Boroichi--A Part of Tokyo's History

On Thursday, January 15th, I left the kids at home with a list of school assignments and boarded a charter bus with several sisters from church.
We were going on a 45 minute drive to the annual Boroichi market. 
This was the 435th year that Boroichi has taken place--this market has been going on longer than America has been a nation!  I was going to something that is a part of  Tokyo's history.  I was pretty excited for it. 
We rented a charter bus because in years past, the sisters have all taken the Stupid Metro to get there.  They had to ride two different trains and then walk a mile to get to the market.  If we all chipped in for the bus, it would cost the same as the previous way to get there, and the bus could drop us off right at the street where the market is held. 


The Boroichi (rag market) takes place every year in Setagaya (still a part of Tokyo) on December 15 and 16 and again on January 15 and 16. Boroichi is an enormous flea market at which more than 700 vendors sell a variety of used goods, antiques, handicrafts and food to tens of thousands of shoppers.  
It was raining like crazy, but I didn't want some water falling from the sky to ruin it for me.  I walked around in the rain for an hour, and then I found a kind man who was selling umbrellas for 100 yen--he became my new best friend.  He asked where I was from, and got really excited when I told him Wyoming.  He opened his arms wide and yelled, "Yellowstone!  Yellowstone!".  I couldn't help but smile.  He hasn't been to Yellowstone, but wants to go someday. 
         
Boroichi is best described as a gigantic garage sale or a flea market.  There were booths and booths of junk, but it was fun to look through it all. 


There were a ton of dishes, old kokeshi dolls, jewelry, big piles of kimonos, and crafts.  I bought a few small, old kokeshi dolls, a tea set for Nathan (it fit him), and a soy sauce pitcher. 
There were many, many booths and I went to almost all of them.  When I had seen enough and was tired of sorting through junk, I had about 30 minutes before the bus was due back to pick us up.  I decided to try some food--it's a part of the Japanese experience.
I bought three takitori--chicken on a stick.  They were good, but I hadn't had breakfast before I left and I was still hungry.  The food was warm and I was soaked and freezing.  I was in the mood to try something new and interesting.  The motto with Japanese food is eat first and ask questions later, so I bought some pancake-looking things that were the shape of an egg muffin.  They were cooked on a large griddle with indents much like an ableskiver pan, just larger indents.  There were two in the carton, and they were covered with a thick brown sauce, mayo, and green onion.  I bit into it, and while the taste was amazing, I could taste raw egg yolk.  I'm not really a big fan of raw egg yolk, but I tried not to let it bother me.  There were really small red and green things inside, but I couldn't figure out what it was.   Overall, it was very different, but pretty tasty. 
When I got home, I asked Raymond what they were.  He thinks it was probably takoyaki--which has octopus in it.  I don't care for octopus, but it was cut so small that the rubber feel of octopus that I hate wasn't an issue.  I think the kids would like them.


 This picture is close to what I ate, but they were the size and shape of an egg muffin instead. 

It was a wonderful get-away-from-the-kids retreat for a few hours.  I enjoyed looking at the everyday items that Japanese people have in their homes as I sorted through their junk. 

I was soaked to the bone when I got home--even my coat was soaked through.  It took an hour long bath to warm up--cold rain coupled with humidity gets the cold down into your bones!