The Soul of Japan: Great Beef

Countless articles have been written about Japan's premium beef steaks, but if I were to narrow down just a few places, then here is a map of my personal favorites:

On some of the listings there are links in English describing restaurants and the type of beef that they serve. The listings are all well recognized establishments that serve premium grade beef at relatively reasonable prices. I didn't include Kobe Beef mainly because of its exorbitant price ranges. I'm a firm believer that not all great tasting fatty beef have to cost a fortune. In my map the restaurants listed serve just as good or better beef than what's served in Kobe. I have had Kobe Beef and it was good, but I personally don't find it worth the hefty price tag. I know of a few more establishments myself, and will add more later. This is just a modest listing.

Japanese beef has quite a long history and is worth a try if you're ever in Japan. How beef is made in Japan has a lot to do with how the Japanese create absolutely the best product out of whatever it is they put their mind to do. This is one of them. Great fatty beef!

The Soul of Japan: Great Train Lines

Just in Tokyo alone, if we were to include private rail stations, there are about 704 train stations in the greater Tokyo area. How many stations in all of Japan? Probably thousands. This sort of reminds me of a friend of mine who once told me that you would need several lifetimes just to visit every single hotspring in Japan. The same analogy could also be applied to the number of train stations in Japan, if you were to visit them; there're just too many to visit in one lifetime.

Here is a google map of the many stations I have visited and gone through over the years. I have written about some of my favorite train travels here, here, here, and here.

There are more, like about my travels to Akita, and so forth and so on. This is, like my onsen maps, a work in progress. As the days and weeks go by I will enhance some of the place markers so that you can get a better idea of the places I have personally been to. A lot of my travels are focused up north in the Tohoku region, because I feel the train lines and stations are better preserved than a lot of other region in Japan. In other words, people still ride the Gono Line to work, and yet it's one of the oldest lines in Japan! Commuters still use and pass through Goshogawara Station, a station that's very old and off the beaten path in a remotely located part of Aomori Prefecture. Old stations with dilapidated interiors and rotary phones that date back to the early days of Westernization. In the area where I am currently residing, Kanto area to be exact, old lines are few and far between with many of the train lines left abandoned and unused. If you travel through parts of Shizuoka you can see some evidence of this.

I have ridden on almost all of the shinkansen in Japan, including many of the local lines from East to West in this country. The longest train trip I have ever taken was from Yokohama to Kagoshima and from Tokyo to Sapporo Station via the shinkansen. If you were to ride the LOCAL line from Shin-Aomori to Tokyo it would take you seventeen hours and 10 transfers!

( example schedule here )

You could probably experience Japan in an amazing new way if you were to use a local line to Tokyo from Aomori. Only extreme train geeks like myself would attempt this. I haven't yet, but am thinking about challenging it this summer if things continue to go smoothly for me. The train line is truly one of the ways you can really feel the vibe of the nation and its people. The train is as much a part of the Japanese peoples lives as the culture because through its windows we can peek into the everyday lives of ordinary Japanese people. You can eavesdrop on their chatter and feel the atmosphere around them, and you, and at how they live their everyday lives. For me, that train ride is wonderful, for them, it's just an ordinary train that's an important part of their commute, and perhaps taking things for granted, like at how beautiful things look through their own window.

The Soul of Japan: Greatest Onsen

N.B. We do not use plural forms for Japanese words, so onsen is always in the singular form.

I have compiled a number of highly regarded onsen from my own private database, along with highlights on Google Maps. The onsen, for those who do not know, is a hotspring. A mineral rich spring that comes up from the earth that people bathe in. In North America, most people snap photos of such places, while here in Japan the locals bathe in them. The hot spring is a source of healing and relaxation that many Japanese travel far and wide to soak in. Some Japanese regard the onsen as a rich part of their cultural heritage, while others just consider it a pastime, something they typically try to enjoy once a year.

There are many icons on my google maps, so what you'll need to do is zoom in closely to whatever area you are interested in. There should be some commentary there about all the places I have visited. This map is a work in progress so as the days and weeks go by I may begin uploading pictures for every single onsen in the list. There are more onsen, believe me. This blog has been a journey for me. Through my travels, I have come to love this country immensely, and sometimes the quirkiness of its people.

