tokyo food file

Tsukimi: the full moon of autumn

 

The full moon rises above the Tokyo skyline.

Since ancient times, the 15th night — jugoya in Japanese — of the September moon has been considered the most magical of all. All across Japan this is the evening for tsukimi (moon viewing).

Needless to say, there are plenty of special foods to mark the occasion, most of them sweet. Such as tsukimi manju (dumplings stuffed with sweet azuki bean paste), and a slew of other moon-themed confections.

 

Why the rabbits? All is explained in the latest newsletter from Elizabeth Andoh's excellent Taste of Culture (you can also sign up on her site for her cooking programs). Or head over to her Facebook page here…

Here's a screen grab as a taster…

 

But where to gaze at the moon if you're in central Tokyo?

You could do worse than check my Japan Times column tomorrow which is now up online here…

sakura sake & sukiyaki

The moon was full, and so were the sakura blossoms.

It was too good a chance to miss, so off we headed to Ueno Park to commune and contemplate.

 

Sipping sake...

And supping on sukiyaki.

Hanami at its best.

More in the paper tomorrow…

gibbous moon over Ch. Robuchon

The last warm night of the year (this was last week), so unseasonably balmy that they had the outside tables primed at the chateau in Yebisu, even for dinner.

We had other plans for the evening, so we did not linger. But it was a reminder of just how pleasant the little secluded garden of Table de Robuchon is when the weather is clement.

There aren't likely to be any more evenings this mild for quite a few months. But we will be looking forward to spring...

La Table de Joel Robuchon...

 

And then just a few days later — on the full moon — we were treated to a magical eclipse...