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Saturday 13 September 2008

Super Yosakoi 2008 – Getting Ready

On August 23rd and 24th, 2008, a very big festival was held at Omote-sando of Harajuku for the commemoration of the 140th year of Meiji Government and the 50th year of renaissance of Meiji Jingu shrine.

There were many activities there, including stage shows and street parade. I went for both days and these are the shots of the performers getting ready for the stage show on the first day.

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Thursday 11 September 2008

Nikon Digital Live 2008 – Another Model Shoot

During my visit to the Nikon Digital Live 2008 event, I was give a chance to shoot with a D700 and the Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8G. However, I only managed to shoot one of the two models with these equipment.

When I went out of the shooting ring, another model came on stage and I was with my own D300 and Micro Nikkor 105mm f/2.8D. So, I took some shots of this model with my own setup.

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Tuesday 9 September 2008

Savouring My Taste Bud in Kawaguchiko

When I was looking for information about Kawaguchiko, I came across that Houtou Noodles is a specialty of this town. At the time I was visiting this town, I certainly did not let it slip through my mouth.

We looked around several restaurants and found this giant menu interesting, and we spotted Houtou Noodles in it!

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We were the only customers as it wasn't actually lunch time yet. This restaurant looks like it has been there for a very long time as all the furniture are all retro style.

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It is run by a very friendly couple. The husband did the table setting for us.

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While the wife served us our orders that she cooked.

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Inside this dark steel pot...

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...was definitely the prominent delicacy of Kawaguchiko, the Houtou Noodles! From what I have seen, it is band noodles cooked in miso soup and vegetables, including pumpkin and mushrooms.

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The thick band noodles in fact looked like 'ban min' in Malaysia. They tasted almost the same too.

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When eaten with some of the fried ground chili, it was really delicious. The soup has the natural sweetness extracted from all the fresh vegetables and mushrooms.

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The friendly husband then brought out this bowl of his 'secret weapon' while we were still enyoying our noodles. A bite onto it made me fell in love with it! This was the best pickled daikon I have ever had! The daikon was still crunchy yet not too salty, preserving the natural fragrance.

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It turned out to be that this restaurant was the one featured in the top selling Hong Kong food magazine. Wow! What a surprise to us. We were at the right place with the right food!

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Since this is a celebrity restaurant, I asked for a portrait of the cook cum owner. She was very obliging when I requested her to hold the copy of the magazine in her hands. Extremely friendly indeed!

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After the satisfying lunch, we went roaming around in Kawaguchiko, including seeing Mt. Fuji. When it was dinner time, we decided to go back to the same restaurant for another round of local delicacy, but it was not Houtou Noodles anymore, it was for the deep-fried pond smelts.

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The pond smelts were deep fried with coated flour to perfect golden brown by the very friendly restaurant owner.

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When the pond smelts were eaten with rice mixed with a ground mixture of seaweed, sesame seed and herbs, I just can't describe how delicious that combination was!

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If you are visiting Kawaguchiko, don't forget to try these two extremely delicious local delicacies, especially at this restaurant. I don't know the restaurant name, but it is easy to find. Get across the pedestrian crossing at the traffic light in front of the train station and walk straight ahead for another 30 metres or so. The restaurant is right on you left.

Sunday 7 September 2008

Going Up North

By the time you are reading this, I should have boarded the Shinkansen Hayate 1 bound for Hachinohe. From Hachinohe, I'll catch the connecting train Super Hakucho 1 Limited Express heading to Hakodate, and then catch the Hokuto 11 Limited Express from here to Sapporo. The total journey will take me about 10 hours. I should be arriving at Sapporo at 16:58, local Japan time.

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I will stay in Sapporo for 5 days to explore this 5th largest city of Japan, and the largest in Hokkaido. From what I have read, Sapporo should be a very nice and easy city to explore with the grid city layout. I'm really looking forward to my stay in Sapporo.

I'll be returning to Saitama University on September 12th and continue to be here until September 30th before I return to Malaysia.

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I have put up some scheduled post up on my blog so that you can continue reading new stuff while I am away. Thanks for dropping by. :)

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