Anohito
May 29, 2007, 22:33
1 Aug 1983 (Mon): I went to lunch early today. Petty Officer X(1) won’t be here this week, so Joe(2) and I must switch lunch periods. In a choice between Chinese and sushi I chose sushi. I splurged–three plates of hamachi [at Genroku Sushi]. Afterward, I went to Saikaya, mainly to buy a bar of chocolate at the Mary Chocolate counter. They didn’t have any, let alone the half-bitter. I consoled myself with some pastry from Pompadour. After work, I wanted to buy notebooks. First, I went into Saikaya, but they don’t have much stationery. They do have the brand of air mail envelopes that I like, though. So, I went to Seiyu. I bought a dark red notebook of this type for daily entries and a slightly different type of notebook that usual for expense entries. It has more lines and I expect to be able to use one page per day. I might have difficulty writing in it with Flair-type pens. From Seiyu I went to Ryu-en for supper, but it was closed, so I could hardly have supper there, now could I. I was reluctant to walk all the way to Kujakuen, so I decided to try the Chinese restaurant where I had the chicken with walnuts. Other than the walnuts (decidedly past their prime), the dish had been good, so I figured the restaurant was worth at least one more try. I had chicken with "brocorry." The wait for it seemed a tad long, but perhaps I was impatient. It was delicious, when it arrived. The portion didn’t seem particularly large at the time, but when I had finished it, I was too full to eat dessert out. Besides, I had pastry waiting for me on base. And so, back to the barracks, where I wasn’t able to do my laundry, as I had hoped I would be able to. Couldn’t do it at all!
(1) The highest-ranking military member (pay grade E-6, First Class Petty Officer) actually working in the office. She was decent enough, for a military careerist, but obviously drank way too much, as was common among military people in general.
(2) Joe was the lowest ranking military member (pay grade E-3, Seaman) actually working in the office. Although married, he went rather often to Tokyo with one of the younger Japanese civilians in the department. From the way Joe talked, it was evident that they were tom-catting around, looking for "girls". Such behavior was also common among military members in general. Petty Officer X, Joe, and I were the only military people actually working in the office. There was also Miss Sakamoto, a (female) Japanese civilian, mentioned in previous entries.
2 Aug 1983 (Tue): Out early again for lunch. Today I had ten shin don at Chuka Hanten. Afterward, I went to the 60 Yen kobanyaki stand, but they didn’t have any kobanyaki. So, I returend to the fruit stand near Chuka Hanten and bought one of the nashi [what are called "Asian pears" in this country] I had seen. It was great!(1) After work, I returned to the fruit shop for a couple more nashi. The nectarines looked over-ripe, so I didn’t buy any. Then into Kangaroo [stationery shop]. The Pigma green pens are too pale for my taste, but I did buy a red and a black. I also saw a notebook I liked, so I bought a pare for daily entries. The next order of business was supper. I was tempted by the Korean restaurant(2), but I wound up at Ryu-En for shredded pork with Chinese pickles(3). I was full and wanted to do laundry anyway, so I didn’t dawdle off base.
(1) I have tried the "Asian pears" since returning to the USA, but they have been uniformly disappointing–watery with little flavor.
(2) The one with the rolling-eyes cow head sign out front near Ryu-En.
(3) Spicy, pickled mustard plant root.
3 Aug 1983 (Wed): So that I would have time for shopping (and because I like sushi), I had lunch at Genroku Sushi. I had intended to buy Chinese food at Saikaya, forgetting that they are closed on Wednesdays. So, I bought groceries at Seiyu. I nearly tried another mango, but at the checkout counter I saw that it looked spoiled around the stem, so it was most likely bad inside. I didn’t buy it. I did buy some nectarines. They look like they will need to sit & ripen for a day or two. I also bought a green bean variant of the spinach/sesame dish. This was the only new item I had for supper [it was a duty day], and it was excellent.
4 Aug 1983 (Thu): Gurabatei is on the way to the Post Office [out in town, not on base]. I wanted to go to the Post Office anyway, and Gurabatei has good lunches, so... There was a new item there, yaki niku don. It makes a very tasty lunch (it’s pork, not beef). At the P.O., the postal clerk folded over and taped my envelope so it would be within the size limitations for regular mail, and I only paid 60 Yen for the stamp. Normally, I would go out of town after a duty day, but it is so hot that I might not feel like making a train trip after work. I didn’t! I was too tired. I still hadn’t tried Fujiya’s teriyaki chicken no barbeque, so to Fujiya for supper. They had it this time, and it’s very good. I didn’t have dessert out, but bought a "mix cake" at Fujiya. I also bought a can of Vivo plum nectar (?!) on the way back to the barracks.
