What is the best Ramen in Takadanobaba, Tokyo? Watanabe Ramen

Lovingly called Baba by the locals, Takadanobaba has justifiably gained a reputation as one of Tokyo’s best and fiercest Ramen battlegrounds. The suburb boasts several of the well-known chains such as Ippudo and Ramen Jiro along with a host of other good places. But tucked away down a back alley, with an entrance you could easily miss, is one clear winner – Watanabe Ramen.

Despite the song “Walk on by” playing on my entrance (something I had done several times trying to find the place), I sat down to try out a bowl and was richly rewarded, by not only the refined atmosphere of the store (8 seats around a small counter and one chef), but also by the thick, rich and intense tonkotsu-gyokai (pork bone and fish) soup.

The 1980s classic “Let’s get physical” by Olivia Newton John was playing at the time my bowl of Ramen came. The words “let me hear your body talk” seemed particularly appropriate, and after a few full flavoursome mouthfuls of the broth, I was certainly listening. The soup was not for the faint hearted, as it felt and tasted like several bowls of Ramen flavour had been packed into one – the faint gyokai (fish) flavour becoming more and more noticeable as the meal continued. The pre-heated ingredients on the noodle gauze was a nice touch, as were the thick rectangular cut almost brick-like menma (seasoned bamboo shoots), and the onsen egg was perfectly boiled yet deliciously runny on the inside.

The chef wore a traditional “No Ramen. No Life” t-shirt and a sign encouraged @WatanabeJuan on Twitter. Perhaps this is the chef. Perhaps it is the official account. Whoever. Whatever. Watanabe Ramen was a real standout and definitely worth a visit if you’re ever in Baba.


Do you agree? Disagree? Have you been there? Let me know by leaving a comment.

Opening Hours: 11:00am － 20:00pm
Address in English: 2-1-4 Takadanobaba, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo-to 169-0075
Address in Japanese: 〒169-0075 東京都新宿区高田馬場2-1-4

Publisher: Daily - 10:17 PM

What is the big bit on the end of wooden chopsticks for?

I learnt to eat with chopsticks a long time ago. I have eaten a lot of meals with chopsticks. I have slurped down some fantastic ramen noodles with them, I have shovelled in huge amounts of rice, and I have picked up some delicious sushi with the humble hashi.

But it was not until today that I realised, or was taught, what the large random big bit on the end of wooden chopsticks was for.

So here it is - set your face to stun.

That's right. Not just there to hold them together. Not there to get rid of splinters from the rest of the stick. Not even there for decoration as truth be told it doesn't look that great. It is actually a little rest for the chopsticks. And also to prevent the table getting dirty from your chopsticks and your chopsticks getting dirty from the table.

I don't often use this phrase but it is totally appropriate - Mind Blown!

Publisher: Daily - 10:08 PM

What's the difference between sushi and sashimi?

You want the short answer?

Combine any edible thing with a special type of cooked cooled vinegared rice and you have sushi. Take away the 'sushi-rice' and you have Sashimi.

Simple huh?

While there are a few extra details, such as sashimi is always meat and always raw, and the rice is mostly a variety called awase-zu, this definition will generally hold true. But the complicating factor is that the range, the variety and the types of sushi vary significantly.

The two most common are:

O-Nigiri - a slice of raw (or cooked) fish (or meat) (and/or vegetable) on top (or inside) of an oblong (or square or triangle) ball (or other) shape of rice.

Maki - a strip of fish and/or vegetable rolled inside a piece of nori (seaweed) using a bamboo mat. This is most commonly known as a 'sushi roll'. You can also get 'temaki', a cone shape instead of a cylinder, or 'uramaki', an inside-out roll with the sushi rice as the outside layer.

Not to mention, Inari, a pouch of fried tofu filled with sushi rice, or Chirashi sushi, a bowl of sushi rice with the fish and other ingredients scattered throughout.

I love sushi, (perhaps not as much as Ramen), and I have tasted every type mentioned above. I have had the good, the bad and the unbelievable.

