of laundry, okonomiyaki and crepes

After a well needed nap thursday afternoon we headed to Shimokitazawa, where Marc lives. He was nice enough to offer his washing machine to us as we were in need of some laundry. We had tried to wash some items at the hotel but the laundry service is outrageously expensive - 230 yen per pair of socks, and we would have had to spend over $100 just to get our clothes clean. We also tried washing a few items in the sink at the hotel but there is a lot of humidity in the room and things were still too wet to wear after 2 full days of sitting out. One of the issues that laundry brings is that almost no one owns a dryer. Perhaps it is a space thing or perhaps people like the feel of clothes dried in the open air. The space argument doesn't make too much sense to me since you have to put all of the clothes out to dry and that takes a lot of fricken space. Not to mention the extra time it takes to dry. Once the clothes were washed we hung them up to dry in Marc's room and headed out to get a bite to eat.

Okonomiyaki is an okinawan style food. It is comprised of 2 pancakes that form a sandwich around a mixture of noodles and vegetables and then covered with extras you can order. There was a great little place within walking distance from Marc's apartment. We waited about 10 minutes there and were seated at a table that had a griddle built in. Erica had hers with lettuce and scallops, i had mine with shrimp and garlic, and Marc had his with shrimp and scallions. The food comes mostly cooked and is placed on the griddle in front of you. You get an interesting tool to help eat your meal, it is kind of like a paint scraper, a small blade bent at a slight angle to help cut the food and scrape it off the griddle. This continued the trend that all japanese food is good.

Afterwards we walked to an interesting store in Shimokita called the village vanguard. It is an eclectic grouping of items from books and music to furniture and clothes. Lots of kitsch in this place and it takes a while to just take it all in. My favorite was the music playing in one section of the store. The japanese cover of bob denvers country road. Most of the song was in japanese except for the chorus where the girl sang in english - country road - take me home - to the prace i berong. Classic.

We then took a walk up to one of my favorite places in shimokitazawa, the crazy crepe lady, who lives and works a couple of blocks from Marc's apartment. If this place were in the streets of an american city, i don't think anyone would eat there. It is a simple boot at the end of a street, kind of dingy, with an assortment of disney character toys out front (all pretty dingy themselves). A small screen with disney animation playing and the items available hand written in japanese all over the front of the booth. It has no name, no sign and needs a new coat of paint. Inside is a woman with one eye, a crepe iron and a fridge surrounded by some small walls covered in pictures of kittens.

Despite all of this she makes a mean crepe and japanese people line up outside her booth for hours to get a taste. Making her one of the most famous people in shimokita.

I ordered a crepe with ice cream and my favorite red bean paste. I had to order in japanese as she speaks no english, and she laughed at me as i ordered. Regardless it was well worth it, and i plan on getting at least one more of her crepes before returning to the states.