japan :: tokyo :: general

[djrajio]

my humble opinion?

pure crap.

way overpriced branded basics still trying to milk whatever is left of the whole skull & bones motif that was popular several years ago.

to say mastermind's designer is actually a designer is pure bullshit.

the only reason I can think the label is still around is because there continues to be enough smucks willing to spend away their hard earned money on some idealized notion of what luxury street is.

doubt I would ever consider it a legitimate fashion brand.

its just branding.

[conqueror]

yeah, i've always thought the skull and bones logo they plaster on everything is real tacky/generic. looks like some shit you would wear when you're 14 because you think you're a badass.

[Erakez]

I just bought some dirt cheap Jetstar tickets Sydney-Tokyo in July. Was thinking of spending a few days in the Fuji five lakes area. Anyone know some decent accommodation choices?

I'm staying at Granbell Shibuya, and everything that looks decent at Fuji seems to be double the price.

[djrajio]

btw, yoyogi koen was PACKED for hanami this year. cellphone service was practically useless.

[dismalfuture]

They're selling MMJ-branded apartments up in Higashiazabu, lol. Naturally, they're 1LDKs about the right size for a lonely guy with a slightly larger clothing collection than normal, and then maybe a parking space for the Swarovski skull crusted Hummer or something. lol

[raddy]

btw, yoyogi koen was PACKED for hanami this year. cellphone service was practically useless.

You didn't go at 5am? I'm actually kinda pissed at myself for never having been around for hanami; I miss it every year.

@dismal -- what? you don't want this as your room? I didn't realize mmj was shutting down -- I also never really thought of it as a streetwear brand; I thought it was punk-rock for 30+ wealthy a la chrome hearts.

The prices of those units don't look that high really... though I still can't understand the Japan real estate market in the slightest.

[djrajio]

Tehnically doesn't look to be in Azabu Juban but Higashi Azabu.

Units are sooo small.

The biggest unit is only 66 square meters and its only a 2LDK?!

[DaBestSpoona]

66 is pretty normal for lower Manhattan 2 bedroom 1 baths. Where are prices?

[djrajio]

most of the units are only 1R 23-25 sq meters.

I think for a 66 sq mtr, you'd want a 1LDK.

I'd wager prices would actually be market rates 170,000-300,000.

[DaBestSpoona]

I'm living in a 725 sq foot(67sq meter) 2br now. Its okay as long as I dont have more than 1 kid. I would kill for a outdoor space like a 400 sqft balcony or roof deck. 170,000-300,000USD or Yen(monthly)?

[djrajio]

170,000 - 300,000 YEN per month.

so roughly 2000-3000 per month USD.

for around azabu that sounds about right for 25-40 sq meter newly built apartment.

mind you, this apartment complex IS NOT IN AZABU JUBAN, its in higashi-azabu so you won't be paying the Azabu premium though they probably are compensating that with the Mastermind branding and likely it might be furnished.

back in the day (2005-2007) I paid 170,000 for a 31 sq meter 1R in higashi-azabu.

[bentobox]

Kudanshita from the Chiyoda park side was perfect on Saturday.

Nakameguro on Sunday was a complete mob scene.

[djrajio]

dj bento not sure if you heard but there was a serious accident at Feria last Friday.

A friend of mine and he's boys ordered flamming B-52's last Friday night and apparently the bartender spilled the alcohol on my friend and lit him and his friend on fire.

Half his body is burned and he's unconscious in the ICU.

Don't know what will happen to Feria but pretty sure it was open last weekend...

[djrajio]

Here's an official article regarding the accident:

http://www.yomiuri.c...-OYT1T00449.htm

looks like the alcohol spilled on the table, spreading the fire and catching the guys on fire.

so messed up.

I was drinking w/ him last Monday too

Edited April 9, 2012 by djrajio

[Enaml]

btw, yoyogi koen was PACKED for hanami this year. cellphone service was practically useless.

when were you there? I was there in the early afternoon.

[djrajio]

afternoon on Sunday.

[shirokon]

visiting tokyo again. haven't been back since end of '10. hitting up kyoto for the first time. hoping to get some updated recommendations on food. current list of places to hit up (been to all previously but narutomi & dompierre)

blacows - wagyu burgers

menya kissou (麺屋 å‰å·¦å³) - tsukemen

unasho in yodo-akiba - unagi

narutomi (close to Tsukiji-shijo station) - soba

hidemi sugino - dessert

Kyobashi domPierre - japanese beef curry

sushi? i went to sushi dai at tsukiji last time but I'm looking for something better without a 1.5 hour wait. thinking of splurging at sushi mizutani or Sukiyabashi Jiro Ginza. (worried about jiro because i don't speak fluent japanese to make a reservation and i hear the ambiance is sub-par along with rice that has above average amounts of vinegar). i'm only hitting up 1 sushi joint this entire trip so if you have any recommendations, fire away.

if there are any notable restaurants that fit the bill for any of the specific foods listed above, let me know.

