Indian restaurant Namaskar in Sendai

This post is pending for a long time. 13th October 2016 was our 11th marriage anniversary, which fell on a weekday. Although hubby and I are not into celebrating anniversaries in a grand way, we usually have some simple funny celebrations to create happy memories for us. So in the evening of 13th October, while returning home from his office, hubby bought various kinds of pastries and sweets like custard pudding, chocolate eclairs, several slices of chocolate cake and cheese cake from a convenience store located near our home. We had the pastries and sweets after dinner, and had a quiet anniversary night.

Various kinds of pastries and sweets hubby bought on our marriage anniversary day

On 9th and 10th October 2016, the weekend before our marriage anniversary, we went to Sendai City to have dinner at an Indian restaurant named Namaskar to celebrate our anniversary. It was also because I had been craving for an Indian dish named Masala Dosa for almost a year, and hubby did some internet search and found out that the restaurant serves Masala Dosa. Namaskar restaurant is located in Minami-machi dori area in the heart of Sendai City. The restaurant serves authentic Indian food cooked by an Indian chef and his assistants. The restaurant has bilingual staff and serves north as well as south Indian delicacies for lunch and dinner, with the lunch on Saturdays being buffet style. The restaurant has a seating capacity for 80 people, and is ideal for parties, seminars or even wedding receptions.

On 9th October, we left our home in Yurihonjo City at about 1.30 pm. Namaskar restaurant is located about 245 kilometers southeast of our home, and it took us about 3.5 hours of car ride to reach near the restaurant in Minami-machi dori area in Sendai City. After parking our car at a nearby car parking lot, we realized that it was just 5 pm and there was still about 30 minutes left for the restaurant to open for dinner. So we took a stroll in Ichibancho shopping arcade located in the downtown area. It is actually a covered mall that connects several streets together in the downtown area to create the largest arcade in the Tohoku region. The shopping area includes several different arcade malls and covers a T-shaped area along Ichibancho and Chuo dori. The arcade has various kinds of shops including budget 100 yen shops, an Apple store, clothing and souvenir stores, as well as many restaurants. While strolling along the shopping arcade, we saw a LINE store sporting a massive teddy bear at the front entrance beckoning people to enter the shop. While walking we also saw an artistic manhole cover with the motif of Tanabata star festival decoration. Sendai Tanabata festival is the most popular amongst all the star festivals of Japan. After about 30 minutes of enjoying the views along the shopping arcade, we left the area and went to Namaskar restaurant.

Hubby having softcream at a service area along the expressway on our way from Yurihonjo to Sendai City

Hubby walking along Ichibancho shopping arcade in downtown Sendai City

I am standing along the covered shopping arcade

The shopping arcade looks grand

Hubby and the shopping arcade

I am standing along with a massive teddy bear located at the front entrance of a LINE store in the arcade

Hubby and the huge teddy bear

Artistic manhole cover with the motif of Tanabata festival decoration located along the arcade pathway

