました。
鰻の白焼きを切って散らしてあるサラダです。ミニトマトや水菜でサッパリといただけます。

そして… 最初に届いた重箱は、こんなです。
重箱といっても、下の方に湯煎してあるのが特徴。

塗り蓋を開けると、こうなっています。
白焼きです。添えてある本わさびで召し上がれと言われますが、本当は醤油が欲しい…。

ちなみに、テーブルに常備された薬味は… こんだけ。
ハクション大魔王が入っていそうな容器は、山椒。あとは醤油に辛子。

醤油もあるんだけど、他の皆様の手前、醤油をジョロジョロして食べるのは我慢しました。
薬味をほぼ使わずに食べる白焼きは、鰻の風味が全面的に口内に拡がって楽しいです。

白焼きを退治すると、今度はここで茶碗蒸しが出されます。
いつも、旅館の夕食なんかだと、茶碗蒸しって最後のシメっぽいと思っていました。

蓋を取ると、こうです。最初に柚子の香りが拡がります。
凝固した鶏卵の中には鰻の切れ端が潜んでいますが、う巻き同様に鰻の脂で全体がうなぎ風味に包まれています。

茶碗蒸しの後に、御本尊様が到着します。
鰻重の入った塗りの蓋は、注文した鰻のランクで絵柄が変化します。これは「並」程度。
もっとデカい鰻を頼むと、勧進帳やら藤の花やら、歌舞伎からは離れない塗りの絵が…。

さて、椀のほうはもちろん、肝吸いです。
個人的にはこれのどこが美味しいのかイマイチ理解に苦しんでいます。
チャーハンに添えられてくるスープと同じだ、と幼少の頃より理解しています。

鰻重は蓋を外すと、この程度です。
柔らかくて美味しい。野田岩はタレがくどくない。尾花のほうがもう少しコッテリしたタレです。野田岩の鰻重は全体的にバランスがいい。安心して食べ進められる美味しさ、と申せばいいでしょうか。

ともあれ、あの真空地帯の飯倉まで行かずとも、銀座に出てきてこの鰻が食せるのは有り難いです。

鰻をたいらげたら、焙じ茶と一緒に水菓子がでてまいります…。
やはり季節柄、イチゴでした。これで鰻コースは無事終了。

銀座で集まってお食事、となったら、やはり野田岩です。
以前同じメンバーで、鼎泰豐とかフレンチとかでもお食事しましたが、儂には野田岩が一番です。

食後、まだ少し時間があるということで、お隣のビルにある喫茶店へ。
昭和のにほひがプンプンな喫茶店で、アイスコーシーを。

皆様、楽しいひとときをありがとうございました。

そして takimoni さん、もう水鉄砲で撃ち合うのは終わりましたでしょうか?
本物の鉄砲で撃ち合うアメリカより平和ですが、どうかご自愛くださいまし。

その後数寄屋橋で別れてから、儂は銀座の焼き芋屋や三越のデパ地下で買い物をして新橋へ。
新橋地下駅から、総武横須賀線の快速で津田沼まで帰りましたとさ。

また来月末にも帰省しますが、お時間許しますなら再びお目にかかりたいです。

29 comments:

  1. Although I am not a participant, I apologize for leaving a comment on this article, since I’d like to write it with the feeling of being an "angel on snow" (lol). By the way, I always think when reading your travel articles that you often take your time in hotel lounges and the like during your stay, but when it comes to staying in Japan, it is impressive that you move around from place to place. Of course, I know that besides your important family, you have many friends and schedule things in advance to meet them, but everyone must be looking forward to seeing you.

    What! There was such a dog in Ginza!? I had no idea. I was worried about whether it would be taken away by someone or whether it would get blackened by wind and rain.

    Regarding Ohmy-san's line, "This is Otousan ," I still have no idea what it means. Even now, I am convinced that "Ohmy-san's personality has finally been broken" (lol). The "father's statue" is displayed in Ginza... It must have changed during the Corona pandemic (huh? Does it have nothing to do with the pandemic?).

    I think I have seen "Nodaiwa in Ginza" a few times on this blog, but it is an unexplored restaurant for me. Wasn't there a stricter eel specialty restaurant that made customers wait for a long time to enter and forced Americans to sit in seiza posture?

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    1. Yamada Denki sensei,

      So you wished to leave a message as a first person to ‘contaminate’ it, right? (lol)

      I am sorry I didn’t invite you because you are living far away and not sure you like Eastern style Unagi cooking. Kabayaki by Obana or Nodaiwa are very strong sauce which I thought it’s not favorable by Western Japanese… Narita or Shibamata has stronge and I do like those too as Chiban, the country of soy sauce.

      The “Otohsan” is being featured on the TV ads by Softbank Mobile… it’s so silly but Japanese do like it. American TV ads are also insane sometimes but Japanese ones have unbelievable expressions.

      In regards to Obana, I do like their unagi too, but they have several issues – making like before opening otherwise we can’t get unagi, sitting on the hardwood floor for waiting unagi over 30 min, and so many ugly giggling old ladies. I am always disgusted by hese environments so Nodaiwa is much more sophisticated and easy to enjoy.

      Delete
  2. You wrote "Jiro sushi" quite casually, but are you referring to "Sukiyabashi Jiro"? It's a famous restaurant where the oldest three-star Michelin chef in history serves and was recognized by the Guinness World Records in 2019, right? It's surprising that such a well-known restaurant is located in Ginza, Tokyo, where there are many other famous places.