So what's my favourite?

In my humble opinion, if you have a good piece of fresh smooth well-cut fish, full of flavour, you can ditch the rice. In those circumstances, I will always say Sashimi wa, mo hitotsu kudasai, if not mo futatsu kudasai.

And just for fun, check out this fun and famous onigiri children's song. It doesn't help working out the difference between sushi, sashimi and o-nigiri, but is just plain cute.

Please note, O-nigiri is simply a polite way to say nigiri, and sushi often becomes 'zushi' when following a prefix, eg. maki-zushi, inari-zushi Publisher: Daily - 5:00 AM

The highlights and lowlights of travelling in Japan

Do you remember your first trip to Japan?

I do, and I recently had the chance to read over some of my experience when I found an old email in which I had summarised the experience into highlights and lowlights.

While I have been back to Japan several times, staying for three months on one occasion (which you can read about here), I still have great fondness for my first trip, and get pangs of sentimentality ever time I think about it.

So to avoid boredom, cringing (on my part, and perhaps yours) and the Nobel Prize in Literature, please find my shortened version called "The Highlights and Lowlights of travelling in Japan".

Enjoy. (O tanoshimi kudasai)

Highlight: Drink vending machines - The variety, the taste, and the availability. They all worked, gave exact change and the correct drink, and punching and kicking them was just for fun, not to get a drink out. My favourites were Qoo (fruit salad milk), Pocari Sweat (sports drink), Miss Parlour (sugar water) and the 20 or so different varieties of iced coffee. 
Lowlight: the lack of public toilets - One juice, one coffee and one soft drink out of vending machine - 360 yen. New vending machine - 15,000 yen. Electricity to run vending machine for one year - 4,000 yen. Consuming three drinks and spending the next hour searching, the relief of finally finding a public toilet - Priceless

Highlight: Sumo wrestling - the sporting equivalent of cricket in Japan, in that a whole day of watching adds up to about 8 minutes and 43 seconds of actual wrestling. You can also listen to a guy commentating and hear about match records, styles of fighting, and averages between the bouts, which was useful and added to the entertainment, but didn't increase the actual time of wrestling. 
Lowlight: Kindly accepting an offer by the Japanese gentleman sitting next to me to have a look through his binoculars - if it’s one thing you don’t want to see close up it’s Japanese men weighing 300 pounds or more, in very small underpants (in terms of coverage) or very large g-strings (relative to my own).

Highlight: The efficiency of the transport system - The trains run on time, to the minute, if not the second. 
Lowlight: The efficiency of the transport system: - The number of people on the subway trains means there’s no point in holding on because you can’t move anyway. (And so many wandering hands - I’ve never felt so wanted, yet so used)

Highlight: The toilets and the surprise of sitting down on a prewarmed toilet seat and being given the option of buttons labelled wash, pre-wash, heavy pots and pans, warm, spray, dry, tickle and one I was never game to try, the “powerful deodoriser”. 
Lowlight: Sitting on one, and no matter what button or combination of buttons I pushed, the seat kept getting hotter and hotter. Perhaps I pushed the medium and well done buttons a few too many times? (the heavy pots and pans, and tickle buttons may not have actually existed)

Highlight: Japanese baths 
Lowlight: Having to share them.

Highlight: Japanese accommodation - clean, friendly and available (sounds a bit like a dating application), though the rooms were small - a big problem for someone who is tall, muscular and well built (which is why I was perfectly comfortable. 
Lowlight: Japanese floors are just as soft (or hard) as Australian floors - McDonalds, the English language and brown hair dye have all leaked into Japan, but apparently mattresses are being held by the Japanese immigration indefinitely. 
Lowerlight: One ryokan (Japanese inn) I stayed at in Kyoto, which had small rooms, a dirty shower, filthy bathroom and a mouldy kitchen, a smoky haze in every room, traffic outside and noisy British backpackers inside singing Wonderwall and Hey Jude until 2am.

