While the rest of the world drags itself out of bed at 4:00 a.m. to watch a bunch of guys haggle over tuna at Tsukiji Market, I am still fast asleep. After treating myself to a hot bath and an elegant Japanese breakfast, I will be ready to start my day. I’ll spend the day […]
Some women fall prey to Manolos, while others lose their heads (and 401K’s) to Chanel or Louis Vuitton. I’m just not that kind of girl. For me, it’s kitchen stuff – wasabi graters made of sharkskin, spoons and ladles, stoneware, katsuobushi shavers. Above all, carbon steel, given a final bump and grind, while you watch, […]
Senso-ji, dedicated to the bodhisattva of compassion, Kannon, is metropolitan Tokyo’s oldest temple. Most of the temple was destroyed during Allied bombing raids in 1945 and rebuilt after the war. Senso-ji’s history dates back nearly 1400 years to 628 AD when, according to legend, two brothers were fishing in the nearby Sumida river and dragged […]
Ramen and other Asian noodles have become a contact sport in the United States. This is pretty much true of cooking and most other kitchen activities, once recognized as the domain of women. Just like the caves at Lascaux before Robert Bly got hold of ’em. Okay, the caves are ours. Always have been, always […]
Where else in the known universe can you see a graying middle-aged man, possibly someone’s Grandpa, walking quite nonchalantly down a heavily-trafficked urban sidewalk, dressed in full Sailor Moon regalia? Or, pet impossibly clean sheep? Then, there was this street performance. And, more people than you can imagine trying to cross the street at the […]
Meiji Jingu is a peaceful oasis, a respite from urban frenzy, and is the most important Shinto site in Tokyo. One of the largest tori to be found in Japan spans the entrance as you enter from Omotesando Street at Harajuku Station. The shrine is dedicated to the deified spirits of Emperor Meiji and his […]
I’m 5’4″ and 119 lbs before pooping and I feel like Godzilla next to the tiny girls of Harajuku, dressed in a fashion that is both bizarre and adorable. Adorable if your butt is the size of a thumbprint and you can fit your size 9 feet into doll shoes. Lolita Girls, Roller-Zoku, Gosurori, Otaku, […]
It is the largest wholesale fish and seafood market in the world. Of course, it is most famous for tuna carcasses weighing over 300 kilograms but the market handles more than 400 different types of seafood. From seaweed to caviar, and from the tiniest of sardines to whale, you can find it here. Tsukiji Market […]
High above earth, sailing through the skies, the clouds below look an awful lot like storm-tossed seas. I am en route to Tokyo, approaching Narita Airport. What defines “home?” I’ve lived in San Francisco for nearly 30 years. My heart has been broken, tested, mended, and restored here more times than I can count. You […]
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