5 Aug 1983 (Fri): I didn’t go out for lunch. There were things I wanted to do on base, so while at the Mini-Mart for a newspaper, I also bought a can of deviled ham and then had sandwiches in my room. I also exchanged Dollars at the bank, since I needed to change at least $150 and the Club Alliance has a $50 limit. When I returned to the office, I discovered that I would be required to play messenger. That was undoubtedly Chipmunk Cheeks’s was of spiting me for not attending the party(1). LT *****(2) told me I could leave after the 1500 message run. It was just as well–I was exhausted. I finally put the letters and cards in the mail. I walked all the way to Chuo Station, which may not have been a good idea, carrying two bags in this heat. I would have taken the tokkyu (regular express), but there were no seats. The kaiso tokkyu (high-speed express) was coming along in five minutes and if I had to stand, I might as well take the train that would get me there quicker. I thought I’d have to stand on the k.t., but I managed to squeeze into a seat. Since I was in Tokyo relatively early, I decided to shop and have supper before checking in at the hotel. First, I bought a carton of milk at Mitsukoshi. Then I went to get supper. I wasn’t in a mood for searching around for someplace to strike my fancy (at the time, I didn’t have a fancy to be struck). I quickly determined that Japanese food was quite acceptable, so I went into Core. The Osaka cuisine restaurant had more than one worthwhile dinner, so I chose one with tenpura, sashimi, and chawan mushi. It made a satisfying meal, even though I must acknowledge that the places in Yokohama are better, to be objective. I then investigated the display case of a snack shop on B1, but it only had ordinary desserts at high prices. On going back to the subway station, I saw that Mitsukoshi was still open (B1 & B2 are open until 1900), so I went in to take a look at Tropical Sun. Even though they only had the blended juices left, I didn’t feel like going further and had a strawberry juice. In actuality, it was a worthwhile stop, because I noticed that the fruit shop had the Philippine finger bananas, and I bought a bunch. Then to Kimuraya for pastry and afterward to the hotel for the rest of the evening.
(1) I don’t remember what party it was that I didn’t attend. "Chipmunk Cheeks" was the assistant department head, from his habit of puffing out his cheeks for no apparent reason. He was a jerk.
(2) The department head. It might seem unkind to refer to him as a ***** considering that he let me leave early, but he too was a jerk, although not as bad as Chipmunk Cheeks. One time he asserted that civilians were inherently inferior to military people because civilians don’t have "discipline" and that sort of thing. The underlings in the office where I worked were amused by the "flower arrangement" he got once a week for 600 Yen.
6 Aug 1983 (Sat): As I have done before, I took the Tozai line to Otemachi and walked to the Central Post Office. As I have also done before, I didn’t take into account the lack of sidewalks along the most direct route. This time, instead of descending I walked around by the station. Having bought stamps, I proceeded to the Tourist Information Center for a Tour Companion. This time, I also took a Weekender. It has an article about Godzilla movies that may interest Mother. While pondering the question "Where to have lunch?", it occurred to me that I had never eaten in the Ginza Ginza Cozy Corner. It opens at 1000, but I doubt that they start serving lunch until 1100. I ordered the paella, but the waitress said something about the time. I didn’t know if she meant it was too early for the paella or it would take a long time to prepare (probably the latter). I ordered the risotto instead. It is rather like a large doria with more insides [meat, vegetables, etc.]. Anyway, it was excellent. The "cake" was one of the mini-tarts, but after the large risotto (and salad), I wasn’t expecting a large dessert. The coffee was stronger than dirt and very good. From there, I walked (it seemed excessive to take the subway) to the Kabukiza and bought a ticket for the evening Shochiku Kageki Dan(1) show. Returning on foot to Ginza, I took the subway to Shibuya, where I went to the Tokyo Chess Center for books I can use in my forthcoming postal games. Since I had already spent so much money, it seemed advisable to return to the hotel before going out again to the Kabukiza. But first, a snack. I stopped in a building I had seen along the way to the Tokyo Chess Center. It seemed to have a variety of restaurants, etc. On the 2F, I found "Balcony Oui", where I had a very tasty Swiss yogurt. Then back to the hotel to examine my purchases. I also had the last two "mushi keki" [steam cakes] and two more sesame donuts, so I wouldn’t get too hungry before the show ended. And in fact I only had a cup of coffee at intermission. As much as I enjoyed the SKD show at Sunshine Theater [in sunshine City in Ikebukuro], it was good to see them in a large theater again. They made use of all the featrues of the stage and theater, including a double hanamichi and the wire & pulley. They made a neat twist on the latter device, using it for a "flying entrance" rather than a "flying exit"(2). I missed a fair amount of what was happening in the "My Girl" section, but I could follow the basic events well enough. The sequence with the "dolls" was chilling. As is usual, straightforward revue is the SKD’s forte, and the "Revue on Review" section was the most consistently impressive. They finally did make use of the double hanamichi for line dancing, but they teased us a little first. Afterward, the Korean restaurant was the place to have supper(3). Hageten’s sign says they are open until 2130, but I guess "last orders" are at 2100. Anyway, I had the tongue-yaki this time and it was delicious. Then, back to the hotel(4).
(1) I could have sworn that the SKD had been disbanded, because for a while, I could find no indication that it was operating. Maybe I was mistaken, or maybe it had been disbanded, but has been revived. For a while now (about a year?), there has been an SKD web site at http://skd.hmc6.net/index0.html. I notice that there is mention of two performances in July 2006.
(2) I don’t recall ever seeing a kabuki play with a "flying entrance", but surely there are plays that incorporate a "flying entrance."
(3) I don’t recall ever learning the name of this restaurant, but it was in Ginza 3- or 2-Chome between Chuo Dori and Sotobori Dori.
(4) This was probably the Kayabacho Pearl Hotel (still in existence). I stayed in other hotels so seldom that I would most likely have remarked on it, had I been staying in another hotel.
