Back to Tokyo

Today I came back to Tokyo.
I had stayed in Koriyama for 19 days, since Oct. 30 to Nov. 17, for a too much long time.

I took a highway bus for Tokyo from Koriyama station at 10:50 a.m.
And my friend Canon took me there by his old Sports car.
I would like to thank him very much.
Danke schön, Canon!

In Tokyo as well as Koriyama it rained and got colder.
I might catch a slight cold.


Canon's car Mazda RX-7 (photo by Canon)


Unfortunately, Canon is dead in the snows! (photo taken in Koriyama Mar. '07)

Tsuke-men with rain in Koriyama

I have stayed in my hometown Koriyama city, Fukushima prefecture since last friday Oct. 30 in order to attend a Buddhist service on the first anniversary of my grandmother's death (祖母の一周忌法要) which was scheduled for yesterday Nov. 1.
Fukushima is the southernmost prefecture of Tohoku area (東北地方) and about 250km north from Tokyo.

Today I saw one of a few of my best friends Canon since we were junior-high school students 12 years ago.
We ate Tsuke-men at Koriyama Taishoken (郡山大勝軒) for lunch.
He loves very hot foods (of course in the sense of taste) so he chose very hot Tsuke-men.
His soup became red like a bloody pond in Japanese hell and looked so hot because it was seasoned with many redhot pepper and Ra-oil, and of course seasoned hotter than mine.
He gave me a bite of his own soup...Unbelievable! Really very hot!
I also like hot foods but do not like VERY hot ones. He must have a bad tongue.


Very hot Tsuke-men like a bloody pond in Japanese hell Canon chose

Today it was raining with a strong wind all the day and very cold though yesterday it was so warm in spite of Japanese autamn that we were able to attend a Buddist service for my grandmother's death without being annoyed with the cold.

After leaving Canon, I went to Atami town in the western area of Koriyama by car through the hard rain.
About 6 O'clock p.m., when I went outside of the building there, it had already been snowing (link to the Japanese website), or at least, sleeting (みぞれ).
The official (Japan Meteorological Agency) (気象庁) told that in Aizu-wakamatsu city, next to Koriyama, the first snowfall of this year was observed Nov. 2. But I think that this might be the first snowfall of this year in Koriyama too because Atami is near from Aizu-wakamatsu.

I cannot believe that it is Japan's autumn. Is it actually winter?
I wonder where autumn had gone and why.

How to be busy

*External link to the Japanese website
**External link to the website except written in Japanese

8 a.m. I took my youngest brother to school by car because he usually went there on a 10 kilometers way by bycicle but today it was snowing in the morning.

9 a.m. I saw a family doctor in order to consult about my injury to the third finger (薬指) on the right hand. And a nurse took blood samples from me for the blood test (ohch!)

10:30 a.m. I saw a family ENT doctor (ENT stands for Ear, Nose and Throat; 耳鼻咽喉科) because I had a hay fever.

11:00 a.m. I saw my friend Canon and went to a PC and its peripherals shop, Pasokon Koubou* (パソコン工房) because he was looking for a cheap mouse. After that about 0:30 p.m. we ate tsuke-men at Koriyama Taishoken (郡山大将軒).

3:3o p.m. from his house I went to the hospital at Atami-town where my father had been for the rehabilitation.

5:20 p.m. from my father's hospital I hurried to my brother's high school (maybe 25 km between them!) by car and arrived there almost just 6:00 p.m. And inside the building of his high school I saw the list which showed what university students who graduated this high school this month were going to enter.

6:30 p.m. on the way home I visited Canon's house with my brother for business with him. And then they told me that on this blog I did not write about nothing but meals, especially ramen. Therefore I post today's entry.

Today I was a little busy.

Legacy from years before 2005

My friend Canon gave me 2 manga books when we saw each other the other day.
The Japanese love romance manga Yubisaki Milk Tea (ゆびさきミルクティー) (whose title is a little hard to be translated into English in nuance) vol. 8 and 9 authored by Miyano Tomochika (宮野ともちか).

I hate love romance while I love love comedy.
(I cannot explain that reason easily here.)
I have hated this genre since 2005 and have not started reading new manga of this genre.
But I have started reading this manga since 2003, the year before 2005.
Now this manga is the only one of this genre that I have read since years before 2005.

