So - our first dull day in Tokyo and it's been a great day (am I starting to sound a bit like a parrot?? I can't help it . . . . all of the days have been fantastic!!)
Today we were meeting up with Haruna san. Haruna san works at NTC (Nissan Technical Center) in Atsugi, Kanagawa prefecture and to be honest, I am the bane of poor girls' life! I hound her every single day for Trial parts, timing plans, delivery dates and Supplier information! But we chat a lot and get on really well and we always said we would like to have coffee together and have a good old gossip . . . well today was the day!
Haruna san made the long journey to Tokyo (about 2 hours) and met us at the Senso-ji Temple. As we had met at the Temple, we decided to go in there first and have a look around. We stopped off to get a fortune . . . I got a good fortune and Haruna got a regular fortune!
We then went into the Temple to make an offering and ask for a blessing/wish. Scott avoided this part due to his unfortunate experience last year. Once again this year, the temple was really busy, so people are throwing their coins into the donation box . . . . as most Japanese are smaller and Scott is taller, he was getting a few coins smacked off the back of his head . . . so this time, he stayed outside and waited for us!
When we came out of the Temple Haruna san said she had booked a restaurant for lunch. Scott was more than a bit wary at this point . . . but he came along! It turns out he had absolutely nothing to worry about - lunch was brilliant.
However, on the way to the restaurant, we were stopped by a large parade coming down the Senso-ji. We had no clue what it was all about, but there were huge crowds and we were being pushed out of the way to make a path by the police for the parade to come through.
There were a lot of small children in the front of the parade dressed up in all their traditional kimono finery and they were followed by girls wearing elaborate hats fashioned into Herons. Behind the, was a large float being carried by a number of men with men and women in the float playing drums and flutes.
It was an amazing sight to see - but I couldn't really get any good photos . . . there were too many people and we were being moved out of way by the police (and I'm not messing with them!!!)
Soooo cute!
Heron hats
Big float
Inside the temple we noticed there were a couple of small statues on smaller platforms and people were pouring water over the statue. Once again 'Google' to the rescue . . . these are statues of the baby Buddha and they were pouring Amacha (Sweet tea) over him as an expression of devotion (it is said to have rained sweet tea the day Buddha was born).
So, after all that pushing and shoving, it was time to get to the restaurant. It was a small restaurant in an alley. Once inside, Scott's heart sank . . . . there were low tables and cushions on the floor. Never mind . . . so shoes off and we went to our table - where surprisingly we found there was a pit under our table, so we didn't have to sit on our legs through the meal. Comfy or what?!?!?
Haruna san had ordered us a traditional meal called Chankonabe. It is a one pot meal that is eaten in vast quantities by Sumo Wrestlers. We were given a big pot that was filled with a broth and put on a grille on our table . . . . then 2 large plates came out filled up with chicken, tofu, mushrooms, noodles and veggies (bok choy, daikon, leeks and some other green stuff). We were then left to cook our own food. It is a very protein based meal but is considered to be quite healthy.
Haruna san took over the cooking part and filled the pot with the first lot of food. Within minutes it was cooked and she started serving the first lot out. We established early on that Scott loves chicken and mushrooms and hates 'green' food while Haruna and I didn't like mushrooms . . . but liked the green food! So Scott got all the mushrooms and some chicken while we ate chicken and the 'green' stuff!!
Scott was also very adventurous and tried tofu!!! I nearly fell through the pit! But he ate it - didn't have another piece, but all the same, he had some!
The meal was gorgeous and we managed to plough our way through most of it!!! We finished the meal off with a nice cup of green tea.
I didn't take any photos, as I thought it would be impolite . . . but I've nicked one off t'internet so you can get an idea of what it was all about . . .
So, very full . . . we needed to walk a bit! We ended up down by the river checking out all the very lovely Cherry Blossoms . . .
Cherry Blossoms . . . I'll never get bored of these
Me and Haruna san (it's a shocking picture of me - but a lovely one of Haruna san)
We now made our way to Tokyo station as we were going to check out the Ghibli shop (well - it was more me than the other 2!!!) As usual, I fell in love with all the Ghibli stuff and came away with . . .
A cat bus
A soot sprite
and a Totoro!!!
Yes - I KNOW I'm 41 . . . but I love Totoro!!!
We had a small pit stop in Tokyo station for coffee and cake and decided where to go next.
Quick train journey and we were at Tokyo Tower and the Zojoji Temple. Tokyo Tower is the current communication tower (until the Sky Tree opens). It was built in 1958, is inspired by the Effiel Tower and is the second tallest artificial structure in Japan.
Yeah - I know . . . my pictures aren't very good. The sun was setting and it was playing havoc with my camera!
Hmm - the night time photos are not much better!!!
So I'll chuck in a picture of me and Scott instead.
Haruna san is a keen photographer and brought her special big camera with her, so she may put some of the photos she took of me and Scott on our FB page (Scott wasn't too happy about all the photo's - you know what he's like . . . but he just couldn't say no to Haruna san haha).
One more coffee stop and a good bit of gossip and time was ticking on. We were OK, but I was very aware that Haruna san had a 2 hour journey ahead of her (and work tomorrow) and she had to start her journey in Shinjuku station . . . . !!
So the end of another lovely day (the sun was shining, but it was still a bit chilly . . . though it is expected to warm up tomorrow!!). We've had a really great day with Haruna san and it's been lovely to finally meet her after all this time working together.
We are having a bit of a re-scheduling of the itinerary tonight, so I'm not too sure what we are doing tomorrow - but you can bet it will be great!!
Finally . . . tonight's blog has been brought to you by . . .
Now - these are not what I thought they would be . . . I thought they would be a biscuit . . but they are more like a wagon wheel with strawberry in the middle . . . still lush tho!!!!
Until tomorrow . . . love n hugs xxx
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