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Since Koriyama is the largest city in Fukushima, and because, as I mentioned last issue, I'm a lazy, lazy man, I've decided to break this guide up into several smaller ones. Since the easiest way to get to downtown Koriyama is by train or bus (anyone who says it is by car is a fool or a masochist), this first installment will be devoted to the area around the station. Fortunately, there is plenty of stuff packed into this area.
When I go to Koriyama, generally the first thing I do is eat something, and an obvious first stop is the station's second floor Dou t'Or. Don't ask me what that means, but they make a rather nice salmon bagel, and the only drinkable espresso in the whole city. The window seating offers a nice view of the people in the station's courtyard. Other than the trains and busses, the only thing of interest in the station itself are a collection of cash machines in booths hidden behind the Men Shop (where they do not sell men).
On the North end of the station is the Sun City Mall. The place has mostly women's clothing, but there is one place with a decent collection of body jewelry. Also, at the far North end of the first floor is what looks like a hippy-supply store. There are actually some nice things in there, especially if you want to add a little color to your apartment. They also have a wide selection of beads for you crafty types. Also on the first floor across from the big television is a tasty little ice cream stand. On the second and third floors are a variety of bland Japanese, Chinese, and Continental restaurants, a book store with no English books, an arcade, a CD shop, and some other things that have never interested me enough to notice them.
Outside the station looking North you can see the Big i building--a classic Japanese misnomer, since the building is supposed to look like a lowercase i. I've never been in there, but I have heard rumors of a free internet cafe on the sixth floor.
On the South end of the station is the Pivot international food store, where you can get everything from salsa to cake mix. There are also a couple of convenient bento shops, fast food places, a French-style bakery, and an Italian restaurant that I have never tried in that section. If you exit Pivot to the street and keep walking South you will see Yodobashi Camera, a discount electronics store. They have a very good selection of camera equipment, and a variety of films for almost every project. They also carry just about every other electronic device you can think of.
To the South is another big building with a giant television on it. In that building you'll find loads of shopping. The first floor also has a Starbucks which I encourage you to throw rocks at if you have the time. (If you would rather not have your soul sucked by corporate America there is a nice little coffee shop right up the street that I will get to later.) You can explore this building at your leisure, but in my opinion the sixth floor is the only one worth seeing. It has a very large musical instrument store, and a very large record store: Tower Records. You'll pay the same usurious prices as anywhere else, but they have a very wide selection of music, and dozens of CDs you can listen to before you buy them. That's how I found out that the new Macy Gray isn't worth it, but the new Gypsy Kings is. Also, on the fourth or fifth floor of the building is a sort of toy store for the retro-cool. Most of the stuff is crap, but there are some very nice pop-art books and posters.
The main drag leaving the station is Sakura-dori, and on the right (North) side of this street is a covered arcade. On the outside of the arcade facing Sakura-dori are three notable places in a row: the Romio bakery, Mister Donuts, and in the basement, a Tengu izakaya. Romio has a very nice upstairs where you can eat your baked goods and look out the window. It reminds me of the upstairs of my favorite ice cream/coffe shop from my childhood. Mister Donuts and Tengu are much like anywhere else.
Inside the arcade looks like a line of Snack bars (Blonde Brunette Bondage Bitch is my favorite, though I've never had the guts to go into any of them.) and pachinko parlors, but don't be fooled. There is one good Chinese izakaya that I don't know the name of. They have dark beer on tap, and a happy hour. The menu is a bit hard to read if you Japanese is not very good, but if you ask the waiter about all your izakaya favorites, they will have them, and they will be better than most. On the second floor of a building on its immediate left is a Murasaki izakaya, which is also quite good. The general area of these two is marked on the map. This is also a good area to look for an all-night ramen shop if you need one.
Opposite the izakayas is a deceptively large and hard-to-spot book store. They don't have any English titles, but they have a good selection of maps and atlases right by the front door. And if you can fight your way through the throng of high school kids, there are manga galore. They also carry almost every junior high and high school English textbook you could ever want.
This arcade also houses H.I.S travel, which is an excellent place to plan your trips abroad (they don’t cover domestic travel). Prices are good, and there is generally at least one English-speaking agent. It is opposite a hip-hop clothing store just inside the arcade entrance that faces the bus terminal section of the station.
Also, for those of you who care, there is a small tobacconist that carries American Spirit cigarettes. That and a vending machine across the stree are the only places in Japan that I’ve seen them, and if you’re going get cancer, at least it will be organic cancer, right?
If you exit the arcade to the North, you will arrive at 6 of Koriyama's 7 movie theaters. There are three buildings in a cluster, and after more than a year of going there, I just noticed last month that number 5 is missing. It is in a completely different part of the arcade (near the porn theaters for some reason). Movies are 1,800 yen, except for the last show of the night, which is only 1,000. Friday is Lady's night, and Monday is Men's night, where the gender whose night it is can get 1,000 yen tickets all day. And if that's not confusing enough, the first of every month is 1,000 yen for everyone. As a last bit of advice, the same movie in the same theater might be dubbed instead of subtitled depending on what time you go, so it's good to check. As a general rule, the matinees are dubbed, especially if they are children's movies.
On the left (South) side of Sakura-dori is a small "pedestrian" area. I call it a pedestrian area not because it is one but because it should be. It's a tangle of brick-paved streets that you will be forced to share with a billion taxis even though there is barely room for the people. Because of its convoluted nature, I will not even try to describe where everything is. You'll have to rely on my mapping skills for that.