What are your highlights or lowlights from travelling in Japan?

Publisher: Daily - 11:26 PM

What is White Day in Japan? (Howaito Dē, ホワイトデー, 14 March)

Every year around the world florists, chocolatiers, and soft cuddly toy manufacturers make millions of dollars on the one single day – Valentine’s Day. Men or women can give presents or cards in secret or in public – except in Japan. Why? Because the Japanese also celebrate White Day, a somewhat unusual reverse Valentine’s Day.

Perhaps you’ve never heard of White Day, and only ended up here on a ‘fluffy teddy bear’ google search gone wrong. That’s ok, we all make mistakes, but if you keep reading, by the end of this page you will have learnt something fascinating, namely the origin and customs of White Day in Japan. But if really want to know about White Day, you will also have to learn a little bit about the way in which the Japanese celebrate Valentine’s Day. So here goes.

Valentine’s Day in Japan

While the rest of the world celebrates Valentine’s Day by giving flowers, and other anatomically incorrect heart shaped gifts, Japan reserves the fourteenth of February for women, that is for women buying the gifts. How this role-reversal happened is not exactly clear, but some blame a deliberate translation error by the man who introduced the idea to Japan. But in any event, Valentine’s Day in Japan is now marketed as exclusively an opportunity for women to express their love to men.

If you don’t believe me on this point, why not see what happens when a man buys some cheap chocolate on 13 February and asks the store clerk “Can you wrap this up for me? It’s for Valentine’s Day”. The look of confusion, shock and/or horror, will be enough to show you how strong this custom is, and I wouldn’t be surprised if some women may refuse to wrap it, or perhaps even sell it.

But another difference in Japan is that giving presents on Valentine’s Day is not solely for romantic purposes. You can buy different types of chocolate for different people. Of course there is the honmei-choko (本命チョコ, “favourite chocolate”, or “chocolate of love”), which is romantic and usually handmade given by the female to her ‘favourite’. But there is also the giri-choko (義理チョコ, “obligatory chocolate” or “courtesy chocolate”), which is usually store bought and not that expensive, given to people you have to, such as bosses, co-workers, or male friends. And there is even the tomo-choko (友チョコ ‘friend chocolate’), a more recent, but successful addition to the chocolate giving scene in Japan, given by women to their female friends.

So what happens on White Day?

White Day is exactly one month after Valentine’s Day, where males not only get the opportunity to give gifts and cards and confectionary to those from whom they received them on Valentine’s Day, but it is actually expected. Reciprocal gifts must be at least two to three times more valuable than the February gifts, namely sanbai gaeshi (三倍返し), which can romantically and lovingly be translated as ‘give back three times or else’. In fact to give a present of the same value could be a sign that you are trying to end the relationship. And there is only one documented case in the entire history of Japan where no gift was given in reply – Japan’s highest criminal court is currently hearing that man’s death row appeal.

But how did it all start?

White Day was only recently introduced, namely in 1978 by a Fukuoka based confectionary company which marketed marshmallows to men on March 14 as a reply to the women only Valentine phenomenon. While “Marshmallow day” (マシュマロデー) was not a huge success, the Japanese National Confectionary Industry Association, (an organisation not usually known for its short and succinct naming ability), renamed it 'White Day'. The idea took off, and has been growing ever since. The colour white was apparently chosen to represent purity, and/or possibly sugar, when in reality it probably still represents the failed Mr Marshmallow bid.

So what are the common mistakes on White Day?

There are more than 136 mysterious social rules governing White Day in Japan, such as Rule 58 which states: “Don’t hand over giri-choco to a girl after 4pm with your left hand while wearing a yellow tie, because if it happens to be a Tuesday with high humidity, that could be interpreted as a marriage proposal”. But in my view if you follow these three rules, which I have called “White Day for dummies”, I think you should be fine:

1. If you have received a Valentine’s Day present, give something back.
2. Whatever you give back, make sure it is much nicer, better, tastier, or more expensive than whatever you received.
3. Don’t forget.