(Below was added Nov. 12, '09)
As far as how much I hate love romance, I had not been able to watch live-action TV drama Hachimitsu to Clover (ハチミツとクローバー) (Honey and Clover) whose original manga is illustrated by Umino Chika (羽海野チカ) starring then 15 (now 17) year-old actress Narumi Riko (成海璃子) as heroine Hanamoto Hagumi (花本はぐみ) who is my favorite actress.
Although I am a big fan of her and I have already watched almost all of her starring movies and TV dramas and this TV drama starred her, I was not able to watch it.
This made me realize clearly how much I hated this genre.

And I am a little sorry for Canon that I have not finished reading these 2 manga books yet which he gave me.

Trimming trees

*External link to the Japanese website
**External link to the website except written in Japanese

Today I trimmed trees in the small garden of my house between 3 and 6:30 p.m. because before my father had trimmed them but now he had been handicapped by disease so my mother asked me to do so.
But I had to cut a lot of branches and leaves so I asked Canon to help myself.

Before trimming I treated him to tsukemen at Koriyama Taishoken (郡山大勝軒) about 1:30 p.m. in return for his undertaking my request.

He cut them a lot on the roof and the ladder in behalf of me because I have a fear of heights.
And after this work my mother gave him 12 cans of "the third beer" (第三のビール) as a token of our thanks.

Canon, thank you very much!

(Photos will be added later.)

Tsuke-men and car

I ate Tsuke-men with my friend Canon at Koriyama Taishoken (郡山大勝軒) today, too.
Of course he chose very hot Tsuke-men like a bloody pond in Japanese hell.


This is normal Tsuke-men I chose

I drive my family's car (Suzuki Alto) when I see Canon and travel with him in Koriyama .
Because his car is a Sports car and so old that it jolts along and rides a little bad.
Moreover his car is not economical on gas at all though he has less money than I.
So we travel by my car which is much more fuel-efficient than his one.


My family's car Suzuki Alto covered with snow (photo taken in Koriyama Mar. '07)

Benefactor

*External link to the Japanese website
**External link to the website except written in Japanese

Today in the evening about 9:30 p.m. I saw Canon at Saizeriya near my house in Koriyama first since the earthquake occurred Mar. 11.

After it was hit by the earthquake about 8:30 p.m. that day he hurried to my family in order to know they were all right or not because I was not able to get in touch with them by the phone because of the earthquake so I asked him to do so through the internet (MSN Messenger and Skype.)

Canon, thank you very much!

Jiro-inspired thunder

*External link to the Japanese website
**External link to the website except written in Japanese

Ramen-Satan is back here!

Today in the evening about 7:45 p.m. I visited a Jiro-inspired ramen shop, Kaminari Honten*, (雷 本店) Kita-Matsudo, Matsudo city (松戸市北松戸).
In fact at first I would like to visit Ramen Jiro Kan-nana Ichinoe (ラーメン二郎 環七一之江店) because Jiro Senju-oohashi (二郎 千住大橋店) or Matsudo (同 松戸店) had been already on the summer vacation.
But Ichinoe is a little far from my house therefore I visited Kaminari which was much nearer to it than Ichinoe.

[Read more]

This was the first time for me to come to this shop.
There were about 5 or 6 persons waiting before me but I needed not wait so much to get a seat.


Outside of Kaminari

I chose extralarge-sized "Kaminari Soba" (ramen) (雷そば 特盛) (800 yen.)
This was very good ramen but different from Jiro; indeed its soup was thick but thick like tsukemen's one.
(That can be understood because Kaminari belongs to the same chain of the most popular tsukemen shop in Tokyo area, Tomita* (とみ田), Matsudo, Matsudo city.)
In other words, this was ramen with tsukemen soup in which noodles and boiled vegetables sank.
This soup was cooked in good stock probably with dried fish (魚節) but lacked faint sweetness of lard (脂) and a little salty taste of say sauce, both of which Jiro's ramen has (or at least, is expected to have.)


Extralarge-sized "Kaminari Soba"

Inside the shop also an atmosphere was different from Jiro.
Some of families visited there and next to me on the left side two women had seats at a counter.
These women talked with each other too noisy during eating ramen; I was annoyed by them.
We should eat ramen without noise.


Inside the shop lanterns were hooked

It was good that the room was well air-conditioned.
In this season it must be cool inside the shop in order to eat up ramen all, especially Jiro.
(Last Friday, Aug. 12, in the evening I visited Jiro Ikebukuro (二郎池袋店) with Canon, I was annoyed very much because it was hot inside the shop.)