The nihonshu, onsen, Jukujo, Japanese cuisine,Tohoku, the distinctive four seasons, Shinkansen, Sea of Japan, Mt. Fuji, and both Yasukuni and Ise Shrines for me are what make Japan great. Other things just pass off as trivial and insignificant when paired up against my own preferences. Again, these are my own choices.

This map should serve as a guide for those who want to experience some of the best hotsprings in Japan. So feel free to leave a comment, either on my blog or on google maps.

Cheers,

A Jukujo Story

May 21, 2011 at 6pm, the World is supposed to be ending, according to an 89 year old American preacher in Oakland California. What better way to end the world than to be doing something that you love.... If today is that day, then I can honestly say that I had a damn good day. Why you say? You be the judge.

Since things are back to normal in Yokohama city, I don't have to feel so bad about blogging about one of my favorite topics: The Jukujo. Since the last time I posted on my favorite kind of woman, I have changed hunting grounds. I used to loiter around Starbucks coffee houses and bus stops. On occasion, the supermarkets and convenient stores, and even subways were excellent places,too. The last few months have been really tough for me though. I had more let downs this year so far than usual. That may be attributed to my age and weight gain, but then again, I don't want to make excuses for myself, but then again there was the 3-11 mega-quake, or mega-quakes to be exact which had a major effect on all of us. People are finally starting to put that behind them. Spring has a way of helping that, especially with all the skin I get to salivate over everyday.

I dated the Hayabusa girl last week. We had a nice time. She was of a reasonable age for me, 31, and single. We met at the Yokohama Station around 6 then headed for some drinks and eats over at the HUB. I admit I enjoyed the conversation and the laughs we shared. She had this really cute way about her, like at how her eyes would close tightly shut when she let out this big chuckle, or like when she would make them squint only to reveal cute baby lines across the top edges of her eyebrows. She's a hand model at night and an OL at day. Long lanky body that's flat as a cutting board. She does power yoga. She loves scooters and trains and little cute stupid shit. She was charming. She paid for her own stuff that night.

I left that date feeling good, but at the same time knowing that because of her, my passion for the Jukujo had been reaffirmed. I love a full figured J-woman. I love nice chest and legs, all the stuff I have mentioned again and again in this blogs sidebar. Several weeks pryer to that date I was dating another woman in her early forties whom I had met at shopping plaza one day. The approach as usual. I Just went along at her pace. Didn't over do anything. Didn't pressure her at all. Things just happened so naturally. Plus my buddy threw in a good word for me a few weeks ago over dinner with his main squeeze. He couldn't keep his eyes off of my Jukujo who loves nihonshu, by the way.

Pre-doomsday mail is received on my iphone. It's her and she asked if I could come down to her place. I get there at around 11pm, we imbibe on an excellent bottle of Satsuma shochu, Tenshi Yuuwaki, or temptation for the exact translation. It was fantastic. Afterwards, we sat together in a tub and relaxed with the lights off as the candles flickered away in the darkness. The breeze came in through the bathroom window gently bringing with it a lovely aromatic allure. We moved into the next room and continued our exploration of each other. Couldn't help but notice at how large and fully erect her nipples were when they stood out. At lease a quarter of an inch in length and thickness. Impressive. Smooth and clean skin. She was long legged and had well toned calves and legs. Strong epicanthic folds in her eyes which drove me crazy whenever I was looking down into her eyes. The picture in the post looks similar to her.

I forgot all about doomsday, that day and the next day - today! I am still a bit exhausted and about to crawl into bed. I celebrated today with a whole pepperoni pizza and some Sapporo Classic. May 21st 2011 was a great day!

Yokohama Sento Listing

Here's my own personal listing of some of the best super sento (public spa), in Yokohama. I have commentary on a few of the listing.

Just a little background: I have been frequenting super sento in my area for years, so I am very familiar with my area. When I research a spa the first thing I look for is the quality of water ( i.e. is it 100% natural and is it recirculated. Is there chlorine in the water). Non-chlorinated water is the best. All of my spa selections were based on that one peeve. No chlorine. Of course, these are my own personal observations. Some of the other things I check for is the overall cleanliness of the place and how much for admissions.

For the record, I have no proof whether these establishments use chlorine or not, but, for those who are familiar with that stinging sensation you get in your nose when you enter a spa or a pool, and you know exactly what it smells like, and how it makes your skin dry, then you should be able to attest to how much of a turn off that chemical.

