Monday, February 17, 2014

My Snowy Tokyo Valentine: Valentine in Kagurazaka

Anette 12:12:00 PM Tokyo, Valentines Day, Winter

A few weeks ago we had this year's first snowy day here in Tokyo. I never thought we were going to get so much snow again this spring, but it seems I was really wrong on that.

On Friday it was Valentine's day, and the bars and restaurants must have had pretty expectations of a new sales record this year as well. I suppose this year the Valentine's day came as a big disappointment. It was snowing intensely throughout Friday 14th, and the blizzard continued into the evening. This is one of the sights that met me while I was walking to Kagurazaka on Friday evening:

A golden symbol at a gate to a shrine

It was probably many who had to spend Valentine's day indoors without date that day. I for my part could not have had a better evening. A small blizzard has never stopped a real Viking (haha :3..)! On the contrary, the fact that it snowed so much made it possible for my boyfriend and I to get ourselves a restaurant table even without a reservation. Although I'm personally not a big fan of commercial days such as Valentine's day, I have to say that a Friday evening date without having to face overcrowded premises in Tokyo is never a bad thing. And yeah, all the snow made the day even more special.

Entrance to the restaurant Hajimeno ippo

Enjoying a glass of wine

We ate at a restaurant called Hajimeno Ippo, a restaurant that specializes in dishes with garlic. All their garlic comes from Aomori-ken, which supposedly has Japan's best garlic.

ラブラブ♡

Inside the restaurant. Notice the garlics hanging in the upper left corner.

The kitchen as seen from our table

Of course they have any garlic related food you can imagine, and for dessert we even had a garlic ice-cream.!

Garlic ice-cream

While sitting at the table we couldn't help noticing their funny English on a card placed at out table. It read "I am available at your table accounting" (The Japanese text can be translated as "Please feel free to pay at the table") and "I will only cash settlement indeed without permission" (We are sorry for the inconvenience, but we only accept cash here). Their translation was kinda cute. Before leaving we gave them a note with our translation suggestions, which it seemed like they appreciated a lot.

"I am available at your table accounting" and "I will only cash settlement indeed without permission"

We also visited Kagurazaka's Yebisu bar, where there were hardly any other guests. That is not exactly common on a Friday night; usually you will hardly be able to enter the premises without reservation .. So we really felt we got our money's worth when we could sit down and enjoy a glass of beer without having to deal with the huge crowds. Anyone who has been in an izakaya in Japan also know how lame it is to come home at night with clothes and hair that reek of smoke. That was another thing we totally avoided that night!

A quiet Friday night beer at Yebisu bar.

Not many people to spot in the street either!

The god of fortune and beer, Ebisu.

The way home was somewhat cold and wet, but we were awarded with some great pictures:

A snowy night in Kagurazaka

Let it snow, let it snow..

The gate to the Ushitenjin (牛天神) shrine

A torii at the end of the white staircase

A banner that says "red plum festival" (紅梅まつり)

Plum flowers in bloom and snow

White shrine

A statue covered in snow

The Ushitenjin shrine

Bike-cycles in the snow

Needless to say: it was an awesome Valentines's day.

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About Anette
Anette came to Japan as an exchange student in 2010, met the love of her life and got stuck. From her base in Tokyo she writes about her experiences as a full-time worker in Tokyo and about her travels in Japan and abroad. She's a free-spirited adventurer who enjoys both the great outdoors and her urban lifestyle.