An F-chan's Guide to NYC

[Scourge]

This past week I took my son to NYC. One of the days we were there was devoted to doing Japanese/Asian stuff (other than the Japanese/Asian stuff we did all the other days)...

OH MY GOD I MET FINCH!!

First off, if you're looking for a place in NYC that sells manga, dvds, J-pop/rock and every other kind of Japanese CD, then you should seek out Book Off at 14 E. 41st Street. It's big, it's clean and it's reasonably priced. I picked up a volume of Touch! there as well as a cd...

free music in section below!

SPEENA

The CD in question was from a J-Pop/Rock girl group called "speena", which is from the word supina; I don't know what a supina is, but it's either some cutesy animal or an alien that one of the members is into. Anyway, this song was playing in the store while we were shopping and all of us at the same time were like "What the heck is this!? It's awesome!" There is a thread on this very site in our most infamous section where if you go there, you will understand why this song is so great!

free music in section above!

Me being the apparent assertive one of the three of us, I went downstairs to the front desk to find out who the song was by and what album it was on. The guy lead me to the cd and I trusted him enough to buy it. He didn't lie; it's the right cd. I think Finch got a different cd by them; one with cover songs including Madonna's "Material Girl".

Oms/b (like omusubi)

I'm not lying when I say that my favorite lunch the entire trip to NYC was at Oms/b, a riceball place at 156 E. 45th Street. That's where those pictures above were taken. For about $7 you can get two incredible riceballs of your choice of flavor (my favorite was Shrimp and Wasabi) and a bowl of noodles. Everything was exceptionally tasty. Oh, don't pass up the little pork sausage links either. Very yummy!

The Japan Society

Whatever you do, if you choose to go to the Japan Society, I recommend you check out their calendar of events first to make sure there's something going on like a kabuki or noh play or something, or that their gallery of art is open. They didn't have anything going on the day we went, but their bathrooms are clean and big and the lady at the reception desk is really nice! I thought they'd have a few decent Japanese gardens, but alas, all that was present is pictured above.

Now, right next door to the Japan Society is some ecumenical church, and they have a cool Japanese garden! No pics were taken however.


Flushing, Queens

In case you don't know, Flushing is like another Chinatown, so there's plenty of things to do there involving any number of Asian ethnicities.

Kismet Manga:

(not my pic, just a random internet one)

There's a manga store in Flushing called Kismet Manga (pictured above) at 37-29 Main Street on the 2nd floor. It's a nice place where you can buy manga and some toys, or you can pay to read manga there in their little library place. They also have bubble tea. The taro is really, really good; I didn't get the taro.

One great place to go is Flushing Mall. Somewhere in the deep dark recesses of Flushing Mall is a hidden arcade. Perhaps it moves around like a rave; or maybe only Asian people can find it. We sure didn't. However, go to Flushing Mall to go to ToyQube where you will find a huge assortment of stuff like this:

Green Papaya:

We ate dinner at a Thai restaurant called Green Papaya on Prince Street. I had this dish that was served in a crispy, flaky fried taro root bowl. It was amazing!

(once again, not my pic, just a random internet one)

Back in Manhattan, we capped our day with a trip to Kinokuniya at 10 W. 49th Street right by Rockefeller Center. Kinokuniya is like a Barnes & Noble, but Japanese. We got a couple of tee-shirts and some manga there, then went next door to a very upscale Japanese sweets store where for like $20 you can get 4 or 5 treats. I can't remember the name of this place, but the stuff was really good!

[kingoffighters]

I know the sweet stuff place. We bought some of those cakes things and they were awesome, but overpriced.

Glad you had fun here. How's that manga store in Flushing? Do they have a bargain bin for comics (like under $1)? I need to pickup some cheapies for an art project.

[Scourge]

Kismet was cool. I don't recall seeing any $1 manga bargains there though, but I could be wrong. Book Off had a lot of manga priced at $3 new; it's all Japanese however, but could work for your art project. I remember seeing a bargain bin at Kinokuniya, but don't remember how much.

[Compass]

I'm interested now in this "Speena" of which you speak...

[Finch]

OH MY GOD I MET FINCH!!

or... DID YOU?

edit: I took out a picture from above because I wasn't sure I should post it because Finch was pictured

i would not have minded. these folks have already beheld my beauty at least twice. (they told me to shave and then they said i look like the guy from Clockwork Orange)

Everything was exceptionally tasty. Oh, don't pass up the little pork sausage links either. Very yummy!

it was the best place ever that i was at that moment

We ate dinner at a Thai restaurant called Green Papaya on Prince Street. I had this dish that was served in a crispy, flaky fried taro root bowl. It was amazing!

:F mmmm... thailand food.

then went next door to a very upscale Japanese sweets store where for like $20 you can get 4 or 5 treats. I can't remember the name of this place, but the stuff was really good!

Minamoto Kitchoan!

>:| I am very upset i missed the hina dolls... i didn't know they had spe cial events! I will certainly go to one this year.

[ShinMyk]

I need that milk carton. Also, I'm hoping to visit NYC this summer :d

[Scourge]

I'm interested now in this "Speena" of which you speak...

Then go to Skull & Bones to the music thread to find a special treat.

[Scourge]

Minamoto Kitchoan!

> I am very upset i missed the hina dolls... i didn't know they had spe cial events! I will certainly go to one this year.

Cool! I kept the pretty box my treats were placed carefully and attractively into, plus the little catalogue, so I had the name I just needed to get home to see what it was.

When I go back I'm going to spend loads more money at Book Off and ToyQube. Kinokuniya too. And Oms/b. And more time in Flushing. And Chinatown. Go check out my pictures of the Lunar New Year's parade in Chinatown on flickr (plus many more I took).

[Bacon McShig]

I need that milk carton.

Knock yerself out.

[Scourge]

i would not have minded. these folks have already beheld my beauty at least twice. (they told me to shave and then they said i look like the guy from Clockwork Orange)

Thanks! I put it back in the original post then.

ShinMyk: How long do you plan to stay? Have you been before?

A few pointers regarding travelling to New York for people not from a huge city:

1) As soon as you get there, get a Metrocard to cover unlimited travel for your whole stay and learn the subway system. It's a hell of a lot cheaper than using taxis and you can get anywhere.

2) Wear athletic footwear that is comfortable and broken in because you will walk a lot.

3) Pick a hotel that has easy access to taxis, subways, grocery stores and is near the portion of the city you will be most inclined to be in most.

4) Manhattan is mostly set up in an easy to get around in grid: Streets run south to north (1...59+++) except the lower tip of Manhattan, Greenwich Village, Chinatown, the Lower East Side etc., and avenues run east to west 1 through 12.