This is an authorized translation in English of a post in French by 
: Jimbocho, livres anciens et tempura
Remember that the person that speaks here is NOT me, Vincent Celier (
), but , a French guy.
Jimbocho, old books and tempura
My Japanese teacher had told me about a place north of Chiyoda, Jinbōchō, famous for having many old book shops. This morning, I decide to go for a walk, looking for a good deal.
The concentration of shops is important, and there is a bit of everything. Novels, manga, many books with prints. As for me, I had an idea in mind. I am passionate about bonsai, an art that I have practiced with passion for years. Every year a big national exhibition is held, the Kokufu-ten, with the edition of a big book with the photos of each exposed tree. I already have some copies, and I wanted to find others.
I enter the first shop, take a quick tour, and finally ask the seller if he has books on bonsai. He then tells me to go upstairs, while accompanying me. The books are laid on the ground, forming a large pile. And here I notice many copies of the kokufu-ten. The price: 15000 yen, a little more than 11 euros. In France, we find them at around 100 euros!
The problem is the weight. Each copy weighs more than 1.5kg. I already had a lot of luggage on the plane, so I resign myself to take only one. In conversation with the seller, he tells me that he can also send them to me by mail!
Proud of my purchase, I continue my exploration of the neighborhood. There are beautiful books with Japanese prints. Whole lots of absolutely beautiful books. For the oldest, the price can go to a few hundred euros but they are almost collectibles. I promise myself that the next time I come to Japan, I organize myself to bring back some!
It's noon, I'm getting hungry. Taking a perpendicular street I notice a restaurant specializing in tempura. Although many restaurants offer tempura, I absolutely wanted to try one specialized in this type of food, with the chef who cooks in front of me. At the entrance, the menu is written only in Japanese, and with a handwriting illegible for me. Never mind, it is precisely to enter such places not frequented by tourists that I came to Japan.
I push the door, and a waitress invites me to sit at the bar. I start to put my bag (containing the camera and all my tourist gear), but she looks at me and tells me to put it in the basket next to me. Ah, the Japanese and hygiene, there would be so much to say. In Japan, you do not put your things directly on the ground, where we walk with our shoes. It is a question of common sense!
The waitress also brings me a hot, damp towel to clean my hands. It's something I'd like to see at home. I touched everything and anything, I did not have very clean hands. In almost all the restaurants I ate at, I was given a towel at the beginning of the meal. Sometimes it was paper towels packed in sachets, or like here real cloth napkins.
I ask the waitress to explain a little the menu, and she advises me a choice of vegetables and shrimp. I look around me, the chef is busy preparing the tempura dough and frying orders from customers. It's pretty quiet, hardly anyone speaks.
I am brought tea, a bowl of rice and a miso soup. As I am thirsty, I quickly swallow the glass of tea, and it was refilled immediately! The tea is bottomless ;-)
Pretty soon, the chef puts in front of me the assortment of tempura, and with a smile!
I had already eaten tempura in France, but there I must say that it is really a level above. It's fine, it's crunchy, not fat at all. If I had listened to myself, I would have eaten everything in a few minutes. But no, I prefer to enjoy the moment.
The meal finished, I advance to pay 1500 yen (about 11.5 €). For this quality, it is well worth the price. When I go out, I throw a "Gochisosama deshita, yokatta desu" (thank you for the meal) to the chef to thank him for this meal and to tell him that it was very good.
At this moment the waitress runs towards me. I had forgotten my backpack in the basket!
Stomach filled, I go to new adventures to discover Tokyo.
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