Foreigners around Suginami was in Asagaya with foreign exchange students.

The first tour of foreigners around Suginami was in Asagaya with foreign exchange students Santosh and Shilash from Nepal, Shin from China, and American Joseph, from Hawaii. Along with organizer Greg, also from the US (Boston), the 5 of them enjoyed discovering Asagaya.

初めての外国人散歩はネパールのサントスさんとシラスさん、中国のシンさん、ハワイのジョセフさん、アメリカの私（グレッグ）で5人。グレッグさん以外は留学生。日本に住んでいると、当たり前のことでも外国人からみれば興味をひくことも…。皆で阿佐谷を散歩しました。

Walking Down Former Naka-sugi Rd

First we headed toward the former Naka-sugi road, and were immediately confronted by a ghost! Not a real ghost, of course, but a Halloween decoration... we were surprised at this because it wasn't really a typical Japanese style decoration, but rather an out-of-place ghost sitting in a truck. In the US we decorate like this, but everyone tries to make it as scary as possible...

Some things in particular that we found very interesting and worth seeing were among the new modern culture as well as old traditional culture of Japan. For example, we found a "capsule toy store" which none of our countries have but seems very typical of Japan. There was an amazing amount of figures there, each culturally significant and collectible. I have always been interested in such figures.

We also went to a hand-made basket store, and marveled at the items outside the shop. We did not go inside but we were kindly greeted by the store owner, who shared very interesting conversation with us about how these baskets are traditionally made-- the process is long and arduous. We were all very impressed.

It was a very interesting time talking about both our fascinations with Japan and the differences from our own countries... we were able to sample many kinds of food, some Japanese, some not. Some things were even tried for the first time, others enjoyed and compared to the other times we have had them. I was most surprised that Santosh and Shilash never had sushi until they came to Japan, because I used to enjoy it a lot in Boston before coming to Japan (although it is much better here of course).

We each decided to share some certain things of interest from our excursion. Please enjoy, and check them out!
Greg Mudarri, U.S.A.

阿佐ヶ谷駅から旧中杉通りへ
旧中杉通りへ向かっている時、お化けに会いました！　もちろん、本当の幽霊ではなく、ハロウィンの飾りです。でも、日本的なカワイイ飾り物ではなく、アメリカっぽいお化けだったのでビックリしました。アメリカでもハロウィンのために飾り付けをしますが、できるだけ怖くするのがアメリカ流です。 　　
それからカプセルおもちゃのお店がありました。これはアメリカにはありませんが、日本にはたくさんあります。このお店にはフィギュアがいろいろあって、日本のアニメや漫画のものだけではなく、アメリカや他の国のものもありました。とても面白かったです。

次は手作りの籠のお店を訪ねて、外に出てる商品を見て驚きました。そこでは親切な店長から色々な話を聞かせてもらいました。特に伝統的な籠の作り方の説明は面白かったです。また、籠だけではなく、カーテンや帽子も作っているそうです。どれも作るのに時間がかかるそうで、私はとても感動しました。
執筆：Greg Mudarri（アメリカ）

Cultural Diversity in Tokyo

Coming to Japan had always been my dream. I have always been fascinated with Japanese technology and Japanese history. The thing that I wasn’t expecting to see
here was the religious and cultural diversity. Walking through the old streets of Minami Asagaya, Suginami, I was stunned to see the strange but beautiful Halloween decorations. Halloween being a western festival and me being a South Asian, I was delighted to see the decorations. I also got to see few South Asian restaurants with the pictures of Hindu gods and goddesses. The old street of Asagaya was full of surprises and the most astonishing of all was the legendary Buddhist figure called “Daruma”. We came across Daruma, a yaki-tori restaurant. Curiously I asked the kind owner, who explained saying Daruma is a symbol for achieving one’s goal. He also said that it is a charm for good luck. In a nutshell, the streets of Asagaya were thrilling and I was surprised to see the cultural diversity I Japan.

Shop Name：Daruma
Address：Suginami-ku Asagaya Kita 2-12-23
TEL：03-3310-4466
Shop Owner：Tatsuya Hasegawa

Shilash Sharma, Nepal

東京には多様な文化がある
日本に来るのはずっと私の夢だったんです。特に日本のテクノロジーと歴史が魅力的だと思います。でも、日本で多様な宗教や文化がみられるとは思いませんでした。杉並区阿佐谷北の旧中杉通りを歩いて、ちょっと奇妙できれいなハロウィンの飾りがあってビックリしました。私は南アジア人ですが、日本に西洋の習慣のハロウィンの飾りがあることが、特に面白かったです。
南アジアのレストランもいろいろありました。どこもヒンズーの神様のイメージです。阿佐谷北の道で驚いた物はたくさんありましたが、一番はインドの「だるま」の伝説でした。「だるま」という焼き鳥屋さんがあって、親切な店長さんが意味を説明して下さいました。目標が叶う象徴とか幸運の意味を持っているそうです。阿佐谷北の道はとても面白くて、多様な文化が観られて良かったです。

店名：だるま
住所：杉並区阿佐谷北2-12-23　　TEL：03-3310-4466
店主：長谷川 達也（はせがわたつや）さん

執筆：Shilash Sharma（ネパール）

First Gelato Experience in Japan

Wow, look at this! Such delicious looking gelato. I decided to try 3 of them; Mille-Feuille, Kokuto, and Pione. Eating the Mille-Feuille, I tasted strawberries and vanilla, but with some crunch from the cornflakes. Now what will Kokuto taste like? It tasted like caramel, since it's made from brown sugar. Last is Pione, the plum gelato. And that's what it tasted like, a fruity plum but I found out later that it's actually made from grape. I can't believe that tucked away in Suginami was Sin Ce Rita, producing such amazing gelato. Experience very smooth and creamy gelato overflowing with flavor.