We reached in front of Namaskar restaurant at about 5.45 pm. We clicked a few photos of us at the entrance area of the restaurant and then entered inside. We liked the ambience and the nice little Indian atmosphere inside. A restaurant staff showed us to our table and gave us the menu cards. To his dismay, hubby noted that there was no mention of Masala Dosa in the menu card. He was so shocked that I thought he would burst out crying as we had traveled about 245 kilometers to have Masala Dosa. Later I came to know that the restaurant stopped serving Masala Dosa a long time ago but they never updated their webpage or even the front of their restaurant where they proudly show an advertisement about Masala Dosa. I guess, it is our typical Indian way of doing things. Anyway since we were there we decided that we might as well have some other Indian foods that were advertised. We noted that the menu was vast. There were so many choices for dinner and it was challenging for us to decide what to order off the menu as everything sounded good. So we ordered several dishes and shared the food so that we could taste various kinds of dishes. We ordered a plate of Tandoori chicken and fish Tikka for starters which tasted delicious. We also ordered mango juice and an orange juice which arrived in cute Mughal style metal tumblers. I ordered a Thali set menu consisting of three kinds of curries, saffron rice, and Naan. Several kinds of choices were available on the types of curry and Naan. I chose two non-vegetarian curries, one vegetarian potato curry, and plane Naan for the set menu. The curries were served in small steel bowls that were placed on a round steel main tray along with saffron rice and a tiny Samosa. Naan was served in a small bamboo basket. Salad of shredded cabbage and soup were also included in this set menu. The taste of the curries was balanced with the right consistency and went fairly well with both rice and Naan. Naan was soft, chewy, and flavorful. Hubby ordered a bowl of eastern Indian style fish curry and saffron rice. The combination of saffron rice and the mild fish curry was perfect. He relished eating the food very much, and it reminded him of the fish curry he had at my parents’ home in India. Furthermore, he enjoyed having the potato curry from my set menu, which he felt was also cooked almost the same way as my mother’s food. The spicy and flavorful curries slowly made hubby forget about the Masala Dosa and we enjoyed the delicious food in the nice ambience of the restaurant. After having various dishes, we had dessert of some kind of Indian mousse. Finally, we wrapped our dinner with sweet Chai. We were very satisfied with the dinner and were so full that we could not move at all. Anyway, afterwards we went for a long walk in Sendai City and appreciated the surroundings and the moon above. That night we stayed at a hotel in Sendai City.

Hubby standing in front of Namaskar restaurant located in Minami-machi dori area in Sendai City

I am standing in front of the restaurant

Menu card kept at our table inside the restaurant

Hubby shocked and dismayed after noting that there was no mention of Masala Dosa in the menu card

Tandoori chicken and fish Tikka as starters along with a soup

Mango juice and an orange juice in Mughal style metal tumblers

Hubby having salad of shredded cabbage

I am having Tandoori chicken and fish Tikka

Hubby having Tandoori chicken and fish Tikka

Main course of our dinner

Hubby’s dinner of a bowl of eastern Indian style fish curry and saffron rice

The fish curry was delicious and tasted just like my mother’s cooking

My dinner of Thali set consisting of three kinds of curries, saffron rice, and plane Naan

Two non-vegetarian curries and one vegetarian potato curry were served in small steel bowls that were placed on a round steel main tray along with saffron rice and a tiny Samosa

Hubby having his dinner of fish curry

The fish curry reminded him of my mother’s cooking back at my parents’ home in India

I am having my dinner of Thali set

Hubby having potato curry from my Thali set

Hubby felt that the potato curry was cooked almost the same way as my mother’s cooking

Dessert of some kind of Indian mousse

Hubby having sweet Chai after dinner

After dinner, we went for a long walk in Sendai City and all around us was so dark

We at our hotel room in Sendai City

The next morning, on 10th October, we checked out of the hotel at about 10 am and started back on our way home. We enjoyed the outside views during the car ride. We had lunch at a restaurant named Hiraizumi Resthouse Maesawa Restaurant located at Maesawa service area along the expressway in Oshu town of Iwate prefecture. The restaurant is famous for a variety of menus consisting of Maesawa beef, which is one of the best beef brands in Japan. Hubby had roast beef-don (roast beef rice bowl) set and I had Kalbi-don (Kalbi rice bowl) set. We shared our food and the dishes of both the sets were really delicious. After lunch, hubby had coffee from a vending machine at the service area. While having coffee, he started looking at an information board with a map and signs to various landmark sightseeing locations in northern Japan. All of a sudden he had that strange deja vu feeling that he had been there before, standing in the same pose. We have done a lot of sightseeing, so I could not recall the service area. After returning home, I looked up some old photos, and realized that we indeed have a photo of hubby standing in a similar pose at the same position way back in July 2008 when we had visited Genbikei Gorge in Ichinoseki City of Iwate prefecture. Here is a link to the post about Genbikei Gorge.

