Wednesday, December 21, 2011

A Sunday in Winter: Roppongi and Nakameguro

Ah, what have I done, what have I done... the day started out so well... 

On Sunday one of my sharemates, the extraordinarily chirpy Wave-chan, decided we needed to have pancakes for brunch, always a wonderful way to start a day! As she works in a cafe, her cooking skills are sublime. She made miso soup with cream, and I could have seriously eaten 10 more bowls of it.


As per usual, the rest of Sunday was dedicated to another lengthy date with the ever-charming Matcha-kun. After being seduced by the adorable posters featuring Utagawa Kuniyoshi's ukiyo-e, with cats in kimono, children battling fish and other such brightly coloured scenes, we headed over the Mori Art Museum in Roppongi. The exhibit is located on the 50th floor of the sky-scraping Mori Tower, and the lift is so fast that your ears pop! The collection was stunning and immense. We had to loop around to see all the gorgeous prints, with those incredible gradations of colour so typical of Kuniyoshi's work. 

I must admit, this did improve my image of Roppongi considerably. I now realize that I have always exited on the wrong side of the station, and that the Mori side is actually really quite nice! Also, I am quite impressed with the quality of pictures taken with my new keitai.


After gorging on ukiyo-e, things seemed to be proceeding back to the usual pattern of walking around/ chatting/drinking tea... which is all fine and good, but my patience finally gave out. 

And this is where the earlier 'oh, what have I done' part comes in. I may lack delicacy, but I do like to know where I stand, and what Matcha-kun's intentions are... and so on. This may have been a slightly too aggressive, pushy tactic, but I couldn't stand going around in circles. 

After resolving this strange little summit (with Matcha-kun appearing un-fased, if slightly bemused), we moved on to Nakameguro, and the famous Pizzeria da Isa, the restaurant opened by a prize-winning, Neapolitan-trained Japanese pizzaiolo. Which I almost wish wasn't as delicious and authentic an experience as it is, because it has made me a bit homesick. The decor is typical of small pizzerie across Italy: tiled walls, paper table clothes, with photos and bits of kitsch strewn about the walls and ledges. Unassuming and wonderful (the only difference, of course, being the price!).


However, since then contact with Matcha-kun has been a bit odd. He cancelled meeting at my house for lunch on the 23rd. Then he said that going to Yokohama on the 24th would be far too crowded (good point,  and he also has a piano lesson that day) and we have now agreed to meet on the 25th... and now I worry that I freaked him out! Oh dear.

In other news, since apparently a date is out of the question on the 24th, my sharemate T-chan invited me to one of her goukon... 14 v 14! Can you think of a more Japanese way of celebrating Christmas?

14 comments:

  1. I've been following your blog lately and let me just say, I love reading about your budding relationship with Matcha-kun!! Go you for finding out where you stand, if that's what makes you feel good about where things are going then that's exactly what you should have done ! As long as you stay cool I don't think you have to worry about him getting freaked out. But I'll still be looking forward to the goukon story ;) xx

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  2. yum!! all those pictures looks sooooo delicious!!! ive never been to roppongi, i think if i go i will go to the mori side ;)
    goukon sounds like a fabulous way to spend christmas!! have fun!!!

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  3. Hi Natalie, I remember checking out your blog earlier, so much deliciousness!
    I am both looking forward to, and fearing, the goukon. I have never been to one with SO many people~~

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  4. Hi Sarah,
    I must admit I was a touch disappointed not to get a dinner invitation (oh my, am I get getting acculturated or what?) but it should be a laugh ;p

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  5. wow i dont remember the last time i went to a goukon..unless it was to make up numbers
    cos i have been married 11 years LOL

    are u on fb? or twitter? shoot me a contact somewhere. i live in minato-ku and u seem to be this way a lot :D new year meet!

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  6. Hi Yumeko,
    I am on facebook, I will look for a private way to send you the info :)
    I would love to meet up, I am in minato-ku pretty much ever day (w)

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  7. Hi Monica,
    I really, really, really recommend it. Really. ;p

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  8. That pizza looks delicious..! I've been itching for some good Italian food for about a month of so now too ;o;
    Sorry to hear that things have gone a little awkward with Matcha-kun. Hopefully they straighten out soon.. But going out on the 25th, isn't that what all the couples do?? I'm sure it'll be plenty romantic..!♥
    That goukon sounds fun! :D Wish I had gotten to try one of those~~

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  9. Hi Alyse! There is actually one really good Italian place I went to in Osaka...if I remember the name I'll let you know.
    Also, you can still go to goukon, a lot of people with significant others do, as a way of making friends :)

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  10. how fun! :) glad you like roppongi a little more! i think of it as my hood cos i spend so much time there! (grrr... .work!)

    good luck for the goukon!

    p.s. i have a soft spot for matcha-kun!!

    xx

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  11. Hiya! I will probably enjoy Roppongi more when I have a slightly larger salary^^;
    Hehe, Matcha-kun is great, if very hard to read ;p

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  12. I used to hate Roppongi until I started spending time around Midtown and now I like it soooo much more.

    Guys are SO weird sometimes. Before Kenjer I dated this guy who mailed me constantly for days always saying how he wanted to see me and then when we did meet up he was really stand-offish and we had yakiniku and then after he paid I asked if we could take purikura and he was like 'I have to go home!' and then bolted.

    Hopefully Matcha-kun is just thinking about things seriously. But it still sucks being stuck in the dark about where you stand :( I hope things get figured out soon! And omg I can't wait to read about the gokon XD

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  13. Hi Caroline,
    Merry Christmas! I hope you were able to relaz a bit over the 3 day weekend.
    I have now realized that, despite his decent English skills, Matcha-kun is not very attuned to non-Japanese signals. So, as long as both parties say what we are thinking, all is well ;p

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