    I heard that Ohmy-san is in charge of booking, but is it relatively easy to make a reservation at this eel specialty restaurant? If so, I would like to make a reservation through AmEx when I visit Tokyo next time (although AmEx might not be reliable).

    Oh, now I remember what I mentioned in my previous comment, it was "Obana," right? As a pure American, taking off your shoes or sitting on the floor may have been a severe trial for you.

    I always think that you have friends from various professions (am I one of them?). On this day, I heard that takimoni-san was promoted to the Bangkok branch, and although I might not have met them before (?), I wish him good health.

    Oh, I remember the warning on the chopstick wrapper now. It seems to be promoting the use of natural eel, but the wording is a bit ambiguous.

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    1. Yamada Denki sensei,

      I only went once at Sukiyabashi Jiro, as a translator for Mr. Okawa, Chairman of Sega. That one hour stay was a torture for me. I couldn’t enjoy foods because I had to help their chatting, and the master chef Jiro-san pointed me out that I don’t like raw fish. He is really a mind reader… yes, I couldn’t eat raw fish until mid school.

      Amex might help you but calling them during their business hours is quite easy. Because of the time zone difference, I called them before opening and then probably the master chef, who is quite an age, took my call but he kept asking my name , phone number, number of the party, again and again… so I named him “Infinite Loop Grandpa” and scared calling back again. Instead, Oh-my-san helped me, calling Nodaiwa and successfully makes reservations always.

      As disclosed above, I don’t like sitting on tatami mat floor. Obana is even worse – it’s hard wood floor, and they start cooking unagi after receiving the order so we have to wait our dishes over 30-40 minutes.

      Delete
  3. Wow, there's a menu item called "Premium eel" in addition to the "natural eel" at this restaurant. At first glance, the natural one seems more upscale, but according to your evaluation, the premium one is actually better.

    I can't remember how Obana was, but this restaurant offers plum wine, beer, and sake in addition to the main dish of eel, which seems to be prepared like a course meal. It's enjoyable.

    The reason why I'm writing this is that it reminded me of the time I went to Ichiran because I was attracted by the name. They created the "flavor concentration counter" to provide an environment where customers can enjoy a bowl of ramen without worrying about their surroundings. The counter separated by left and right neighbors is bearable, but it was a pain for me that they only offer beer and white rice. They seem to believe that offering side dishes would detract from the concentration on the ramen, so they don't even have fried rice or dumplings.

    Certainly, there are customers like me who are so unruly that they go to Tenka-Ippin and only order fried rice, dumplings, and beer without even ordering the ramen itself, as if they see a ramen restaurant as a Chinese restaurant (lol). So, I can understand their perspective, but at least I won't go to Ichiran again.
    Oh, I deviated from the topic as usual…

    I'm also drawn to the grilled eel, but the eel on rice, which is the main attraction, is still the best. I'm not sure if the liver dish that comes with it is the same as the soup that comes with fried rice, but it still seems superior to the soup with fried rice.

    When seeing the image of the tender and delicious eel, personally, I want a large salty plum to go with it. It has been said that eel and pickled plum do not go well together. When I heard that, I immediately tried them together... Perhaps my taste buds are foolish, but I fell in love with it. Maybe it's my habit of wanting something salty when the sauce is sweet and rich.

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    1. Yamada Denki sensei,

      The natural eel is 野良 therefore those guys are masculine hence the texture is chewy, less greasy. What we expect for unagi are tender yet greasy meat, therefore the natural ones are not meet our expectations. Instead, the premium unagis are tender and greasy even they are cultivated ones. This really depends on someone’s preference but OhMy-san and me are in favor of premium unagi.

      Nodaiwa is more sophisticated and prepared for businessmen as well as foreigners no wonder they are in the center of Ginza. Obana is more kabayaki-centric offers. I recommend Nodaiwa for those who anticipating sufficient course of lunch or dinner, starting with appetizers and ending with fresh fruits.
      And Sensei, this restaurant is much fancier than ramen with fried rice accompanied with soup and gyoza. (lol)

      I never been to 天下一品 yest, but it supposed to be visiting famous ramen chain store like Taishoken, and then asking beer, gyoza and chahan… if I were a chef, I will stab you. (lol)

      Talking about 食い合わせ, you are the pro!!, aren’t you? (lol) I like pickled plum but I can’t go with una-ju because those salty-sour flavors won’t match with unagi tare taste… I can’t imagine what happens on my palate if I took those two together.

      Anyway, please try Nodaiwa, instead of Sushi-zammmai when you come by Ginza. Reservation is easy, sometimes walk-in is quite acceptable.

      Delete
  4. I see. If you were to hone your cooking skills and open a ramen shop like Tenka-Ippin, I would definitely come to celebrate with a gift. But I wouldn't just order beer, gyoza, and chahan, I would also make sure to order some ramen so as not to be offended by you (lol).

    There are so many food pairing theories out there that I don't really know what's true and what's not. Did we even learn nutrition in medical school? Maybe we did, but I don't remember at all (lol). I just understand it simply as the salty flavor of pickled plums and the sweet flavor of eel sauce being like sprinkling salt on watermelon. Because if you sprinkle salt on watermelon, the sweetness really pops, right? (lol)
    All joking aside, when I go to Ginza next time (even though I'm strongly drawn to Sushizanmai), I'll try Nodaiwa based on your recommendation. But if I happen to call the restaurant for a reservation and "Infinite Loop Grandpa" answers, I'll just go to the restaurant directly (lol).