Hubby’s lunch of roast beef-don set

My lunch of Kalbi-don set

Hubby having lunch

I am having lunch

Hubby tasting my lunch set

Hubby having a cup of coffee standing near an information board at Maesawa service area along the expressway

Hubby standing near the same information board way back in July 2008

I should mention here that our marriage anniversary on 13th October is the Japanese one. The marriage procedures of Japan are not yet recognized by the Indian government, so we had to register our marriage at the Indian Embassy in Tokyo on 26th December 2005, which we call as our Indian marriage anniversary. I love the fact that we get to celebrate our marriage anniversary twice in a year. So in the evening of 26th December, while returning home from his office, hubby again bought various kinds of pastries and sweets from a convenience store located near our home. He nicely arranged the pastries and sweets on a plate and even lit candles. We had the pastries and sweets after dinner. We made nice memories for a lifetime. I am thankful that God put the most wonderful husband in the world in my path. I am very happy and thankful for all the joy of having a loving and understanding hubby.

Various kinds of pastries and sweets hubby bought on our Indian marriage anniversary day

Kanemori Red Brick Warehouse

As I wrote in the previous post, hubby and I stayed at Hakodate Kokusai Hotel in Hakodate City on the night on 20th June 2016. The next morning, we checked out of the hotel and visited Kanemori Red Brick Warehouse located at a walking distance from the hotel. Kanemori Warehouse is a row of red brick warehouses that were built more than a century ago at the end of the Meiji period. They are the first commercial warehouses of Hakodate. These warehouses face Hakodate Bay across a navigation channel that conjures up a feeling of nostalgia and have the atmosphere of yesteryears. The complex has its roots in the Kanemori haberdasher’s shop, which opened in 1869. The warehouses are now famous culture spots in Hakodate that attracts numerous visitors. Today they house a variety of commercial facilities and restaurants where visitors can do shopping as well as enjoy gourmet cuisine.

In 1859 Hakodate Port opened as one of the first international trading ports of Japan, along with Yokohama and Nagasaki. As the port flourished, the city saw many people and cultures come and go. Kanemori Red Brick Warehouse witnessed the history of the city through its warehousing business. As one of the symbols of the early days of the shipping industry of Hakodate Bay area, Kanemori Warehouse offers visitors an unforgettable time. In fact due to its historical importance, the warehouse area of the cityscape has been recognized as an ‘important preservation district for groups of historic traditional buildings’.

Watanabe Kumashiro founded the first warehouse business in Hakodate. He is considered to be the man behind Hakodate’s prosperity. He came to Hakodate from Nagasaki in 1863 when he was 24 years old. In 1869, he founded the former Kanemori haberdasher's shop, which now houses the Municipal History Museum. He also founded the former Kanemori ship chandlery shop, which sold imported products and ship chandlery. In addition, he engaged in many other businesses, contributing enormously to the foundation of Hakodate's prosperity. He started his warehouse business in Hakodate in 1887. The present red brick warehouse buildings were rebuilt in 1909. The view of these beautiful warehouses is certainly a must-see tourist spot.

On 21st June 2016, hubby and I left Hakodate Kokusai Hotel at about 10 am and started walking towards the Kanemori Red Brick Warehouse located just 700 meters southwest of the hotel. Ideally it should just take 9 minutes to reach the warehouse buildings but we leisurely walked along the street and enjoyed looking at various historic buildings along the way. The first building we saw was named Hakodate Beer Factory where the most impressive Hakodate Beer is brewed. The building has a restaurant inside where people can enjoy the beer. We noted that the building had a Meiji period red brick exterior and was formerly a glass-blowing craft shop. The building looked grand and nostalgic. We continued walking along the street and enjoyed the surrounding views and buildings. This street was renamed as ‘Kaiko Street’ in July 2014 to make the area more appealing to the visitors. The street connects JR Hakodate Station with the bay area and the Motomachi area. We saw many history panels and street galleries along the street. We read the history of Hakodate from such panels and galleries and felt connected to the bygone era history of the city. While walking we also saw an artistic manhole cover with a colorful image of the Orthodox Church of the Russian Consulate, one of the oldest Western-style buildings in Hakodate. Next, we saw a stately red brick building named Hakodate Meijikan located along the street. It was originally built as Hakodate Post Office Government building in 1911. The building was used as a post office and other government departments. It is one of the typical Meiji period Western buildings in Hakodate. After 50 years of usage, it was sold to a private individual in 1962. It is now used as a shopping mall where visitors can try their hand at making a musical box. We loved the exterior of the building.