7 Aug 1983 (Sun): After checking out of the hotel, I went to Ginza Station and stashed my bag in a coin locker. Since I hadn’t made any notes yesterday, it seemed advisable to get me hence to a coffee shop where I could sit, sip, and write. I’m now in Cafe Marche in B2 at Mitsukoshi, finishing a Mocha. It’s still just a shade early for my lunch. I fiddled around for a while in Mitsukoshi, looking at the restaurants in B3 (there are some appetizing things in the Meiji restaurant), etc. At about 1110, I went back up to B2 for lunch at Otto’s Grill. I have been meaning to eat there for some time now, and finally did it. I had the cabbage rolls, pea soup, and apple strudel. It was all very good, particularly the German potato salad that came with the cabbage rolls. I’m now on my way to the Ota Memorial Museum. I forgot to buy a newspaper in Ginza Station. Another excellent exhibition at the OMM. They had a catalog, and I bought one. It doesn’t include the paintings and woodblock prints featuring fans, but it does cover a subject (fans) that is not covered by my other catalogs. [?? perhaps in text] From there back to Mitsukoshi Ginza, where I bought a jar of instant coffee and a can of pumpkin soup (I may not need the soup right away, but it will keep). I was finally able to buy a newspaper. Although it was still relatively early, I returned to Yokosuka, since anything that would enable me to stay in Tokyo would cost more money. That appears to be a good time of day to return to Yokosuka. The trains weren’t too crowded. I took my bags back to the barracks and did some chess research before going out for supper. In my wanderings, I found myself near the Hotel Centraza [now the Central Hotel]. I saw a sign saying "Central Mall" and decided to take a look. In the basement they have restaurants! I chose the tenpura-ya and had what may well be the best tenpura teishoku in town. There are other interesting restaurants I’ll try on subsequent days. Afterward, I was too full for dessert out. I had already spent enough money anyway.
8 Aug 1983 (Mon): Lunch at Genroku Sushi today. Once again, I had three plates of hamachi. Yum! This time Saikaya was open, so I went in and bought a couple of items at the Chinese food counter. I also bought a couple of gomoku inari for supper and a bottle of juice for the office. The squid was good, but hadn’t heated thoroughly. I must remember that in the future. The chicken with cashews had heated thoroughly though, and was very good. The inari was a bit much after the rich food. [It seems a little odd that I didn’t say anything about why I had supper in the barracks rather than out in town.]
9 Aug 1983 (Tue): Lunch was katsu-kare at San-Ei. On the way back to base I tried a can of Vivo grapefruit juice. It was pretty good. After work, I looked at tea and coffee cups. The large pottery/glassware shop’s prices are a trifle high. The small shop only has some small cups(1). However, I found some possible purchases in Seiyu. Then, to Central Mall for supper at Petite Tomato. I hate to criticize the Italian salad, since it was large for the price and the vegetables were fresh, but they use mediocre cheese(2). The first couple bites of the canneloni were bland, but that was because I was dipping into the cream sauce. After I mixed it up a bit, it was excellent. I was too full for dessert out. I bought donuts at Mr. Donut on the way back to base.
(1) Both of these shops were on Chuo O-dori.
(2) They used cheap processed cheese, which is an all-too common failing of restaurants in the USA, too.
10 Aug 1983 (Wed): I had lunch at Genroku Sushi today. On the way out, I stopped at the A-33 Post Office, which delayed me, so I didn’t reach Odakicho until after 1200. There was a seat in Genroku Sushi and I ate there as much to avoid looking for someplace else as anything. For dessert, I had a cup of lemon sherbet from Fujiya. It’s not great sherbet, but it’s refreshing. On my way out to supper, I was momentarily tempted by the idea of eating in Kujakuen, but it wasn’t an irresistible temptation, so I continued to Central Mall, where I chose the Russian restaurant, Hi no Tori(1), for supper. I had the B course, which features lamb shashlik. All the other sets seem to include borscht, and I think this one did also, but I didn’t see or taste any beets in the soup, which was excellent. The whole meal was delicious and much cheaper than I would get in Tokyo or even Yokohama. The service was attentive almost to the point of being embarrassing. Once again, I got a little "presento" when I paid the bill. I wanted to do laundry and/or go to the Mini-Mart this evening, so I returned to base right after supper. I wasn’t able to go to the Mini-Mart, but I did get to the laundry room before anyone else did, and so was able to do my laundry easily enough.
Î Or, Firebird–think Stravinsky.
11 Aug 1983 (Thu): The jackasses next door(1) performed a classic immediately pre-lunch message dump, so I didn’t go out for lunch, but went over to the Navy Exchange. I had some fruit in my room. After work, the first thing I did was buy some coffee sugar at Saikaya. Then, to Shindo for a jo fillet katsu. Afterward, I still had a little room in which to cram dessert, so I tried Four Seasons at Central Mall. The almond/chocolate pancake was delicious! Then back to the barracks.
(1) Not the department head, but next door on the other side, the non-clerical types, where "Chipmunk Cheeks", worked. And let us not forget "Sam the Sham" (another careerist, a Chief Petty Officer who seemed determined to fit the stereotype of a hot-tempered Irish booze hound). These people obviously held back work that needed doing until just before lunch. Even the career-designated Petty Officer X did not disagree with us when Joe and I voiced this aloud.