    So you've been to Sukiyabashi Jiro as a translator. Of course, I have no experience working as a translator, but I have seen simultaneous interpreters at international medical conferences, and I understand how they manage to stay focused. In fact, one interpreter can only work for a maximum of about 20 minutes before being relieved by another interpreter. It must be difficult to enjoy even the most delicious sushi in front of you while handling such a demanding job. I seriously admire the skillful work of Mr. Ippei Mizuhara.

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    1. Yamada Denki sensei,

      Yes, please… whomever you celebrate the grand opening of the new restaurant, don’t skip their signature menu and just ask beer. You will be definitely stabbed. (lol)

      What I learned from T was; tabooed food pairings are myth. I don’t remember which class but shaved ice and tempura combo must be a true, I personally thought because I always get tummy upset by these two – shaved ice and tempura. That’s probably I ate both too much… bowlful of ice and bowlful of tempura. Eating those were strictly prohibited by my grandma, so when I started living alone in Tokyo, I bought dozens of ice candies and got severe tummy upset. But I just took 正露丸 and didn’t see gastroenterologist. (I preferred to meet a gastronomist rather. (lol))

      In terms of watermelons, I sprinkle chili pepper instead of salt. I learned this from a street food in Mexico City, or some gastronomic restaurants serve it as a fancy discovery. (lol)

      Please be rest assured if you call Nodaiwa during their business hours. Then you won’t be encountered with Infinite Loop Grandpa. Because he is so busy grilling eels. (lol)

      I was appreciated the best technical translator when I was at that gaming company. There were hundreds of complete bilingual employees, but the point is; unless otherwise you don’t understand the technical issues, terms and jargons, you can’t translate well.
      In my case, official conversations with Motorola, Nokia or Qualcomm, my English worked very well. Also the casual dining situations are easy though I couldn’t have chance to enjoy foods. However, when I was taken to ToysRus and being a translator of sales negotiations, I failed the translation because that wasn’t my specialized field and the boss Mr. Okawa speaks very broken Japanese… if the original words didn’t follow the grammar, how can I translate properly? Ippei-san does his job much beyond everybody’s expectation. He’s the guy.

      Delete
  5. By the way, I know you were born and raised along the coast of Chiba, so it's a bit surprising to hear that you couldn't eat raw fish until junior high school.

    It seems that Obana and Nodaiwa put a very strong sauce on their kabayaki. Indeed, people from Western Japan prefer light soy sauce. I vividly remember the first time I ate at a standing soba shop on the platform of Suidobashi station while commuting from Funabashi. I couldn't see the bottom of the bowl because it was opaque. If it were at a soba shop near Sannomiya station, I should have been able to see the bottom clearly.
    I still know well that Chiba Prefecture is famous for its soy sauce from my elementary school social studies textbook. I'm not sure if it's because it's delicious that people want to use a lot of it, but there may be a risk of excessive salt intake.

    Oh, Softbank Mobile's TV ad features "Otohsan", huh? After graduating from elementary school, I stopped watching TV altogether. It was partly because watching TV had become boring, but more importantly, I wanted to buy and listen to music records. Nonetheless, I enjoyed watching "Downtown no Gaki no Tsukai ya Arahende!" on New Year's Eve, but it hasn't been aired for the past few years, so I've finally stopped watching TV all year round.
    Therefore, my knowledge of TV programs has remained at the elementary school level, and my repertoire hasn't expanded beyond "Hyokkori Hyoutan-jima" or "Obake no Q-taro."

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    1. Yamada Denki sensei,

      I am a spoiled brat. Therefore, I didn’t eat veggies, I didn’t eat raw fish. When my kidneys failed working and I charged into the hospital for a month, they assigned me a bowlful of cabbage without salt, soy sause or anything – even no jams or maple syrup (lol). Then… what I did was; I threw the cabbage from the window. Several days later, the neighbor of the hospital came qand complained their roof is covered with dried cabbage. (lol)
      So, when the sashimi has been served at home, my parents know me so they bought a piece of tonkatsu or karaage from the butcher. (FYI: my home was located in the downtown. Two doors next was a butcher and in front of butcher was fish market. Chicken specialized shop is on the other side of the street so all okazu buying shops are within a minute on foot.)
      Then, when we travel, like Izu peninsular where my dad chose there often, there were boatful of sashimi served… but fortunately, small boiling pot is served for yudofu or additional nabe cooking, so I always do sashimi shabu-shabu to enjoy fresh fish. My father was always sighing by watching my behavior. Sorry daddy!
      However, my picky behavior has been compensated when I moved to Tokyo and started living alone. Besides eating dozens of popsicles and got tummy upsets, I had to cook by myself or eat out at Teishoku-ya. Under such circumstances, I couldn’t be picky.

