Living The Ramen Dream® by Keizo Shimamoto
Day 483:
Coffee and Chococro, the best part of waking up.
Tsukemen Bento delivery, the best part of staying awake.
It was raining/snowing outside and I was too lazy to go out. Thankfully, the Yoyogi-Uehara Taishoken delivers.
Mad props have to go out to Chris. He came all the way from New York to run the Tokyo Marathon, slurp the green curry, and hand deliver this special bottle of beer to me. Dude you effin rock!!
Let’s go…
Day 482:
So I took that miso that I mentioned yesterday and made this Inamuruchi Miso Tonkotsu ramen. Two words: Sweet & Sexy.
Not much happened today. I’ve been a bit swamped with things since returning from our trip. But it’s all good. Chanko nabe time!
With udon!
Payday tomorrow!
Day 481:
Ahhh…back to work. It feels so good.
The lunch shift slowed down today so I decided to get on the phone with Harada-san and learn how to make a ramen burger. Voila!
A friend asked me to buy some of this miso from Okinawa so I did and we experimented a bit with it today. Perhaps I’ll have something new to show you tomorrow.
But first…Happy Birthday to my very special princess!
She’s growing up so fast.
She’s even able to carry others on her back. So cute.
Marshmallows!
No cuppie. Down! haha jk.
Thanks broski!
Day 480:
Okinawa has been a blast. I almost don’t want to leave. BUT. Okay this is a huge but. BUT as much as I enjoyed eating Okinawa soba, I don’t think I’d survive here without ramen. I’m ready to go back to Tokyo.
Time for one last stroll along the beach.
Time to jet!
Wait what? Our reservation has been canceled??
Okay that’s more like it. Goodbye Okinawa! Goodbye Kate! Goodbye Dad! Thanks for everything!
Upon arriving in Tokyo, I needed a bowl of ramen bad. And since we were passing by Shinagawa with our luggage in tow, we thought it would be convenient to stop at Shinatatsu. Having already been to most of these shops, we decided on Saijo (旭川ラーメン さいじょう 品達店) and their “legendary” shio ramen.
Here it is!
Actually, the assistant went with the shio and I went with shoyu. Both were good and both had their faults, but I was just happy to slurp a bowl.
Before I could go home, I had to make one last stop and drop off a gift for Jake-san. I thought about having a beer, but…maybe not. haha. (Translation: For customers just drinking beer, the first one will cost 5000 yen. Every other one after will cost 3000 yen.)
Home sweet home.
Special thanks go out to the assistant for planning such a wonderful trip. One word…
Day 479: Part 2
The Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium is probably on everyone’s list when visiting Okinawa for the first time. No doubt it was on ours too.
I always loved going to aquariums.
And seeing all the fabulous creatures of the sea.
Feed me!
But I’ve never seen anything like this. This fish tank is HUGE!!
chu!
We made it back to our hotel just in time to watch the sunset. Lovely.
As is our hotel.
For dinner we ate some mimigaa.
And some steam shabu shabu.
Mint-chocolate chip!
Back to the hotel…
We weren’t allowed to swim, but that didn’t keep us from chillin’ out by the pool.
This is all nice and all, but I need me a bowl of ramen! lol.
Day 479: Part 1
Argh! There’s that black thing again.
Oh well, let’s go get some more soba. Gon (そば処 根夢 伊佐店) is within walking distance from my dad’s place so we decided to stop and grab a bowl before we headed North.
You know what?
This was probably the best bowl yet. But after all it is just Okinawa soba. I’ll get back to that thought later.
About an hour north of Ginowan was our hotel in Onnason. We were still a bit early for check-in so we continued to drive North.
Where there were beautiful beaches and a graveyard of seashells.
Fantastic cliffs and amazing views.
And pineapples.
For lunch we stopped at Gyuyoshi (牛よし) on our way to the aquarium.
Gyuyoshi was recommended by Jake-san and he even called to make us a reservation. Dang, that was some good beef.
Thanks mama-san!
And thank you Jake-san!
Day 478: Part 2
After Shuri Castle we decided to drive down the southern coast and visit Himeyuri no To (ひめゆりの塔).
This is the site where many female students were killed during the war. Many of them, still teenagers, had to care for the Army’s injured and perform tasks that are unthinkable to you and I.
