Monday, March 26, 2012

oodles of noodles

so with a few hours to kill until i could pass out in my hotel bed, i wandered around the roppongi/midtown area. lots of shops, karaoke bars, and pet stores that sell monkeys (i want one!). i had a hankering for some noodles, and finally found one, thanks to bright colored pictures outside and a sign that said "it is smart to eat japanese noodles with moderate sound. you will see the enjoyment!" convinced me.
i went in to see men lined up at a counter, loudly slurping and not looking up from their bowls to see me. i went to site down the chef guy started saying something and pointing, and i thought he was asking me to slide the door shut better. so i did that, but then he wanted something else, so i though, do i grab a menu? no. it turned into a little game of hot and cold, i started to take off my coat, like, is that it? or do i need to remove my shoes (i had just gotten yelled at for wearing them in a fitting room). so what is it? 
oh, it's this crazy machine, i must use it to order. ummm
i'll have what he's having?
so, you put your money in, press a bunch of buttons and sit down. the people who came in after me were getting pretty antsy, and i felt their pain, just like the loser tourist who spends way too long buying a subway ticket,  soooo i just pacnicked, put in a 10,000 Yes (isn't that like a 100 dollar bill?) and pressed a bunch of buttons, took my change, gave the receipt to the chef guy and sat down. 
a few minutes later i had 2 delicious bowls in front of me. one with a very concentrated fishy miso and meat type stuff which was gross at first but then got way better, and the other, udon noodles with a soft boiled egg and nori (excellent choice!)
breakfast is served
the guy next to me was doing some pretty aggressive slurping, which i tried to copy but only ended up choking and coughing. so, no moderate noise from me but lots of deliciousness!

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