{"id":5544,"date":"2012-09-23T05:12:57","date_gmt":"2012-09-23T12:12:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.i8u.org\/blog\/?p=5544"},"modified":"2012-10-10T19:28:47","modified_gmt":"2012-10-11T02:28:47","slug":"japan-day-4","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.i8u.org\/blog\/?p=5544","title":{"rendered":"Japan Day 4"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The weather was miserable today and even though I spent a lot of time and money getting myself to Japan, I figured I might just hole up again and stay inside. But really, where would the fun be if I did that? I could have gone to an underground shopping arcade, but on a rainy Sunday that just means a hot, humid, packed-with-damp-people experience that I didn&#8217;t want to deal with. But I did wake up early so I puttered around on my computer, did some laundry, and tried to debug my mom&#8217;s computer remotely. None of it went very well.<\/p>\n<p>After sitting in front of the only free washing machine \u2013 one that I was quite familiar with \u2013 and looking at the other three (one was running, and two were sitting with someone&#8217;s clean clothes inside) I realized that I was using the only washing machine that didn&#8217;t have a built-in dryer. My first thought was, &#8220;Holy crap! These washing machines look like they have built-in dryers!&#8221; which was quickly replaced by, &#8220;Why the hell won&#8217;t these people come get their laundry so I can use one of the cool washing machines?&#8221; My bathroom is now strewn with my damp and hopefully drying clothes and my malevolent feelings towards those who can&#8217;t be bothered to properly time their laundry.<\/p>\n<p>I didn&#8217;t want to spend the whole day sitting around hoping that my grumbling would dry my clothes more quickly so I headed to one of the Japanese food places that my sister keeps emailing me about. For Tokyo she&#8217;s sent me articles on one curry place, two burger places (probably in deference to my tastes), and two coffee shops. I&#8217;ve only been to one coffee shop and found where they relocated the curry place, so a burger place was an obvious next choice.<\/p>\n<p>Even better, Fatz&#8217;s Burger was in Koenji, or about a hour&#8217;s walk away. It was too nasty to walk, so I took a quick 10-minute train ride there. The Koenji neighborhood was a big surprise to me as it had a thriving shopping district unlike many spots in outlying areas. For most of Japan, shopping arcades are just a series of shuttered stores and people go to malls to do all their shopping. I guess not in Koenji.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.i8u.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/IMG_1339.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-5546\" title=\"IMG_1339\" src=\"https:\/\/www.i8u.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/IMG_1339-768x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"853\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.i8u.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/IMG_1339-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.i8u.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/IMG_1339-112x150.jpg 112w, https:\/\/www.i8u.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/IMG_1339-225x300.jpg 225w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0Not only were there outdoor stores, but also covered shopping streets as well.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.i8u.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/IMG_1340.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-5547\" title=\"IMG_1340\" src=\"https:\/\/www.i8u.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/IMG_1340-768x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"853\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.i8u.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/IMG_1340-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.i8u.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/IMG_1340-112x150.jpg 112w, https:\/\/www.i8u.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/IMG_1340-225x300.jpg 225w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>I got to Fatz&#8217;s Burger an hour early and had to kill some time walking around looking at the shopping district. I was getting hungry wandering around in the rain, so I went to floresta nature doughnuts. I guess they&#8217;re a chain, but they make uniquely Japanese doughnuts.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.i8u.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/IMG_1338.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-5545\" title=\"IMG_1338\" src=\"https:\/\/www.i8u.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/IMG_1338-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.i8u.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/IMG_1338-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.i8u.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/IMG_1338-150x112.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.i8u.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/IMG_1338-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>I had a green tea doughnut at a table outside. You can&#8217;t see it, but the seat was wet as is the street outside.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.i8u.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/IMG_1341.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-5548\" title=\"IMG_1341\" src=\"https:\/\/www.i8u.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/IMG_1341-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.i8u.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/IMG_1341-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.i8u.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/IMG_1341-150x112.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.i8u.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/IMG_1341-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>I finally made it to <a href=\"http:\/\/fatzs.lolipop.jp\/top.html\">Fatz&#8217;s Burger<\/a> and I was the first customer of the day. They told me that it wouldn&#8217;t be very busy. They even had a supply of Leinenkugel&#8217;s and I guess I know enough Wisconsonites to have heard of it. The beer was pretty good.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.i8u.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/IMG_1343.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-5550\" title=\"IMG_1343\" src=\"https:\/\/www.i8u.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/IMG_1343-768x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"853\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.i8u.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/IMG_1343-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.i8u.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/IMG_1343-112x150.jpg 112w, https:\/\/www.i8u.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/IMG_1343-225x300.jpg 225w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Now onto the burger. I had their monthly special, the &#8220;ABQ&#8221; with Tillamook p<span style=\"color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; text-align: left;\">epperjack cheese (from home!) and fresh mango salsa. I can honestly say that it was one of the best hamburgers I&#8217;ve had. And I ate the burger before I even ordered the beer so that wasn&#8217;t coloring my judgement.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.i8u.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/IMG_1342.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-5549\" title=\"IMG_1342\" src=\"https:\/\/www.i8u.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/IMG_1342-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.i8u.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/IMG_1342-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.i8u.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/IMG_1342-150x112.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.i8u.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/IMG_1342-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>I sat and talked with another customer for a couple of hours, Andy from Wisconsin, a translator who has lived in Japan for seven years. After I finally left, I wandered around in the rain looking for the Koenji Temple that the neighborhood is named after. I found it but it looked pretty closed up and the weather still wasn&#8217;t any better, so I just headed back to the train and my hotel.<\/p>\n<p>The tall building in the picture is the Hundred Stay Shinjuku where I&#8217;m staying. I took it from the closest train station.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.i8u.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/IMG_1344.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-5551\" title=\"IMG_1344\" src=\"https:\/\/www.i8u.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/IMG_1344-768x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"853\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.i8u.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/IMG_1344-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.i8u.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/IMG_1344-112x150.jpg 112w, https:\/\/www.i8u.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/IMG_1344-225x300.jpg 225w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>I mostly sat around the rest of the afternoon and had dinner at Saizeria again. It&#8217;s convenient and easy and is unique being Japanesey Italian food. I was pretty tired and according to Andy there&#8217;s a cold going around. Hopefully I&#8217;ll be rested up for the good weather they&#8217;re predicting for tomorrow.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The weather was miserable today and even though I spent a lot of time and money getting myself to Japan, I figured I might just hole up again and stay inside. But really, where would the fun be if I did that? I could have gone to an underground shopping arcade, but on a rainy Sunday that just means a hot, humid, packed-with-damp-people experience that I didn&#8217;t want to deal with. But I did wake up early so I puttered around on my computer, did some laundry, and tried to debug my mom&#8217;s computer remotely. None of it went very well. After sitting in front of the only free washing &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.i8u.org\/blog\/?p=5544\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Japan Day 4<\/span> <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5544","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.i8u.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5544","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.i8u.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.i8u.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.i8u.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.i8u.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5544"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.i8u.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5544\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6244,"href":"https:\/\/www.i8u.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5544\/revisions\/6244"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.i8u.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5544"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.i8u.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5544"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.i8u.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5544"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}