Eating a nattou role

thinking about what I just did..........signing contracts, translating for real.

Meiji Jingu

It has been a while since I have had a chance to walk around and relax here.  Last year I skated here one morning forgetting that you can't bring skateboard inside...  so I just rode the train home.
This year I took the subway to Yoyogi station and walked through the back entrance.
There are many tall gates at all the entrances and sub entrances.

 It is nice to not hear trains or cars or see many people for a while.

Ritz'n

Is still my favorite place to eat in Japan.  10+ years running.  Rolan was a close second...but now it might as well be gone.

 For a country where you cannot buy frozen veggie burgers anywhere, they have the best veggie burger I have ever eaten.

Masaru killin' it as always

Hammer sycle

Stopped in to check things out.
Ended up on the blog.
http://hammerblog.exblog.jp/13906845/

Harley shop out in Tsukuba that mainly does repair.  The owner is a littler older than me and lived in America for a minute learning how to fix them.  His shop was huge!  


This is a custom bike they entered into a show recently.  The writing on the tank says it all!   Hardly ridable.  Perfect.
I think it was probably a crack at the bikes at these shows that people make all pretty but probably don't run right or at all.  OR maybe he realizes, since he fixes them all day, that some of these hardly get ridden because they are always at his shop waiting to be repaired.

No time

to blog.
Riding motorcycles, skating and slobbering all over myself at the honda museum.... Hachioji tomorrow.  When will the time machine be invented?  I want to go back and ride one of these...

And I was riding one of these..... with Masaru, Akira and Jun

Tomorrow 730 departure for here.......

Miyashita Park

Relax session today.  My left foot is falling apart from all the pushing.  Finally figuring out this stupid half bank bowl.  A couple of older pro's with good style there today too.  Good chill session.

    This is Maki doing a rock-fakie.  The drop in on the bank before this was the scary part if you ask me...  

 Kappa and Maki

Kappabashi

Kappabashi is famous for its fake sample foods but people come here to buy tableware for their restaurants too.  Got a bunch of strange silverware and a few other things. . . . . .  Glad I finally got to see this area of Tokyo.  It was close to the Showa douri.

This is a Kappa.  They are a mythical creature of Japan that lived in lakes and ponds.  Kind of half human half something that would live in the water..turtle...scalley skin, etc.  There is an indention in on the top of their head and I guess if there is not water in it they can't move.  They are known for attacking women, etc.  I always see them in old woodblock prints hanging out under bridges....  This one is gold, they are usually green.  Kappa is this creature, Bashi is a Hashi, or Bridge so I guess Kappabashi is the Kappa bridge...anyway....

Huge bug on the side of this building and it has nothing to do with the store under it...

 Ever wonder how they do noodle delivery on a Honda cub?  With one of these contraptions.  This one was super expensive!

 Store front for fake food items to put in the front of your restaurant.  Some of them look really real.

Kuramo Night!

Last night I got to hang out with Kuramo again.  We goofed around in the Setagaya area and went to Lindbergh.

They have a bunch of old and new car and motorcycle books and sales pamphlets.  Even had some old honda ones from the 50's and 60's.  Bought a ton of postcards!

 This train station was pretty cool.  The station was looked between the tracks on each side like in the old days.

After that we went to Bio Cafe.  Really good Macrobiotic food!  If you have ever went one of these places you can usually expect to pay a lot and when the food comes get a really nice looking plate of not enough to eat.  That is what we expected so we ordered 5 or 6 dishes.......and were pleasantly full after about 2 plates....  The two crazy dishes of the night were a tomato konyaku dish and this thing below.  It looks kind of like monkey brains but was amazing!

  Sweets!  The chocolate cake thing was so good, I wanted 5 more pieces!

Thank you Kuramo!  I can always rely on him to take me to fun places I've never been!

Ueno today!

So I heard there is a road, Showa Douri, right outside Ueno station on the Northeast side that is lined with bike shops, garages, etc.....

Ueno here we go!

If you smoke, I'm sorry. I love this!
CCS....Okay.
Yes, I coming, hold on!
Fuel line (sorry hutch, no white), tools i've never seen, switches, stickers, patches, random crap I don't need, colored visors!, and I carried it all in a backpack I bought (waterproof!)...Also got a ton of magazines for the homies when I get back.
The real treat wasn't any of this stuff. Check out the last posts for some of the old Honda's I saw........

Ueno Lunch Break!

Burritos eh.....

And berry juice!
In front of this shop I ate. This bike shop was mostly Honda Shadows that had been cut up and made into choppers.

Custom Monkey

First of two custom Honda Monkeys from today.

After market everything.....oil cooling system....

Honda Monkey Harley bagger conversion!!!

I see guys riding around 30mph on these honda monkeys everyday. You still buy them new! There are huge custom shops and garages dedicated just to them.....

This one was about 3500 with the dollar being so weak right now.....

Road Trip!!!

Honda Cub Racer

Highly modified cub. Cub Racer?

Oil cooling system, some kind of strange air induction system going on here...
Aftermarket exhaust

Honda Benly 50cc

Not sure of the year but this thing has been modified....

2 grand? Oil cooling system, yoshimura muffler, 88cc bore kit. I bet this thing is hilarious to ride.....Vroom!

Tokyo Trains

This is what you get to look at when you try to decide where to go. The second picture with the green circle is the Yamanote Line. It where most of the fun is....

MXMXM to Rolan

See you next week!

Bomb the hill to the other side of the station.
Push back up!
To Rolan!

I'm still full....　Mabo tofu ramen, pork and shrimp fried rice and fried tofu. Still good but only a shadow of what it used to be.... Where is that old guy that used to run this place....come back!!