      Chiba is a country of soy sauce, period. Actually my grandma was Edokko or Tokyoite, her cooking were… All Brown. When I visited Osaka, I was scared of a bowl of hot udon soup because the noodles are floating in the clear water, and then I sip, I was shocked by the flavor of salt and dead fish. I sneakily added soy sauce but my next person saw it and pointed out “Hey Kid! You’re from Kanto, Right??” I immediately stared hating Western Japanese. (and it somewhat remains still…)

      Last ten years of my life in Tokyo, I was mostly watching NHK because those TV ads are so annoying. But when I visit my parents’ home, it’s fun to watch Japanese TV ads because it’s as silly as American’s, sometimes much more weird and eccentric Like Otosan.
      Talking about our childhoods’ TV show, Hyotan-Jima is fine but Oba-Q is a kind of trauma for me because I was in charge of being Oba-Q on the kindergarten show to the parents… I am quite sure because I behave a clever boy, teachers assigned me a stupidest character for me. I anyway played well and got a huge laugh from everyone. That show play rumor expanded within Futtsu in several minutes. That’s why I do hate countryside of Japan.
      By the way. I preferred Kepel-sensei Konnichiwa (Monoshiri Hakase) on Saturday rather than Hyotan-Jima. Maybe I liked the voice of Kazuo Kumakura – no wonder I was fuke-sen already. (lol)

      Delete
  6. So, you have a history of hospitalization due to kidney dysfunction. I had a classmate in junior high school who also had kidney disease and was hospitalized for about a year, which delayed his graduation by a year. When I talked to him after he was discharged, he didn't mention anything about cabbage, but he said he was only allowed to eat watermelon. At that time, I had no medical knowledge, so I didn't know if that was an appropriate treatment method or not. All we could do was rest and limit salt intake then.

    When I became a doctor, for kidney diseases that cause low proteinemia, such as nephrotic syndrome, a high-protein diet was actually recommended. However, now it is the opposite and protein intake is avoided because it is well-known that it puts a strain on the renal glomeruli. It's a typical example of how "yesterday's common sense is today's taboo."

    During your childhood, instead of eating raw fish, you ate high-quality tonkatsu or karaage purchased from the butcher shop. When I was a child, I also didn't like raw fish because it had a strong odor. But at home, I could choose alternatives, so it was okay.
    The difficult part was school lunches. You are of the same generation as me, so you may have experienced skim milk. According to what I've heard, UNICEF has been donating skim milk to improve the nutritional deficiencies of Japanese children since the latter half of 1940s. But by the time we were in elementary school, Japan's economy had improved significantly, and there was no need to give us skim milk. I don't know when skim milk in school lunches disappeared from Japan, but even my wife who is five years younger than me says, "I didn't know what skim milk looked like or what it was called, at least in my school lunches."

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    1. Yamada Denki sensei,

      As an amateur, I guess my kidney failure happened by streptococcus, caused from series of tonsillitis… as you might remember, I received tonsillectomy at age 44, in San Mateo. Due to the American culture, I earned dozens of ice creams and popsicles… but no tummy upset happened fortunately. (lol) And when I reported my parents my quarterly fever has gone after the tonsils are out, they were deeply regret they didn’t give me a tonsillectomy in my childhood – I totally understand I was a very fragile kid, I might not survive by such several minutes of easy operation. (at 44, it took almost three hours, the ENT surgeon told me, and she wanted my chopped tonsils for adding to her trophies. (lol))
      Talking about the delays of graduation, the teacher had shown up to my hospital room and said “Congrats ObaKoba, you can move to the 4th grade!” but I wasn’t impressed at all. I might be delighted if she says “Congrats! you will be the 6th grade next year!” seriously.

      > "yesterday's common sense is today's taboo."
      For me, the weirdest modern medical knowledge is; keep the wounds nice and wet, not using antiseptics or even antibiotics… I don’t like it but I stopped using peroxide. (but still use it for Waterpik for teeth, at 0.3%)

      Honestly confessing, when I became a mid school student, I started trying sashimi because I heard that French kiss feels like lukewarm maguro sashimi… but both are stinky sometimes, the real kiss was slinkier if I chose a wrong person. (LOL)
      Now, I still like tonkatsu and karaage as well as deep French kisses. (lol)

      I DO LOVE skim milk. However, I can’t eat coppépan (←tahnk you, sensei. I learned a new word! But usually it’s Hot Dog Buns in America) So, numbers of my friends, mostly girls, can’t drink skim milk, so I traded my coppépan with her bowlful of slim milk. So I always enjoy 4-5 bowls of skim milk every weekday lunch, I got over 176cm of heights as a result. (Now I’m shrinking. Very kind nurse-san of my primary doc’s clinic measured me at 175.5cm on April 10, I am delighted I am 1cm taller than I expected, but she also said “well… you may have one more centimeter if you are NOT BALD yet.” Which I was severely injured. (lol)

      For readers of this blog who are still in elementary school, GET MILK!!
      For readers of this blog who are gay, GET MILK but somehow different one!! (LOL)

      Delete
  7. Hahaha, so you used to put fresh sashimi in a small pot and make shabu-shabu. Actually, I still do the same thing. It removes the fishy smell from the sashimi and makes a good broth for the pot, so it's all good.

    Until I graduated from elementary school, I lived with my family. However, I entered Okayama University's affiliated junior high school, so I started living alone. I couldn't cook or anything, so I mainly ate at the western-style restaurants in the basement of Tenmaya department store. I enjoyed the freedom of living alone and didn't find it difficult until I got married.

    As you pointed out, the soup for udon in Kansai region has a salty and fishy taste when you put it in your mouth. I'm used to it, so it doesn't bother me, but I understand your urge to add soy sauce secretly as a true Kanto person. As I wrote in yesterday's comment, I also had an impulse to dilute the soup with water when I couldn't see the bottom of the bowl. But please don't hate people from western Japan. There are good people there too (lol).