Good luck and Happy White Day

You can read more about it here, here, here or here.

Publisher: Daily - 10:59 AM

Why do the Japanese eat KFC for Christmas?

Japan is by no means a Christian country. It has one or less than one per cent of Christians. It has some restrictions on religious activity but in particular there exists a suspicion against non-Japanese belief systems. 

Yet, some Christian ideas and practices, particularly surrounding weddings and Christmas, are not only accepted but are now hugely popular. 

In fact, many Japanese girls love and cherish and dream about getting married in a chapel wearing a white dress with traditional Christian liturgy. 

And while the idea of celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ and the incarnation of the God himself has not caught on, there has been a growing trend for other festive ideas such as Christmas trees, gift-giving, decorations as well as eating traditional Christmas foods such as Kentucky Fried Chicken. 

Say what? Or as the Japanese would say, 'honto ni'? (really?) 

KFC? At Christmas? 

That's right. In fact, it is so popular that not only can you pre-order your 'Christmas chicken', but that if you don’t pre-order you could easily wait up to 2 hours to lick your fingers, or for better or worse, miss out all together. Many KFC stores sell out of chicken at Christmas. 

Say what? Honto ni? 

That’s right, despite the vast pools of oil being put into overdrive, many stores cannot cope with the demand and while there may be room at the KFC inn, there is unfortunately no chicken (leaving some people to consider whether they should start lickin other people's fingers) 

But this entire scenario raises three very important questions: 

Firstly, the philosophical one, namely, is KFC still KFC without any chicken, and do those stores that run out, like a no vacancy hotel, have to turn out the 'C' light to indicate its chickenless status? 

Secondly, there is the medical question, namely, what are the health implications for an entire society binging on fried chicken in a 24 hour period? 

And thirdly, the sociological one, that is, why is going to KFC considered an appropriate date night on Christmas Eve, when in almost every other country that KFC operates, even the suggestion of taking someone to KFC for Christmas would not impress your date, but most likely leave you dateless. 

Unfortunately I don't know the answer to those three questions but I do know how it all started, that is, Japanese people eating KFC at Christmas. 

But before I get to the real reason for this phenomenon, I recently asked all of my Japanese friends and here are 5 actual responses I got to the question "Why do Japanese people eat KFC at Christmas?": 

1. Because that's what Americans eat for Christmas 
2. Because that's what non-Japanese eat for Christmas 
3. Because chicken tastes like turkey and that's what you eat for Christmas 
4. Because that's where my girlfriend wants me to take her 
5. Because that's what we do at Christmas, don't you? 

While such answers may or may not be representative of an entire country, the actual reason is because of a wildly successful advertising campaign which began in 1974, with an amazingly simple but powerful slogan - "Kurisumasu ni wa Kentakki" - Kentucky for Christmas, or loosely translated, Christmas equals Kentucky. 

In the 1970s, this phrase, along with a bit of adverstising dollar, managed to convince Japanese people that they should have a bucket of Chicken for Christmas, (not Turkey, which is a virtually non-existent meat in Japan). 

I'm lead to believe that in 1974 the first Christmas and wine meal deal was offered for about 10 dollars. It is now close to four times that price at approximately 3880 Yen but is rumoured to include cake and champagne, in addition to your 'christmas chicken'. 

So that means that this year, 2014, is the 40 year anniversary. And while there is really no need for any further marketing or advertising, as there is an entire generation (perhaps even two) who already know that Christmas means Kentucky, they still do. That is, almost every year there is a huge KFC campaign, complete with a countdown to Christmas, and a few major pop cultural figures dancing with a drumstick, wiggling with a few crispy wings, or generally looking like they are enjoying that good ole finger lickin fried chicken. 

Have you ever been in Japan at Christmas time? Did you have KFC? If so, please leave a comment below.