They hid in these caves to escape the bombing but I can’t describe to you how it was. If you get a chance, please go to this museum. Like the museum in Hiroshima, it’ll move you.
Sometime it’s hard to swallow the dark history of such beauty.
Our next destination was close. The only problem was that the main road would take us all the way back around. So I checked my iphone and found a shortcut–a bumpy, dirt road that we almost got stuck in.
But we made it to our destination, Kyan Misaki and Heiwa no To.
On another sad note, these are the cliffs were many people committed suicide during and after the war. It’s beautiful, but very heavy.
The view from the Nirai Kanai bridge is amazing.
Soba time! A couple weeks ago I started exchanging emails with Kate, a fellow blogger who lives in Okinawa, and we decided to meet up during my stay. So we met up with her at Yonabaruya (与那原家) in Yonabarucho.
Okay, now this was some better tasting Okinawa soba.
Kotteri Nankotsu Souki Soba.
Thanks Kate! It was great meeting you!
Off to the American Village!
Yogurtland!
A&W!
Tacos!
Spam!
Ow..stomach ache…
Day 478: Part 1
Time to hit the road in my fresh yellow wheels. Let’s move on out!
But wait…while everyone is still getting ready, I think I’ll go grab me a bowl of ramen. Although ramen is still scarce in a land dominated by Okinawa soba, I managed to find Rinya (林屋) in Ginowan, claiming to serve Kyoto-style ramen.
Mmm…not bad. It does remind me of Kyoto. Well sort of. It’s similar to the ramen I had at Masutani.
Alright, time to get our Okinawa soba on. Last night, I mentioned to the owner of Kuran that I wanted to try Shuri Soba (首里そば) so he grabbed his phone, called someone up and made us a reservation. How cool was that! Everyone knows everyone here.
Upon arriving at Shuri Soba we noticed that the place was packed. This shop has been around for years and it’s easily one of the most popular shops among tourists. I only say among tourists because the only locals in the shop were the ones working. Which leads me to say…
Are you serious? This is Okinawa soba? I mean…it’s good…but…I’ve had better stuff in Tokyo (no offense). The noodles were too hard, almost raw, and we all agreed that it didn’t meet our expectations. Perhaps there’s a reason why locals don’t come here. Anyway, next stop Shuri Castle!
Shurijo is a castle in Okinawa. I’m not much of a historian but it was built by the Ryukus and it’s one of the main tourist stops on the island.
Shureimon (above) and Kankaimon (below).
Seiden, the main hall of the castle, is currently being remodeled so it wasn’t very attractive with the giant scaffolding in front of it.
How do I get over there?
The castle was actually destroyed four times due to fires and war. The current building was constructed 70cm higher to protect the ruins of the previous buildings.
This is what it would have looked like on New Year’s Day.
To be continued…
Day 477: Part 2
Okinawa!!!!
Before heading to dinner, my dad took us to downtown Naha for a little sightseeing.
There was a shop that just sold salt…
Several stands selling Sata Andagi…
Shisa’s waving their hands in the air like they just don’t care…
And snakes just chillin’ in some sake.
Alright time to eat! Kuran is a local favorite of my dad’s.
Zanpa! You can’t come to Okinawa and not drink Awamori.
Jimami-dofu! ジーマーでマイウ。
Goya gyoza!
Ikasumi (squid ink) gyoza!
Benibuta gyoza!
The owner (left) was totally cool. His gyoza’s are famous and extremely delicious. Cheers dad!
MGD.
IGP.
Day 477: Part 1
With only a few hours of sleep, I was frantically rushing to get ready in time for our trip to Okinawa. Sadly, I decided to sell my dslr in order to pay for this trip. And although it felt like I got robbed, all I could say was 仕方がない。So off we went to Haneda Airport.
Before we could get on the plane, we needed to eat. But without many good shops to choose from, we settled on Toraji.
I looked for the 辛口牛テールつけ麺 but I guess not all Toraji’s have it. So I settled with this Jyanmen.
This wasn’t exactly ramen, but it’ll have to do for now.
Boarding time!
So…do you see it?? Apparently my camera lens got scratched or burned or dirtied while I was at Toraji. Whatever it is, I can’t seem to get rid of it and it frickin bugs! Perhaps this is what I get for selling my dslr.
Anyway, we made it!!
To be continued…
Go Ramen!® 