Friday, July 18th: Headed to Kyoto (A dream come true)

I didn't do terribly much today in anticipation of Kyoto. My dogs are worn out as my parents might say! My feet are killing me, in other words, from walking around all the time for hours a day. And I know we will be walking nonstop all weekend, so I took it easy today and just looked through Mitsukoshi. Mitsukoshi is huge. At first, I got lost and wound up outside between the big store and the annex. Apparently, it spans two buildings! I think the annex is the super fancy part. There is even an art gallery on the top floor. There is a half floor dedicated to kimono and another floor for housewares. It was fun, but I was really just biding time until we hop on the bullet train and speed towards Kyoto!

The bullet train is very nice and super fast at 200 miles per hour. We boarded at Tokyo station at 6:35pm, the train left at exactly 6:40pm (on the dot, as per the departure time on our tickets), and arrived just after eight. The bullet trains come about every twenty minutes and are always, always on time to the minute. It was very relaxing, but I look forward to the trip back when I can see out the window to the countryside. Still, a vendor came through the aisles with beers and snacks, so it was a nice for S and I to have two hours just to relax, catch up, have a beer and do nothing but talk or nap.



We are staying at the Westin Miyako Kyoto, which is close enough for us to walk to Gion- my number one destination! Once we got settled, we headed to dinner and had our first bottle of Japanese wine.

I don't know a whole lot about wine, but it was fun to have some from Japan! The restaurant at the Westin had a lot of Americans in it. I think it caters to a lot of tours; there were some large buses in the parking lot. Both Stefan and I were so surprised at how loud the Americans seemed after spending so much time in Japan! It is so much quieter here, and you can actually hear yourself in restaurants or on the subway, so the loud laughter and talking in the restaurant came as a surprise to us both.

The food was nothing to write home about and we each had the curry dinner because it seemed like either that or burgers. I have to say, the soup was the best part- it was some sort of squash.

And S bravely ate what I thought was going to be a searing hot Thai red pepper- but turns out it was not, thankfully!




Then it was off to bed so that we can tackle a full day in Kyoto tomorrow! I can't wait! Ever since reading Memoirs of a Geisha, I have wanted to see Kyoto and Gion. So, finally, tomorrow, I will be walking in Gion myself and hopefully even see a geisha or two!

July 17th: Dinner at Gonpachi with Hiroko and Mayumi

We went back to the Roppongi area for dinner with Hiroko and Mayumi, who work in the Tokyo office. I met up with everyone at the office and we took a cab to Nishi-Azabu, which is either near or in Roppongi. I first met Mayumi, who was waiting for me in the lobby- a little concerned because I was a few minutes late (not as late as the rest!) and thought perhaps I had gotten lost. Mayumi has lived in the States, in various cities, and so it was nice to talk to her- a little bit of home. She has lived in Dallas, LA, Atlanta...and her brother currently lives in Boston. And we talked a bit about our upcoming trip to Kyoto. Mayumi's mother is from there, so she goes there about once a year.

For dinner, we went to Gonpachi, which is rather famous- both for being an insipiration for the movie "Kill Bill" and for being the place where Prime Minister Koizumi took President Bush to dinner on his visit. S and I had our picture taken RIGHT where they stood!

The restaurant is set up to look like a feudal castle from the outside and (I think) a village square from the inside. Whenever new people arrive for dinner, the entire wait staff shouts out a greeting- at first, it makes you look to see who it is every time!

The food was excellent- we had so many little dishes to start, like delicious chilled tofu and something that is like a large edamame pod that you first peel to get the beans, then you have to peel the individual beans themselves! We also had little skewers of duck, fatty tuna and foie gras with strawberries- all of that was phenomenal. My favorite was the fatty tuna and Stefan's was the duck. We also had something- beef, I think- but all I can recall was the yummy, vinegary spicy sauce on it! We finished up with cold soba noodles. When you come in, you can peek through a window to the kitchen and see the noodle chef cutting up the delicate soba noodles. I've just about mastered (as much as I can) eating noodles with chopsticks but I keep forgetting to use the chopstick holder and rest them on my plate instead. I have to remember not to do that because if you leave your chopsticks in your noodles or rice, it has a meaning in Buddhism, something to do with death!