12 Aug 1983 (Fri): Since I needed to return to the office between lunch and the CAPO(1) meeting, I ate at Genroku Sushi to save time. The meeting was a waste of time, but what could one expect of Chief Smurf?(2) During the day, my marking pen ran dry, so the first order of business after work was buying a replacement. I bought one at the small stationery store on Chuo O-dori, Shinagawa, and another type at Saikaya. In trying to decide whether to return to Central Mall or go to Ryu-En, I eventually chose Ryu-En. While perusing the menu, I decided to splurge today, so I ordered the abalone with "biled prok". It was excellent. That put me perilously close to my budget limit, so I forthwith returned to the barracks, forgetting to stop in the Mini-Mart to look for a paper.
(1) Command Administrative Petty Officer - the type of watches I was standing at this time.
(2) The senior enlisted person in the Commander, Fleet Activities Yokosuka (or Commander, US Naval Base Yokosuka) Admin Office.
13 Aug 1983 (Sat): Off to Tokyo, though I doubt that I’ll spend the whole afternoon there. I tried the on base/off base mailing experiment again, this time providing detailed instructions to Mother. In the station, I determined to buy a handkerchief as well as a newspaper. I’‘m not sure the one I bought was intended as a man’s handkerchief, being a bright pastel blue, but it is of absorbent terrycloth and large-ish, so I will use it. In fact, I’m likely to buy more to use as spares. I bought a Daily Yomiuri at Chuo Station and will buy the Japan Times at Shinagawa when I transfer to the Yamanote Line to Yurakucho. Having obtained the Tour Companion at the Tourist Information Center and determined that the exhibition I wanted to see was still at the Suntory Museum of Art, I headed for Red Hill Checkpoint(1). During an excellent lunch at the dim sum Chinese restaurant, I had the idea of returning after the exhibition for goodies to eat during my duty day tomorrow. After seeing an outstanding exhibition at the Suntory Museum of Art (Art Nouveau and Ch’ien Lung Glass–no postcards, but I bought a catalog), I stopped at Rosenheim for a snack (Wiener Eisbacher–yum!) And then returned to the yum cha-ya(2) for goodies. I wanted to get my uniform from the base laundry, so that meant it was time for me to return to Yokosuka. I returned directly to the base. I suppose I did have time to do some shopping in town, but I didn’t want to dawdle. Having obtained my uniform and relaxed for a while at the barracks, I set out for more food and for supper. I did my food shopping at Seiyu. After examining what they had to offer, I chose a couple items I hadn’t yet tried. In actuality, four, but only two were bought specifically for my duty day. Then to Hi no Tori, where I had a delicious oxtail stew/pilaf dinner, with the yogurt/black currant jam dessert as a presento(3). Very nice place. Oh, yes, I bought another handkerchief (white, for use in uniform) on the way back to Yokosuka. And so, back to the barracks.
(1) My translation of Akasaka Mitsuke. The literal meaning of "saka" seems to be "slope", but that doesn’t always sound idiomatic in English. "Red Slope Checkpoint"?? I don’t think so. However, one might translate Osaka as "The Great Slope".
(2) Yum cha is the term used in japan, rather than dim sum.
(3) In retrospect, it has occurred to me that the woman–about my age--who took orders and brought them to the tables (it wasn’t a large restaurant at all) may very well have been attracted to me. However, I was nearly always oblivious to such considerations.
14 Aug 1983 (Sun): Ugh! An exhausting duty day. The manju [manju?] and pastries from the yum cha-ya are excellent. The tori niku dango [chicken meat dumplings] were mediocre, but not actually unpleasant. The ebi korokke [shrimp croquettes] were slightly better. The cheese and salami stuffed fishcake pieces weren’t good, more because of the cheap cheese and salami than because of the fishcake. There isn’t much to the tamago pan [egg bread], but it’s pleasant.
15 Aug 1983 (Mon): Because of having duty [my "duty day" didn’t actually end until this morning] and the rain, I wasn’t able to bring civilian clothes to work today. By the time I reached the office, my whites were in ruins, so I couldn’t have worn them out even if I had wanted to. Therefore, I went to my room at lunch time and ate leftovers and the can of pumpkin soup. The second Commissary nashi [Asian pear] had no taste at all. The nectarines were quite good. I did bring civilian clothes (I even remembered the shoes) back to the office from lunch, so I’ll be able to go off base for supper, although I don’t think I’ll go to Yokohama. This weather is likely to last until Wednesday(1). That means I won’t have an opportunity to buy more handkerchiefs unless I want to go out of town in the rain, which isn’t likely. After work I looked for the "towel" handkerchiefs. I finally found the main section with handkerchiefs and they had some which were actually made of toweling, but they all had designer names and symbols on them. I had trouble finding handkerchiefs in Seiyu and on my way out I found a display with gauze & "towel" handkerchiefs. They only had them in packages of five and I didn’t want ten (5 blue & 5 white), so I bought a pack with blue, white, yellow, lavender, & green. I can send the last two to Mother. Then to supper. I was headed for Pinocchio, but changed my mind and went to the the other "Italian" restaurant at Central Mall. The restaurant was closed, but Saint Verain was open, so I tried it. Their prices are on the high side of moderate, but the food is excellent. The turtle consomme actually tasted like turtle soup. The green salad was small, but had fresh mushrooms [Japanese]. The entree, chicken sauteed with apples & fresh mushrooms, was something new to me and quite well done. The dessert was small (raspberry "parfait" cake), but delicious. It’s not a restaurant to which I’ll go often, but it’s worth a return trip when I want a relatively fancy (French) meal. On the way back to the base, I looked at the arcade fruit shop, but wasn’t overly impressed by their nashi or nectarines. I did buy a couple of nashi at the fruit shop down the side street from Genroku Sushi. And so, back to the barracks.
