握り寿司 Nigirizushi

Three years after my first trip to Tokyo I had the pleasure and honour to visit "my personal master of sushi ceremonies" (= the best sushi chef I know) in his little restaurant again.

Unfortunately I do not know (= can't read) his name nor the name of his restaurant in Ota-ku, Tokyo-City, not far away from Omori station.

With the support of Sapphire I now know the restaurant's name: SUKEROKU.
Thanks for your help, Sapphire!

Here's the building (called twin building) where the sushi restaurant is situated in the fifth floor.

So end of August 2012 I had the pleasure to taste his great pieces of nigirizushi (which is what the world today knows as "sushi") again.

Certainly my Japanese blog fellows are able to read the menu board. For me it was just an enigma, but fortunately my Japanese colleagues ordered for me.

Did you spot the picture postcard from Rothenburg bottom left!? ;-)

I suppose the name of the sushi restaurant is written on the paper cover of the chopsticks. Can anybody translate it for me??? The shrimps obviously are the distinctive feature of the restaurant!?

Isn't this starter a gastronomical piece of poetry??? 

 

As far as I can remember the pieces of nigirizushi coming next are according the right order of courses.

Unfortunately I'm no expert for Japanese food culture at all. 

So please accept my apologies not knowing the correct names of the pieces of sushi.

But maybe I get support from an expert??? ;-)

Looks like salmon? --> sake (鮭) ???

--> maguro (鮪): tuna !!!

(Thanks, Yoko!)

What I was able to see is that the order of courses changes between a red piece of fish or shells and whitefish.

No idea what type of fishes I got next...

The alignment of the grains of rice is the same like the structure of the fish or shell.

Coincidence or masterpiece!?

The little green dot is Wasabi, isn't it? ;-)

This little masterpiece the sushi chef made especially for me. It was made from a kind of miniature leek, but I'm not absolutely sure about this.

As a present for my host I had some postcards from Rothenburg painted by the Japanese artist Eichii Takeyama.

 

Thank you very much for this great meal and evening,

dear host and dear Japanese colleagues!

Musashi --> 634

Standing underneath Tokyo SkyTree,

standing underneath the new 634.0 meters needle into the Tokyo sky.

The height of 634 m was selected to be easily remembered. The figures 6 (mu), 3 (sa), 4 (shi) stand for "Musashi", an old name of the region where the Tokyo Skytree stands.

Unfortunately I didn't get a chance to climb the observation platform of Tokyo Skytree (minimum four hours of waiting time), but I had the luck to get sight on Tokyo's new landmark from different angle of views.

New and old Tokyo skycrapers.

Sensō-ji, the ancient  Buddhist temple in Asakusa, with its five-story pagoda right of the Skytree in the background.

Tokyo Bay boat tour with a view on Tokyo Skytree to the front...

...and to the back.

High towers triptych...

...with Japanese admirer! ;-)

--> free of charge 360° view from Tokyo Skytree

*** HERE ***

Shibuya fireworks of lights

Probably Japan's most famous street crossing, seen from the 24th floor of my hotel:

Shibuya crossing, Tokyo

 25 September 2012, 6:49 pm

Same place, different perspective,
four days later, 6:27 pm.


Shots like this you find in plenty on the internet,
so I tried to capture a different style of Shibuya crossing lights.

My interpretation of Shibuya crossing in the evening.

Enjoy.
My.
Fireworks.
Of.
Lights.

The end.

Men on hands

Tokyo break dancer under the Shinjuku skyscrapers.

Mode Gakuen Cocoon Tower (left), full moon (middle) and Sompo Japan Building (right)
- the backdrop and venue for (one group) of the Tokyo street and break dancers.

Kenji K. - art illustrator and free spirit

Aerialists / dominators of airspace whereever you look...;-)

One of two Frenchmen who hung around and breakdanced with the Tokyo boyz.

Boyz in motion.

 What a great time and experience hanging around with the artistical and fantastic Tokyo street dancers and their guests under Sompo Japan Building. Thank you / Arigato gozaimasu, boyz!