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    1. Yamada Denki sensei,

      Sensei… if you do fish shabu-shabu, the broth goes fishier, I guess. And if you are sharing that pot with someone, you are obviously disgusting, from pot-sharing persons’ view.
      I do enjoy raw fish because the texture is somehow someone’s tong. So next time, please try wasabi plus soy on the partner’s tong and taste it. (Don’t try it with your wife-san. Or I’ll be stabbed.)

      So, sensei, you started living alone from mid school are? That’s only 12 and no experiences with girls! (if I guess correctly…) How did you decide such tortured life? Well the current life – serving for citizens’ lives is a kind of torture as well…
      And Temmaya has a food court in the basement? That’s sounds like Aeon Tsudanuma… I personally loose my appetite if the food court is located in the basement. (Nodaiwa is the obvious exception here (lol)) So I always buy to-go foods like packed sushi from top floor of departments or PARCO. (unfortunately, my favorite Tsudanuma PARCO has been closed… btw)

      You might need some kind of tips and tricks for ‘revive your enjoyable life’, sensei. I am more than happy to support your alibi if needed. (lol)

      For me all soba or udon noodles are in deep brown colored broth. When I moved to San Mateo, I re-encountered the déjà-vu situation… because most of Japanese Americans here are Western origin – Hiroshima, Kyushu, Shikoku and Okinawa. I was shocked when I saw zaru-soba served with Grated Ginger!? …no wasabi assorted!!

      > But please don't hate people from western Japan. There are good people there too (lol).
      Yes, I learned there are good people in Okayama, at least. But I’m still uncomfortable with people in Kyoto sometimes… they smell like Parisian, you might be able to imagine as well.

      Delete
  8. Huh? You want me to try putting raw fish, wasabi, and soy sauce on my wife's tongue and let her taste it? Hmm, I don't think my wife would stab you, but maybe my life would be in danger?

    Yes, I started living alone from middle school. It was because my father made me attend a school outside of our designated district.
    Back then, if I wanted to attend the Okayama Prefectural General High School, I had to have a registered address within a certain limited area. Since my father's clinic was also our home, my address was naturally in Saidaiji, which was outside of the designated area. The school only allowed 5% of its students to come from outside the designated area, with the remaining 95% being students from inside the area. My father, being a worrier, deemed it impossible for me to get in through that 5% narrow gate, so he decided to move our address to an apartment within the designated area when I started middle school. That's the background of my living alone.

    Of course, I didn't have any experience with girls at 12 years old. I was pretty innocent back then. The problem started when I was in high school. I made friends with some bad apples, and soon, copies of my apartment key were made, and my apartment turned into a "free love hotel." I often came back to find one of my friends had brought a girl over.
    I couldn't even focus on my studies in such a situation. But I couldn't tell my parents about it at this point, and as a result, I ended up becoming a university entrance exam repeater. The main reason I chose a prep school in Kyoto, rather than in Okayama, was that I felt I couldn't even concentrate on my studies if I stayed in that apartment.

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    1. Yamada Denki sensei,

      No you don’t have to put raw fish on your wife-san’s tongue. What you need is only soy sauce and wasabi, then enjoy sucking your wife san as if it’s a lukewarm sashimi… is this a variation of Nyotai-Mori, btw? Well, I will be definitely stabbed by this instruction. Nevertheless, even I were stabbed, I have ‘alternative surgeons’ (who are gastroenterologists usually) on the venue. (lol)

      I am sorry but I am so glad you also grabbed the forbidden fruits during your high school era. My friends were also ‘picaresque’ favored guys, and we were the ‘almost-dropped-out’ students in a school where 100% of students are going to 4-year colleges and universities. During those school days, one of the junior student looked scared and embarrassed, but ‘carefully’ asking me “uh.. oh.. ObaKoba-san… is that true you are the member of Bancho Group?” I started rolling on the floor and couldn’t stop laughing, couldn’t breathe for a while. I never heard the word “Bancho” in KIsarazu High (believe or not, that school is almost as clever as High School Attached to the Faculty of Education, Okayama University (what a school name in English, btw)). But anyway, I was that bad, too. (lol)

      And I am glad you were still innocent at age 12. In my case, I was already pretty much contaminated… please don’t ask, I don’t tell. (lol)

      Delete
  9. Well, even if you were stabbed and panicked to call me as an "alternative surgeon" for your rescue, I wouldn't be of any use because I am just a gastroenterologist (lol).

    Hmm, I don't quite understand why you evaluated that I had grabbed the forbidden fruits during my high school era. After all, it was thanks to those fruits that I was forced to take a year off as an entrance exam repeater. Oh, by the way, I attended the attached junior high school of the Faculty of Education at Okayama University, in which Doi-sensei attended as well, not the attached high school. The high school I attended had a much lower entrance exam score than the junior high school, and only three subjects, English, math, and Japanese, were tested. I got a perfect score in English and math, and only missed one question in Japanese. It was such an easy entrance exam. As I mentioned in my comment yesterday, even if it was a narrow gate of 5%, I think I could easily pass it.

    The students at the attached junior high school of the Faculty of Education at Okayama University were relatively smart, and were dispersed to four Okayama prefectural general high schools in the city of Okayama for their further education. Especially, the high school I attended was a newly established school, so more than 70 out of 230 students from the junior high school were forcibly sent to that high school.

