東京三月之Merry Singleton

日本傳統觀念並不青睞單身者, 然日本人擅長的生活產品造就大批御宅族, 御宅的如斯舒服, 久而久之與他人共築新家庭的慾望消減, 更別提養兒育女, 少子化讓整個社會結構極不平衡的衰老, 各式各樣的機器人傾巢而出… 御宅族對人與人之間的肉身連繫淡泊, 是怕受傷害? 還是人情根本與cyber space的自由歡愉沒得比? 撇開複雜的社會學議題, 單欣賞日本造福Merry Singleton(Not Married Singleton)的種種設計… 風格清新, 貼心實用, 讓勝犬敗犬都願人生重來, 當ㄧ個雖身居都市叢林, 思想心態皆充滿大自然芳香的mori girl (森ガール).

MUJI無印良品是我心頭好, 喜歡它低調明確, 貫徹始終的brand identity, 雖然近年向來崇極簡風的自己, 不知是否年歲漸長, 開始醉心繁複華麗工藝(世紀末的頹靡?!)… 每赴MUJI銀座車站的旗艦店, 仍然興奮的像個孩子! 數年前我在那兒配了副眼鏡 ,亦是時候汰換, 無印良品鏡框選擇質優價廉, 驗光矯對整體服務迅速有禮, 相較之下, 美國的service便顯得昂貴和不便, 這個MUJI店還有兩個特別的地方, ㄧ是展覽prefabricated MUJI House無印良品の家的樣品小屋, 二是無論何時都人聲鼎沸, 粉領族滿座的MUJI Cafe.

A view taken while looking up sitting in the MUJI Cafe in the MUJI flagship Ginza Station. This branch has two special features:

MUJI House Information Center
I'm not sure when it has started… MUJI is offering prefabricated houses for sale. As long as one owns a piece of land, you can choose the model to your liking and fill with functional yet aesthetic pleasing MUJI appliances.
When taking off my boots and slipping my ached feet into the fine cushioned slippers, I took a tour of the mini MUJI House model. Yes, it was small but surprisingly airy and bright. I loved the kitchen wall with sliding doors to keep an impeccable line of kitchen essentials. This is MUJI… simple, clean, green, but warms my heart with a succinct promise for a friendlier future.

MUJI Cafe
It served breakfast to dinner to desserts and an array of specially drinks as well as snacks. It served Japanese style, Western style, pan-Asia fusion… democratic yet selective reflecting MUJI's position as a forward looking global citizen. I ordered iced ginger drink and caramel custard flan. The former had such a kick cleansing my palate and the later was one of the first Spanish desserts that the Japanese fully adopted and elaborated to the nation's favorite especially among girls of all ages.

這天的美食地圖頗紊亂, 寒風中衝進暖氣薰人的百貨美食街大啖今半牛肉飯, 逛累歇腿狂嗤JP Hevin巧克力百匯… 重頭戲是晚餐的水谷壽司. 水谷和次郎齊名, 偏西方料理的米其林同冠三星, 2005年懷小V時LK先生和我造訪次郎, 體驗了ㄧ頓震憾味覺極美的盛夏之詩, 此趟旅行於初春的詠歎靜待水谷先生如何揮毫… 畢竟是修業三十七年的老師傅呢! 比目, 青花, 鮮魷, 赤身, 中鮪, 鮪魚肚, 赤貝, 鳥貝, 小柱, 象拔,針魚, 車海老, 紅鯛, 蒸鮑, 海膽, 穴子魚, 煎蛋… 以雅斂之姿躍然舌尖, 緩漸撫慰味蕾, 徹底喚醒我們關於生命所有的滋味記憶… 鄰座的黑道大哥和大哥的女人們酒意正酣, 大哥的女人果然如日劇中嗲聲嗲氣的嬌嗔喔依西及好幸福... 此時此刻我只想雙手合十, 對吧臺前沈靜從容的水谷師傅致敬… 水谷先生瘦削寡言眉目低斂, 雙手靈動雙肩卻ㄧ直維持筆直的水平線, 頓感壽司神聖的禪面.

Sushi Mizutani
An extremely low key entrance to the Michelin 3 Star sushi restaurant… Chef Mizutani is a Zen artist. Under his fingers, the fish are no longer raw; their tenderness reflect the spring breeze, exquisite color the blossom of cherry. He eloquently composes a cantabile in the deepest awakening of one's culinary journey.

不曉得為何, 日本人對源自西歐的年輪蛋糕十分瘋狂, 銀座中央通的Nenrinya總是大排長龍, 需反覆長時間燒烤的千層baum kuchen的確製做不易, 味道濃郁含帶古風, 吃過幾次竟也回味起來 :)

Baum Kuchen
Another European dessert that the Japanese adopted to be their own… it is so popular like… hmmm, a cult cake?!

My travelogue postcard of Spring in Tokyo Chapter 2 - A Mad Tea Party for One