Hiroko told us two funny stories at dinner- one about a friend and one about herself. The first was about an American friend who had visited her recently. She took the friend to Gonpachi as well, and her friend had eaten nothing but Japanese food the entire time she was here! Japanese food is much lighter than American food. Her friend apparently had a dream one night and woke up craving cheeseburgers! Hiroko said, "Really? You want a cheeseburger for breakfast?" and, like a good friend, sent her husband off to pick one up...but before he left, the friend said, "Two! Two Cheeseburgers!". And so, despite that her friend usually eats fairly light, even in the states, she started off her day in Tokyo with two cheeseburgers.

Hiroko has also lived in the States for a year during high school with an American family. She said that, at first, everything was too sweet for her- like brownies- but after a few weeks, she was eating it all up. She said she gained 20 lbs in three months- which is kind of hilarious because Hiroko is so small and petite- she's nothing but little bird bones! She was so funny- she ticked off the culprits on her fingers, "Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas". I had never thought of it that way before but it is a three month marathon of eating! She said she couldn't send pictures home because her face had changed so and it would shock her parents! Who is that? Hiroko?

After dinner, we walked up to Roppongi Hills, a fancy housing complex designed to be a mini-city with everything you need inside! The Roppongi Hills complex also brings some luxury and sophistication to Roppongi, which is the wild nightlife spot for Tokyo (Nishi-Azabu is the more tame, sophisticated spot in Roppongi). As you climb the escalators to the complex, there is a lush garden area, a full two stories above the city street, and we had our picture taken in front of Louis Bourgeois's Spider Statute, which was both elegant and creepy.

Then it was up to the fifty second floor "Tokyo City View" which houses a 360 degree view of the city, as well as the Mori Art Museum (which I will revisit later).

The views were breath taking- you could see the Tokyo Tower, an Eiffel Tower replica that is actually larger than the real thing, as well as many other landmark buildings that Hiroko and Mayumi pointed out to us. Unfortunately, the pictures don't quite do it justice, but I will post the best ones so you can get an idea! The city just goes on and on, in every direction, for as far as the eye can see! It twinkled and pulsed, and you could make out cars moving along the main streets, and some of the large neon and TV displays!

We had freshly made juices at the "Watta Juice"- I had a tomato mango concoction that, yes, sounds totally foul, but somehow it worked! It was refreshing, not too sweet, and supposedly a "beauty enhancer". I'll let you all be the judge of that (ha).



Lastly, before we left, Mayumi asked us if we would like to all go to a restaurant called Ninja. Apparently, the restaurant is set to look like an ancient castle and the waiters are all dressed as Ninja and sneak up with your menus and food. Mayumi said that she has always wanted to go there, but feels like it is really for tourists and not for locals...and of course we agreed to go! I can't wait to go, and yes, I will take pictures.

Look! The moon over Tokyo....I still can't believe I am here!

Thursday, July 17th: Exploring Shibuya

Shibuya is another center of Tokyo teen culture, a little like Harajuku, so I had to see it for myself! It is home to the world's busiest pedestrian crossing, called Hachiko crossing.



When I came out of the subway, it took me a few minutes to get my bearings and just to take it all in! Once done, I scouted out the bronze statute of Hachiko. Hachiko is a famous dog who waited at Shibuya station at the end of each day for his owner, and continued to do so after the owner's death for years. I thought it was such a sweet story and was quite pleased to find the statute.
I wandered around for a bit, heading into 109- another hot spot for teen fashion that reminded me a bit of Laforet in that it had bunches of little boutiques, but not so in that the fashion was much, much edgier and more trendy. All the sales girls were dressed to the hilt in not very much, all very short and tight. Plus, they were quite tanned and had lots of big, curled hair. If 109 is any indication, big hair and tans are definitely back! That and short shorts. I felt old. It was definitely a place for teenagers.