(1) This sort of extended rain would have been unusual for August, so there must have been a typhoon passing close enough to give the Tokyo area lots of rain.
(1) The highest-ranking military member (pay grade E-6, First Class Petty Officer) actually working in the office. She was decent enough, for a military careerist, but obviously drank way too much, as was common among military people in general.
(2) Joe was the lowest ranking military member (pay grade E-3, Seaman) actually working in the office. Although married, he went rather often to Tokyo with one of the younger Japanese civilians in the department. From the way Joe talked, it was evident that they were tom-catting around, looking for "girls". Such behavior was also common among military members in general. Petty Officer X, Joe, and I were the only military people actually working in the office. There was also Miss Sakamoto, a (female) Japanese civilian, mentioned in previous entries.
2 Aug 1983 (Tue): Out early again for lunch. Today I had ten shin don at Chuka Hanten. Afterward, I went to the 60 Yen kobanyaki stand, but they didn’t have any kobanyaki. So, I returend to the fruit stand near Chuka Hanten and bought one of the nashi [what are called "Asian pears" in this country] I had seen. It was great!(1) After work, I returned to the fruit shop for a couple more nashi. The nectarines looked over-ripe, so I didn’t buy any. Then into Kangaroo [stationery shop]. The Pigma green pens are too pale for my taste, but I did buy a red and a black. I also saw a notebook I liked, so I bought a pare for daily entries. The next order of business was supper. I was tempted by the Korean restaurant(2), but I wound up at Ryu-En for shredded pork with Chinese pickles(3). I was full and wanted to do laundry anyway, so I didn’t dawdle off base.
(1) I have tried the "Asian pears" since returning to the USA, but they have been uniformly disappointing–watery with little flavor.
(2) The one with the rolling-eyes cow head sign out front near Ryu-En.
(3) Spicy, pickled mustard plant root.
3 Aug 1983 (Wed): So that I would have time for shopping (and because I like sushi), I had lunch at Genroku Sushi. I had intended to buy Chinese food at Saikaya, forgetting that they are closed on Wednesdays. So, I bought groceries at Seiyu. I nearly tried another mango, but at the checkout counter I saw that it looked spoiled around the stem, so it was most likely bad inside. I didn’t buy it. I did buy some nectarines. They look like they will need to sit & ripen for a day or two. I also bought a green bean variant of the spinach/sesame dish. This was the only new item I had for supper [it was a duty day], and it was excellent.
4 Aug 1983 (Thu): Gurabatei is on the way to the Post Office [out in town, not on base]. I wanted to go to the Post Office anyway, and Gurabatei has good lunches, so... There was a new item there, yaki niku don. It makes a very tasty lunch (it’s pork, not beef). At the P.O., the postal clerk folded over and taped my envelope so it would be within the size limitations for regular mail, and I only paid 60 Yen for the stamp. Normally, I would go out of town after a duty day, but it is so hot that I might not feel like making a train trip after work. I didn’t! I was too tired. I still hadn’t tried Fujiya’s teriyaki chicken no barbeque, so to Fujiya for supper. They had it this time, and it’s very good. I didn’t have dessert out, but bought a "mix cake" at Fujiya. I also bought a can of Vivo plum nectar (?!) on the way back to the barracks.
5 Aug 1983 (Fri): I didn’t go out for lunch. There were things I wanted to do on base, so while at the Mini-Mart for a newspaper, I also bought a can of deviled ham and then had sandwiches in my room. I also exchanged Dollars at the bank, since I needed to change at least $150 and the Club Alliance has a $50 limit. When I returned to the office, I discovered that I would be required to play messenger. That was undoubtedly Chipmunk Cheeks’s was of spiting me for not attending the party(1). LT *****(2) told me I could leave after the 1500 message run. It was just as well–I was exhausted. I finally put the letters and cards in the mail. I walked all the way to Chuo Station, which may not have been a good idea, carrying two bags in this heat. I would have taken the tokkyu (regular express), but there were no seats. The kaiso tokkyu (high-speed express) was coming along in five minutes and if I had to stand, I might as well take the train that would get me there quicker. I thought I’d have to stand on the k.t., but I managed to squeeze into a seat. Since I was in Tokyo relatively early, I decided to shop and have supper before checking in at the hotel. First, I bought a carton of milk at Mitsukoshi. Then I went to get supper. I wasn’t in a mood for searching around for someplace to strike my fancy (at the time, I didn’t have a fancy to be struck). I quickly determined that Japanese food was quite acceptable, so I went into Core. The Osaka cuisine restaurant had more than one worthwhile dinner, so I chose one with tenpura, sashimi, and chawan mushi. It made a satisfying meal, even though I must acknowledge that the places in Yokohama are better, to be objective. I then investigated the display case of a snack shop on B1, but it only had ordinary desserts at high prices. On going back to the subway station, I saw that Mitsukoshi was still open (B1 & B2 are open until 1900), so I went in to take a look at Tropical Sun. Even though they only had the blended juices left, I didn’t feel like going further and had a strawberry juice. In actuality, it was a worthwhile stop, because I noticed that the fruit shop had the Philippine finger bananas, and I bought a bunch. Then to Kimuraya for pastry and afterward to the hotel for the rest of the evening.
