KodoGuru2 Ep9: Drama Notes

[earth_colors]

Ep. 8: "

Eating At the Office After Visiting Sunamachi-Ginza Shopping District

, Koto Ward"

Episode Synopsis. On a particularly busy day, Inogashira is in Sunamachi, Koto Ward, meeting up with one client after another. Despite his heavy schedule, he still finds time to help out a lovely client with a sprained ankle in setting up things in her coffee shop. He also takes a break inside a Samurai-themed cafe called "Coffee Dojyo Samurai," where he encounters a fascinatingly somewhat bumbling kind of customer. After his meetings were done, he still has more work to do and decides to buy some take-out food to eat at his office. He goes back to a shopping district which he spotted earlier in the day, the Sunamachi-Ginza Shopping District. There, he drifts from one store to the next, basking in the sights and aroma of their hot and ready-to-eat street food delights...
(info and pic: tvtokyo)


Drama Notes:

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Featured Eateries: Sunamachi-Ginza Shopping District [砂町銀座商店街] Address: Kitasuna, Koto Ward, Tokyo How to get there: Ride a Toei bus from any of the surrounding stations and get off at 2-Chome or 7-Chome Kitasuna More pix and info: gotokyo (map) More info below		Featured Sweets Shop: Coffee Dojyo Samurai [珈琲道場 侍] Address: 2nd F Watanebe Bldg., 6-57-22 Kameido, Koto Ward, Tokyo Tel. no: 03-3638-4003 Nearest Station: 1 min walk from East Exit of JR Kameido Station More pix and info: tabelog (map)

Sunamachi-Ginza Shopping District. Acc. to Walk-Tokyo, this is "one of Tokyo's best shotengais (traditional shopping streets) but is relatively unknown to tourists. It runs for over half a kilometre and is a bustling, lively area full of local people going about their daily business..." Not only food shops are found here but clothes shops, liquor stores, greengrocers, izakayas, etc. as well. It stretches from Meiji Dori (Street) at the west end to Maruhachi Street at the east end.
(info: walk-tokyo, ja.wiki) (more pics: blog.yahoo)

Miyamoto Musashi and Sasaki Kojiro. Two of Japan's legendary swordsmen who fought their famous duel on April 13, 1612. Sasaki lost to Musashi, suffering broken ribs and a punctured lung, leading to his death. The duel took place in Ganryu-jima, an island near Shimoneseki. Goro, meanwhile, deliberately gave the wrong answer "Tageshima" which is another island located further south of Japan.
(info: wiki) (pic: panoramio)

"Kawaii Sakanaya-san." A children's song first released in 1937. It means "Cute Fish-seller," denoting an image of a boy carrying a shoulder pole, and selling seafood. To watch cute kids dance to this song here's a clip.
(info: ja.wiki)

Yoshida Rui. The host of the travelogue show, "Yoshida Rui no Sakaba Hourou Ki" (BS-TBS) or "Rui Yoshida's Pub Wanderings Chronicles" [吉田類の酒場放浪記]. Yoshida is an artist, poet and liquor enthusiast. In his 15 min. show, he visits Tokyo's izakayas and snack joints, tries out their drinks and food and interacts with shopkeepers, clerks, and customers.
(info: ja.wiki) (pic: epstein)

Chikuwabu. What Qusumi ate in this episode is called "chikuwabu," a type of chikuwa (fish paste broiled or steamed around a stick) with jagged shape looking like a gear, made with wheat gluten.

(info: wiki) (pic: lo-olv)

Eating at the office. This episode is based on Chapter 15 of the manga wherein Goro-san had to work late at his office and went out to buy food from a convenience store. Above pic is what he bought, drawn by Taniguchi Jiro. There are other chapters in the manga wherein he is shown not eating inside a food establishment. For example, he bought wiener curry rice from a vendor and ate it while watching a baseball game inside a stadium; he purchased a bento lunch so he could have something to eat during a long ride inside a shinkansen; in a park, he ate a katsu sandwich he bought in Akihabara; and in a special chapter, he was also shown eating hospital food while recuperating from an injured back incurred from an accident while lifting boxes of goods in his storeroom.
(info: ja.wiki)

"Land, sea and sky... I've covered it all." Goro-san's line may be a reference to Koto Ward's geographical location. Most of its land is a reclaimed area, and can be accessed by land, sea and air (Tokyo Heliport). It is flanked on both sides by rivers: Sumida River to the west and Arakawa River to the east. To the north is Sumida Ward, and on its south is Tokyo Bay.
(info and pic: wiki)

Featured Food Stores. Here are some of the shops (above, from left to right) Goro-san and Qusumi-san visited in this episode:

1) Takezawa Shoten [竹沢商店] (1st Pic above). Yakitori shop where Goro bought pork and beef stew.
Address: 40-11, 4-chome, Kitasuna, Koto Ward Tel No: 03-5634-3248
Info/pix: tabelog (map)

2) Asariya-san [あさり屋さん] (2nd Pic above). Asari clams and tempura shop where Goro bought Asari Rice and Stewed Pumpkin.
Address: 25-5, 4-chome, Kitasuna, Koto Ward Tel No: 03-6666-0481
Info/pix: tabelog (map)

3) Masuei Kamaboko-ten [増英蒲鉾店] (3rd Pic above). Oden shop where Goro bought Chuukaage and Shumai Roll; and Qusumi ordered Chikuwa.
Address: 9-9, 4-chome, Kitasuna, Koto Ward Tel No: 03-3644-5347
Info/pix: tabelog, blogs.yahoo (map)

4) Torimitsu [鳥光] (4th Pic above). Yakitori shop where Qusumi bought Shamo skin on a stick.
Address: 38-14, 3-chome, Kitasuna, Koto Ward Tel No: 03-3645-1637
Info/pix: sunamachi, sasamory (map)

5) Tedzukuri no Mise Sakai [手作りの店 さかい] (5th Pic above). Cutlet shop where Goro bought minced tuna cutlet.
Address: 1-33, 5-chome, Kitasuna, Koto Ward Tel No: 03-3646-5670
Info/pix: sunamachi, mono-log (map)

6) Yoshida-ya [吉田屋] (6th Pic above). Oden shop where Goro bought daikon.
Address: 18-14, 4-chome, Kitasuna, Koto Ward Tel No: 03-3645-1840
Info/pix: tabelog, blogs.yahoo (map)