I even attempted a little bit of shopping myself! I wanted some bath bubbles for the big old bath here at the Mandarin, so I went into Lush (Lush always makes me think of Jessica Puma Altro...she sent me home from Miami once with a bunch of yummy Lush things from her own cabinet and I've been hooked ever since...going into Lush is a little like a hug from Jessica). Well, next thing I knew, I was walking around with my hands wrapped in saran wrap so that I could shop while the face masks went to work on my hands! It was fun, even more so when the sales girl talked to me in Japanese so that I had no idea what the desired effect was supposed to be. She gently rubbed it off, smiling and nodding and looking at me expectantly, so I smiled and said "Mmmmm. Nice." She repeated this back to me multiple times in fits of giggles. I have no idea why I am so funny, aside from the fact that I am an almost six foot tall woman, clad head to toe in pink and yellow like a big crazy piece of candy topped off with a head full of banana cotton candy hair. I think I stuck out more in Shibuya than ever before!

I did manage to find Center Gai as well. It is a pedestrian street and the place where the "Center Guys" hang out- these are the fashionable young guys dressed up, as my guide book puts it so well, like "a cross between a biker, a cowboy and a front man for an 80's hair band". It was a little street, but given that it was early morning, very quiet and, sadly, I saw no "center guys". However, it's clear that their girly equivalent, the "mamba", are working at 109.

Lastly, before hopping back on the train to head home to get ready for dinner, I got a quick bird's eye view of Hachiko crossing.

It's not perfect, what with the reinforced glass, but you can get a feel for how busy the street can be!

July 16th: Festival at Yasukuni Shrine

Stefan and Connor picked me up at the Hotel and we headed over via cab to a big festival at Yasukuni Shrine. We weren't sure what to expect, especially given the controversial nature of the shrine. However, when we arrived, it was a bustling, crowded festival, lit with lanterns, lined with food stalls and filled with people, some even in kimono! I felt like a little kid, all wide eyed, because it was so much to take in.


As we walked along, Connor explained some of the dishes on offer and introduced me to Chu Hi- a sort of shochu (a Japanese liquor much like vodka) cocktail, flavored with lemon and in this case, drunk straight from the can. It was light and not too sweet, but Stefan and Connor had beers. Connor also explained that all the lanterns are from corporate sponsors, which explains the different characters on them. There we are, me with my Chu Hi.


In the center of the four walkways, there were women in Kimono dancing with fans, in perfect unison. It was so pretty to watch. The whole festival had a happy, convivial atmosphere....





...until we got to the war museum. That was interesting and a little unnerving. Outside the museum, they had beautiful lanterns displayed, but inside, it was a strange grouping of items that included a car from the Thai-Burma line. One of the lanterns outside had the old Japanese flag and the new flying side by side. Stefan was quite surprised by this- doing something similar in, say, Germany, would get you arrested.

Still, it couldn't detract from the overall effect of the lanterns, dancers, all the people and my own sense of excitement just to be there!

There was a little pathway lined with small lanterns donated by individuals- mainly women- honoring fallen soldiers of family members lost in various wars. All the Japanese soldiers and civilians lost in war are enshrined here. While this does include nine Class A war criminals, I felt it more as a monument to the countless others who lost their lives during a war, and tried to see it from that perspective, as I presume it was originally intended.



There was also an art contest of painted lanterns, and it made for a nice quiet walk to view them, away from the thronging crowds in the main thoroughfare, and at the end of the day, I have never seen anything like this festival!

July 16th: Stroll through Nihonbashi

This morning, after my coffee and honey scone at Tully's, across from our Hotel, I decided to explore the neighborhood a little bit before meeting Stefan for lunch. I stopped to take a photo of this beautiful kimono- I had noticed them putting it up in a little shop on Monday and stopped to admire it then. It is breathtaking, I think, so I wanted to share. This little store seems to sell only the very finest kimono and I wonder if some of them are antiques.

I just can't get over the delicate pattern of leaves and branches on this one, with the trees growing up out of the forest floor along the hem. It's one of the most stunning garments I have ever seen. I can't imagine wearing such a work of art!

(As a side note, I did show the concierge the pictures of the ladies modeling kimono in Ueno park and she told me that they were famous models here in Japan, which explains the throng of photographers. She also told me that they were modeling kimono that are traditionally worn in summer only.)

There is a little bridge on the street leading away from the hotel further into the Nihonbashi neighborhood and here is where I found these ornate street lamps that caught my eye.


Very grand.

I had noticed it on my way into the city our first night.