(1) I don’t remember what party it was that I didn’t attend. "Chipmunk Cheeks" was the assistant department head, from his habit of puffing out his cheeks for no apparent reason. He was a jerk.
(2) The department head. It might seem unkind to refer to him as a ***** considering that he let me leave early, but he too was a jerk, although not as bad as Chipmunk Cheeks. One time he asserted that civilians were inherently inferior to military people because civilians don’t have "discipline" and that sort of thing. The underlings in the office where I worked were amused by the "flower arrangement" he got once a week for 600 Yen.
6 Aug 1983 (Sat): As I have done before, I took the Tozai line to Otemachi and walked to the Central Post Office. As I have also done before, I didn’t take into account the lack of sidewalks along the most direct route. This time, instead of descending I walked around by the station. Having bought stamps, I proceeded to the Tourist Information Center for a Tour Companion. This time, I also took a Weekender. It has an article about Godzilla movies that may interest Mother. While pondering the question "Where to have lunch?", it occurred to me that I had never eaten in the Ginza Ginza Cozy Corner. It opens at 1000, but I doubt that they start serving lunch until 1100. I ordered the paella, but the waitress said something about the time. I didn’t know if she meant it was too early for the paella or it would take a long time to prepare (probably the latter). I ordered the risotto instead. It is rather like a large doria with more insides [meat, vegetables, etc.]. Anyway, it was excellent. The "cake" was one of the mini-tarts, but after the large risotto (and salad), I wasn’t expecting a large dessert. The coffee was stronger than dirt and very good. From there, I walked (it seemed excessive to take the subway) to the Kabukiza and bought a ticket for the evening Shochiku Kageki Dan(1) show. Returning on foot to Ginza, I took the subway to Shibuya, where I went to the Tokyo Chess Center for books I can use in my forthcoming postal games. Since I had already spent so much money, it seemed advisable to return to the hotel before going out again to the Kabukiza. But first, a snack. I stopped in a building I had seen along the way to the Tokyo Chess Center. It seemed to have a variety of restaurants, etc. On the 2F, I found "Balcony Oui", where I had a very tasty Swiss yogurt. Then back to the hotel to examine my purchases. I also had the last two "mushi keki" [steam cakes] and two more sesame donuts, so I wouldn’t get too hungry before the show ended. And in fact I only had a cup of coffee at intermission. As much as I enjoyed the SKD show at Sunshine Theater [in sunshine City in Ikebukuro], it was good to see them in a large theater again. They made use of all the featrues of the stage and theater, including a double hanamichi and the wire & pulley. They made a neat twist on the latter device, using it for a "flying entrance" rather than a "flying exit"(2). I missed a fair amount of what was happening in the "My Girl" section, but I could follow the basic events well enough. The sequence with the "dolls" was chilling. As is usual, straightforward revue is the SKD’s forte, and the "Revue on Review" section was the most consistently impressive. They finally did make use of the double hanamichi for line dancing, but they teased us a little first. Afterward, the Korean restaurant was the place to have supper(3). Hageten’s sign says they are open until 2130, but I guess "last orders" are at 2100. Anyway, I had the tongue-yaki this time and it was delicious. Then, back to the hotel(4).
(1) I could have sworn that the SKD had been disbanded, because for a while, I could find no indication that it was operating. Maybe I was mistaken, or maybe it had been disbanded, but has been revived. For a while now (about a year?), there has been an SKD web site at http://skd.hmc6.net/index0.html. I notice that there is mention of two performances in July 2006.
(2) I don’t recall ever seeing a kabuki play with a "flying entrance", but surely there are plays that incorporate a "flying entrance."
(3) I don’t recall ever learning the name of this restaurant, but it was in Ginza 3- or 2-Chome between Chuo Dori and Sotobori Dori.
(4) This was probably the Kayabacho Pearl Hotel (still in existence). I stayed in other hotels so seldom that I would most likely have remarked on it, had I been staying in another hotel.
