Pączki!! Aoyama Farmers Market / ポンチキ！青山ファーマーズマーケット

photo courtesy of Miho

Life in Tokyo is not about doing exclusively Japanese things of course. Traditional international options, especially food, are available in great abundance. I found, In fact, that often times these items created or prepared with exceptional attention to detail and authenticity.

The day after tomorrow is Fat Tuesday (a.k.a. Mardi Gras). Around this time of year, my Polish-American roots begin to scream out with a yearning to eat Pączki— those wonderful jam-filled polish doughnuts that make their rounds each year at this time, and have remained a favourite treat thoughout my life. Pączki happen to be one of those Western treats that are painfully rare in this part of the world, so needless to say, I was super excited to find a shop making them fresh this year! I couldn't miss this unusual opportunity, so I set out with my wife early this morning to go meet up with some friends at the Aoyama Farmers Market in the Shibuya area where, I learned, we could get our Pączki on!

These Pączki turned out to be of those items that are made to perfection with great care for authenticity. Somewhat sort of surprisingly (well no, not really all that surprising), these turned out to be some of the best I've ever eaten! What’s more is, these Pączki we're obviously fried in lard, which, in my opinion is the only way it should be done! There were five varieties available: rose, raspberry, prune, chocolate and sesame. Sesame, of course, is not a particularly traditional flavour, but I figure that since the more customary poppyseed jam is not available locally, this new flavor was born, which certainly agrees with the palates of locals.

After indulging in these wonderfully nostalgic delicacies, we hung out for a while to check out the rest of the farmers market. As farmers markets go, this is definitely one of the most gorgeous ones I have visited, even among those in America and Europe. The Aoyama Farmers Market was definitely a fun and very pleasant way to spend this chilly Sunday morning in Tokyo. I definitely recommend it!

Tokyo Drifter: Ueno Park (上野恩賜公園)

Electrician's underground access panel, Ueno Park

Regular readers of my blog know that Ueno Park (上野恩賜公園) is a place I visit often. Yet another blog post about this favourite spot of mine might, therefore, seem rather mundane. Ueno Park has so much to offer, however, that it's well deserving of continual appreciation. The vast park grounds are not only pleasing to the senses, but to the mind and body as well. Dotted with monuments, museums, fountains, places of worship, performing arts, a zoo, cafés and restaurants, the park is a complete destination in and of itself.

On today's walk, I spent some time at the beautiful Ueno Tōshōgū Shrine (上野東照宮), built in veneration of Edo Period Shōgun, Tokugawa Ieyasu (徳川家康). The shrine was built in year 4 of the Kanei Period (寛永4年 / 1627) and long ago was part of the expansive and very wealthy Kaneiji Temple (寛永寺) before much of the temple grounds were destroyed during the Imperial victory of the Boshin War (戊辰戦争) (1868–1869), resulting in the surviving buildings' being separated into smaller, distinct parts.

The shrine is well-known for the long pathway lined with stone lanterns leading up to the gorgeous gold-leafed facade which is flanked by clusters of beautifully ornate bronze lanterns. The shrine's annual winter and spring peony festivals (ぼたん祭) are also quite famous.

After my visit to the shrine, I spent much of the day wandering around, enjoying another famous Ueno Park pastime, people-watching. I became intrigued watching this man, a retired middle school art teacher, who was making sidewalk art by simply trailing water onto the pavement from a brush. Since he was able to speak some English, he seemed eager to meet someone with whom he could practice, so we chatted for a short while. Well I helped him to enhance his English vocabulary, he told me that his art was inspired by a form of Chinese calligraphy which employs the same technique. Due to years of practice, he is able to draw and write (in both English and Japanese) upside down so that his creations appear right-side-up from the perspective of his observers. His drawings were particularly popular with young children visiting the park with their families. He did a great job of appealing to their fascination by drawing lots of panda bears, which are a famous symbol of the park due to the bears' prominence as a cherished exhibit at the zoo.

Here he drew my zodiac symbols on the pavement for me.