Shop Name：Sin Ce Rita
Address：Suginami-ku, Asagaya Kita 1-43-7
TEL：03-5364-9430
Joseph Fong, U.S.A.

日本のジェラート初体験
日本で本当に美味しそうなジェラートを見かけるとは思いませんでした。今日はミルフィーユ、黒糖、ピオーネという、3つの味を食べてみようと思いました。ミルフィーユはイチゴとバニラの味で、アメリカのシリアルのコーンフレークのように、ボリボリ食べました。黒糖はキャラメルの味と近かったです。ピオーネは桃のジェラートかと思いましたが、後で葡萄（ぶどう）から作ったということが分かりました。
すごく美味しいジェラートの「Sin Ce Rita」という店が杉並区にあるなんて、とても素晴らしいと思います。クリーミーな美味しさを経験してください。

店名：Sin Ce Rita
住所：杉並区阿佐谷北1-43-7　　TEL：03-5364-9430
執筆：Joseph Fong（アメリカ）

Delicious Japanese Senbei　and Susi

大家好！我是来自中国的留学生，目前住在杉並区的方南町。很幸障\参加了“外国人散步”的活动，走访了很多有意思的店铺。下面给大家介绍一家卖“手焼きせんべい”的店铺――“八幡煎饼”。位于杉並区阿佐ケ谷北3.11.22。店里有各式各样用大米做成的食品，既美味又营养，价格也很便宜。大家感兴趣的话，不妨去这家店品尝品尝！

I am an exchange student from China. I heard from my friend about an activity for foreigners to go walking around Suginami and was happy to participate. I thought it was very fun to go to various Japanese shops. The one that left the most lasting impression on me was a store called Hachiman Senbei. Here there were many different snacks and treats made from rice. They are delicious, cheap, and nutritious! Since we don't have senbei in China, it was my first time to experience this taste. We tried flavors like seaweed, toffee, and green tea. Personally, I liked the tea flavor the best.

Store Name：Hachiman Senbei
Address：Suginami-ku Asagaya Kita 3-11-22
TEL：03-3338-5561

An Interesting Sushi Experience
I never had sushi before coming to Japan, and once I came hear and tasted it, it became my very favorite food. Since arriving here I have had sushi at many places, but I was really fascinated by Futaba Sushi nearing the end of our walk down Kyu Naka-sugi Dori.

At Futaba Sushi the owner has been making sushi for 60 years, so you can get some really delicious sushi made by a man who loves what he does. I was also surprised by his wife who helps him there, as she was using an abacus for all the calculations. In Nepal I had seen an abacus when studying computer history and maybe when I was an elementary school student. But it was a very interesting experience for me seeing her use one. I asked why she didn't use the calculator that was there and she told me she had more confidence in using the abacus. When I saw her using it, I thought that I would really like to learn how to use one too. They were an interesting couple, and their sushi was very delicious.

Store Name：Futaba Sushi
Address：Suginami-ku Asagaya Kita 3-27-9
TEL：03-3337-2817
Store Owner：Tetsuhide Ichinose
　
Santosh Yonjan, Nepal

私は中国から来た留学生です。友達を通じて「外国人散歩」という今回の活動に参加しました。いろいろな店へ行ってとても楽しいと思いました。その中でも私が最も印象に残ったのは「八幡煎餅」という店です。お店の中には「米」で作った様々なお菓子があります。美味しいし、安いし、栄養もあります。中国にはこういうお菓子はありませんから、私にとって初めての味でした。海苔や飴やお茶の味があります。個人的にお茶の味のせんべいが好きです。

店の名前：八幡煎餅
住所：杉並区阿佐谷北3-11-22　　TEL：03-3338-5561

執筆：Shin Shotan（中国）

日本へ来て初めてお寿司を食べたら、一番好きな食べ物になりました。その後、日本の色々な場所のお寿司を食べましたが、今回の散歩で二葉寿司という店に魅了されました。
そこでは60年もお寿司を作っている店長さんが、心をこめて作った美味しいお寿司を食べることができます。そのほかに驚いたことは、店の奥さんが算盤を使って計算していることです。私の国ではパソコンを使って歴史の勉強をした時や、小学生の頃に算盤を見たことがあります。奥さんが算盤を使っているのを見るのは、とてもいい経験になりました。算盤のこと聞いたら隣にある計算機を見ながら、計算機を使うのに自信がなかったので算盤を使っていると言いました。でも、算盤を使っている時の奥さんを見たら、私も算盤の使い方を習いたいと思いました。

店名：二葉寿司
住所：杉並区阿佐谷北3-27-9　　TEL：03-3337-2817
店主：一之瀬 哲英（いちのせてつひで）さん
　
執筆：Santosh Yonjan（ネパール）