Chlorine is not really the enemy here though, it's warm water. Elderly need to sit longer for therapeutic purposes, and often times this requires spas to keep their water warm, not hot. Elderly have a difficult time managing excessive body heat and could die from heatstroke. Of course, chlorine has to be added for health reason.

When the water is kept at over 42 Centigrade this kills most bacteria and weakens virus strands in water, which in turn eliminated the need for chlorine. If you are relatively healthy then sitting in water at this temperature is OK, I think.

The last thing I look for are the amenities....(e.g. do they have soap, shampoo, conditioner). Is the place checked every 30 minutes to an hour. Is the water constantly being monitored with thermometers. All of these selections meet that criteria. Sure, there are more spas in the greater Yokohama area - I have been to all of them - but the ones I have chosen in this list are my favorites.

Iwate Backcountry

Leaving pleasant memories behind in Kakunodate I boarded a local line to Shizukuishi Station. By the way, Akita can be reached directly from Tokyo Station via the Akita Komachi Shinkansen, Akita's own exclusive line.

The last leg of my journey took me to Iwate Prefecture, right next door from Akita Prefecture to a small onsen town near Tsunagi Onsen. Just to give you a little perspective, on Akita's side is the Sea of Japan, and on Iwate's side is the Pacific Ocean. Between these two prefectures are some of the most densely wooded areas in Tohoku. Iwate is rugged and beautiful whereas Akita is graceful and charming.

During the 2hr ride I was sipping on a little sake I had picked up from Kakunodate. My feet were aching from all the walking I had done so a little refreshment was well deserved.

As the train wound its way through labyrinths of tunnels and low places the air from outside began to cool. I knew from then late evening was upon us.

In Iwate there were so many open fields dotted with cherry blossoms.

In this picture you can see Mount Iwate, the truest symbol of this prefecture. It's good being in Iwate again. I love this area. Last time I was up here I spent time near the coast.

Kakunodate in Pictures Part 2

Theme music for this post: Pictures and Indian Summer by John Beltran

I love how the roof tiles flow against a pink foreground on a traditional Japanese style house. And then as the afternoon sun begins to wane just a little, the easterly winds begin to pick up. I can start to notice a pink floral fragrance in the breeze. As I begin to approach the river the fragrance of floral pinkness begins to intensify.

Ordinary people are the backbone of Japan - the true fragrance of the nation. Like its blossoms, in times of despair or uncertainty, they bloom like the Akita-jin* who can still manage to restore his/her soul in Kakunodate.

The Hinokinai River bank is one of the most splendid river banks in Japan.

It's a little rare for me to see a Japanese father taking time out from the grind to spend with his family. Walking together and communicating in nature. Bonding and sharing. Creating a memory or two.

And then there's my favorite couple, J- Mom & son. I'm sure he's got the best view from where he is.

The energy that afternoon was strong. The laughter and merriment was healing.

The whole area has survived modernity and has not sold its soul out to the tourism industry. Everything is exactly as it was centuries ago and that's the way I like it. My true Kyoto is in the north, here in Kakunodate.

*Jin - Japanese for person.

Kakunodate: Pictures

(Theme Music for this post : Pictures and Indian Summer by John Beltran)

There are beautiful women in every prefecture in Japan I think, however, according to the legend the famed Akita Bijin, or Akita beauty, is regarded as absolutely the most beautiful Japanese woman in all of Japan. The subject in this picture is beautiful indeed and she also has perfect teeth.

I love the clean look. In Japanese it's called 清楚なきれい or seisou for neat and clean, and kirei for pretty. light make-up on the face or none at all is fine. Who needs make-up? Ask the Egyptians and the Chinese, or some Japanese men who want to imitate the natural clean beauty of the Japanese women. Why are they wearing make-up? What are they trying to conceal or protect?

Tradition is good. I love tradition. I love how beautiful a Japanese woman looks in a traditional gown, especially one with a beautiful brocade. Tradition speaks volumes to me.

And then there's the ordinary Plane Jane types which I like the most, in terms of personal preference. Simple black hair with just a sprinkling of grey, beautiful clean mochi white skin, aged between 30 and 40, nihonshu drinker, onsen lover, Shinto worshipper, average looking, big hips, ass, and toned legs and an incredible rack. The best!