7 Aug 1983 (Sun): After checking out of the hotel, I went to Ginza Station and stashed my bag in a coin locker. Since I hadn’t made any notes yesterday, it seemed advisable to get me hence to a coffee shop where I could sit, sip, and write. I’m now in Cafe Marche in B2 at Mitsukoshi, finishing a Mocha. It’s still just a shade early for my lunch. I fiddled around for a while in Mitsukoshi, looking at the restaurants in B3 (there are some appetizing things in the Meiji restaurant), etc. At about 1110, I went back up to B2 for lunch at Otto’s Grill. I have been meaning to eat there for some time now, and finally did it. I had the cabbage rolls, pea soup, and apple strudel. It was all very good, particularly the German potato salad that came with the cabbage rolls. I’m now on my way to the Ota Memorial Museum. I forgot to buy a newspaper in Ginza Station. Another excellent exhibition at the OMM. They had a catalog, and I bought one. It doesn’t include the paintings and woodblock prints featuring fans, but it does cover a subject (fans) that is not covered by my other catalogs. [?? perhaps in text] From there back to Mitsukoshi Ginza, where I bought a jar of instant coffee and a can of pumpkin soup (I may not need the soup right away, but it will keep). I was finally able to buy a newspaper. Although it was still relatively early, I returned to Yokosuka, since anything that would enable me to stay in Tokyo would cost more money. That appears to be a good time of day to return to Yokosuka. The trains weren’t too crowded. I took my bags back to the barracks and did some chess research before going out for supper. In my wanderings, I found myself near the Hotel Centraza [now the Central Hotel]. I saw a sign saying "Central Mall" and decided to take a look. In the basement they have restaurants! I chose the tenpura-ya and had what may well be the best tenpura teishoku in town. There are other interesting restaurants I’ll try on subsequent days. Afterward, I was too full for dessert out. I had already spent enough money anyway.
8 Aug 1983 (Mon): Lunch at Genroku Sushi today. Once again, I had three plates of hamachi. Yum! This time Saikaya was open, so I went in and bought a couple of items at the Chinese food counter. I also bought a couple of gomoku inari for supper and a bottle of juice for the office. The squid was good, but hadn’t heated thoroughly. I must remember that in the future. The chicken with cashews had heated thoroughly though, and was very good. The inari was a bit much after the rich food. [It seems a little odd that I didn’t say anything about why I had supper in the barracks rather than out in town.]
9 Aug 1983 (Tue): Lunch was katsu-kare at San-Ei. On the way back to base I tried a can of Vivo grapefruit juice. It was pretty good. After work, I looked at tea and coffee cups. The large pottery/glassware shop’s prices are a trifle high. The small shop only has some small cups(1). However, I found some possible purchases in Seiyu. Then, to Central Mall for supper at Petite Tomato. I hate to criticize the Italian salad, since it was large for the price and the vegetables were fresh, but they use mediocre cheese(2). The first couple bites of the canneloni were bland, but that was because I was dipping into the cream sauce. After I mixed it up a bit, it was excellent. I was too full for dessert out. I bought donuts at Mr. Donut on the way back to base.
(1) Both of these shops were on Chuo O-dori.
(2) They used cheap processed cheese, which is an all-too common failing of restaurants in the USA, too.
10 Aug 1983 (Wed): I had lunch at Genroku Sushi today. On the way out, I stopped at the A-33 Post Office, which delayed me, so I didn’t reach Odakicho until after 1200. There was a seat in Genroku Sushi and I ate there as much to avoid looking for someplace else as anything. For dessert, I had a cup of lemon sherbet from Fujiya. It’s not great sherbet, but it’s refreshing. On my way out to supper, I was momentarily tempted by the idea of eating in Kujakuen, but it wasn’t an irresistible temptation, so I continued to Central Mall, where I chose the Russian restaurant, Hi no Tori(1), for supper. I had the B course, which features lamb shashlik. All the other sets seem to include borscht, and I think this one did also, but I didn’t see or taste any beets in the soup, which was excellent. The whole meal was delicious and much cheaper than I would get in Tokyo or even Yokohama. The service was attentive almost to the point of being embarrassing. Once again, I got a little "presento" when I paid the bill. I wanted to do laundry and/or go to the Mini-Mart this evening, so I returned to base right after supper. I wasn’t able to go to the Mini-Mart, but I did get to the laundry room before anyone else did, and so was able to do my laundry easily enough.
Î Or, Firebird–think Stravinsky.
11 Aug 1983 (Thu): The jackasses next door(1) performed a classic immediately pre-lunch message dump, so I didn’t go out for lunch, but went over to the Navy Exchange. I had some fruit in my room. After work, the first thing I did was buy some coffee sugar at Saikaya. Then, to Shindo for a jo fillet katsu. Afterward, I still had a little room in which to cram dessert, so I tried Four Seasons at Central Mall. The almond/chocolate pancake was delicious! Then back to the barracks.
(1) Not the department head, but next door on the other side, the non-clerical types, where "Chipmunk Cheeks", worked. And let us not forget "Sam the Sham" (another careerist, a Chief Petty Officer who seemed determined to fit the stereotype of a hot-tempered Irish booze hound). These people obviously held back work that needed doing until just before lunch. Even the career-designated Petty Officer X did not disagree with us when Joe and I voiced this aloud.
12 Aug 1983 (Fri): Since I needed to return to the office between lunch and the CAPO(1) meeting, I ate at Genroku Sushi to save time. The meeting was a waste of time, but what could one expect of Chief Smurf?(2) During the day, my marking pen ran dry, so the first order of business after work was buying a replacement. I bought one at the small stationery store on Chuo O-dori, Shinagawa, and another type at Saikaya. In trying to decide whether to return to Central Mall or go to Ryu-En, I eventually chose Ryu-En. While perusing the menu, I decided to splurge today, so I ordered the abalone with "biled prok". It was excellent. That put me perilously close to my budget limit, so I forthwith returned to the barracks, forgetting to stop in the Mini-Mart to look for a paper.