Publisher: Daily - 9:35 AM

Where is the best coffee in Tokyo? Omotesando Koffee

On a small backstreet near the posh part of Omotesando, there is an old house with a converted room where one man stands and makes the best coffee in Tokyo. The small see through sign just outside the entrance whispers its name, when in my view it should be shouted to the world.

The charm of Omotesando Koffee cannot be understated - this cafe is a Tokyo highlight not to be missed - especially if you like coffee.

I still remember the first time I visited and the difficulties of finding it as I wandered around the alleys and laneways behind Omotesando Hills. There was a slight drizzle (not dissimilar to the coffee pour), which made the joy of recognising the sign, which was not really a sign at all, but merely a sign holder, even greater.

I stepped into the small square courtyard, which was complete with manicured stones, rocks and pebbles (as if someone had specifically selected, cleaned and placed each one), and admired the cherry blossom tree, which could have easily been a plum blossom tree, I'm not sure. However I looked right and saw a man (or what I thought was a man) in a white labcoat standing completely motionless staring at a espresso machine.

I took the two steps up into the cube like room. The white coated man still motionless, although I saw a doorway with a hanging curtain to my left and several bonsais to my right. I stepped towards the counter and almost robotically the man turned to face me and said "Irrashaimase" - Welcome.

"Konnichiwa", I said.

A slight bow from him. An awkward bow from me

"One coffee please", I said in my most polite Japanese.

"Hai" from him as he pointed to the minimalist menu.

"A cappuccino, please".

"Hai" he responded, before turning back to face his partner again, the espresso machine, as if I had somehow interrupted their time together. And given the way he then proceeded to delicately and lovingly make my coffee, I started to believe that I had.

I have seen plenty of baristas in action before, but never one with this much attention to detail. Everything had a place, every action was necessary, every motion required. I wasn't just getting a coffee, I was watching a performance, a true artisan at work.

But when ordering a coffee, who really cares if it is made by George Clooney in an academy award winning performance, or if Nicky Minaj is twerking and singing in the background, or if the Japanese barista was giving me the history of the Edo period through interpretative dance. Who cares about any of these things if the coffee tastes like dishwater.

As the Bible says, "If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love or the ability to make a good coffee, I am a noisy grouphead or a clanging pressure gauge. If I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains of coffee beans, but have not love or the ability to make a good coffee, I am nothing."

Well, in this case, he had love. Not only was the room in which the coffee was made incredibly beautiful in its minimalism, not only was the performance of the white coated labman exquisite, not only was there a perfect latte art pattern on the top of the milk froth, but the coffee was extraordinary.

The taste of the coffee was anything but minimal, and finding this place was worth every lost step. The perfect accompaniment to the coffee was a flawlessly cubed baked custard, which was the only food item for sale - crunchy and caramelised on the outside, sweet custard on the inside.

Do I recommend Omotesando Koffee to others?

If it is not already obvoius, mochiron (of course). I cannot espresso how much I love this place. You should go there, if not for the coffee, at least for the experience.

Opening Hours: 10:00am-7:00pm
Address in English: 4-15-3 Jingumae, Shibuya, Tokyo Prefecture 150-0001, Japan

Web: http://ooo-koffee.com/menu/

Publisher: Daily - 10:40 PM

How do you get free Wifi at Starbucks (スターバックス) in Japan?

There are now more than 1000 Starbucks stores in Japan. And at many (if not most) of them you can get high speed Wireless Internet for free. But there's a catch: a small but ironic catch, namely, you cannot use the free wifi at Starbucks to register for the free wifi at Starbucks. I'm not quite sure why they do this, but it simply means that you either need to register prior to sipping your soy latte, or have your own source of Internet to register at the store. 

So do you want to get free Wifi at Starbucks? (or Sutābakkusu as they say in Japanese) Follow my very easy four step program and free Wifi will be yours!

Step 1 - Go to this website (Free Wifi at Starbucks) and enter an email address and a password of your choice (keep it short and simple so you can remember it, such as 'Tokyo', or 'Japan', or 'stillhavenoideahowtobowlikethejapanese'). But be careful as the passwords are case sensitive (my password of 'japan' was continually corrected by my iPhone to 'Japan' thus temporarily preventing my access). 

