Something cold for tonight? How about some ’tataki'?

Hot and humid season is just around the corner in Japan, and don't you feel like having some cold dishes for tonight? How about a brief trip to your neighborhood izakaya, for some sashimi and cold sake? Mmm, sounds great! ... [At the counter seat at an izakaya.] Okay, let's check out what they have in their menu .... Sashimi moriawase, that means assorted sashimi, ... maguro, my favorite, and what's this one, 'aji-no-tataki'? ...

There are, actually, two types of 'tataki.' Before getting into the meat of the topic, let me explain some etymology of the term. 'tataki 叩き' is the noun form of the verb 'tataku 叩く,' which means 'to beat' or 'to hit.' And 'tataki' here means a cooking method to prepare fish, beef, or chicken, or food prepared in this way. So why the name 'tataki,' and why two types of them exist?

Aji no tataki (Horse Mackerel)

First 'tataki' is minced fish meat, and the most popular example is 'aji no tataki,' chopped raw horse mackerel. Raw fish, mostly blueback fishes like horse mackerel or flying fish, is chopped with seasonings such as ginger and green onion. They are chopped together to make the seasoning spread into every part of the flesh. Here, the meat is 'beaten' with the cutting edge of the cooking knife.

A dish called 'namerou' is a variation of this type of 'tataki.' It's a fishermen's delight in the Chiba Prefecture, a 'tataki' chopped well with miso and sake. If you find it in the menu, you should give it a try.

Katsuo no tataki (Bonito)

Gyu or Gyuniku no tataki (Beef)

Second 'tataki' looks somewhat similar to the roast beef in the western cuisine. Its most popular example is 'katsuo no tataki,' lightly roasted bonito. Fish, beef, or chicken is slightly roasted, with its inside still raw. In its preparation, the meat is 'beaten' with hands or knife, to blend condiments well into its meat.


Bonito 'tataki' is a specialty of the Kouchi Prefecture, but now can be found in restaurants nationwide. It is served with soy-sauce and citrus flavored sauce, and condiments such as green onions, ginger, and sometimes sliced fresh garlic. Beef and chicken 'tataki' is also popular.

So, now, let's just enjoy some tataki! It goes so well with cold sake!

(by Ko)

Reference: 森口稔　編著『英語で案内する 日本の伝統・大衆文化辞典』(三省堂, 2018）
MORIGUCHI, Minoru, ed., A Dictionary of Japan in English (Sanseido, 2018)
http://urx2.nu/K60P

Visit Kiyosumi Garden and Enjoy the Beauty of Ryo-Tei, Tea House

Let me introduce my favorite place in Koto Ward, it is Kiyosumi Garden, where is in 3 minutes walking distance from Kiyosumi-Shirakawa Station.  A very popular traditional Japanese stroll garden,  covers about 81,000 square meters.

According to the history, this garden was a residence of the famous marchant, Kinokuniya Bunzaemon in the Early 17th century.  In the late 18th century, Mr. Yataro Iwasaki, the founder of Mitsubishi Group, obtained the land and rebuilt to use it for the enjoyment of his employees and entertainment of important guests. The hills and waterless waterfalls were constructed and the 52 huge beautiful rocks from all over Japan were brought in by their steamship.  In later years, the waters of the Sumida-River were brought into the grounds to enlarge the pond. The garden provided refuge from the fires of the Great Kanto earthquake of the early 19th century. After that, Mitsubishi group contributed this garden to Tokyo City and after some repair works it was opened to the public.  In 1979, this garden was designated as Tokyo Metropolitan "Place of Scenic Beauty."

Ryo-Tei  涼亭, Tea House (Cool House)

My most favorite place in this garden is Ryo-Tei, it means Cool House in English, a Sukiya-designed Tea House building, designed by Mr. Katsuya Yasuoka, an architecture for Mitsubishi Group in the early 19th century.
Sukiya-designed is a one type of Japanese residential architectural style. Suki means refined, well cultivated taste and elegant pursuits and characterized by a use of natural materials.  It is an authentic Japanese Tea House facing the pond, has a beautiful view from it and it is like a symbol of this garden. Main room is a 27-tatami room with a toilet. It is designated Tokyo Metropolitan Selected History Building.

Now, Ryo-Tei is opened for everyone as an assembling facility, it is used to various kinds of occasions, such as tea ceremony, flower arrangements, Yoga class and many other traditional events as well as  party occasions.  You can bring your own foods and drinks, catering services are also available. 

For your reference, the rental fee is 5,500 yen for 3.5 hours, you can use it at the three-time slots in a day as morning (10:00-13:30), afternoon (14:00-17:30) and evening (18:00-21:30).  It must be booked six months previously. 

I like to visit Ryo-Tei at day time in a sunny day to see the various kinds of waterfront creatures, such as wild birds and turtles, squirrels, carps and many others, moving around in the ponds. I always enjoy to see them, it makes me feel so comfortable and relaxing.

Let' s enjoy the Scenic Beauty of Kiyosumi Garden!!

(by Yukie)

How do you like the walking in Kiyosumi Teien garden? If you like it, please contact us from here and join our free walking tours!   

Walking in Kameido

Last month, we planed a special tour to walk around Kameido area, visit two big shrines, and watch beautiful wisteria blossom, but unfortunately we didn’t get any guests on that day. It was quite sorry, but we didn’t give up easily. Our two guides walked along the course on that day and found some interesting points for a next opportunity. In this blog article, we would like to introduce the tour course.

(1)  Kameido Gyoza

Do you know “gyoza” dumpling? This is a unique restaurant which serve only gyoza dumpling. When you visit the restaurant and sit at a table, immediately two dishes of gyoza dumpling are served without (and before placing) an order. This is the unique rule of this restaurant. We don’t need to place an order, because gyoza is the only food menu they serve. Of course they provide some beverages, such as beer, sake, or some soft drinks. After finishing the first gyoza, you can order another dish of gyoza. The price of gyoza is quite reasonable, just 250 yen per dish.

(2)  Katori Shrine

One of the two big shrines in Kameido area. Originally it is a shrine which enshrines a deity of martial arts, but recently it is famous as a shrine for all sports. Famous sport athletes visit this shrine before their games. This time we found an interesting statue there. The statue of “daikon,” a white big radish. There are many kinds of white radishes in Japan. “Kameido daikon” is one of them. Now Kameido is a bustling town and dense populated area, but once it was a quiet suburban area and there were many vegetable fields and was famous for producing delicious Kameido daikon. This statue was built as a memorial to the daikon radish. There are many statues all over Japan, but a statue for a vegetable is quite rare and interesting.

(3)  Kameido Tenjin Shrine

Another and the biggest shrine in this area. This shrine was built to enshrine a famous historical bureaucrat, Michizane Sugawara (845-903). He was quite smart and competent, so he posthumously became a deity of scholarship. This shrine is also famous for beautiful wisteria flowers. We could enjoy the lovely light purple flowers. In February, we enjoy another blossom, plums.

(4)  Rice cracker “senbei” toasting

After visiting the shrines, we dropped by a rice cracker shop. This is an interesting shop. You can have a unique experience here, “rice cracker toasting! Usually, we buy made-up rice crackers at these kind of shops, but here we can try to toast rice crackers by ourselves and eat just after toasting. The shopkeeper told us that this is the only shop where we can try to toast rice crackers!

(by Chinami)

How do you like the walking in Kameido? If you like it, please contact us from here and join our free walking tours!