By the way, I left vegetables unfinished a little; recently I have not wanted to eat more vegetables in Jiro(-inspired.)
Of course Kaminari served me too many vegetables as I gave a call "Yasai Mashi" (more vegetables) to them.
I do not want more vegetables maybe because I got old; I might be far from being Jirolian.

Mawaranai sushi

*External link to the Japanese website
**External link to the website except written in Japanese

I was stood sushi for dinner by Ajimo, my old friend since we were six or seven years old and elementary school students.
It was Non Conveyor Belt sushi (回らない寿司) he treated me at Tsukiji Tamazushi Ginza Core* (築地玉寿司銀座コア店) because I bought him the Academic Package of a certain computer software he wanted (of course with his money.)
(Only students, teachers or those who work for education can buy the Academic Package.)
That software is priced at 134,400 yen as fixed at Yodobashi Camera Akihabara (ヨドバシアキバ店) but the Academic Package is priced at 13,440 yen (90% off.)
That is, he treated me sushi in order to show me his gratitude. However I said to him that he needed not consideration for me.

[Read more]

Ajimo and I went to the same elementary school, the same junior high school and the same high school.
We have been buddies known each other for a longer time than June and Canon.
After graduating a national graduate school of engineering last year (2009), now he has worked for a company as a computer programmer in Tokyo.
And he has been called his slightly strange nickname, Ajimo, since he was nine or ten years old.
(I do not know in detail why he was called so. A nickname children gives their friends is often strange or sometimes come from where adults hardly think of.)
More funnily, his parents sometimes call him so.


One of sushi plates we ate

Tamazushi was very delicious! I love sushi!
I would like to take my family to this sushi restaurant someday.
Ajimo, thank you very much!

During eating sushi at Tamazushi, he confessed to me that these months he had been very and very busy at his work; on weekdays he come back home (he lives in Asaka city, Saitama pref. (埼玉県朝霞市)) 1 a.m. and go out to the office 6:30 a.m. He said that he was able to sleep only for three or four hours on weekdays. He was a hard-core video gamer when he was a student but he played the latest Pocket Monsters title released Sep. 18, 2010 in Japan, Black Version and White Version** only six or seven hours in total.
Therefore he wanted to eat delicious foods with someone in order to get rid of his stress. He did not treat me sushi only in order to show me his gratitude.

By the way, we ate about 70 sushi pieces (70貫) in total. (Can't eat less than expected!)

This restaurant closed at 10 p.m.
So we wanted to enter any coffee shop around Yurakucho station (有楽町駅) in order to carry on chatting. But any of them around that station was going to close at 11 p.m.
There was no help for it. We bought plastic bottles of drink at a Convenience Store and chatted with each other seated on the bench in the Underground Square* under Yurakucho station (有楽町地下広場) where there were few passengers going then.
We were talking especially about our family. (One tends to take care of his parents when he gets old.) As of myself in detail, I told him of my father's condition.

It was about 11:50 p.m. when we parted from each other in front of a ticket gate of Tokyo Metro Yurakucho line (地下鉄有楽町線) in Yurakucho station.

How many keyboards

*External link to the Japanese website
**External link to the website except written in Japanese



I bought a new PC keyboard* produced by Sanwa Supply (サンワサプライ) (2280 yen) at Yodobashi Camera, Akihabara for my laptop PC because it was too small for my hands to type its keyboard.
(On the photo above on your right side a black and white object is my cellular phone.)
The new keyboard has no ten key therefore it is very portable and useful.
And this is the most expensive among my keyboards.

[Read more]

From left to right: the one (PS/2) accompanied with my desktop PC; the second one (PS/2) produced by Sanwa Supply for which I paid 100 yen at Akihabara because it had been displayed at a store; the third one (maybe 780 yen) (USB) with the logo of "HP" (Hewlett-Packard); the fourth one (PS/2) (500 yen) with the logo of "IBM." The latter two were bulk products therefore cheap. And now I am using this IBM keyboard for desktop PC.



On this photo above (1180 yen) is the soft (or limp?) waterproof keyboard (USB) made from silicon but not useful for me therefore I have not used it any more (also see here*.)

And you might want to ask me whether I need so many keyboards. Yes, I need not these keyboards shown in this entry except the IBM one and the one I bought today.

by the way, at my laboratory of the university I use another keyboard which my friend Canon gave me before.