31 May 2022
Visited Gojouken in Aomori City at lunchtime today. Ate their Bara Miso Soba (a miso ramen topped with pork chashu slices). The soup was an exquisite combination of niboshi, minced pork, and miso. Like it.
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30 May 2022
Today is my kyukanbi (休肝日), a self-imposed non-alcohol day. I am doing it for my health. Went to Ramen Daichi at night and ordered their Aomori Daichi Black. As the name suggests, this ramen has a black soup using niboshi dried sardine. Like it.
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29 May 2022
Today, while walking down a forestry road along the Aomori Prefectural Road 2, I saw a grey wagtail again. Took its photos. Aomori is abundant with nature and it soothes my soul.
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28 May 2022
Woke up early today and went to Mendouran to eat their asa-rar (morning ramen). What I ordered was their Noko Goku Miso Ramen, the house favorite. Like it.
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25 May 2022
Visited Hareyama Shokudo in Aomori City for lunch today. Ate their Barayaki Teishoku. With a lot of vegetables, the dish was tasty. Like it.
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21 May 2022
Visited Tsugaru City in Aomori Prefecture today. Located on the western edge of the prefecture, this city faces the Sea of Japan. Mt. Iwaki stood majestically before my eyes.
After having dinner at AEON MALL Tsugaru Kashiwa, I went to see a movie Shin Ultraman. I thought the movie was for adults, and it was, without doubt, the best Ultraman film I have ever seen.
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15 May 2022
Woke up early in the morning and went to Nagao ramen shop around 8:30 to eat their asa-rah (morning ramen). They use a lot of niboshi (dried sardines) for their soup stock. As a result, the broth is thick but not too heavy. Like it.
After eating ramen, I headed for Yokohama Town (not that big city near Tokyo) to see the blossoms of Japanese field mustard. Yokohama Town is located at the entrance to the Shimokita Peninsula in Aomori Prefecture. It takes about 1.5 hours by car from the center of Aomori City.
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8 May 2022
Visited Goshogawara City in Aomori Prefecture today. The Hakkoda Mountains were beautiful under a clear blue sky. When I was taking a walk in the mountains in Kanagi Town (where a novelist Osamu Dazai was born in 1909), I saw a beautiful bird and took its photos. It was a grey wagtail.
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28 April 2022
Visited Dosanko Ramen in Aomori City for lunch today. As with many ramen shops in Aomori Prefecture, this shop uses yakiniboshi (or roasted dried sardine) for their soup stock. Like it.
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26 April 2022
Today I went out to eat sushi at Kikuichi Honten in Hamamatsu City, Shizuoka Prefecture (in the Chubu Region). As I had already decided to drink sake tonight, I brought with me a guide book on Japanese alcoholic beverages: Drinking Japan: It’s Not Just Sake written by Professor William F. O’Connor and his son Robin. In this book, they introduce a wide variety of Japanese liquor, including wine, sake, beer, shochu, and whisky. Their in-depth knowledge of each beverage is incredible.
Another advantage of this book is the fine translation from the original English to Japanese. So, if you would like to learn Japanese by reading about the country’s alcoholic drinks, this book would be a perfect companion. Published by SANSHUSHA Publishing Co., Ltd. located at Jingumae in Shubuya Ward, Tokyo, it is now available through Amazon.co.jp. The authors also run a fantastic blog, Drinking Japan.org, which is equally informative and insightful.
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24 April 2022
The cherry blossoms are at their best now in Aomori Prefecture. So, today I woke up early and went to Hirosaki Castle, one of the most famous cherry blossom spots in the Tohoku Region. The weather was fine and it was as if I was in the right place at the right time.
Mt. Iwaki (1,625m) was seen clearly from the castle. To commemorate this occasion, I bought a mug of Tsugaru ware at a street stall. Like it.
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23 April 2022
Woke up very early this morning. Pictured here is the Hakkoda Mountains at dawn. Magnificent. The Magnificent Seven!
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18 April 2022
Visited Fujisaki Town in Aomori Prefecture today. Stopped by at Fujishou Seimen, which is a ramen shop opened on March 1, 2021. The noodles of this shop is house-made. (There is a noodle factory in the same building.) Ordered their Niboshi Chuka (literally, ‘Chinese noodles with dried-sardine broth’). Like it.
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17 April 2022
Visited Togyo, one of the most popular ramen shops in Aomori City, for lunch today. Sometimes, there is a queue in front of this shop. Togyo basically uses shrimps to make their soup stock, which is a little unusual because many ramen shops in Aomori Prefecture use dried sardines for their soup. The taste was wonderful. Like it.
