Sukiyaki Dinner

Am Abend haben wir zu Hause bei meiner Mutter Sukiyaki gegessen. Sukiyaki ist ein Eintopfgericht, fast wie Fondue Chinoise, aber mit Sojasoße, Reiswein, und Rohzucker. Zutaten sind dünn geschnittenes Rindfleisch, Frühlingszwiebel, Shungiku (japanisches Blattgemüse), Konjacnudeln, gegrillter Tofu, und Eier.

Kazumi Nikaido Rehearsal

Hina invited Peter and me to the rehearsal of Ms. Nikaido Kazumi, an up-and-coming singer from a record label Kakubarythm above Hina’s No.12 Gallery. Ms. Kazumi arranges all her shows by herself, and even after she became popular, she still prefers a small concert to interact with the audience. The cafe “lete” in Shimokitazawa she selected that night accommodated only 20 people but was very nicely decorated.

Visiting Auntie and Grandma

After yummy Unagi lunch, we headed to auntie Mieko’s apartment in Ichigaya, next to the embassy of Luxembourg. Auntie Mieko has been taking care of grandma ever since she was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. As she got older, the needs for professional care increased. A few years ago, they finally decided to move to a new barrier-free apartment with wider hallways and parquet flooring.

Unagi

Before going to visit grandma from mom’s side, dad, Peter, and I had lunch at Miyakawa Honten in Ginza, the flagship store specializing in charcoal broiled eel. Dad proclaims this store to be one of the best eel restaurant in Tokyo after Obana in Kitasenju.

In Memory of Grandma

Last year on 22nd of December, Peter and I were just leaving the apartment to go to Germany for Christmas, when the phone rang. Dad was calling from a hospital in Tokyo, sitting next to grandma who just passed away. I could not go back to Japan for her funeral, and I was having difficulty swallowing back my tears in front of Peter’s family during Christmas dinner.

This year, dad, mom, Peter and I went to Shonan beach to commemorate the 1st anniversary of her passing away.

Trip to Hakone 4

This (plus a bowl of rice) was the breakfast at Onsen. We were shocked to see the canned white asparagus in the salad, because we all hated it as a kid and thought it vanished from the market long time ago. Indeed it was still surviving in a shabby hotel like this.

Trip to Hakone 3

After dipping in the open-air hot spring (Onsen), we waited until the dinner was brought into the room. The food was neatly placed in various plates on a tray, and I loved all of them.

Trip to Hakone 2

Before dinner was served in the room at 6PM, we went out to explore the facility. It was an unusually warm afternoon for late December, and we were happy to feel a nice breeze along the river.

Trip to Hakone 1

Our trip to Hakone has ended after 1 night of fun and exciting events in Kansuiro.

Tokyo – Day 1

While I went to my mom’s hairdresser in Ebisu, mom and P-san had a date at a Tonkatsu (Japanese cutlet) restaurant and the exhibition of Wieden & Kennedy in Ginza. Then we went to Ginza Hands to look at rows and rows of schedule books for 2009. The selection was great, but we saw some schedule books with weird German text on a cover such as “Lebensgeschichte”. It was as embarrassing as spotting a tattoo written in very bad Chinese character in Europe.