Beauty is subjective.

Kakunodate 2011

Kakunodate was the 3rd leg of my solo journey from Tokyo. I was determined to get here at exactly the right time this season because four years ago when I had visited here with a girlfriend we were only able to capture a glimpse of this famed region’s beauty. The best times to visit would be from late April to early May. This time around I came at exactly the right time, May 5th. The whole place was overwhelming for me this time around; I choked up a little as I began approaching the main thoroughfare and witnessing all the thick pink denseness all around me.

Kakunodate is famed for having weeping willow cherry blossom trees, samurai era houses, and merchant houses. It was as if I were walking in a picture post card; the place was so surreal. This is the Kyoto of the North!

Samurai era houses were all over the place. Here is a short 8 sec. film I had shot. I am not much into old samurai era houses, but if you are I highly recommend this area.

The picture below is the main thoroughfare you enter through to get to the river.

From 1620 Kakunodate has been a thriving little town located at the very heart of Tohoku, out in the middle of nowhere, yet at the center of everything. The soul and vibe of the real Japan is very much here. What's here can only be found in Kakunodate, a place some japanese have considered a type of heaven and a place they'd like to die at.

I will add another post to this one shortly. Enjoy. If you have any questions about this area feel free to ask me.

Fine Akita Dining

Aside from having wonderful natural hotsprings and beautiful nature and women, and delicious sake, kiritanpo comes to mind. It's chicken broth soup with a wonderful mix of green vegetables and chicken. The tubular shaped food stuffs in the middle is a mash of rice, which lend a type of texture and depth to the soup. This is perhaps one of the most popular dishes in winter. The Garaku Dining restaurant offered up a fantastic bowl of Kiritanpo along with a few other wonderfully prepared dishes.

My server for the evening was Yuki, not her real name, but if you go there someday, she's the slender fair skinned 20 something with black shoulder length hair and black eyes. She's the type of girl that when you see her, you'll know her.

The Garaku is about a 10 minute walk from JR Akita Station and is conveniently located in a very busy part of town.

In this picture you can see a couple of different kinds of fish. You have Kinmedai, or Golden Eye Snapper, which is the pink soft fish to the left. Chiba Prefecture is known for having the best, but the one I had that night here at the Garaku was soft and very delicious. The red meat on the right is Oma Maguro, or tuna.

These sandfish, or ハタハタ are served at just about every restaurant in Akita Prefecture. Depending on the season some restaurants will serve them split open or with eggs inside. I have tried them both ways. The lovely server for the evening kindly removed the bones for me.

This dish, from left to right, is Inaniwa Udon and to the right is called Uramaki. These two dishes are a must when visiting this region of Japan. True taste of Tohoku.

Next up is Akita Yuri Beef, a premium beef especially raised in Akita Prefecture, specifically in the Chokai region where great sake is also brewed.

And of course, how can I forget sake:

The big great three I tried tonight were Rokushu, Yuki no Boushiya, and Kisaburo! And these are all Akita brewed sake.
The local taste was excellent. I was also impressed at the knowledge of the staff. They always knew what sake went well with each food.

I need to digress a little. Yuki, the server, remember? In a book I had published back in 2008, I wrote about a shared bathing experience in which I was in an open air bath with two naked young beautiful Japanese women who were total strangers. In Japan, since antiquity, men and women have bathed together. It wasn't until Christianity poisoned Japan that these practices were restricted during the Tokugawa Era. Nowadays, most young Japanese women have a strong aversion to sharing an open air bath with a man they have never met before. I know how I look.

I mentioned to Yuki about this and she told me that she has never felt shameful about getting naked in a hotspring with other men - small towel - and that it was perfectly natural for a Japanese woman to bathe naked in the open, no shame. This was in stark contrast to the conversation I had had with Ayako Saeki of Kanagawa Prefecture who told me that this practice is unacceptable for her. And of course, since she's Japanese, she speaks for the whole race, much like most Japanese who know very little about their own country and its history. Just listening to Yuki speak in Japanese with such confidence and with such candor was refreshing. A young lady. She also expressed her love for Akita, and that she had no interest in leaving.