(1) Command Administrative Petty Officer - the type of watches I was standing at this time.
(2) The senior enlisted person in the Commander, Fleet Activities Yokosuka (or Commander, US Naval Base Yokosuka) Admin Office.
13 Aug 1983 (Sat): Off to Tokyo, though I doubt that I’ll spend the whole afternoon there. I tried the on base/off base mailing experiment again, this time providing detailed instructions to Mother. In the station, I determined to buy a handkerchief as well as a newspaper. I’‘m not sure the one I bought was intended as a man’s handkerchief, being a bright pastel blue, but it is of absorbent terrycloth and large-ish, so I will use it. In fact, I’m likely to buy more to use as spares. I bought a Daily Yomiuri at Chuo Station and will buy the Japan Times at Shinagawa when I transfer to the Yamanote Line to Yurakucho. Having obtained the Tour Companion at the Tourist Information Center and determined that the exhibition I wanted to see was still at the Suntory Museum of Art, I headed for Red Hill Checkpoint(1). During an excellent lunch at the dim sum Chinese restaurant, I had the idea of returning after the exhibition for goodies to eat during my duty day tomorrow. After seeing an outstanding exhibition at the Suntory Museum of Art (Art Nouveau and Ch’ien Lung Glass–no postcards, but I bought a catalog), I stopped at Rosenheim for a snack (Wiener Eisbacher–yum!) And then returned to the yum cha-ya(2) for goodies. I wanted to get my uniform from the base laundry, so that meant it was time for me to return to Yokosuka. I returned directly to the base. I suppose I did have time to do some shopping in town, but I didn’t want to dawdle. Having obtained my uniform and relaxed for a while at the barracks, I set out for more food and for supper. I did my food shopping at Seiyu. After examining what they had to offer, I chose a couple items I hadn’t yet tried. In actuality, four, but only two were bought specifically for my duty day. Then to Hi no Tori, where I had a delicious oxtail stew/pilaf dinner, with the yogurt/black currant jam dessert as a presento(3). Very nice place. Oh, yes, I bought another handkerchief (white, for use in uniform) on the way back to Yokosuka. And so, back to the barracks.
(1) My translation of Akasaka Mitsuke. The literal meaning of "saka" seems to be "slope", but that doesn’t always sound idiomatic in English. "Red Slope Checkpoint"?? I don’t think so. However, one might translate Osaka as "The Great Slope".
(2) Yum cha is the term used in japan, rather than dim sum.
(3) In retrospect, it has occurred to me that the woman–about my age--who took orders and brought them to the tables (it wasn’t a large restaurant at all) may very well have been attracted to me. However, I was nearly always oblivious to such considerations.
14 Aug 1983 (Sun): Ugh! An exhausting duty day. The manju [manju?] and pastries from the yum cha-ya are excellent. The tori niku dango [chicken meat dumplings] were mediocre, but not actually unpleasant. The ebi korokke [shrimp croquettes] were slightly better. The cheese and salami stuffed fishcake pieces weren’t good, more because of the cheap cheese and salami than because of the fishcake. There isn’t much to the tamago pan [egg bread], but it’s pleasant.
15 Aug 1983 (Mon): Because of having duty [my "duty day" didn’t actually end until this morning] and the rain, I wasn’t able to bring civilian clothes to work today. By the time I reached the office, my whites were in ruins, so I couldn’t have worn them out even if I had wanted to. Therefore, I went to my room at lunch time and ate leftovers and the can of pumpkin soup. The second Commissary nashi [Asian pear] had no taste at all. The nectarines were quite good. I did bring civilian clothes (I even remembered the shoes) back to the office from lunch, so I’ll be able to go off base for supper, although I don’t think I’ll go to Yokohama. This weather is likely to last until Wednesday(1). That means I won’t have an opportunity to buy more handkerchiefs unless I want to go out of town in the rain, which isn’t likely. After work I looked for the "towel" handkerchiefs. I finally found the main section with handkerchiefs and they had some which were actually made of toweling, but they all had designer names and symbols on them. I had trouble finding handkerchiefs in Seiyu and on my way out I found a display with gauze & "towel" handkerchiefs. They only had them in packages of five and I didn’t want ten (5 blue & 5 white), so I bought a pack with blue, white, yellow, lavender, & green. I can send the last two to Mother. Then to supper. I was headed for Pinocchio, but changed my mind and went to the the other "Italian" restaurant at Central Mall. The restaurant was closed, but Saint Verain was open, so I tried it. Their prices are on the high side of moderate, but the food is excellent. The turtle consomme actually tasted like turtle soup. The green salad was small, but had fresh mushrooms [Japanese]. The entree, chicken sauteed with apples & fresh mushrooms, was something new to me and quite well done. The dessert was small (raspberry "parfait" cake), but delicious. It’s not a restaurant to which I’ll go often, but it’s worth a return trip when I want a relatively fancy (French) meal. On the way back to the base, I looked at the arcade fruit shop, but wasn’t overly impressed by their nashi or nectarines. I did buy a couple of nashi at the fruit shop down the side street from Genroku Sushi. And so, back to the barracks.
(1) This sort of extended rain would have been unusual for August, so there must have been a typhoon passing close enough to give the Tokyo area lots of rain.