A lot of the highways in Tokyo go right over the river and the supports for these go right down in the the bottom of the rivers, like so:


I ventured off onto a side street, which has a very different feel from the wide avenues I have been on all week (in Ginza and Ometsando).

It was on one of these side streets that I received a promotional packet for some sort of festival (thank goodness for the doorman at the hotel, who was able to tell me what all it was). Usually, I don't take that kind of stuff but it came in one of these nice clear plastic folders that I can reuse for school, and this one is especially nice...it has a big old Hello Kitty! YAY!















Lastly, I met Stefan for lunch, where we again picked up something from Lawsons. The whole convenience store lunch is such a bargain- five dollars for a big sushi tray, two dollars for sandwiches and rice cakes. I'm a wee bit tired of rice, so I had a sandwich and I have to show you all the label on it....under the little bunny sticker, it says "We hope you can choose the best one for yourself." This cracked both of us up. I hope so, too!

I have no idea if this was the best one, but it sure was good! (I think it was ham, mayonnaise, egg, cucumber and a little bit of wasabi.)

Tuesday, July 15th: Katsu Dinner

When Stefan got home from work today, we decided to go down to the basement level of the building and try out one of the restaurants there. In all the subway stations, of which there is one in our building, there are cafes, restaurants and bars. These underground spots were a surprise to me. At T stations in Boston, there isn't even a vending machine to be found! Some of them are quite nice looking- these aren't just fast food dives. I had noticed at lunch time (when I had gone down to pick up something at the am/pm- another convenience store) that one was particularly busy and every seat in the tiny place was taken, even at the counter. There are probably only seats for twenty or thirty in each of these little spots in the basement of the Nihonbashi Mitsui basement and all of them look quite nice but are not terribly expensive.

So, we decided to give it a shot and walked past the four or five downstairs. Most were almost empty, save for the Katsu one we chose (the same busy one from lunch). We walked in and one of the waitresses immediately came up, bowed a bit and told us there were no English menus. Stefan was ready to back away, but I pleaded with him to give it a try. We were seated and handed a menu that had little pigs all along its border. Katsu- it's a restaurant serving only pork dishes. (The restaurants in Japan aren't like the ones back home in that they specialize in one thing- tempura, yakatori, or noodles- and don't offer a few dishes of all the types of cuisines.) Stefan said he would have never done anything like this without me. He looked skeptical, but I felt it was an adventure! Besides, it wasn't like we had no clue what it would be....it would definitely be pork.

There was no way for us to really communicate with the waitress, who looked a little overwhelmed that we had decided to stay. She made a sort of hand gesture that indicated pork skewers and we ordered two of those. I also pointed to something on the menu. Just randomly pointed to something and S ordered us two beers. When she left, hilarity ensued. We were sitting at the bar, in plain view of the two cooks, who clearly thought the whole thing was so silly! Stefan thought they were laughing at us, but it was not mean spirited. It was more as though they were laughing with us- we were also giddy at the fact that, really, we had no idea what was going to be served to us! Stefan said for all we knew, we had just ordered pig's ear or pig's hoof. Well, what came out were two perfectly seasoned grilled pork skewers! They were delicious...just perfect and perhaps the best thing I'd tasted since arriving.

Then the one of cooks kept coming round the side of the bar and I thought he was going to try and talk to us, but he kept losing his nerve. Finally, he came up to us and we tried to communicate- to no avail. He scurried off and came back with a printed sheet of paper with Japanese characters running up and down in four lines. I said out loud, "Oh, a special menu!" and so we ordered this. We could hear him in the back with the waitresses mimicking me "SPECIAL menu!" and "YES, PLEASE". So funny and all the staff was cracking up behind the scenes but tried to present a more somber face to us when they weren't hiding. Really, the two cooks could hardly keep it together- they were very young, in their early twenties, and kept turning away a bit to laugh. Then the one cook got to work right in front of us and what he brought us was a very small skillet with pork tenderloins rubbed in black pepper in a sweet-ish onion sauce. The sauce was so good that Stefan said he wished he had a spoon!

