The cat in the eel shop　-Murakami radio-

      Once upon a time, there was a small eel shop by the police box on Omotesando. I don't remember the name. It was built in the old Shimotaya style, and there was always a cat basking on the cushions in the seating area. I used to love going to that eel shop in the late afternoon and eating eel next to the cat. The eel shop is now gone and has been replaced by a fast-food restaurant called Subway. In the old days, the area was much more laid-back and less crowded, and there was still an environment where cats could nap comfortably. Even when I was eating eels next to the cat, it was sleeping peacefully without a care in the world. It must have got tired of smelling the eel. I lived in the Aoyama area for quite a long time and frequented many shops, but most of them have already disappeared. In terms of supermarkets, Yours is gone and Kinokuniya has changed completely. When I was in my twenties, an elderly shop assistant came to me while I was buying vegetables at Kinokuniya, and gave me a long and passionate lecture on how to choose fresh lettuce. I wondered if he had a lot of free time on his hands, but someone later told me that he was the president of Kinokuniya. I don't know if this is true (if it is, it's quite a nice story), but in any case, that's where I learnt how to choose lettuce. When there was a restaurant called KIHACHI near the Aoyama Bridge, we always went there to eat whenever there was heavy rain, heavy snow or a typhoon. Usually, it was difficult to get a table, but when the weather was bad, reservations were canceled one after another, so we could enjoy our meals in the empty restaurant in peace and quiet.

At that time I was living in a nearby apartment building (which has recently been demolished), so I was not affected by the heavy rain and strong winds. I often wondered if a typhoon would come soon. KIHACHI has also moved somewhere else. When Afternoon Tea was near the Nezu Museum, I used to go there to read books. It was quite useful because it was hard to find a brightly lit coffee shop where I could read books in peace and quiet. However, the places I found useful usually disappeared shortly afterwards. And now, as far as I can see, there are only Starbucks.
On my way home from Jingu Stadium, I used to drop in at the "Arcool" bar on Gaien Nishi Dori for a drink. When I ordered a cocktail with a made-up name (e.g. 'Siberian Breeze'), the jabbering barman would make and serve me a suitable cocktail without changing colour. It was a strange place. Another of my secret pleasures was eating veal cutlets with a draft beer at the counter of Roy's, just around the corner. Unfortunately, both have moved on.
But what I remember most fondly may be the eel restaurant in Omotesando. There were no Omotesando Hills, no Louis Vuitton or Benetton, no Hanzomon Line, the police officers at the police box always looked bored and the cats were sound asleep on the cushions in the sun. But I wonder if cats are interested in eels at all.

This Week in Murakami.

I used to have a cat that liked the seaweed in Shinagawa rolls. Thanks to her, I had to eat only the contents without the seaweed.