Tokyo’s weather hasn’t been its usual self this year. Normally we get about three months of clear, dry days, but this year it’s snowed a lot and it’s been pretty chilly. So I really didn’t feel like going out, but a singer I’ve liked for years was doing a live show, so I bundled up and headed to Shibuya.
Food first… Shibuya has plenty of famous ramen shops too. Out of them I tried Suzuran, which has apparently been doing really well these past few years. I’d originally wanted to go to a place called Charlie House, but I heard it closed at the end of last year. So sad.
The sign
Take the East Exit of JR Shibuya Station and head around behind Shibuya Police Station, and there it is. It wasn’t hard to find.
A water glass, shot to check the white balance
Whenever I go to a restaurant I almost always take a picture of the water glass to check the white balance. It doesn’t really mean anything ^_^ so I hardly ever post them, but…
There was charcoal in the water.
The water tasted a bit unusual, and when I looked, there was charcoal in it. Seems to be this shop’s own little touch…
The dipping broth for the miso tsukesoba
I ordered it because they said it’s the most famous item on the menu. Its slightly sour taste is what sets it apart.
The noodles
A large portion of noodles is free. They make their own noodles, and for 100 yen more you get their signature wide, flat noodles. Those looked like they’d be even better.
It lived up to its reputation – pretty good. But 850 yen for a basic bowl with no extra toppings feels a bit pricey. I’d have happily paid around 650 yen. For comparison, at its rival Yasubee I got a generous, tasty meal for 680 yen.
Of all the ramen I’ve had so far, Santouka suits my taste best. With something like ramen, personal preference seems to matter much more than any absolute standard of taste. I’ll keep on trying ramen, but I don’t think I’ll easily find a place that beats Santouka.
Well fed, I headed to the cafe where the live show was being held. Maybe because I’d only seen her in photos and was meeting her for the first time today, or maybe because she looked older than back when she was active, I didn’t recognize her at first, but I soon realized it was hal. She sang on her own, playing an acoustic guitar. She opened with “Mukankaku Cyborg”, and I got to hear some new songs too. It was lovely to hear familiar songs again after so long. It felt like I’d been transported to Yangsu-ri.
This is hal.
hal, photo 2
So much noise. Sigh. I can really feel the urge to upgrade my camera. To get clean shots in the dark you need something like a 5D, but a 5D plus two decent prime lenses would cost around 5 million won even at a good price… I don’t know what Sony’s full-frame camera will sell for, but getting lenses for it probably won’t be any easier than for Pentax, so I can’t bring myself to go for it. I wish Pentax would hurry up and make a great model, but it doesn’t look like that’ll happen any time soon… It’s a real shame…