Since it was near, I decided to visit Sunosaki Shrine again.
Their ginkgo trees were golden leaved.
And there was something new there. This is Suzaki Shrine. I'm guessing that this little purple dragon is Tama-chan. There is also something else about a treasure or jewels. I'm guessing the black ball in the front is a reference to that.
Except for the yellow ginkgo leaves and the Pokemon looking dragon, everything else was the same as my first visit.
The Shinto Inari shrines also looked festive with their banners.
It really is a ferocious looking komainu.
They even have Tama-chan ema.
Heading back to the station I saw the Kawashima Flower Shop was still in business and looking very verdant and lush.
My last stop was at the waterway where I had seen all the beautiful early blooming sakura back in March.
Not quite the same feeling, but some of the trees were showing autumn color.
Morning in Ikebukuro. Not the best view but being able to see above the tops of buildings in Tokyo, that is pretty nice.
So this adventure was back to a place I had been before. Once again I saw the Oyoko River
Why so out of the way to a place that in November doesn't have much to see? Because someone mentioned South Indian Curry. Which made me want to try it. A search came up with a place in Kiba. Not this place.
That place. That tiny sign up there. For Tandoor Bar Kamalpur. Although it sometimes gets translated into Kamarupool...
Which is actually on the first floor, with the front door at the corner of the building. Inside, you get to eat with Indian gods. Like many restaurants in Japan, it's a very small place.
I should explain a little. Because the wait staff does not speak English and there is not an English menu. The chefs do but don't usually converse with customers. But to make it easier for anyone wanted to try to eat here, I went for lunch. And there are only three items for lunch. Mild lentil curry, medium heat chicken curry, and if I remember correctly, spicy hot keema curry. I do think you can add items like naan bread with cheese, kulcha. If you go for lunch, just ask for lentil, chicken or the third hot curry. The third curry may be different at times since I see some people mentioning a dry curry in online reviews.
I went with the lentil curry lunch.
What an amazing taste! There was so much depth to the flavors. I was extremely pleased with this. I remember eating it so fast because it was great. Very happy that I went here.
Even though it was a cloudy day with the possibility of rain, I walked a bit through Kiba.
I keep seeing squirrel statues in Japan.
I will have a little more from Kiba in my next post.
Kamal Pool's address is 3 Chome-20-9, Toyo, Koto City, Tokyo. The closest train station is Kiba Station. It is a short walk from there, but you do have to look a little for the actual door for the restaurant.
And after I posted this I found their website https://kamal-pur.com/lunch.html
With the actual translation of the restaurant name. Google Maps has Kamarupool, in case anyone is trying to find this place.
I realized that to get a feeling for my posts about the restaurant Manmaru, something more is needed. Pick your favorite Beatles song and play it. Or go with "Baby's in Black", which was what I heard while there. Because all Manmaru plays is the Beatles.
I've written about the manga and show "Wakakozake" before. The premise is a woman who enjoys going out alone and drinking and dining. Part of that is she has a favorite little restaurant she likes to visit. I kind of feel that way about Manmaru.
So of course it was the first place I stopped at for dinner on my recent trip. Each time I order sake just so they can overfill their little glass so it runs over and fills the saucer below. It's my Murasaki moment. As to the sake, it's a jumai ginjo that is called "Pick Happiness". I didn't know the name until the lovely server told me.
Something Manmaru specializes in besides unagi is dojo or loach. So I ordered it.
Dojo is a fresh water fish and in November, Manmaru was offering a tempura styled dish served with lemon. It was salty and crispy.
I went with the smaller unagi don set that came with their delicious miso soup and cucumber tsukemono.
Finally I have a good photo of the unagi.
It's fun to find all the eel images in Manmaru. Like this little decorated plate.
I was tired from the long flight but I decided to walk a little. There were a couple things I wanted to buy over on Sunshine 60 Dori. Not wanting to deal with chaotic Ikebukuro Station, I took one of the tunnels that runs under the many train tracks to get to the other side.
This tunnel actually has an official name. We Road, and it's been in the news recently because they have an artist who has been painting the walls and ceiling. I've seen her there a few times, but unfortunately I don't know her name. The colorful walls and ceiling do lighten up the long walk way with the very low ceiling.
I was also looking for a specific restaurant that night. Sometimes locations are not clear on Google Maps. I noticed this SEIBU window display that someone else had posted online. So I had to take a photo.
I also couldn't help but noticed the trains in this shop window.
It's MARUZEN, a book and stationary store with a cafe. If you feel like dining with the Haneda Airport and Toshimaen Express Trains, this is the place to do it. MARUZEN is located at 2 Chome-25-5 Minamiikebukuro, Toshima City.
It seems there are a number of fruit parlor cafes in Ikebukuro. This one is Kajitsuen Riberu. The brightly lit store caught my attention. I may visit here in the future. This is located at 1-chōme-19-1 Higashiikebukuro, Toshima City.
Something I definitely wanted to see during this trip were illuminations. I remembered viewing a few back in 2010 and I wanted to see more this time. Ikebukuro's contribution were these lit "trees" along Meiji Dori outside the train station.
I really did not plan this photo. But I like the way it turned out.
And my little purchases. A couple bath salts and hair clips from Tokyu Hands because I forgot my hair clips that I use when bathing. And a couple more bath salts from Tomads. Along with perusing the craft and kitchen sections of Tokyu Hands. Because I like cooking and crafting and it's fun to see what Japan has to offer.
As long as I am able to, I will be traveling to places I want to see. And those where I want to be. So at the end of November, I found myself back at Portland International Airport. Which is rated highly by many. I think because it's one of the more easier to figure out which way to go airports along with the vendors there keeping prices more in line with what is sold outside of the airport. Along with decent places to eat at like Tamale Boy. Breakfast was a Portland bowl without eggs this time.
While watching the planes roll by.
And there's my non-stop flight. Flying on a day before most people fly, it worked out for me.
Up in the air they made an announcement. Because below was Alaska. Without clouds.
Apparently, it's rare when Alaska is visible from the air, like this. Snow covered mountains and frozen glaciers for miles.
Meanwhile, I actually got the meal I wanted. I don't know why airlines are so bad with meal planning, but almost every flight I get stuck with having to eat something I don't want. This time it was miso salmon from Chef Naoko of Shizuka restaurant and MUJI bentos. Wonderful Japanese food at those places. This meal might not have looked like much, but it was delicious. Also I was happy to enjoy those little heirloom tomatoes.
Finally reached my destination. Japan.
More snowy mountains below.
Far away city in Hokkaido. Possibly Kitami.
Goodbye Hokkaido. Maybe one day I will see you from the ground.
And hello Iwate, Honshu.
While I had been remembering the last time I was in Japan at this time, this flight down the coast was a lot like that flight on March 11th, 2011. Kamashi below.
Over Miyagi Prefecture and that's Kesennuma below. Thankfully this time nothing bad was happening below.
Ishinomaki in Miyagi Prefecture. One day I want to explore the northern coast of Honshu. One day.
And after a short time in immigrations and customs and then a short wait for my train, I reached Ikebukuro in Tokyo. While it was early for it to be dark, the nice thing was I could see some illuminations from the train. Including one that isn't mentioned by most websites, but was extremely pretty and I knew I would want to see it. This was the view from my hotel room. Not the most exciting but better than having an office building directly opposite.
