cycling the Setouchi Shimanami highway<\/a><\/strong> and a few others.<\/p>\n\n\n\nNeither the Yamagata nor Kochi prefecture shops have staffed tourism counters, but each has an outstanding selections of goods representing what they have to offer. Yamagata<\/strong> \u5c71\u5f62 has a fine selection of fresh and preserved vegetables<\/strong>, some of them found growing wild in the mountains. For lovers of the Japanese yuzu<\/em><\/strong> \u67da\u5b50 (citrus), Kochi<\/strong> \u9ad8\u77e5 has one of the largest selections of yuzu<\/em> related foods I have ever seen in one place. It also has katsuo<\/em> (bonito fish) in a variety of forms, including whole chunks for those who prefer to shave the flakes themselves to make a fresh dashi<\/em> (broth base for many Japanese dishes). If you have trouble locating the Kochi shop, look for the cool life-sized statue of local hero Sakamoto Ryoma<\/strong> outside the front door.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/figure><\/li> <\/figure><\/li><\/ul><\/figure>\n\n\n\n <\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nAlas, these five larger antenna shops in Ginza also left us wanting for English speaking help. Though a couple of them had English brochures, none had English speaking staff on hand, at least any who were easily identifiable. Undeterred, I decided to press on, hopping on the Ginza line train a few stops to Mitsukoshi-mae Station<\/strong>, where a few more antenna shops were clustered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
Mitsukoshi-Mae and the Nara Antenna Shop<\/h2>\n\n\n\n Unlike Ginza, which has a distinctly Western vibe from its long history of Western influence, Mitsukoshi-Mae and nearby Nihombashi<\/strong> were literally the center of the Japanese universe during the Edo Period. Nihonbashi was the meeting point of the five great highways that connected all the regions of Japan, making it the most important point of commerce<\/strong> in the country. Today, the area retains a subtle Edo era feel to it, with many shops catering to the traditional Japanese arts and crafts.<\/p>\n\n\n\nWhich of course makes it the perfect location for the Nara<\/strong> antenna shop. Nara was the first capital of Japan<\/strong> and contains some of the most important buildings and cultural treasures of Japan’s long history. The Nara shop is modern and stately, yet has obvious nods to its historic roots.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/figure><\/li> <\/figure><\/li><\/ul><\/figure>\n\n\n\nUnlike many antenna shops which focus mainly on food products, the Nara shop is well balanced between foods and local products and crafts. And in a highly visible location, it also contains a service desk, which not only provides English speaking materials and consultations about Nara Prefecture,<\/strong> but the staff can also help explain some of the products on sale in the shop. Finally, I discovered the shop that is exercising the true potential of an antenna shop: a place that promotes its region to foreign visitors and locals alike.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/figure><\/li><\/ul><\/figure>\n\n\n\n <\/figure><\/li> <\/figure><\/li><\/ul><\/figure>\n\n\n\nAnd this is really important to Nara, which has been unjustly relegated in travel guides as simply a day trip from Osaka or Kyoto, when in truth, the prefecture, like its antenna shop, holds so much more potential than that. As I learned from chatting with the service staff, there is much more to do than feed the deer and wonder at the 1,200 year old Todaiji Temple. Nara is a paradise for those who love nature, both in hiking and cycling<\/strong>, and it hosts some extraordinary festivals<\/strong> throughout the year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
The Verdict: Not Quite Ready for Foreign Tourists<\/h2>\n\n\n\n With the notable exception of Nara Prefecture, I found that none of the antenna shops I visited were truly prepared to handle English speaking tourists. Only a handful had information about their Prefecture in the shop and fewer still had brochures in English. Many of the products sold in the stores require some explanation and few staff members are able to speak English well enough to help.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Still, it would be incorrect to say visiting antenna shops is a complete waste of time for English speaking visitors to Tokyo. If you know what you are looking for and where a product comes from, often antenna shops are the easiest places to find regional products. And for the adventurous or those looking for unique souvenirs, antenna shops can be real treasure houses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Having visited several prefectures around Japan, I was able to purchase some hard-to-find items at the various shops I researched. The Hokkaido shop stocks a good selection of Royce<\/strong> chocolates, including a box of caramel milk and creamy white chocolate wafers. From Osaka, a nostalgic tin of Fueki hard candies and takoyaki<\/em><\/strong> flavored beans that go great with a cold beer. The staff at the Tokushima shop recommended seasoned nori<\/em> (dried seaweed) as their most popular item, and at the Hyogo shop, the seasonal best seller is a jar of hotaru-ika<\/em>, firefly squid, to be eaten with rice. Little bottles of peach, plum and yuzu<\/em> liqueur caught my eye at the Nara shop and I had recently run out of inaniwa udon<\/em> from Akita<\/a>, so I was happy to be able to replenish my stock of these delicious noodles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/figure><\/li><\/ul><\/figure>\n\n\n\nOn my second research trip, I chose green tea salt and blue sea salt from the multitude of salts offered at the Okinawa shop. I purchased one of several artisanal-made soy sauces from the Ishikawa store and a lemon ginger base to make hot or cold beverages from Hiroshima. Kochi was one of my favorite shops because I love the taste of yuzu, and I found an unusual little bottle of yuzu powder that can be used to season…well whatever you want, with that zesty flavor of yuzu<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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A Special Note for Sake Lovers<\/h2>\n\n\n\n Even if most antenna shops are not yet ready to support the needs of English speaking tourists, if you are a lover of sake<\/em><\/strong>, you simply cannot pass up visiting some of these shops. Shops representing Nagano, Ishikawa, Hiroshima, Toyama, and Gunma<\/strong> have tasting counters which allow you to sample a flight of sake before you commit to purchasing one. The Shiga<\/strong> shop in Nihombashi is notable for having a tasting bar with all 28 types of their sake to sample. The Akita shop mentioned above stocks a huge selection of Akita sake, some of the finest in the country. In fact, nearly every shop stocks a variety of local sake and other alcoholic beverages. Obviously, it would be very expensive and time consuming to travel around the country tasting the sake of the various prefectures, so antenna shops are a great way to sample a large variety within a relatively small neighborhood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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