    What? You were already quite contaminated at the age of 12? I definitely want to hear the details and have you tell me (lol).

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    1. Yamada Denki sensei,

      I am sorry I missed replying to these comments posted on last Thursday night.
      At that time, I was unexpectedly busy… I saw a homeless person who used to be exchanging regards on the streets, he became homeless about 3 months ago sadly, but he refused any supports. Then, in the evening of Thursday, when I am bringing back my hot jasmine milk tea to my home, I found him squatting on the concrete floor in the parking lot, next to the train crossing. If it was a person I didn’t know, I just ignore but it was a person I knew, so I checked him… then I found he was in high fever. So I invited him to my home, put him on the sofa, kept him nice and warm with bottles of water and protein drink. After 48 hours he looked normal and resumed going around streets.
      Anyway, that’s why I didn’t check your replies… sorry again, but I didn’t ask gastroenterologist for curing Mr. Homeless because he didn’t accept any medications except Nyquil. Because Nyquil is a liquid in a small cup, he didn’t think it was a medicine – I had a language barrier with him either, he’s a Latino. After all, two doses of Nyquil and two doses of doxicycline 100mg (not for fever but I expected some symptoms caused by gram positive microbes. I kept watching and am ready to call ambulance if he got anaphylaxis) did a good job for him.

      Back to the subject, any schools belonging to Okayama University are smart enough, I think. And I am delighted Dr. Doi is as smart as you or even better possibly.

      > What? You were already quite contaminated at the age of 12? I definitely want to hear the details and have you tell me (lol).

      I’ll let you know if you ask me this in Okayama. Those were oisha-san gokko but played more seriously like urologists. (lol)

      Delete
  10. Anyway, this is a story from about 50 years ago, so even if we talk about the food court in the basement of Tenmaya, there were not many fancy restaurants lined up there. Compared to the basement of Tenmaya back then, the current food courts at Aeon Tsudanuma or Aeon Okayama are like a dreamland.

    Personally, I tend to have a bigger appetite when the food court is in the basement. I feel like I'm eating in a secret hideout and it oddly calms me down. Maybe this comes from my dark personality.

    Oh, I have also shopped at Tsudanuma PARCO. When my uncle was still alive, I stopped by on the way back from visiting him and had two pairs of pants made and sent to Okayama. Since it was PARCO, the prices were reasonable and the quality was decent. The PARCO building itself was a bit old-fashioned and couldn't be compared to Aeon, but it was still enjoyable and down-to-earth.

    "Fun life," "hints," "tricks," "alibis"... all of these are fascinating words, and when I string them together, it feels like I’m about to come up with some devious scheme. I'll try to restrain myself (lol).

    So, you're regularly interacting with people from western Japan in California. Hmm, I also prefer my zaru-soba with grated ginger on top rather than wasabi. But it's still okay if wasabi is served.

    You say "there are good people in Okayama," but actually, people from Kyoto share some similarities with them. Okayama locals can be exclusive and often don't take things at face value. They may answer "OK" while thinking the opposite in their hearts. Of course, this depends on the person, and once you become close, you can have frank conversations with them.

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    1. Yamada Denki sensei,

      From my point of view, I can’t find so many fancy food experiences in Aeon quality… PARCO is slightly better and if I move to Funabashi, it’s way better. I can attend 鼎泰豐 in Funabashi or they have unexpectedly good “spaghetti meat sauce” specialized noodle shop.

      Now Tsudanuma PARCO is closed… sad. I often stopped by for purchasing Muji (無印良品 in Japan), and the top floor has sushi bar where I could buy some sushi boxes when I visit my father’s room in Saiseikai Hospital, where is located two doors next to your uncle’s University. They also had a good pasta restaurant. Now those are all gone… I am still looking for the alternative place for purchasing Muji products. There is Muji store on Union Square but the variety of items are obviously different as you can easily expect.

      You take ginger with Soba!!?? …I can’t believe Western Japanese are in the same ethnic. (lol)
      Gingers are usually for somen noodles. I don’t know how people have cold udon but it might be with ginger which I can aaccept, but not for buckwheat noodles, please!

      I have spent a month – summer holidays in August, in Kyoto when I was in mid school, with my cousin. We took tour-guided buses, which is similar to Hato-Bus in Tokyo, but once we complete the bus tour, we were within Kyoto locals sometimes, and I was so uncomfortable because I couldn’t understand their verbal language hundred percent. I knew Kansa-ben by Manzai or TV shows but they spoke somewhat different from those who on TV. And their behaviors were very cold if we were detected as Tokyoites or Eastern. And that’s why I didn’t receive any exam for entering colleges in Kyoto (actually in Kansai).

      Delete
  11. Oh, you watch Japanese TV commercials when you visit your mother's house. Personally, I enjoy foreign TV commercials more. In particular, it's interesting to see Japanese companies' commercials abroad. I'm impressed by how they promote products that we're used to seeing in Japan in different ways. Even when I'm watching CNN (although I don't understand what the anchors are saying most of the time), I rarely get bored.

    My first overseas trip was to Oahu, and when I was listening to the radio in my hotel room on the northern tip of the island on my first night, a Toyota commercial came on. I don't even remember the name of the car model they were promoting, but I still remember the upbeat music used in the ending of the commercial, which is not typically used in Toyota commercials in Japan.