After having lunch, I drove down the Aomori Prefectural Road 26. I found a group of Japanese macaques and took their photos. Mt. Iwaki was seen clearly before my eyes.
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16 April 2022
Visited a ramen joint named 280 (which reads ‘nippah maru’) for lunch today. Ordered their Chahan Set, which consists of a bowl of chahan (Chinese-style fried rice) and shoyu ramen. The taste was futsu-woo (normal).
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14 April 2022
Visited a branch of Big Boy chain in Aomori City today. Asked for their Sirloin Steak Set. Like it! Like it! Like it!
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12 April 2022
Went to Takakyu at lunchtime today. Got one of their filling teishoku (set meal) that includes ‘corocoro steak’ (finely cut steak) , beef hamburger, miso soup, and a bowl of rice. Like it.
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11 April 2022
Had dinner at an outlet of CoCo ICHIBANYA in Aomori City today. CoCo ICHIBANYA is perhaps the largest curry rice chain in Japan. Anywhere you go in Japan, you can see signs of this curry rice chain. My order today was a limited-time menu that apparently contained more unusual Indian spices than their usual line-ups. Like it.
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6 April 2022
Went to Teppei in Aomori City for lunch today. Teppei is basically an izakaya (or Japanese style pub) in the evening but they also serve some set meals at lunchtime. I had their Higawari Teishoku (Special of the Day) for 900 yen. It seems to me that, generally speaking, the meals izakaya serve are the ones for people who can discern the taste, the ones for connoisseurs. Like it.
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5 April 2022
Had dinner at an outlet of Hamazushi in Aomori city. Hamazushi is one of the most popular kaitenzushi (rotation sushi restaurant) chains in Japan. Everything was delicious. In particular, the squid they served today was very fresh and tasty. It melted in my mouth. Like it.
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4 April 2022
I am sure that both Tetsu Sawamura and I are at least using similar equipment for photo-shooting ― relatively expensive mirrorless cameras and vintage lenses like an Angeniex. But why is his work in magazines or on websites always so good, while mine is not? Then, eventually I found out: photography depends on the person. The person makes or breaks the photos. Even if you hold a Gibson Les Paul guitar, you can’t become a Jimmy Page. Even if I use an Angeniex lens, I can’t become a Tetsu Sawamura! Darn it!
By the way, Mr. Sawamura will have his new book out on April 25. OLD LENS MAGIC will be available through Amazon.co.jp. (■The book is currently available in Japanese only.)
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3 April 2022
“Angeniex is for cherry blossoms”―this is a famous phrase Tetsu Sawamura, a photographer and writer in Japan, once uttered. Angeniex is a legendary French lens maker founded in the 1930s. With the above phrase, Sawamura probably meant to say, “Angeniex lenses are among the best for taking pictures of cherry blossoms.” So, it was a matter of course for me to bring an X-T1 camera with a P. Angeniex Paris 25mm f0.95 lens to nearby Lake Sanaru Park (in Shizuoka Prefecture in the Chubu Region), which is filled with cherry trees today. I shot about fifty frames there, only to find, upon returning home, almost all were duds. I don’t think the photo above is very good, but it is at least better than the other duds. Darn it!
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31 March 2022
Made a visit to a Chinese restaurant Eitaro for lunch today. Ordered their set menu called the Hoikoro (twice cooked pork) Teishoku. Due to the rise of ingredient cost, they recently raised the price of this dish to 890 yen. Still like it.
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27 March 2022
Suddenly felt an urge to eat an authentic Indian cuisine this night. So, I visited Taji, an Indian restaurant in Aomori City, and asked for their Dinner Set. Like it.
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26 March 2022
Visited Takakyu in Aomori City at lunchtime today. Devoured their Kamameshi Soba Set, a combination of kamameshi (a rice dish cooked in an iron pot) and a bowl of soba noodles (traditional buckwheat noodles). The pot-boiled rice was topped with Japanese scallops (hotate) from Mutsu Bay. Like it.
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25 March 2022
Went to Kaikyo Ramen for lunch today. Chomped on their shoyu ramen and curry rice. Like it.
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24 March 2022
Mr. Anthony Horowitz, I think you are not fair! Today I finished reading your The Word is Murder both in Japanese and English. (When I purchase a book, I usually purchase two copies, Japanese and English, to learn how to translate.) I was not able to find out who the true culprit was until the very last minute. But probably no readers were. It is because you are revealing new information after 80% of the way into the story.
