Gaijin Gourmet: Best Place for Drinking (Cheap and Delicious) in Ebisu! Ebisu Yokocho!

Ebisu is one stop from Shibuya. It's a big town. I hated going there because I thought that there were no good places to eat or drink. Oh, sure, there are lots of expensive places (and expensive places are supposed to taste good, right?) but I didn't know any good, cheap, old fashioned Japanese style, places to eat and drink in Ebisu until last night.


Finally! I found one. It's called "Ebisu Yokocho" and it's actually, not just one shop. There's several all in one place! "Ebisu Yokocho" (Ebisu Street) and it's only 1.5 minutes walk from the station! Sapporo in Hokkaido has it's own Ramen Yokocho and there's Okonomi-mura in Osaka. Now, thank the lord, I've found a great and cheap place to eat and drink in Ebisu. 


Ebisu Yokocho opened in 2008 and it really looks the part of an old, out of the 1950's or 1960's Japanese style drinking and eating establishment. Here's their webpage (sorry only in Japanese): http://www.ebisu-yokocho.com/access.html


There is now a reason to look forward to going to Ebisu!


I was only there for 30 minutes so I didn't have time to get all the details, but here's a load of photos for you and, as they say, a picture speaks a thousand words. Here, have a quick and fun vacation to Japan (and a location map):

View from outside

Kampai!

There's at least ten shops down this aisle. Lots of women too so that means the food is good!

My best friend, Michio

Everywhere was full of customers

All sorts of tastes

The atmosphere of Japan from a long time ago

Like garlic? They got garlic!

Hoppy and Haippi

I love this yakitori place!

Did I say ten shops? Nope. Nineteen shops shown!

I highly recommend this Yakitori shop. Easy to find too! It's called Kappa chan and it's the first shop when you step into the door on the right side!

Kappa chan

東京都渋谷区恵比寿1-7-4

1.5 minutes walk from Ebisu station

Ebisu Yokocho

Tokyo is Like 1986 Again - Let's Live for Today

Today is a wonderful time to begin to live for today. Let's try to give up our guilt feelings and our hate and anger. Let's give up our attachments and surrender our sins. Let's drop our defensiveness and our masks. Let's go back in time to when we were more pure at heart.

Live. Let's really live for today.

GRASS ROOTS - "LIVE FOR TODAY"

Thomas Aquinas put it nicely when he said, "Every time someone sins, they're sinning under the guise of good even though they know it's bad; they're rationalizing because they're seeking something under the pretext of good."

As Anthony De Mello wrote in Awareness:

"Charity is never so lovely as when one has lost consciousness that one is practicing charity. 'You mean I helped you? I was enjoying myself. I was just doing my dance. I helped you, that's wonderful. Congratulations to you. No credit to me."

Kabukicho crossing in Shinjuku 

Last night I went through Shibuya and Shinjuku. I rode the subway, the JR and the Keio line from Shinjuku for the first time in at least 20 some years.

It was like a time trip. It brought back good memories.

One more thing brought back good memories; as I rode the trains and walked the stations, I saw very few foreigners. In fact, I'd guess that I didn't see more than 5 foreigners on the entire trip. Why that brings back memories is that that is because it was the way it used to be; you rarely saw foreigners.

I remember a time when I walked down Center Street in Shibuya and people stared at me and whispered, "There's a foreigner." That was back in January of 1979. Those were the days when, in Japan, you were a star just because you were a foreigner.

How silly we all were. I was such a fool. And, as a young man, I loved playing the fool.

It felt strange last night to stand at the Japan Rail (JR) platform at Shibuya and Shinjuku and not see one single other foreigner standing around the platform and I even looked for them.

I hate to admit it, but it felt fine.

I felt like a 20-year-old once again as, in the early to mid-eighties, that's what it was like in those days: very few foreigners; you had to look for them to see them. Perhaps it was my imagination, but I thought that  little boy in the train walked up to me and stared at me out of curiosity.

If you want to take a time trip in Tokyo then you can do it today. Throw away your preconceptions and live for the now. See what is around you and notice what is different today than yesterday.

If you've been in Japan a long time, then look around. Really look around. Take this opportunity that we have been given to, if even for a moment, go back to a younger time.