    Hahaha, you played Oba-Q in your kindergarten show. Well, I guess it might have been embarrassing for a smart kid to play a foolish character, but if you played it well and got a big laugh from everyone, that's still good, isn't it? Your classmates probably felt more familiar with you, thinking "even the always excellent Koba-kun has a funny side!" It was probably a common performance in rural Japan at the time.

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    1. Yamada Denki sensei,

      Watching Japanese TV ads is a fun. Because TV JAPAN is a subsidiary of NHK, there is barely few commercials on it – either multinational Japanese company like Canon or ANA, plus some local small businesses. But it is funny NHK Special or even Kohaku are sponsored by private companies and broadcasted.
      CNN has worldwide presence these days and the programs may vary – some famous casters are located worldwide such as Ms. Amanpour is in London, or Wolf Blitzer is in Washington DC. And when I saw CNN in Türkiye, the program is very localized yet keeping the flavor of CNN.

      I feel Hawai’I is already occupied by Japan… or pretty much contaminated. Sorry but there are too many Japanese tourists or residents, when I visit Waikiki I won’t be able to be recognized as US Citizen which is utterly pity.

      Always excellent and smart ObaKoba-kun is on funny side, definitely!! But I still don’t accept kindergarten teachers assigned me such infamous character on the review… That kindergarten was crazy as well. Probably the owner or the board members were the strong fan of Talarazuka. Therefore the classes are named Yuki-gumi, Tsuki-gumi and Hana-gumi. I was in Hana-gumi and the time of Oyugi, we have to shake the strange bells with singing “When violet flowers bloom.” Since then, I can’t watch Takarazuka, it’s a kind of my trauma.

      Delete
  12. I'm not familiar with "Monoshiri Hakase" that you liked, but I enjoyed "Kodomo Denwa Soudan Shitsu" which still exists under the name "Kodomo Kagaku Denwa Soudan"! I was drawn to the concept that we children could ask anything if we thought "Why?" or "Isn't it strange?"
    For me, it was fun to watch the answerers struggle to come up with a response while stalling for time by saying things like "Hmm, that's a good question!" Since it was completely live at the time, sometimes they would even give desperate answers.
    It was also exciting when some unruly adult would call pretending to be a child and yell "You idiot!" or something like that. The host would be at a loss for words and try to cover it up with something like "That's not the way adults should behave," which was entertaining as part of the live broadcast.

    I believe your kidney failure was caused by streptococcus from your tonsillitis, as I remember you had your tonsils removed at the age of 44. However, there was something I didn't mention at the time. That is, "Shouldn't the removal surgery have been done at an earlier stage?"
    I refrain from making comments like this as a physician, because saying things like "You should have had an earlier examination" to a patient with stage 4 advanced cancer does not benefit the patient in any way. I think your parents must have had some hesitation about having you undergo tonsillectomy for various reasons, and it was simply the result of trial and error as parents, not something to apologize for.

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    1. Yamada Denki sensei,

      Those behaviors of adults on that kids’ TV show, what I didn’t like is their Looking from Above 上から目線. I think the forthcoming movie How Do You Live? 君たちはどう活きるか will have the same taste… that is also Koperu-kun, sounds certain similarity to Kepell-sensei.

      In regards to my tonsillitis in early age, I was so vulnerable and fragile so Dr. Ito, who helped my mother for giving my birth, didn’t recommend the surgery. Also, he had a kind of policy, say “Every organ should have a reason why it’s there, but the medical science didn’t discover the truth yet.” When I became big and strong, now I didn’t have chance to stay in hospital for a week or two for tonsillectomy. But the ENT doctor in California promised me the surgery is easy and I didn’t have to be charged, so I received the surgery… Then I found the difference between Japan and America is; Stay in bed in hospital or home. I anyway stay in bed for 10 days or more. In Japan, professional nurses and doctors are taking care of the patients, but in America, patients are kicked out from the hospital and cured by themselves at home, because of the insurance coverage. What a country…

      When I received the tonsillectomy and became healthy, no more quarterly fever, I reported my parents about it. Then suddenly, my dad looked quite sour and my mom started crying, said they regret they didn’t give me the surgery in early age. The result is happy ending so I don’t care about it at all.

      Delete
  13. I'm not a surgeon, so I can't explain the details, but the key points of recent trauma treatment are as follows:

    1) rinse the wound thoroughly
    2) not dry the wound
    3) not disinfect wound

    1) If you rinse the wound and remove debris, infection and suppuration will not occur.
    2) If you dry the wound, body fluids will dry up and form a scab, which can cause infection. Also, by drying it, the wound is exposed to air, and subcutaneous nerves are stimulated followed by making the pain worse.
    3) The wound will still heal even if it is disinfected, but not disinfecting it will reduce pain and speed up healing (however, depending on the condition of the wound, disinfection may be necessary).

    What! You love skim milk?! I'm a little surprised. Personally, I can't stand the taste of such a nasty thing, so I used to pour it on the plants in the classroom. After a while, white liquid would seep out from under the plant, so the teacher found out.

    I'm not a fan of コッペパンeither. The texture of the soft and fluffy bread sold nowadays is non-existent, and when I chew it in my mouth, it becomes mushy, making I feel like I’m chewing gum.

    Anyway, I learned that your height of over 176cm was due to your consumption of skim milk, and I accepted it. My height of only 170cm is my own fault for not drinking skim milk properly (lol).

