the.[ED]ition

After a long day last week, I ate at a little curry place on the bottom floor of a department store n Shinjuku. It wasn’t as epic as our curry in Taipei (if Stephen will ever get around to showing people that video) but the rice omelette with curry was quite good. Afterwards, I walked around and saw an interesting dessert stand selling mochi, which are basically flavored rice paste. They were sold as three pieces of a skewer for 105yen so I thoght, why the hell not? I’m not big on desserts, really but for a buck I’ll try it.

In my poor gaijin-esque Japanese, I asked “One, please.” and pointed at the skewers. The cheerful lady behind the counter told me how much it was and accepted payment. Honestly, I thought she would just hand me one or put it in a small paper pouch or something. I mean, I don’t know what I’m buying…I just want to give it a try. Instead, she proceeded with what was probably the most elaborate wrapping scheme I’ve ever seen for such a cheap item.

She first put it into a small plastic wrapper, then into a small plastic box. The small plastic box is first taped once on each side and then once all around. With the small plastic box now impossible to open conveniently, I expected her to now hand that to me. No, instead the box goes into a small plastic bag and then bound with a rubber band. The box now more secure than Fort Knox…now goes into a disproportionately large plastic bag. All this for a 105 yen mochi skewer that I was going to eat near immediately.

Now I sort of know the reasoning behind some of this. Not only are Japanese people incredibly tidy and want all products to be sealed in ways that would survive the end of the world but you are expected to take things home before use.

Tip #1 for travelers going to Japan: Do not eat while you’re on the go. Do not eat while walking, while riding a bike and especially not on the train. Doing so is rude and while I suspect they don’t expect us silly foreigners to abide by these regulations…we shouldn’t do it anyways. It’s okay to stand or sit somewhere and eat but not while you’re moving. I found a nearby table to try to solve the impossible puzzle that was my mochi and…well, it tastes exactly how you’d expect, really.

It was okay…I liked that it wasn’t too sweet and the green one was actually pretty nice.

But aren’t we supposed to be trying to clean up our act here? What’s with all the excessive plastic wrapping in Japan? Whenever I buy the smallest thing, people want to put it in bags for me even though I’m usually carrying my messenger bag with me and seem puzzled when I request that they not give me a bag (which is usually taped shut…and then sometimes put into a slightly larger bag).

Please, people of Japan…I’m not exactly the biggest environmentalist on the planet but even I know needless waste when I see it.

That being said, I highly recommend that you all read the latest issues of Wired and GQ, which have some very interesting articles on the myths and reality of saving our planet.

During my first few days in Tokyo, I got lost…a lot. In fact, I got so lost one day that I ended up in a completely different part of the city. I don’t know how it happened but I started in Shinjuku and ended up in Harajuku, which is a few stops on the JR Yamamote line.

The good news is that I know my way around quite well now and even figured out the absurd Japanese address system that I’m almost entirely sure no one understands. No, there’s no such thing as street numbers here…or even street names most of the time. Each area of town is divided up and then each one of those sections is divided up again and given numbers…and each building block (not each building) is given another number. For example…the rental agency for my apartment is located at 7-2-6 Nishi-Shinjuku.

Anyways, Harajuku isn’t a bad place to get lost in, especially if you like clothing. All the big streetwear brands have a store in the area, including A Bathing Ape, Supreme, Neighborhood, Undercover, BBC, Stussy and plenty more. Of course, if you’re into high fashion, there’s Prada, Dolce & Gabbana, Louis Vuitton, etc down the street in Aoyama.

I’m not going to say I haven’t been lost since but…I haven’t been this lost.

Stephen put together this seriously awesome video of the Dot Com Pho Crew’s adventures in Taipei set to the tune of Weezer’s Pork and Beans a few days ago and if you haven’t seen it, it is totally made of epic and win. It’s fitting since the original video is comprised of the internet famous. While I won’t attest to being at the same level as the Cho-co-late Rain or Dramatic Gopher…it’s quite an appropriate song, especially when you see how Stephen cuts it.

And just to clarify…that is a camera in my hand, not an iPhone (that was a fun night)…and I still have nightmares of those dudes in their matching skin-tight camo…as well as ponytail baldie. Seriously, if you’re bald, you’re not fooling anyone. I’m not sure who looks stupidier…a bald guy with a mullet, two dudes in matching shirts or Michael Kwan trying to attach a webcam to his head.