This moment is fleeting. We rarely get a chance to go back in time. Catch it today and live it while you can.

If you have recently done wrong or felt guilty because of your actions, or you want to help, don't talk about it. Say nothing and do it. Do it for yourself. Don't do it for other people or to gain glory.

Could there be any greater glory than being happy and living in the now and being and doing "happy"?

If you need help, then say it. There's far too many who are willing to offer advice and yet, far too few who are willing to actually get off the couch and help and lend a hand.

The best advice is no advice and the best charity is the charity that one does for fun. The happiest people admit their sins and drop their chains.

"There's no begging bowl in a true community. There's no clinging, no anxiety, no fear, no hangover, no possessiveness, no demands. Free people form community, not slaves..." - Anthony De Mello

Fox News Reports on Shibuya Nuclear Power Plant

You just can't make this stuff up. Hell, I've died and gone to heaven. If I ever wanted any evidence that the western media were screwed up and exaggerating their reporting and being incredible sensationalist about it, I couldn't have asked for anything better.

Shibuya crossing

Fox News has reported about a nuclear Power station in Shibuya. I think some of you might have heard of Shibuya, that's the place where the super crowded intersection is with the giant TV screens. Come to think of it, having a nuclear power plant there is a good idea... Saves cost on extension cords.


From Media Matters:


Earlier today on Fox News' Your World With Neil Cavuto, this map popped up detailing the locations of Japan's nuclear power plants:

Notice at the bottom right: Shibuyaeggman

One name seems out of place on the graphic -- that of "Shibuyaeggman."

It doesn't show up on the International Atomic Energy Agency's list of Japanese nuclear power stations, and this map of Japanese nuclear installations from the Department of Energy's International Nuclear Safety Center doesn't have any listing for "Shibuyaeggman," and doesn't show a nuclear power plant anywhere near the location on the Fox News map. So I did a little research.

A quick Googling of "shibuyaeggman" turned up no meaningful results. A Nexis search was also fruitless. However, further inquiries revealed that Eggman is the name of a dance club in a trendy neighborhood of Tokyo called... Shibuya. And, it just so happens, the Fox graphic appears to place the alleged reactor in Tokyo. Here's a photo of Eggman -- as you can see, it's right below The @ Super Suits Store. And Johnny Hi-Fi played there in 2006.

Sounds like a fun place. But it doesn't sound like a nuclear power plant.

Hey! Laugh all you want but I have been to Egg Man many times and can tell you for a fact that it is an exciting, explosive and electric place... One time, my friend took Ecstasy there and said he felt like he had been radiated!

Thanks to Graham Pavey for sending in this gem!

Shibuya Hachiko is Going to Move!

If you've ever been to Shibuya in Tokyo then you know what Hachiko is. Hachiko is the dog statue at Shibuya Station. It's been there since 1948. It is an extremely popular, probably the most popular, meeting spot in Tokyo.

The story of Hachiko is that he was born in Akita prefecture and is known as the "faithful dog Hachiko." He would come to the station everyday and patiently wait for his master to return from work. Legend has it that when his master died, Hachiko, still went to the station to wait.

From Wikipedia:

Hidesaburō Ueno, a professor in the agriculture department at the University of Tokyo took in Hachikō as a pet. During his owner's life Hachikō greeted him at the end of the day at the nearby Shibuya Station. The pair continued their daily routine until May 1925, when Professor Ueno did not return. The professor had suffered from a cerebral hemorrhage and died, never returning to the train station where his friend was waiting. Every day for the next nine years Hachikō waited at Shibuya station.

Hachikō was given away after his master's death, but he routinely escaped, returning again and again at his old home. Eventually, Hachikō apparently realized that Professor Ueno no longer lived at the house. So he went to look for his master at the train station where he had accompanied him so many times before. Each day, Hachikō waited for the return of his owner.

The permanent fixture at the train station that was Hachikō attracted the attention of other commuters. Many of the people who frequented the Shibuya train station had seen Hachikō and Professor Ueno together each day. They brought Hachikō treats and food to nourish him during his wait.

This continued for nine years with Hachikō appearing precisely when the train was due at the station.