also, any must-see/do/eat in kyoto? only there for 2 days. thanks

Edited April 10, 2012 by shirokon

[dismalfuture]

I'm living in a 725 sq foot(67sq meter) 2br now. Its okay as long as I dont have more than 1 kid. I would kill for a outdoor space like a 400 sqft balcony or roof deck. 170,000-300,000USD or Yen(monthly)?

a deck like that doesn't happen in the nice parts of Tokyo unless you spend like several milli to start and get a proper house. I have like 60m^3'ish and the standard hankerchief-sized balcony. I can go out there and smoke but I can't really move side to side or anything, lol. 170,000-300,000 in Azabu is about right but I think prices are down a little bit nowadays and they're doing what they can to get people to rent, so it may not be on the month to month, rather 0 key money or something that gives you a savings over time and at move-in. I think my apartment is through Ken Corp and they waived the key money and larger deposit, and only asked a month's rent of me when I moved in. Felt pretty good, since we came from Korea and they want $10K to start across the board. I just don't like paying my Azabu rent, lol.

Edited April 10, 2012 by dismalfuture

[dismalfuture]

visiting tokyo again. haven't been back since end of '10. hitting up kyoto for the first time. hoping to get some updated recommendations on food. current list of places to hit up (been to all previously but nozomi & dompierre)

blacows - wagyu burgers

menya kissou (麺屋 å‰å·¦å³) - tsukemen

unasho in yodo-akiba - unagi

narutomi (close to Tsukiji-shijo station) - soba

hidemi sugino - dessert

Kyobashi domPierre - japanese beef curry

sushi? i went to sushi dai at tsukiji last time but I'm looking for something better without a 1.5 hour wait. thinking of splurging at sushi mizutani or Sukiyabashi Jiro Ginza. (worried about jiro because i don't speak fluent japanese to make a reservation and i hear the ambiance is sub-par along with rice that has above average amounts of vinegar). i'm only hitting up 1 sushi joint this entire trip so if you have any recommendations, fire away.

if there are any notable restaurants that fit the bill for any of the specific foods listed above, let me know.

also, any must-see/do/eat in kyoto? only there for 2 days. thanks

there's plenty of sushi around, Jiro is probably hype more than anything. Unless you have some incredibly discerning palate for sushi and food in general you'd probably be nearly as happy with the $40 lunch standard sushi at Kyubey. There's lots of sushi around Azabu where the atmosphere is more relaxed, they pair wine, and the fish all comes from the same place, try Taku in Nishiazabu. Likewise, there is tons of soba, no need to really go out of your way for standards like this, there's good places everywhere. The differential is very small between the good places that sit at high spots on Tabelog.

[herpsky]

and we've all established that tabelog is pretty unreliable

that tsukemen place in ikejiri â€Men-ya warito" is apparently super good.

and I wouldn't trust ANY restaurant in Akihabara yodobashi. THey are all chain restaurants. None of them is terrible but they are mediocre at best.

Sushi in tsukiji jyonai kinda sucks. I rarely eat sushi since I can't really apprecaite the delicate taste of raw fish and

most sushi restaurants have really bad "cost performance." I really enjoyed sushi in Kanazawa / Hokuriku area though. Seafood in that part of Japan is next next next level IMO.

[djrajio]

Agree on the accounts that Sushi from high end restuarants are a poor cost performance since the palate of the typical foreigner wouldn't be able to discern the difference. There are ton of great sushi restaurants in Tokyo for more reasonable prices and without the hype. This whole Jiro sushi hype trend is really getting annoying. I've already had two other friends ask me if Jiro is worth the money and how they could get reservations and I frankly just laughed. That said, I prefer Ryugin in Roppongi but they do sushi with a slightly Chinese-bent to it which is pretty cool: http://www.nihonryori-ryugin.com/

[djrajio]

I just don't like paying my Azabu rent, lol.

Minami-Azabu is pretty reasonable compared to Azabu-Juban. You are basically paying for the address. Though even now, Azabu Juban isn't as bad as when I first starting working in Japan in 2005 during the pre-Lehman days when rent was ridiculously high.

[dismalfuture]

and we've all established that tabelog is pretty unreliable

Depends on the genre, IMO - there is a lot of hype and fast risers of course, but much was made in the news earlier in the year about Tabelog doing pay to play, which should be apparent; just like any other food rating site it had a bunch of sponsored links above the actual ratings. I don't think the locomi are affected.