…and yes, that’s me doing a Rocky celebration after running up those stairs. I did that when I went to Philadelphia as well…but that is luckily not on film somewhere on the internet.

Tokyo has really become one of the foremost culinary destinations for gourmets everywhere. In fact, the city has become such a great place for food that Michelin called Tokyo the world’s best by bestowing the city with a total of 191 stars, nearly tripling the total held by Paris (65). I know I’ll be doing a lot of touristy things in Japan but I also wanted to experience the city’s wonderful live music, art scene and, of course, the many fantastic restaurants the Tokyo has to offer…especially those that most might not know about.

One of my first destinations was Kaikaya, a small izakaya with a red awning that only seats about 30. It took me about half an hour to find the place even though I had the exact address…mostly due to the absurd numbering address system that Japan uses that I’m sure even confuses those who actually live here. It is located maybe ten to fifteen minutes from the Shibuya train station.

Like many Japanese restaurants, Kaikaya is closed between lunch and dinner. I arrived a little early, just before 6:00pm when the place opens. I did not have a reservation but owner Teruyuki Tange greeted me warmly and gave me a seat at the counter. Reservations are a must here since the maybe 30 seats filled up very quickly. It can get quite cramped and noisy so carrying a conversation requires you to raise your voice a bit but it is a fun place to be.

Taking your order is the cheerful manager Ippei Takei, who tried his best to serve me despite his limited English…which was the better alternative to my absolutely horrible Japanese. Luckily, there is a bi-lingual menu available and when all else fails, you can simply point to what you want on it.

Ippei-san recommended the fish carpaccio and the prawns, which he reckons are probably the most popular items on the menu. This was confirmed by the rest of the patrons as I saw many people with the same or similar dishes in front of them. Kaikaya is known for both their traditional dishes of fresh seafood (mostly sashimi) as well as their more fusion-influenced creations.

My Sengyo no Carpaccio (fresh fish carpaccio with garlic, olive oil, balsamico and sweet basil) was crafted right in front of my eyes as the chef carefully sliced through the fresh fish and arranged it like flower pedals on a plate before handing it to another to finish the dish with the pesto, garlic and a salad. I’ve had similar dishes in Vancouver at places such as Guu with Garlic and although they’re good, this one is better. The fish is incredibly fresh and the garlic, olive oil, balsamic vinegar and basil explode in your mouth.

The Ebi no Ebiniyoru Ebi-Sousu (prawns with prawn sauce) arrived shortly after. I was a bit skeptical about the sauce, which is made of prawn brains. I have no problem eating prawn brains (sucking them out of the heads is so delicious) but it didn’t seem like something to make sauce out of. I was absolutely wrong on that part, really. The sauce is somewhat like a tangy honey mustard and delicious. It’s a wonderful match with the prawns, which are a good size (no tiny, shrunken shrimpy ones here) and served in a crispy wonton bowl.

All this deliciousness comes at a price. The carpaccio and prawns were 1000 yen each and with a couple of beers and the table charge, my bill came to 3500 yen. Not cheap but a reasonable price for the fantastic food and the hospitality. After I finished, both Ippei-san and Tange-san asked me if I enjoyed my food and were very pleased that I did. Tange-san was quite interested to hear that I had come from Canada and showed me some pictures of Canadian band Simple Plan when the visited Kaikaya recently. A quick browse through the many, many pages of satisfied customers on Kaikaya’s website show several Japanese celebrities, baseball players and even the designers for American streetwear brand Stüssy. He was quite happy and proud to hear that I had a great experience at his restaurant. He walked me out and wished me well as he pointed in the direction I should go, after I told him of the difficulty I had finding his restaurant. If you can find it in the urban jungle of Tokyo, Kaikaya is a gem that is well worth the search.

Yes, I’ll get to my Tokyo post but first, I received an e-mail from Matt Harding yesterday informing me that the latest video of him dancing to that funky music, white boy…is up and running. I posted about Matt’s ridiculous but totally awesome “dancing around the world” videos and last September, when he said he would make a stop in Vancouver, I took the opportunity to go meet him and be in the video. Here’s us boogie-ing down. I’m not sure which one of us is better at dancing poorly…or whether that’s actually winning, really.

Here’s the whole video. Yes, it is, in fact, epic as hell and made of win…although the screenshots above are obviously the best part since I’m in it. But what the heck, watch the rest anyways.