Picture of the real Hachiko

I think there is some truth in the legend but I also think there's some heavy romanticism in it too. The Japanese, while they do not want to admit it, are very romanticist people; and I think it is wonderful... But "everyday" for the next nine years!? 

More on Hachiko from Wikipedia:

In April 1934, a bronze statue in his likeness was erected at Shibuya Station.... The statue was recycled for the war effort during World War II. In 1948 The Society for Recreating the Hachikō Statue commissioned Takeshi Ando, son of the original artist who had since died, to make a second statue. The new statue, which was erected in August 1948, still stands and is an extremely popular meeting spot. The station entrance near this statue is named "Hachikō-guchi", meaning "The Hachikō Exit", and is one of Shibuya Station's five exits.

Okay. I believe this part completely.

But I guess I can't complain too much because what I am about to tell you is something that I figured out today and it hasn't been officially announced, so let me be the first in the world to announce it: Hachiko is moving from its current location to a new one.

How do I know this? I figured it out. I have also figured out that Tokyu Department would want to keep this a big secret so that they can gain publicity and make a big announcement later on at some sort of ceremony to unveil to new "Shibuya Station."

Currently, Shibuya Station is under heavy renovation at the East side. I spoke to a Tokyu employee today who allowed me to take the photos (of photos) displayed below and this person also answered my questions about the renovation of Shibuya Station. 

This employee told me that, in two years, after the renovation of Shibuya East side, the West side (where Hachiko is) will be renovated. This person then went into the history of Hachiko for me. It seems that, since 1948, Hachiko has moved twice. Each time there has been a major renovation at the station, Hachiko has been moved! 

I remember when Hachiko was in a different location than it is today. That was about 20 years ago. 

So, being good detectives, if Hachiko has been moved twice, and everytime has been after a renovation (about 20 ~ 25 years apart) then it stands to reason that, when the next renovation is done in two years, they will move Hachiko again, right?

I think so.

So, once again, let me be the first to announce that, if you come to Shibuya, you should take your picture next to Hachiko at its current location because by 2013 or so, Hachiko will be in a different place.

Look at the photos below. See how much Shibuya has changed. I think you'll agree with me; it is obvious that Hachiko is about to get a new home.

I can't think of another dog more deserving.   

Hachiko Oct. 14, 2010

Train museum by Tokyu Department store in front of Shibuya Station

Front of Shibuya Station Oct. 14, 2010

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Today's Hachiko at original location in 1953

Front of Shibuya Station 1921

1921

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1949

1951

West side of Shibuya 1951

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West side of Shibuya Station 1949

West side of Shibuya Station 1949

West side of Shibuya Station 1951

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Construction on West Side 1957

East side 1962

Tokyu Train at Shibuya Station going up Dogenzaka 1968

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Shibuya West side 1971

Shibuya Station East side bus terminal 1969

Roots of Japanese anime? 24 traditional Japanese monsters

One of my favorite blogs on Japan is Pink Tentacle. Pick Tentacle is a blog about Japanese Art, Culture, Science and Technology.


I highly recommend it.


Today, they have an unusual collection of 24 traditional Japanese monsters. Have you ever wondered where the Japanese get their ideas for those silly monsters in the Godzilla movies? I have. Well, the fact of the matter is that Japan has had some very strange (or silly) looking monsters for a long time.


Pick Tentacle has uncovered a collection of 24 of them and made high quality scans for your viewing pleasure! The description reads:     


The Bakemono Zukushi handscroll, painted in the Edo period (18th-19th century) by an unknown artist, depicts 24 traditional monsters that once used to spook the people of Japan.


This is an interesting collection as, usually, the only other places you can see these spooks is at a local festival... And speaking of festivals, it's festival season now in Japan so get your notebooks out and jot down these characters now... They all look the same until you know the names...

Odoroshi (おどろし) is a red-faced monster with big eyes, black teeth, and long hair.

Yume-no-seirei ("dream ghost" - 夢の精霊) appears as a thin old man in a white robe.

Yamamba (山姥) is a mountain hag.

I like this last one. There was a while there, about 5 or 6 years ago, when Shibuya girls wore outrageous makeup on their faces and broad white eyeshadow. That fashion was called, "Yamamba" like the mountain hag above.

If you want to see more scrolls, click here.