I am standing in front of Hakodate Beer Factory building

I am standing next to a history panel gallery along Kaiko Street

I am standing next to another history panel gallery along Kaiko Street

Manhole cover with an image of the Orthodox Church of the Russian Consulate

Hakodate Meijikan building

Enlarged view of Hakodate Meijikan building

I am standing at the entrance area of Hakodate Meijikan building

After about 15 minutes of walking leisurely along Kaiko Street, we reached in front of Kanemori Red Brick Warehouse complex. The warehouse complex consists of four zones, each of which has its own distinctive characteristics. The fours zones are Bay Hakodate, Kanemori Yobutsukan, Hakodate History Plaza, and Kanemori Hall. These red brick warehouses are considered very valuable in Japan. The Bay Hakodate zone and the Kanemori Warehouse (which includes Kanemori Yobutsukan, Hakodate History Plaza, and Kanemori Hall zones) differ in brickwork and wood used. Now I will briefly write about these differences. Bay Hakodate was first completed in 1882 as a warehouse for the Hakodate branch office of Mitsubishi Shokai. During the early Meiji period when the warehouse buildings of this zone were constructed, the French method or the Flemish bond was mainly utilized in brickwork. This method was practiced before 1886, where long bricks and short bricks were lined alternately, producing an exquisite, elegant appearance. Non-cut Japanese cypress logs were used for all the posts and beams. Unfortunately some parts of the warehouse disappeared due to a massive fire that broke out in 1907. The warehouse was then rebuilt during 1909-1912. Since the British method or English bond method became the main popular method of brickwork during this time, the area near the roof was reconstructed utilizing the English bond. In fact, English bond method was practiced after 1886, where long-brick layers and short-brick layers were laid alternately, producing a solid, robust appearance. And it is said that the Bay Hakodate was rebuilt utilizing parts of the walls that remained after the massive fire. Next, I will write about the Kanemori Warehouse (the other three zones). The brickwork method used for the Kanemori Warehouse is the British method or English bond. These warehouses feature massive architectural structures as exemplified by the walls that are 30 to 50 centimeters thick. Heavy bricks and tiles were laid on the roof to make the buildings fireproof, which was a common practice around 1909 when these warehouses were built. To support the heavy roofs, non-cut Japanese cypress posts with a circumference of 150 centimeters were used.

First we reached in front of the Bay Hakodate zone of the Kanemori Red Brick Warehouse complex, and entered the complex through a black colored metal gate located at the southeast corner of the zone. The two red brick warehouse buildings of this zone looked amazing. As written in the previous paragraph, Bay Hakodate has an aspect different from other zones of the Kanemori Warehouse complex. Bay Hakodate warehouse buildings were first completed in 1882 utilizing Flemish bond brickwork method. The warehouse buildings were then rebuilt during 1909-1912 with the area near the roof reconstructed in the English bond brickwork method. Bay Hakodate’s symbol is a canal which was constructed in 1882 and seems to flow with timelessness. The canal now is the last remaining canal in Hakodate, and is designated as a valuable cultural property of Hakodate. A chapel, a cruising spot, and a cafe are located around the canal. Bay Hakodate is an atmospheric area that is a popular date spot for couples. We clicked a few photos in and around the Bay Hakodate area.

