Shimbashi

Some time ago, I decided that my way of exercising will be walking. Being brought up in continental Europe, sport was not seen as a thing to get involved in. Maybe watching could be OK, but not making oneself sweaty. My mother even considered that I could catch a cold being too active. I wrote “continental Europe” as Great Britain was always an exception. The positive one, as I see it now. So, I walk quite often. In the era of fitbits and other pedometers it is easy to measure steps and my goal is to walk 10,000 each day.

                                          

 During my walks I often  pass a Japanese restaurant  where from time to time one can see the cook making noodles on the board placed next to the window. He looked interesting, engrossed in his work, never looking up at the passers-by, skillfully using his rollers to flatten the dough. Often I wanted to stop and watch him for a while, but I never dared to out of respect of him being so busy and professional.  I did not want to disturb him.  As it often happens in life, I promised myself to go to this restaurant one day. Some years passed and my intention remained an intention only. I do not seem to have a friend who would be interested in having buckwheat soba noodles, so there was no opportunity. Going out on my own for dinner seemed a bit uncomfortable. Until yesterday.

I was returning from my doctor who gave me the good news. I have been worried for a while that I may be medically in trouble, so after hearing rather positive assessment I felt  relieved but assimilating the good verdict was not automatic. Grateful, but not fully believing my luck I started to walk towards home. The distance between the hospital and my home is considerable and I typically take a bus to get there. Now, I was walking towards home with an intention to take a bus at some stage. I wanted to find a place to have something to eat on the way. Not seeing anything tempting, I kept walking and thinking about starting a new carefree chapter in my life. A New Beginning again! Then, I realized that I have not found a suitable place to have a simple dinner but I am already close to home. The Japanese restaurant came to mind. It was on my way home. Such a great opportunity for a little celebration and realising one of my old plans. It suddenly did not matter that I would go to the restaurant on my own even if this is a rather formal restaurant, not a simple place I was intending to find for my dinner. I walked in and I liked the place, so I decided to stay. 

                                        

 I have some experience in selecting food of various origins, but this time, it was not so easy. Normally, I just glance at the menu and select dishes quickly. Not this time, I actually read the whole long menu and did not know what to chose. The buckwheat soba was definitely something I wanted to have, but even with this knowledge, it was not too easy to select my dish. Eventually, I decided for a mushrooms  and chicken hot soba soup. Since it was a little celebration I wanted to have some wine with it. And again, normally simple thing proved not to be so simple this time. The drink menu had a number of beers, sakes and other Japanese drinks I did not know. A bit confused I asked the waiter which of the drinks would be closest to white wine. She turned the drink menu over and there I saw a very familiar wine list, even Pinot Gris was there and I ordered it. Waiting for my dinner I read Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay. Things were looking up. I had a good time and it was rather comfortable to be on my own.

The dish I chose was fantastic!  The mushrooms were the Japanese ones, hardly cooked giving nice, crunchy texture; the whole thing was fragrant and well flavoured. Very enjoyable. From now on, I intend to visit the place regularly and make my selection more bravely. The restaurant is called Shimbashi which suggests geishas’ involvement, but I find the place very suitable for me even if I visit it on my own. It is not often that one’s expectations are exceeded but this was my experience this time.

After this unexpectedly good meal, I was ready to continue to walk home. I managed without getting tired and without taking a bus. And I did my 10,000 steps!