Akita City

Arriving at Akita Station around 7pm I disembarked the Shirakami and headed up the stairs to the ticket wicket. I was able to locate my hotel from the my iphone's GPS with no problem at all. From station to hotel is a nice five minute walk and since I travel light, the walk was well taken. I love Akita. Just walking through the area is historical in itself. The women are beautiful, but not the most beautiful. I still love the Hulking Bovine types.

Photo below was taken from the open air bath from the Dormy Inn.

Once my turn came up to check-in, the process was quick and painless. I went to my room got changed and got into the 100% real hot spring on the top floor. I

The photo above was taken the next morning right after breakfast. Not all Dormy Inns have real onsen, but the ones that do, namely Niigata and Akita, are simply the best. There are others but am not sure.

This is a sodium-chloride based high mineral rich natural hot spring. No chemicals added. The water was hot enough to make my face wince with pain and pleasure; water would have to be in the over 40Cs range to make that happen.. I felt as if the water went straight to my bones! As I slowly sat in the water I let out a huge sigh of relief as I adjusted my position. There's also a bunch of green onions in the water called "negi" in Japanese. What therapeutic value? Not sure. Once I finished up with everything I headed over to the Garaku.

All-in-all, this Dormy gets the highest marks for me. Mainly because of the cleanliness and quality of water. The breakfast was very nice, too! Kiritanpo for breakfast is not bad.

Gono Line 2

On our left side we caught a beautiful patch of cherry blossom trees right alongside the coast. Cherry blossoms along the Gono are dotted here and there on small patches of farmland. We caught this view near the coast.

Cherry blossoms usually come into bloom in March in West Japan first, and then gradually as weather becomes warmer you can start to see them bloom further up north as early at late April to the first part of May.

Turning my head quickly back to the right I saw the Sea of Japan come into full view. The Sea of Japan is a complex configuration of rocks jutting out from the sea.

The Gono is constantly winding and turning, and switching back. We tucked into a pocket of land and passed a couple of small country houses.

Life must be simple for people living out here. Hmmm....simple but tough. The bitter winters must wreak havoc on their farms.

But I'm sure in the summer they can enjoy surfing and fishing while looking out into the great expanse of the Sea of Japan.

And then to another patch of farmland. The weather can change quickly in the area.

As we continued, another feature of this area unfolded.

Gono Line: Tsugaru Plains

On the second leg of my journey, I passed through the ticket gates and headed to another annex in the station to catch the new Hybrid train bound for Akita. There are a few different Hybrids, the one I rode on was the Shirakami 4 bound for Akita via the Gono Line. Notice at how large the windows are. You can catch full views on either side on every Hybrid.

Our lovely MC for the train ride was Ms. Yoko of Aomori Prefecture. She explained a little about the history of the area we were passing through by offering us a little light entertainment with singing and a little dancing. It was great.

Leaving Shin-Aomori station behind, the first views I caught were of a tractor as it turned over a field. I also noticed a few farmers toiling away in the mid-afternoon sun. You really get a sense of the backbone of Japan when seeing people at work on their own farms from a train's window.

Often pictures appear inverted because like I mentioned earlier this is a switch back train, so every other station we must turn our seats to face the opposite direction in order to be facing the direction the train is moving in. We must've switched five times. In this map in the above picture is the direction our train took. As you can see we covered a little bit of the interior of the Tsugaru Plains then down the coast. There's a lot of history here by the way, but didn't have time to stay because I had to be in Kakunodate by midday the next day.

The next views were of small rural stand alone shacks out in the middle of nowhere. If you are the type of person, like me, who enjoys long scenic train rides, and you really want to see Japan in all of its naked splendor, the train trip is essential.

Just about every Japanese wants to at least make one trip to see the Sea of Japan once in their life time. I remember driving along this coast four years ago, now I'm on a train. The train is the best way to travel there.

I saw an old hunched back lady standing in an open solitary field all by herself watching as our train rolled by; she followed us with her weary eyes as we passed through a section of her farm; I saw kids waving at us and cheering us on and shouting "Ganbaro Nippon" which means "Do your Best!" in Japanese. .

The impressions I picked up from this second leg of my journey were of an older and much more isolated park of rural Japan. Not many Japanese know of the Tsugaru Plains so I intend to return here someday in the future. At about this point, after passing Goshogawara we were not even a full hour into our train ride. The next post will continue on this line until we reach Akita.