I am standing in front of a black colored metal gate located at the southeast corner of the Bay Hakodate zone of the warehouse complex

Hubby standing in front of a panel with historical details of the Kanemori Warehouse complex

A red brick warehouse of the Bay Hakodate zone

The red brick warehouse looks grand

Hubby standing in front of the red brick warehouse in the Bay Hakodate zone

I am standing near the canal along with two red brick warehouses in the Bay Hakodate zone

I am standing next to the canal and one of the warehouses

Hubby, the canal, and the warehouse in the Bay Hakodate zone

The canal and the other warehouse in the Bay Hakodate zone

In the Bay Hakodate area, we saw a monument which stands for the trademark logo of for the old Kanemori haberdasher’s shop. At this point, let me briefly write about the trademark logo. The trademark of Kanemori has an inverted mirror image of L-shaped character which is the symbol for carpenter’s square. It depicts faithfulness and honesty and represents the founder Watanabe Kumashiro’s motto that we need no diplomacy in business. The ‘Kane’ part of the name Kanemori represents money. The ‘Mori’ part was named after Moriya, the name of the pharmacy in Nagasaki where the founder of Kanemori Warehouse used to work earlier. The Kanji character of ‘Mori’ is written below the inverted mirror image of L-shaped character in the trademark logo. Now back to the monument. The monument is made of bricks from the Meiji period that had been used in the roof. The bricks were collected during construction work on the commercial establishment of the Kanemori Warehouse in 1988. The bricks are therefore sentinels that have witnessed a lot of history. The bell attached to the brick monument probably depicts peace. However, a bell is pronounced as ‘Kane’ in Japanese, which is similar sounding (but different Kanji character) to ‘Kane’ part (meaning money) of the trademark logo name Kanemori. So probably the bell represents peace as well as money! We noted two brick raised flower beds located on either side of the monument. The brick designs of the flower beds were based on the Flemish bond and the English bond, respectively. We loved and appreciated the simple way of depicting both the brickwork methods. Afterwards, we left Bay Hakodate zone of the warehouse complex through a black colored metal gate located at the southwest corner of the zone.

I am ringing the bell of a brick monument located at the Bay Hakodate zone. The monument represents the trademark logo of the Kanemori Warehouse.

Flemish bond designed brick raised flower bed

English bond designed brick raised flower bed

I am standing near the black colored metal gate located at the southwest corner of the Bay Hakodate zone

Next, we walked towards the north along a paved pathway surrounded by red brick warehouse buildings of the Bay Hakodate zone on one side and the Kanemori Yobutsukan zone (described later on) on the other side. It was a pleasurable stroll. We noted a few cute metal statues along the way. Hubby touched the brick layout of the warehouse building in the Kanemori Yobutsukan zone of the warehouse complex and appreciated the English bond brickwork method. He was surprised to note that at some places long-brick layers and short-brick layers were not laid alternately, but just had several long-brick layers one above the other. I guess, it is very complicated for a common person like us to understand the intricate details.

A paved pathway with red brick warehouse buildings of the Bay Hakodate zone on the right side and the Kanemori Yobutsukan zone on the left side

Side view of the warehouse building of the Bay Hakodate zone

Side view of the warehouse building of the Kanemori Yobutsukan zone

I am standing next to a few metal statues along the pathway

Hubby touching and appreciating the brickwork of one of the walls of the warehouse building in the Kanemori Yobutsukan zone

After about 2 minutes of walking along the paved pathway, we reached right in front of the port of Hakodate Bay. Facing the bay, we saw a group of red brick warehouse buildings (actually a total of five buildings) that survive from the past trading days. In fact, all these warehouse buildings aligned in a row along the waterfront form the other three zones of the warehouse complex. It was wonderful to see so many red brick warehouse buildings. All these warehouse buildings were constructed in 1909 utilizing English bond brickwork method. These warehouse buildings have recently been redeveloped into an atmospheric shopping, dining, and entertainment complex. A range of trendy souvenir, fashion, interior, and sweet shops abound at the complex. While strolling down the port area, we noted that the fronts of all the warehouse buildings had a prominent white colored mark consisting of the Kanji character for ‘Mori’ under an inverted mirror image of L-shaped character. This mark was the official trademark for the old Kanemori haberdasher’s shop.