Here's a bronze statue commemorating the life of Prince Komatsu Akihito (小松宮彰仁親王 / Komatsu-no-miya Akihito shinnō) (1846-1903), a masterful military tactician in the Imperial Army, a prominent and higly decorated commander during the Boshin War, and former potential heir to the throne. The Prince led a fascinating life which included time as a buddhist priest in Kyoto, a term as Chief of Staff of the Imperial Army, and also an ambassador, of sorts, who traveled all over Asia and Europe as a representative of the Emporer. At one time he was even arranged to be married to Princess Kaʻiulani in order to seal plans of an Imperial alliance with the former kingdom of Hawai'i, but these plans never panned out.

Ueno Park also features a small, aging children's amusement park, which is literally overflowing with a certain magnetic and wonderfully heart-warming nostalgia, which makes it an incredibly popular hang-out for families.

This kid is too cute!

There are some more photos I didn't include here, especially of Ueno Tōshōgū Shrine. Anyone who's interested in having a look is welcome to visit my Picasa album here.

節分２０１５年 / Setsubun 2015

Today is a holiday known as Setsubun (節分), which is celebrated every year on the 3rd of February. The holiday marks the end of the harsh cold weather, and reminds us to look forward to the coming spring and to embrace the joy and good fortune of the season. The word itself, means seasonal separation, and dates back many centuries to the time when Japan still used the lunar calendar.

Most importantly, Setsubun is a time for casting evil demons (鬼 / “oni”) out of one's home. This is accomplished by the ritual throwing of beans in a custom called “Mamemaki” (豆撒き, literally, “scattering beans”). Traditionally, roasted soybeans are used due to their being a symbol of purity, but any sort of legume will do. We chose to use peanuts, because they're delicious, and fun to eat. They also make for easy cleanup since they come in their own shell.

My wife, as master of the house, is the one casting out the demons. The guy in the demon mask is not other than yours truly! I should note that we are doing a bit of role reversal here, since demons are traditionally cast out by the elder man of the house, but somehow it seems appropriate this way. Anyway, such practices are becoming common as Japan continues to modernize. She chased me around the house throwing peanuts at me and shouting “Oni wa soto!!” (鬼は外！ “Demons, out!”) until I was suitably dispelled. So, let this be a lesson to all you real demons out there. If you come into our house, you can expect the same treatment! Stay away!

To round out the fun, we also ate Good Luck Direction Rolls (恵方巻き), which we consumed while facing to the Southwest to ensure that the rolls achieve their maximum effect. I’d say we’re ready for the year!

Being a busy working person, I'm wearing a store-bought mask. Making one's own mask by hand, however, is fairly common. While I was out shopping this evening, I saw many children wearing clever handmade masks, many of which were most likely school projects.

If there was time, we might have enjoyed going to Nezu Shrine for their annual celebration, but I’ve still got work to do this evening so we decided to celebrate at home instead.

初梅花 / First Plum Blossoms of the Season

It's quite early in the season, but still I decided to take a long walk and head over to  Yushima Tenjin Shrine (湯島天神) (a.k.a. Yushima Tenmangu), in the Yushima neighborhood of Bunkyo City, for the start of the annual Plum Blossom Festival (梅祭り). There are very few blossoms to look at right now, but still the Shrine was alive with visitors enjoying the beautiful, albeit chilly day.

Yushima Tenjin Shrine originally dates back to the mid-5th century, but has lived on in the current form that you see here since the late 1400s. The buildings that stand today we're all constructed in 1995 as part of Japanese Shrines' traditional renewal. The Shrine is particularly famous for its long history as a place of study for Confucian scholars during the edo period (1603-1868), but also for its annual Plum Blossom Festival.

Yushima Tenjin Shrine has another, lesser-known claim to fame, which is that being directly adjacent to the University of Tokyo, receives thousands of student visitors each year. Students praying for success in their studies, write their wishes on these emma and leave them here for Tenjin (the primary God of the shrine).

The flowering plum trees are still almost all buds, but I still managed to get some nice floral shots.

If you would like to look at the rest of the photos form this set, please visit my Picasa Album. Thanks as always for visiting!