Step 2 - Check your inbox after approximately 3 minutes and 18 seconds (give or take a few hours) and you should receive a provisional registration email. Your mission, if you choose to accept it, is to click on the link provided within 24 hours (if you fail within this time, repeat step 1 for another provisional registration email). 

Step 3 - Go to a Japanese Starbucks store (or Sutāba, スターバ for short), if you are not already in one, and connect to "at_STARBUCKS_Wi2". 

Step 4. Open a web browser and enter the your email address and password and voilà (insert relevant Japanese word) - high speed wireless internet for free! 

You can now enjoy your grande vanilla skinny cappucino (or whatever it is you order) while getting Wifi at Starbuck's expense. 

If you found this post helpful, why not comment below or share it with others. Or even better why not let us know what you think is the best Starbucks in Japan.

Publisher: Daily - 11:31 PM

What if I told you, there's more to Japanese food than sushi

like Soba, Takoyaki, onigiri, mochi, udon, ramen, okonomiyaki, curry rice, yakitori, yakiniku, oden, pan, anpan, omu-raisu, tonkatsu, shabu-shabu, karaage, edamame, tempura, gyudon, sukiyaki, kakigori, gyoza, dango, teriyaki, natto, 

Please leave a comment if you can think of any others.

Publisher: Daily - 12:30 AM

Have you ever seen a square watermelon?

Well now you have.

Can you guess where they are from? Leave a comment if you know. Publisher: Daily - 9:24 PM

What is the best ramen in Tokyo? Mutekiya, Ikebukuro

The word muteki in Japanese means invincible, unrivalled or unchallenged. Mutekiya (無敵家) literally means the unbeatable store. A little bold compared to the humble way in which the rest of Japan operates?  Well there’s a reason for it: quite simply it is – unbeatable. Mutekiya Ramen in Ikebukuro is by far and away the best Ramen in Tokyo (if not the world).

Our family has a rule when travelling and that is to never go back to the same restaurant twice. This ensures that we get to eat at the most number of restaurants possible while at the same time a chance to explore different areas of any particular city. In all my travels all over the world, I have only ever broken this rule once - I have been to Mutekiya more than 5 times. What Babe Ruth is to Baseball or Tiger Woods is to Golf, Mutekiya is to Ramen.

So what makes Mutekiya so good? Simple – the broth, the pork, the eggs, the noodles, the toppings and the price. It is nothing more than traditional pork bone tonkotsu broth, but you can see from the before and after photos how much I enjoyed the meal. While I accept that perhaps other Ramen stores may beat Mutekiya on a single item, such as the eggs at Aoba, Nakano, or the noodles at Nagi, Shinjuku, for an overall bowl, Mutekiya is a long way ahead. So much so that if I ever return to Tokyo, which I hope I will, the very first thing I will do, is not a visit to Tsukiji's fish market, nor the shops of Ginza, or the Karaoke in Shibuya, the very first thing I will do is head to Ikebukuro for a bowl of noodles at Mutekiya.

The only thing one could possible complain about at Mutekiya is the long lines (you would be lucky to get one of the eighteen seats in less the 20 minutes). But in my view this is part of the preparation – time to think, pray, love, salivate or whatever else you want to do before you eat. And when you get inside you can add garlic or spice to the broth if you want, order some gyoza if you feel like it, eat the noodles with a knife and fork for all I care. Because in my view Mutekiya is the best place to eat in Tokyo - in one word - unbeatable.

Do you agree? Disagree? Have you been there? Let me know by leaving a comment.

Opening Hours: 10:30am-4am

Address in English: 1-17-1 Minami-Ikebukuro, Toshima-ku, (Ikebukuro Station East Exit)

Address in Japanese: 東京都豊島区南池袋1-17-1崎本ビル1F

Web: http://www.mutekiya.com/

Publisher: Daily - 5:51 AM