Agatha Christie is almost always pretty fair to her readers. She is a real whodunit writer in the true sense of the word. We can enjoy a pure win-or-lose game with her. I think I won (managed to solve the puzzles) at her Three Act Tragedy and The ABC Murders, but I completely lost at The Mysterious Affair at Styles. Even when I lost, I was happy because it was a fair game. But you are not pitting your wits against your readers. The Word is Murder is not a detective story but just a piece of intriguing, mysterious, adventurous crime fiction story. Mr. Horowitz, I say again, you are not fair!
Anyway, I think The Word is Murder is a great book, and of course, it sold very well in Japan. We can purchase the book (in Japanese ) through Amazon.co.jp.
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22 March 2022
Had dinner at a restaurant called Shirokujichu in Aomori City. Ordered their Shiroku Tendon, a set menu including tempura on a bowl of rice. I tried it because I heard tempura is their specialty. The taste was futsu-woo (normal), but the price (1,180 yen) was a little bit expensive for me.
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21 March 2022
Ate the Katsu Curry (curry rice topped with deep-fried pork cutlet) at Gobanken in Aomori City. This shop is run by an elderly husband and wife. The husband cooks and the wife takes orders. It seemed she somehow got what I wanted to eat because I finally got what I ordered. There were several other customers in the shop. Like it.
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20 March 2022
Went to Hirakoya in Aomori City for lunch today. This ramen shop often hosts a line of people waiting. Ordered a bowl of “Bara soba.” The surface of this dish was entirely covered with pork slices. Like it.
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19 March 2022
Went to see wild swans at Yamogita Village in Aomori Prefecture. Paddy fields were filled with melted snow and swans were spending most of their time feeding there. Like ’em.
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15 March 2022
Visited Mutsu City, the northernmost city on Japan’s main island, today. Had lunch at Shirakawa Shokudou. My order was their Gyu-bara Yaki Set. Like it. I thought a bowl of ramen topped with a slice of fu (dried wheet gluten) was pretty rare these days.
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13 March 2022
Visited a “take-out only” yakitori shop today and bought some yakitori (grilled chicken on a skewer) there. Ate them at home tonight. The rest of the dishes I prepared for dinner were yellowtail sashimi, Inaka Futomaki (a variety of thick sushi rolls), Nama Harumaki (fresh spring rolls), fresh vegetable salad, and cold beer! Like it.
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12 March 2022
Visited Kimuraya for dinner today. Kimuraya is a “Yokohama Iekei” ramen shop in Aomori City. Ordered their Han-Chahan Set, which is a combination of a bowl of classic iekei ramen (tonkotsu-shoyu broth, thick noodles, large sheets of seaweed, among others) and half-size chahan (Chinese-style fried rice). Like it.
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11 March 2022
Tried a “thick type” ramen for lunch at Ramen Kume-chan in Aomori City. Managed to squeeze all of them into my stomach. Like it.
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10 March 2022
Had dinner at a Yoshinoya restaurant in Aomori City today. Ordered their Gyusuki Nabe Zen. Gyusuki is a compound of the words “gyu” (beef) and sukiyaki. Nabe (pronounced as “Nah Bay”) means a pot. Like it.
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9 March 2022
Had lunch at a ramen shop called Tamaya in Aomori City today. Asked for their Miso Ramen. Like it.
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7 March 2022
Today was my kyukanbi (休肝日), which is a self-imposed no-alcohol day. For me the day comes once in three days. Went to a branch of Sukiya restaurant in Aomori City for dinner. Ate their “Shichuan-style Mabo-don.” Like it.
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6 March 2022
Enjoyed bathing at a public bath called Tara Pokki Onsen today. Located in Tsurugasaka, Aomori, this onsen (hot spring) facility is one of the hidden gem type of places known only by local onsen connoisseurs. Being an alkaline hot spring, it feels as if the onsen water sticks to your skin. I have visited many onsen facilities in Aomori Prefecture, and Tara Pokki is definitely among the best.
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5 March 2022
Had lunch at Ramen Orochi in Aomori City today. Visited this ramen shop for the first time. Asked for their regular bowl of miso ramen. Like it.
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4 March 2022
The Hakkoda Mountains seen from the center of Aomori City today. Divine.
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1 March 2022
Had lunch at Kurahachi in Aomori City today. Tried their Nama Magurozuke Don (a bowl of rice topped with tuna sashimi that had pickled in soy sauce). Look at the amount of sashimi. And this dish costed only 750 yen! Like it.
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28 February 2022
Headed up to Fukushi Shokudou in Aomori City for lunch today. Got their filling set menu called “Gyubara Set.” In Japanese, gyu means beef and bara means belly meat. Like it.
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