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    1. Yamada Denki sensei,

      I still cannot follow the most recent recommendations for open wounds… but I stopped using peroxy or merbomin at least. And if it’s applicable, I use hydrocolloid bandages which worked very well for healing my ring finger after the reconstruction of tendon.

      I do like milk. And it maybe the reason I could achieve 176cm, tallest in ObaKoba families. And because I like skim milk, I didn’t have any difficulties to try European cheeses including goat milk, sheep milk, buffalo milk, white fungus, blue fungus or even washed ones. Milk stinky is totally fine for me, and that’s why I married with Caucasian. (LOL)

      You fertilized the plants with skim milk? That behavior sounds quite similar someone threw bowlful of cabbages from the window at hospital. (lol)

      On the NHK news, about several months ago already, introducing a sandwich shop using coppépan and the shop is getting popular. I can’t believe someone still want to have that torture of food…

      Sensei, we still have chance for the height by chopping the leg bones… that is another unbelievable surgery in modern medical approaches.

      Delete
  14. obakoba様

    その節はまたまたご馳走様でした。
    例によって写真見ながら涎垂らしております。

    3/31に到着し、4/20にアパートに入居してやっと落ち着いてきました。
    昨日船便が港に届いたとのことなので、通関終わった後アンパッキングが待ってるかと思うと若干ブルーになる今日この頃です。

    出発時、羽田は保安検査が激混みで1時間以上並ばされ、手荷物検査で娘の文房具の鋏が没収され、ドタバタしてるうちに私がスマホをお尻ポケットに入れたまま金属探知ゲートを通って引っかかるという大失態を犯し、その上フライトは2時間程ディレイとなり、娘の不機嫌が最高潮に達する船出となりました。

    羽田のサクララウンジや、アジア線のビジネスクラスの食事をお届けしようかと思ったのですが、このブログを見ていると、とてもアップする勇気はございません。

    水かけ祭りは、マルディグラのバーボンストリートのような最も盛り上がるエリアには行かなかったのですが、近所の道端で若い女の子ばかり狙って杓でバケツの水をぶちまけてるオッサンにとばっちりで少し掛けられました。

    同僚によれば、あの水の素性が怪しく、濡れるよりポンポン壊す方が怖いとのことでした。

    お昼ご飯はほとんどタイ版Uberでタイ料理を食べてます。
    ミシュランのビブグルマン貰った店のカオマンガイ(海南鶏飯)はなかなか美味しくて、これならobakobaさんからも合格点もらえるのではないかと思ってます。

    何はともあれ、家族ともども元気にしております。
    またお会いできる日を楽しみにしております。

    取り急ぎ遅ればせながら釣られて近況まで。

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    1. takimoniさま、

      異動先で落ち着き始めた、また皆様ご健勝と伺い、安堵いたしております。
      御家族揃ってのお引っ越しで、さぞや大変だったことでしょう。

      羽田からご出発だったんですね。小生は45年くらい前に旧国際線ターミナルを利用して以来、新しい羽田の国際線はまだ未体験ですが、もしこのまま予約変更できなければ、今年末ついに羽田デビューです。

      水かけ祭り… かけられる水がポンポン壊しそうに汚染されている可能性があるのは、かなりイヤかも。それ、充分に生物化学兵器として成り立っているような…(笑)

      バンコックでもチェンマイ名物のカオ・ソイ ข้าวซอย は召し上がれるのでしょうか?僕はタイ料理といえばスープ麺の上に揚げた麺が載ったカオ・ソイが一番の好物です。もしまだお試しいただいていないのでしたら、是非お召し上がりください。

      バンコックを訪問できればいいんですが、老けた白人好みなのでモチベーションが…。(爆)
      熱帯での生活、どうか皆様ご自愛くださいまし。
      あ、あと、カブトガニも召し上がったらお聞かせくださいね♪

      Delete
  15. Oh, so you've been bothered by the condescending attitude of adults on TV shows since you were a child. Often, gifted and precocious children are sensitive to such things.
    Indeed, if a complete stranger throws the question "How do you live?" at me... I might feel a little resistance, too. After all, it's not as if I chose to be born, yet it feels as though I'm being confronted with the presumption that I was born to fulfill some special purpose. And it makes me feel as though I'm being coerced into the proposition that "In order to realize that special purpose, you should consider more seriously how to live."

    The words of Dr. Ito, who helped your mother give birth to you, "Every organ should have a reason for its existence, but the truth has not yet been discovered by medical science," are quite profound. It reminds me of the enzyme chymase.

    Chymase is an enzyme that enhances inflammation. It is originally present in the body, but it accumulates in large amounts in places where inflammation is occurring, such as parts of the body where disease is occurring or surgical sites. It then intensifies the inflammation and damages the surrounding tissues.

    For example, during a heart attack, treatment is performed to dilate the clogged blood vessel and restore blood flow. However, a large amount of chymase accumulates during the time the blood vessel is blocked, causing damage to the cells, and the condition may not improve even after treatment.
    Thus, it is speculated that if a substance that inhibits the activity of chymase is administered in the initial stages, the chances of improvement could be high. Unfortunately, chymase inhibitors are still in the development stage, but they are expected to have significant effects. I don't know if such substance that inhibits the activity of chymase exists in the tonsils or appendix, but perhaps Dr. Ito is suggesting such a possibility.

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