For every seedy, ugly bar or restaurant in the arcade, there is one nice one in the pedestrian area. In fact, it holds one of Koriyama's best restaurants: Bam Boon. Bam Boon serves a mixed bag of Southeast Asian cuisine, all of which is very good. There is nothing obviously vegetarian on the menu, but if you tell the waiter you want a vegetarian dish, you will be in good hands. Perhaps better than the food, though, is the atmosphere. It's always packed, but the clientele is a lot of fun. It's one of the few times where being squashed in next to a table full of strangers could be the best thing that happenes to you all night.
Across the street and down a bit towards Sakura-dori is one of the nicest izakayas I've ever been too. The decor is a pleasant sort of Japanese-nouveau. It is expensive, but the food is very good, and it would be a perfect place to impress visiting relatives.
If you are looking for more homestyle food, the best omelets I have had in Japan are at Alice's Kitchen. It's above a bakery, and it is the place for a pleasant Sunday brunch. The menu is not as varied as a place like Denny's, but it is charming and tasty and not a chain. On the same street as Alice's is a delightful little cafe that I don’t know the name of. You can spot it by the smell and the red awnings that say Coffee House. If you want to meet friends, plan the revolution (hint: start by destroying that Starbucks), or even just pretend you're an eccentric bohemian artist for a few hours, this is the place. The menu is a little bizare, i.e you can get toast with your coffee, but not with hot chocolate and not by itself. The first time I went there, for no reason they gave me an egg with my java. The cappuchino and the hot chocolate are the tastiest drinks. The espresso is OK, but I'd hold off unless you really want to get juiced up. They serve about six shots worth in a regular teacup.
Close to the center of the brick area is a street that is not brick. On it are three notable eateries. There is a larger Dou t'Or. Next to it is a hotel with some stores on the first floor. In the front of this little mall is a gelateria that is quite good. In front of that building to the right of the door is a staircase leading down. In that basement is a very tasty little Italian place that I don't know the name of. They have an all-English menu that you can request if you don't get it automatically. I recommend the eggplant gratin. And if you really want to pay too much for something, there is the Usui department store. The basement has an overpriced grocery store, and somewhere upstairs is a little cafe with good cakes and belgian waffles and whatnot.
There are more bars in this section of town that you can shake a keitai at, and I won't even try to cover them all, but there are a few that stand out. The loudest and most obvious is the Downtown International Bar. I don't recommend you hang out there on a regular basis, but if you want to get loaded and dance till dawn, Downtown delivers. Elan, the manager, has a decent collection of good Latin music, and will turn off the top 40s club crap if you ask him to. Plus, the man can dance like a fiend. This is also a good place to practice your English, Spanish, Portuguese, or sometimes even Japanese. It’s also a good place to dance on the bar if you take your shoes off first. Admittedly, the place can be a bit of a meat market, but on the upside, it is one of the few places where it is fairly easy to dance with, drink with, and have fun with total strangers. What you do after that is up to you.
For mellower entertainment, there are some nice places to relax and have a few drinks. The two that stand out (not surprisingly owned by the same person) are Georgia, on the 3rd or 4th floor of its building, and Crossroads on the first floor with a big neon sign. They are both in different buildings on the same corner opposite a parking lot and a row of cigarette vending machines (see the map). Georgia is more popular, and you have a good chance of being able to strike up conversations with a variety of people. The drinks are fairly cheep, and the atmosphere is good overall. Also, they have a miniature bowling game. What could be better? Crossroads is much more mellow, and has fewer people, but they have Negra Modelo, which is one of my all-time favorite beers. Their regular bar tender is very nice, and has pretty good taste in music.
The most obvious start in this section is the Marui (OIOI) department store. It has a Virgin Megastore (now dwarfed by tower records) on the top floor. There is also a new Gap in Marui that carries lots of Western sizes. Just down Sakura-dori from Marui, before the Nova English school, is a tiny little shop full of interesting Japanese stuff. If you are looking for gifts to send home, this is a good place to get them.
There aren't many interesting shops in the brick area since it is mostly bars and restaurants, but it is worth poking around. Also, the street leading from Sakura-dori to Usui has some good stuff, plus three arcades. Usui itself is generally badly overpriced, but the bookstore on the top floor is worth checking out. They have a small selection of English titles, along with great post cards, posters, calendars, and lots of English magazines.
There are two places that are outside the areas I just mentioned, but are still within striking distance of the station. The first is a fantastic Indian restaurant. It is a little pricey, but the food is copious and very good. Plus, the owner is a really nice guy. The place is not so popular with the Japanese yet, possibly because it is too authentically Indian, so I recommend going there before he either goes under or changes his menu.
The second place is yet another shopping center called Aeon Town. To get there, leave the station and turn left. Walk to a light where a left turn will send you across an arched bridge that goes over the railroad tracks. Cross the bridge and walk till you see a 7-eleven on your left. Turn right and walk until you see a huge pink sign that says Aeon Town. In this center are four places that make it worth the trip. There is an electronics/book store called MegaLive that has the same stuff as Yodobashi, only more of it. However, it also occasionally has racks of 300 yen CDs and discount vinyl. On the same side as Megalive is a place called Baux Arts. If you are looking to redecorate, you can find some great stuff there. Most of it probably comes from the dismal sweatshops of Southeast Asia, but if you can live with that, you can get some nice rugs, dishes, tables, etc. On the North side of the complex is a Megamart that looks like a Japanese K-Mart. It’s got piles of cheap everything. Aeon Town also has a 100 Yen Plaza. The place is almost overwhelming in its variety. Once I bought a plastic cat-o-nine-tails for a party, just to give you an idea of what you can find if you look.
Tune in next month we we'll venture out of downtown into the murky outer reaches.
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