いらっしゃいませ!

Welcome to my ramen dream... Currently being interpreted in Ramen Burger Land... Looking for a good slurp? Email me ! - Keizo

Friday, March 18, 2011

とりあえず。

Day 501:

For now...


We will stay open at least until Monday.


After consuming the ramen pizza (above), we spent hours discussing what to do next. Amidst fears of plutonium being released from one or more of the reactors, an official from the Nuclear Plant Authority said in a news conference today that things are remaining safe. I still think we should all leave just until the smoke clears, but it's not that easy of a decision for all of us. First, there's the whole money issue. A lot of us don't have the money to leave and if we do leave we run the risk of not getting paid. Second, where do we go? I'm lucky enough to have friends around the world that would accept me, but not everyone is as lucky. Third, if one of us leaves, that puts pressure on the rest of us if we decide to stay open. I know all of these problems seem trivial with the fact that we may get exposed to serious radiation, but what if we don't get exposed? And with pressure from our boss to stay open, it gets even harder. Then there's also the whole mentality of 'I'm Japanese so I'll remain here until I die.' I think this is why the people of Tokyo are so calm and refuse to evacuate. If all these ramen shops and small restaurants close, where will the people that remain in Tokyo eat at?


I may not be making much sense, but it's definitely not that easy.


In conclusion, since we can't all just leave tomorrow, we've decided to stay open at least until Monday and then reassess our situation. Boom has decided to leave, with our consensus, and I wish him the best.


Alright, time for some ramen. Mentsuu is just across the street from Bassanova.


I got the Shisen Ramen in honor of my girlfriend.


I really miss her.


I'd give anything to be with her in France.


Thanks mom for being there for me. You are the best.

7 comments:

  1. Hey there Keizo!My name is Josh, first time writer LONG time reader. I really enjoy your blog becasue I am a HUGE fan of ramen, thanks to my dad who is Japanese and literally could live off ramen 3 times a day, five days a week (kinda like you lol).
    Anyway just wanted to write becasue of whats going on in Japan...i know its tough and really scary...I have my father's whole family in Tokyo/Yokohama...so we have been worried sick ever since the earthquake, and now the radiation...geez!
    I also have lots of gajin friends living in Tokyo, facing the same situation you are facing..."should I stay or should i go?" Its tough, and I'm not here to write what decision you should make Im just writing here to let you know that we are all thinking about you and our loved ones in Tokyo. Stay strong man, if Ive learned anything from being Japanese american is that we Japanese are tough (my grandma whose like 80 is the toughest woman I have ever met...she still scares me lol) and we can survive anything. also things wil work out.
    I do hope that wahtever decision you make, you can continue doing what you love and continue providing us with HOURS of entertainment by reading your awesome blog. Thanks again for all you do and GANBATE!

    Josh Shibata

    PS: I plan on returning to Japan with my brother and friends in 2013..I hope we can come by and share a bowl of ramen with you! Mattane!

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  2. I don't know about leaving Tokyo... no one is very clear about what's happening, or how bad it is, including the US.

    I would think the continued supply problems will be a bigger issue than radiation poisoning.


    FWIW, I recently broke my collar bone in a stupid cycling accident. Trip to the ER, and a CT scan. That single scan was the equivalent of 2.5 years of radiation in 3 minutes.

    Not too bad when you remember that I don't have insurance since the US doesn't bother helping out it's citizens. The bill is going to do more damage than the radiation.... and that's more radiation than you're getting in Tokyo, for sure.

    Best of luck,

    ML

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  3. Hang in there man, it seems like it isn't getting worse anyway in the last couple of days. As you note there is no real present danger, it is more like a contingent danger so for the time being all you can do is be vigilant and try to go on with your life. But I understand you must be under tremendous stress. Take care.

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  4. dude- why would you leave? even if all those reactors exploded its gonna be problem for the people living next to them, not tokyo. it's too far away.

    also, now is a good litmus test to see who will stay and do team work, and who will freak out and do the run.

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  5. just got used to the idea of ramen as buns for burger - the ramen pizza really made me happy to look at

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  6. @Josh: Thanks for understanding! I hope your family and friends are safe. I really appreciate your comment. If I'm still here in 2013, let's meet up!

    @Bercllak: you are right. there are many factors involved not just radiation. sorry to hear about cycling accident. i hope you get better soon.

    @heller66: I really appreciate all your comments and your encouraging words. I'm not really that stressed. Just want things to be normal again.

    @Anonymous: you have no idea what is going on and i don't expect you to. i would say more but it's not worth my time. i'm pretty sure i know who u are.

    @matthew: it was actually quite good. but the burger is better. :)

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  7. found a fun article on ramen hacks, the Ramen-topped shepherd's pie reminded me of the 2 real examples of Ramen as other than noodle which I've found on your blog.

    http://www.seriouseats.com/2011/03/ramen-hacks-30-easy-ways-to-upgrade-your-instant-noodles-japanese-what-to-do-with-ramen.html

    I've linked to 2 articles on your site.

    ------

    ... examples of actual ramen food variations from my favorite ramen blog

    ramen pizza (the ramen is the crust)

    http://www.goramen.com/2011/03/blog-post.html

    mini ramen burger (the ramen is the bun)

    http://www.goramen.com/2011/03/ramen-sliders.html

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