You have to take those sites and reviews with a grain of salt but I think the average Japanese online food reviewer has a better understanding of food, dining culture, etc than someone on, say, yelp. I won't say a lot, but some amount. The reviews and pictures, the menus with prices, they're reasonably helpful. Yelp has devolved to Californian-Asian rappers doing rap reviews of sandwich shops hoping to snag KAG ass online. Tabelog is a lot of info to take in at once but it's more reliable day to day than the red book. I don't know about ramen but if you're eating food from a competitive genre like sushi, French, neo-French and fusion, Italian, kappou, these places all serve what are basically the same ingredients everywhere - after all, Japan is tiny and the number of domestically grown things and imports from acceptable foreign countries is actually kind of small. The quality level is very tight, the skill level is very tight. Things get dicey if you try to go for Indian food or something like that, but I think tabelog is helpful if you're about to lay out the wallet on a mid-high priced meal. The reviewers are fairly honest and the aggregate scores represent some kind of fair valuation in relation to all the others one might consider simultaneously.

[shirokon]

thanks for all the info! i'll definitely try and squeeze in some of the recommendations and save my money on jiro and go for something else. i'd say i have an above-average appreciation for food compared to the average north american but would probably not be able to appreciate the minute differences between the very good and excellent restaurants.

directed more to drew: i know you talked about curry awhile back and your recipe, but does domPierre satisfy (if you've tried) or would you suggest anywhere else for my curry fix? Also, TOJ leather overkill at night early May?

Edited April 10, 2012 by shirokon

[DaBestSpoona]

When did Ryugin start serving sushi? I went a long time ago when they were more molecular and doing shit like QR code silk screened miso sauces on plates.

As for sushi, Jiro is pretty overhyped, I never bothered, tried getting Mizutani reservations a few times but never got one.

My local sushi place's head chef gives his customers a tokyo list:

here is a jpg of it

http://www.flickr.com/photos/cheeryvisage/6489321073/

[dismalfuture]

that list is dope, these guys have a lot of friends and good stories to tell, if they're good peoples they host well, I feel like that list probably gets you into situations like that if you tell them such and such sent you. I talk to this old guy who has gone everywhere to do sushi since the 70's with the masters, cooked French, etc, he has some hilarious stories.

thanks for all the info! i'll definitely try and squeeze in some of the recommendations and save my money on jiro and go for something else. i'd say i have an above-average appreciation for food compared to the average north american but would probably not be able to appreciate the minute differences between the very good and excellent restaurants.

directed more to drew: i know you talked about curry awhile back and your recipe, but does domPierre satisfy (if you've tried) or would you suggest anywhere else for my curry fix? Also, TOJ leather overkill at night early May?

Curry is everywhere man, I like going to the youshokuya that look like store design never happened because the shop started before fancy interiors came into vogue, and they just kept cooking through the decades. There's places like that everywhere, just little neighborhood restaurants. A lot of them have signs in engrish and are called 'Restaurant (japanese surname)' or something like that.

If you come across a place with plastic food in front or a menu with pictures, look for things like beef stew, hayashi rice, omurice served with a demiglace-based sauce rather than the dollop of ketchup - curry rice is based on roux but better curry rice is founded on demiglace sauce from fonds de veau as the basic sauce they keep cooking forever, so if they have demiglace or demiglace-based items on the menu then they're likely to make that silken, luxuriant curry rice that has more dimension than just roux and spice.

Early May will be kinda warm I guess, you could wear a leather jacket if it's the first week of May but by the third week or so you might get a bit warm. The month will start pretty mild and then get to about 75F in the days mid-month.

Edited April 10, 2012 by dismalfuture

[djrajio]

Mizutani is good. But I've never gone privately. Only for business. My boss basically goes every month.

[Statham_Race]

If you've got a sweet tooth go to Aoki and Toshi Y-somethingorother, both in Midtown, Roppongi. Sugino is good but a pain in the ass for various reasons. These two are just as good plus they are within 2 minutes of each other (same complex).

In Kyoto, I liked the Garden Oriental a lot. It's Italian food but the place run by Japanese. I suppose I'd describe the whole experience as truly international and of a very high standard in all respects. Great, food, service, localtion (old town, beautiful at night), etc and not wildly expensive (20,000 yen for two people, 3 courses each, a decent bottle of red).

As much as I enjoy Japan, after a while you start to miss international service and sensibilities, etc and this was a welcome break. Of course if you're just in town for a week or two you might want all that Japanese softly, softly stuff.

[herpsky]

i'm obsessed with japanese teishoku and B級グルメ type of stuff these days.

TOPS has really amazing curry and chocolate cakes. The novelty wears off after a couple of visits though.

[mis]

thanks for all the info! i'll definitely try and squeeze in some of the recommendations and save my money on jiro and go for something else. i'd say i have an above-average appreciation for food compared to the average north american but would probably not be able to appreciate the minute differences between the very good and excellent restaurants. directed more to drew: i know you talked about curry awhile back and your recipe, but does domPierre satisfy (if you've tried) or would you suggest anywhere else for my curry fix? Also, TOJ leather overkill at night early May?

When will you be in tokyo? I had a reservation for Mizutani but I just cancelled it based on some of the reviews Ive read(place is like a graveyard?), and I dont speak Japanese so that could be awkward.

Decided to just do Kanesaka and probably spread the cash out to other meals. I have a reservation at Ryugin and I have high hopes for an amazing meal