Setagaya Boro-ichi Flea Market

I had heard from one of my Japanese teachers that a giant flea market was being held on the 15th and 16th, so we made arrangements to hit it up after class.  Setagaya is not that easy to get to as it's one of those nondescript Southeast Tokyo burb-type areas.  We needed to take the Keio line from Shinjuku and switch to the Tokyu Setagaya Line.  Slowly but surely we are taking every single railway in Tokyo. 

The Tokyu trams are more like buses on rails than trains.  Each train is only two cars long and they run super slow.  The seating is just like a bus and they even have bus-like payment platforms at the front.

 

It's a cute little train for a cute little town.  We got off at Kami-machi and asked for directions to Boro-ichi.  Probably didn't need directions, since we ended up following the crowds anyway.  Our plan was to walk down the street, shop random antiques, and eat dinner by continuously consuming street food.  It's a good thing there were plenty of food stalls.

The first thing we saw on the way in was this little bonsai vendor.  She was selling a bunch of different plants and we hoped to find something small and manageable to decorate our apartment with.  I didn't realize that the smaller you go, the more expensive the plants get, as maintaining the tiny shrubs is incredibly labor intensive.  We continued on to check for other options.

Out of the alley and into the main shopping street, we landed right in the middle of a bunch of food stalls.  Hooray!  Went for the red bean pastry (forgot what it's called) and only my second takoyaki in Tokyo.  Not sure why, but I never find myself eating takoyaki.

Apparently, Boro-ichi has recently been certified by some national historical society as a historical landmark, but I don't think the festival was to celebrate that as there's another one in January supposedly.  Also recently named a historical landmark was this old hut.

Actually, the traditional straw hut was pretty cool.  It would have been nice to get a better look at it when it was light out, but we took a stroll around it.  Also wish they would open up the inside to the public.  

I had a personal mission to buy V a kimono after I had heard that you could find cheap antique kimonos, but V remained skeptical as all the stalls we had seen carried these old and dark looking fabrics.  We ventured into an alley that seemed to carry something more suitable and although the shopkeeper was clearly closing up, I quickly browsed and found this gem.

Haven't gotten V to try it on yet, since although I picked up the kimono and obi for about 5000 Yen, I neglected to get a juban (kimono underwear).  Next time we hit up a flea market, I'll get myself a kimono (maybe) and get V a juban.  Notably, the men's kimono are much more dull looking.  I'll see if I really want one.

Continuing down the street, we found a guy selling my favorite item of the day, iwashi genkou (fish cakes).  Freshly fried and served on a stick, these patty sized cakes were goddamn amazing.  So much so, that we actually bought a frozen box of them on our way back.  I want to eat it...but I'm lazy.  I want the old man to fry them for me...

Also saw some fresh ikura being sold and we went over to try some.  V loves ikura and yeah they were good, so we bought a pack of those, too.  Boro-ichi was slowly doing a number on our wallet.  Luckily, there wasn't anything else that caught our eye.  We did try some manjyu and amazake at the end of the street.  Let me tell you, not many things can beat hot amazake on a cold day.  It didn't taste that much like alcohol at all but rather more like a spiked sweet rice porridge.  The manjyu; not as good as we've had, but pretty yums.  

We did find another section selling plants, but most of them were pretty large.  I kinda wanted to buy a small mikan tree, but let's face it, I have nowhere to plant a tree.  V became enthralled with the idea of buying a small plum tree, the national flower of Taiwan.  Unfortunately, most of the plum plants were quite large.

Back at the first bonsai stall though, we found an appropriately sized plum tree that's supposed to blossom at the end of the year.  Perfect timing.  I just hope it doesn't bloom while we're in Taipei.

Although we spent a lot, we saved a lot, too!  We got a couple hundred yen discount on the plum tree and a couple thousand off on the kimono.  We even got a hundred yen off on the ikura.  I was disappointed that the iwashi genkou guy didn't give us a discount after we bought so many...  I love discounts.

The next day, the ikura in the fridge was calling to V, so we decided to make ourselves a chirashi at home.  I went out to the local fish market and bought a plate of sashimi for 700 Yen.  Cheap and good quality sashimi = awesomez.  V made some veggies, we took out the ikura, and sat down for a feast!

Ahhh　幸せ～ Rounding out the meal was a Healthya and this green tea ice cream.

Healthya is and tastes like a sports drink with vitamin supplements.  I felt awesome all day, but I attribute that more to the beautiful chirashi than the Healthya.  It's kind of expensive so I don't think I need to buy another.

One the other hand, the green tea ice cream that we buy at the convenience store needs to be bought over and over.  This one was topped with red bean and a mochi frosting.  V and I are suckers for crap like this.  We have since gone out an bought another one actually and beckons to us constantly. 

The year is coming to an end.  People are leaving.  Everyone is drinking away their worries (there actually is a word for this in Japanese), but more on that next time.  Stay tuned!