(Day 26) Twenty-five to Life

With no real direction for the day except to wander the streets of Tokyo in some form or another, Maya and I set out for Ikebukuro , my former home base from my first week here. She drew me in when she described the ramen she proclaimed as her favourite from a restaurant found in Ikebukuro.

In 2006 when I was researching for my first trip to Japan, I had read about a ramen shop the customers swore up and down was the best they ever had – the shop was named Ichiran and I put it on my “To do” list for Japan. During my last trip, I wasn’t very familiar with the city and didn’t have any free time to find all the places I wanted to visit, so items were left unvisited…for a time. Coincidentally, Ichiran was the restaurant Maya suggested and I was extremely excited I would be able to finally try the much-hyped Ichiran.

Once we arrived in Ikebukuro, I paid a visit to the Japan Rail office to obtain my rail pass for my final three days – the pass that would take me up to Sendai, in the Tohoku region for Saturday’s NEWS concert. YIPPEEE! Ok, first things first though…let’s go to Ichiran.



The restaurant was set up so that each patron had their own single, private seat to focus on the ramen at hand and savor the intricate flavours found within.



When you sit down, you fill out a form that will customize your ramen – level of spiciness, chashuu yes/no, type of broth, egg, etc. You then place the form in the opening for the kitchen and someone will come by and grab it. Each seat also has its own water tap which was quite handy.



A few minutes after your form has been snatched by someone in the kitchen, someone will come by and shove your bowl of piping-hot ramen in the opening from the kitchen and then shut the screen. It’s then just you…and the ramen. Let’s dance.



Let me just say that all the hype was 100 percent accurate. I sat sucking back the broth while sweat beaded on my forehead due to the heat of the building and the spiciness of the soup (I like me some spice!) The restaurant was quiet except for the shouts from the kitchen welcoming new customers and thanking the departing ones, and the slurping of soup noodles. It was one of those moments again where I’m just caught in wonder…

After lunch, Maya and I inspected the goods at Parco before deciding it was café time (of course…it’s like faspa for Mennonites). We found a little nook café in the Seibu department store and I had some extremely pricey pancakes.


At least they weren’t plain for that price…I like stars.


The café.

I needed find a scarf for my friend Rachel (and I wanted to get a good one), so we headed to Shinjuku’s Isetan to peruse their expensive, as well as expansive, wares. The rain was falling which turned the streets into a reflective surface for the dancing night lights…we wandered them for a while before meeting Mayuko for dinner.





My downtown Shinjuku panorama…please click the picture to enlarge. I love this place.



Another stitched photo…click to enlarge this one too.



Tokyo has many theme restaurants unlike anything I’ve ever heard anywhere else…on my last trip to Japan, I visited a restaurant called Princess Heart
which was ‘Snow White and the Seven Dwarves’-themed. Today, we will visit the prison-themed, multi-location chain, The Lockup.



I had first heard about this extremely cool concept when my friend Jean visited one for her birthday back in 2006. Since I enjoy hilarious things, this sounded right up my alley.

The restaurant was on the 7th and 8th floor of a high-rise in downtown Shinjuku. Maya, Mayuko and I took the elevator up and when the door opened, we were greeted by a dark hallway; not a person in sight. There was no signage, so we continued forward cautiously, unsure if we were in the right place. When the lights suddenly flashed and there was a loud bang that made the girls scream, I knew we were indeed in the correct place. We reached a door that opened automatically for us, but still nobody on the other side. What we did find though, was a hold in the wall with a giant blade suspended over it. A small sign told us to stick our arm in the hole. WHAT. The girls coaxed me (somehow) into being the sacrificial lamb so I closed my eyes, turned my head, and stuck my arm in. Eeeee! Whoosh! A door opened in the wall and we were greeted by the hostess, dressed in a prison guard uniform.



The hostess rattled something off in Japanese, the girls pointed at me, and before I knew it, I was being handcuffed and led down a darkly-lit staircase. After a treacherous journey down staircases and through crooked hallways, we passed several parties in tiny cells before being led into our own tiny cell, the door slammed shut behind us.



Our waitress was by shortly to explain that “something would happen” and then we could order. Eh…right.


Cell décor.


Other cells down the hall from our cell.

Suddenly, the lights were completely cut out, leaving us nothing but blackness. Heavy metal music started playing and blacklights came on, along with a strobe light – this restaurant does come with a disclaimer for pregnant ladies and those prone to seizures, fyi. You could hear growls echoing down the hallway along with corresponding screams and rattling of cell doors. There was also now a new painting on the wall that came alive with the blacklights:


Creepy!

I also recorded a short video to give you an idea of the chaos (or pretend chaos) that erupted when the lights were cut.


Ha ha ha! Best.

So eventually the growling and clattering made its way to our area of the floor and several creatures appeared, making as much noise as possible and slamming against the wall. I could not stop laughing. It was so best. About six or seven figures entered our cell; the most notable was a mummy who flicked his loose gauze in my face. I took a picture of one particular goblin…and the flash surely reduced the creepiness of the costume.



Eventually the prison guard ladies came around and “shot” the creatures and dragged them away. They ensured we were alright before finally taking our order.






Yumm! This was exceptionally delicious. It was like a giant loaf of sweet bread covered with whipped cream and ice cream and strawberries.

We ordered many things and sat and chatted in the restaurant for several hours. We were even there for round two of the scary torture people, but it was much weaker with only one person rattling on our cell door. I think he recognized us from the first round of scaring and just kind of walked in and then walked out.

Departing Shinjuku that night, I said my goodbye to Mayuko. I was her host Mother in Canada and then a month later, I knew I was going to meet up with her in Japan…now, the future was unsure, which made the goodbye more sad. Thanks for all the fun times and your kindness for being my host mother, Mayuko!

Tomorrow we get whipped around by a typhoon…a typhoon, I tell ya! The last rainy-day Tokyo adventure of 2008.