Tombs and top-notch tucker mark out historic Nippori
On the face of it, the languorous suburb of Nippori must have a tough time vying for attention with its more brazen rivals on the Yamanote Line. "This area is famous for its tombs," declared Hiro Mochinaga, one of two hosts who showed me around. With ...
This week, Notes From the Smoke features a saucy deviation from the usual format. Instead of being shown around a Tokyo suburb by a stranger, I welcomed two old friends to my place in Takadanobaba for an instant-noodle orgy. While this may strike some as a ...
Joining the moonwalking children in the realms of weird science
The irresistible force of spring has swept through the Kitanomaru National Garden in Kudanshita. Bathed in iridescent sunlight, swaying daffodils dominate lush embankments while plum blossoms punctuate the woodland with tantrums of Burgundy. Alarmed (justifiably) that this pastoral scene might reactivate my dormant Alan Titchmarsh gene, ...
Disturbing artwork and disturbed fish on the Koenji trail
A recent visit to the suburb of Koenji reminded me of my JET program orientation in Kansai; I visited a temple, learned some outlandish local customs, ate sushi, and was shown around a vintage toy store with cosmic price tags. Except on this occasion, I ...
A reclaimed city that's for the birds (and bees)
An unintentionally caustic remark on one of the information boards that adorn Rainbow Bridge exposes the Gordian knot resting at the center of the vast Odaiba reclamation project in Tokyo Bay. "In the distance are Mount Fuji and the Keihin/Keiyou oil refineries," it reads. The challenge ...
Veering from Brookside Close to Robocop
As Notes From the Smoke afternoons go, the one I spent in Monzennaka-cho got off to an unpromising start. The area around exit three of the station was dominated by a spiteful wind and a towering, mucus-colored amusement arcade that could have stored oil tankers. A ...
Iidabashi offers cheap passport to movie heaven
Going to the movies is one of life's great simple pleasures. Going to the movies in Japan and managing to stay solvent is one of life's great achievements. The Ginrei Hall cinema in the leafy, cultured neighborhood of Iidabashi is a godsend for parsimonious film buffs. A ...
Intestines, orange squash spur Celtic reverie
Culturally speaking, yakitori is as about Japanese as sumo wrestling, origami and the cultivation of square watermelons. Spiritually, however, there is something profoundly Scottish about your average yakitori experience; a lot of drinking, smoking, ribbing and swearing accompanies the joyful devouring of mysterious gizzards. It was ...
A chance to see the best of Michaelangelo and Michael Owen
Major Sports Bar #23 in Takadanobaba is a real sports fan's sports bar. While several other Tokyo establishments in this sector are strewn with strippers, karaoke machines and other moral hazards, genial owner Kazuyuki Yamauchi keeps things simple at #23. For a start, the bar has ...