A group of red brick warehouse buildings aligned in a row along the waterfront

The fronts of all the buildings have the official trademark (in white) of the old Kanemori haberdasher’s shop

The leftmost two red brick warehouse buildings (with respect to us facing the buildings) aligned in a row along the waterfront formed the Kanemori Yobutsukan zone of the warehouse complex. In fact these two warehouse buildings were the launching point of the Kanemori haberdasher’s shop (Yobutsuten) by Watanabe Kumashiro 147 years ago in 1869. Haberdasher’s shop used to have general goods under the rich theme of Western European lifestyle culture, and was known as the shop selling exotic dreams. With the theme of Watanabe’s rich Western culture, the Kanemori Yobutsukan zone offers a series of unique shops, like daily fun flea markets. It is packed with shops with personality and plenty of variety. It is said that this zone is a place where imported imaginative culture is gathered from across time and place. The next two red brick warehouse buildings aligned in the row formed the Hakodate History Plaza zone of the warehouse complex. This zone is home to the popular Hakodate Beer Hall which is open from around noon to 10 pm, and where visitors can enjoy fresh local beer shipped directly from the brewery. There are also a variety of other shops at this zone for the visitors to enjoy. The last red brick warehouse building in the row formed the Kanemori Hall zone of the warehouse complex. Kanemori Hall is a multi-purpose facility which is used for wedding ceremonies, concerts, and parties. We strolled down the port area and enjoyed looking at this group of red brick warehouse buildings. These elegant Meiji period buildings were a treat to the eyes. Afterwards, we entered inside one of the warehouse buildings of the Kanemori Yobutsukan zone and purchased a few souvenirs. We clicked several photos of the three zones from various positions and angles.

I am standing in front of two red brick buildings that form the Kanemori Yobutsukan zone of the warehouse complex

The Kanemori Yobutsukan zone buildings in the foreground along with the Bay Hakodate zone buildings in the background as viewed from the northwest

The Kanemori Yobutsukan zone buildings as viewed from a slightly different angle in the northwest

Two buildings of the Kanemori Yobutsukan zone in the background and two buildings forming the Hakodate History Plaza zone in the foreground as viewed from the northwest

The two buildings of the Hakodate History Plaza zone

Hubby standing in front of one of the buildings of the Hakodate History Plaza zone

Two buildings of the Hakodate History Plaza zone in the foreground and the third building forming the Kanemori Hall zone in the background as viewed from the north

Building of Kanemori Hall zone

At this point, we finished the tour of Kanemori Red Brick Warehouse buildings. We left the warehouse complex and started walking back towards Hakodate Railway Station. On our way, we saw a small shrine named Toyokawa Inari Shrine. The shrine was built during the Bunkyu era (1861-1864) by well-wishing townspeople. The shrine met with five fires including the great fire in 1934, and the present-day shrine was built in 1940. Its front is now facing the opposite side of the original construction. The god enshrined inside the shrine has long been worshipped as a god of prosperous business. I washed my hands at Temizuya water pavilion and then rang a bell located in front of the main building of the shrine. Afterwards I prayed in front of the shrine altar.

Hubby standing near the Torii gate of Toyokawa Inari Shrine

The shrine building

‘Toyokawa Inari Jinja’ written on a wooden plaque hanging from the shrine building

Temizuya water pavilion

I am ringing the bell located in front of the shrine building

Afterwards we returned to Hakodate Railway Station and took several local trains as well as Shinkansen bullet trains, and returned home to Akita the same day. Our Hokkaido sightseeing trip was over and it was very memorable.

Hubby walking back towards Hakodate Railway Station