Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Tokyo Farmer's Market

Today I thought I'd work in a Slice of Life (or as the naysayers say, SOL) post. Today's topic: Green Cuisine.The wholefood/macrobiotic scene has changed dramatically in the last 10 years. Time was you could barely find anything green (besides edamame) on a restaurant menu. Now, you've got restaurants like Watami with literally a dozen vegetarian (or vegetarianable (ie, "I'll take it, but hold the hamu.")) options. Worth noting: Watami has also got a great nomihodai (all you can drink) deal.

In recent years, there has also been huge growth in the natural foods scene, with supermarkets like Natural House offering lots of organic produce (though there's plenty of room for more variety....please!!) as well as pasta, boxes and canned goods, and daily life goods like shampoo and detergent. Plus there are many more smaller organic food places, where we usually shop. There are probably hundreds of these in Tokyo, and they are of the goodness.

Then you have farmer's markets. They pop up on the weekends. One of the nicest is in Shibuya, just down the road from Shibuya station. In toy geek terms, it's just a few minutes walk from Billiken Gallery.

The market (open on weekends, with vendors wrapping up in the late afternoon) is a great place to stroll around, sample fresh produce, grab a bite, and listen to live music. Here are some shots.

Produce


 
More after the jump:

 


Portland Farmer's Market represent!
 Plants
 Pet Goods!

Preserves
Luscious sampler table!
Weaved Goods
Food and drinks






I so wanted to get a falafel from this dude, but we were on our way to dinner.
There's even a guy selling Stores on Wheels!

Well, there you have it. Japan is slowly going green, and it's a better and better time to be veggie here. Salud!

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