The second cook had at this point started something in a big wok that looked delicious- tofu, vegetables, a whipped up egg. We were sitting right in front of his station, separated by a plexiglass wall. When he looked up, I indicated that we'd like one, too. A few minutes later, a little stir fry with succulent bacon and shaved dried pork arrived. This was Stefan's favorite, hands down. At this point, Stefan and I were pretty pleased with ourselves for staying- everything that came out was divine!

The entire time, the staff was giggling and glancing at us, smiling. I think we may have been only one of a few Westerners who had eaten there, perhaps, and certainly one of the few who didn't leave once we realized there was no English menu (and given we spoke no Japanese ourselves). Stefan and I laughed the entire time as well- I had so much fun. We may not have shared the same language, but despite that, we could all still share a laugh.

2 Pork Skewers, a Pork Skillet and one Pork Stir Fry: $2050 Yen
Liquid Courage (courtesy of four Kirin Beers): $2400 Yen
The most delicious, authentic meal we've had so far,
with the most laughing we've done in a long time: PRICELESS

It was so silly and romantic- and delicious- and I'm so glad we stayed. This is a dinner I will never forget and is already one of my favorite memories of traveling with Stefan.

Tuesday, July 15th: Harajuku & The Meiji Shrine

Jet Lag has finally caught up with me and I felt so wonky that I spent most of the morning in bed, reading. But I got up in time to have lunch with Stefan and got to meet Connor as well. Connor is on a 2-3 year expat assignment from Wellington but his wife and children have not arrived yet. He accompanied us to Lawsons, a convenience store where we got our lunch.

The convenience stores here are nothing like the ones at home in that they all have delicious prepared foods, like rice balls and sushi. I've been having rice cakes or rice balls for lunch mostly every day so far. The rice here is so much better- soft and fluffy and flavorful. Some of them have something hidden inside, like a sour plum. Connor introduced us to two new items, a fried tofu wrapped sweet rice roll (more like a dessert!) and the fried chicken balls that come in all different flavors, such as black (pepper), cheese and red (no clue what that one will be- red pepper maybe).

Connor is very nice and invited us to have dinner at his apartment next week. He claims it will be "rugged". I highly doubt it! Nothing in Tokyo is rugged, as far as I can tell!



Stefan and I ate lunch in a park near his office and on the way, we crossed a river and there were lots of little turtles sunning themselves on the protruding rocks. We'd never seen so many turtles in once place!

Then, it was off to Harajuku for me! At first, when I came up from the metro station in Omotesando, I was quite disappointed- was all of Tokyo going to be huge designer stores, one after the other? But Omotesando did have more to offer- a tree lined avenue and some off the beaten path stores like Laforet (a department store dedicated to Tokyo's trendy teens), Oriental Bazaar (for well priced Japanese souvenirs) and Kiddyland (by far my favorite thus far).

Laforet had tons of designers and brands I had never heard of (Milkfed and Child Woman) and each designer had their own distinct boutique within the store. And every boutique had their own music playing, which made for a confusing blare of a few different songs all at once when you walked through.

Kiddyland was a riot. I've never seen so many funny little toys! Things such as little boxes about the size of mini-cereal boxes full of tiny, tiny plastic toys (pandas- a dozen or so in the box- or miniature plastic food, plastic food being a big thing in Japan and on display in front of many restaurants). One box was called "Hello, Hawaii!" and had a hula girl, palm trees, and a tiny Louis Vuitton bag (?!?). There were hundreds of cell phone charms (and hundreds of those were various Hello Kitties). Everything was SO SMALL. I really enjoyed it and look forward to going back but fear I'll have no restraint. I already want the funny anime key covers and a plastic folder with little cartoon pandas all over it.

I also visited the Meijii Shrine with its huge Torii Gates. The people in the picture should give you and idea of the scale.



I was awed by their size. I thought the walk through the park may bore me, but it was so beautiful, peaceful and shaded that I surprised myself by enjoying that most of all.



I did see a few Harajuku girls, but I didn't take pictures. It was so fun to see a few in person, but there were not that many to see. I think I will have to come back on the weekend to really get a good look- and maybe see some "cosplay" kids as well (who dress up in elaborate costumes and do hope to have their picture taken)!

Lastly, as I walked up over the bridge over the traffic near Meiji-Jingumae Station, I got a great view of the Olympic Stadium .