Sayonara to Japan

After almost four months we're leaving for home today (Wednesday) and will arrive in San Francisco Wednesday morning. It has been a wonderful experience to live (and for Bill to work) in another country and learn about and enjoy a new culture. We have traveled around the country, have seen most of Tokyo, and have had confirmed for us that we enjoy city living.

So, goodbye Tokyo from our apartment balcony looking north.

And to the south.

And from the garden

Farewell Dinner

We attended a very enjoyable Farewell Dinner for Bill given by his boss Philip, and with the country manager Jim and other men Bill has worked with at Visa Asia these past few months. The famous Kobe beef that was cooked at our table was more marble than beef - shocking, really, to see all the fat - but absolutely delicious. We washed down all the beef and vegetables with wonderful sake.

Great evening.

What's in a name?

We've seen street signs with more letters than this one, but had a camera to record this 22-letter sign - not as long as supercalifragilisticexpialidocious, but getting close!

Here's another sign lost in translation perhaps a bit - decreptitude jumped out at me as a word not used very often, and on the same sign General Grant's wife is referred to as his frau.

Beautiful Hama-riku Gardens

Just a hop, skip and a jump from our apartment we spent our last Sunday in Japan at the gardens shown here (our apartment house is the second from the left distant high rise). It was threatening rain, so for the first time in our Tokyo sightseeing we had the gardens almost to ourselves, and they were the most beautiful of all. In the 17th century the gardens were one of the Imperial residences, but have been public since 1945.

There is a 300-year pine still standing and carefully preserved. Some of the double cherry trees were still blooming, and there were azalea bushes in bloom everywhere.

We had tea in the Nakajima-no-ochaya Teahouse, sitting in the exact position as General Grant had tea in 1850. Unfortunately, my head blocks General Grant in the photo behind us. I won't explain how we got out of our sitting positions after we finished our tea!

Later we ate in an Italian restaurant - the best meal we've had in all the time we've been in Japan - in our very own private room. The restaurant is owned by a retired Formula I race-car driver, Alessandro Ninnini. I think he must have come to Tokyo to teach the chefs how to prepare supurb Italian dishes - we had a delicious subtlely-dressed salad, perfectly prepared pasta pomodoro and an exquisite orange/raspberry compote dessert, all enjoyed with a lovely Italian red wine.

All in all, a great last Sunday in Tokyo.

EXTRA 3-hour Train Ride!

Well, after all this time in Japan we finally made a major traveling error yesterday - definitely lost in translation because of our lack of the Japanese language! We were taking the Shinkansen bullet train to Yokohama, rode right past our stop, and had to stay on the train another hour and a half before the next stop at Nagoya! That necessitated another hour and a half return to Yokohama. We took advantage of our error with a 3-hour nap on a very relaxing and quiet train ride and a closer view of Mt. Fuji.

So we arrived in Yokohama at 1:00p instead of 10:00a, but still had enough time to stroll on the revitalized waterfront and to Chinatown - the largest outside of China except for San Francisco. We were looking forward to a Chinese meal like we have in California, but even in Yokohama Chinese restaurants are owned by Japanese - so our dinner was really Chinese, Japanese-style.

Traveling Exhibit

Today I went to the Tokyo Museum of Modern Art to see a traveling exhibit of a Japanese artist Leonard Foujita , an expat who lived in Paris during the early 1900s. Not only did I go, but the waiting line serpentined for a while, and the exhibit was crowded - but worth the wait and crowds. This artist was friends with Picasso and Modigliani, his work being influenced by them and other Parisian artists of the time.

It has been so interesting during our time in Japan to observe the Japanese and their nationalism and idolatry of famous Japanese people - for example, the artist whose works I saw today and the crowds waiting to view his work - Shizuka Arakawa, the gold medalist in the Olympic ladies figure skating, her success drawing hundreds of little girls to skating rinks trying to learn the "Ina Bauer" spread eagle position - the TV broadcasts of all but only major league baseball games whose teams have Japanese players on their rosters, such as the Mariners and the Yankees. Without a doubt, nationalism is incredibly important in Japan - much more so than I've observed and experienced anywhere else.

Not quite "Lost in Translation"

Even though this sign isn't Lost in Translation it provides some evidence of how difficult it is to learn the English language.

Shabu-shabu

Before we left Tokyo I wanted to eat Shabu-shabu. This is a meal in which all ingredients (paper thin slices of beef and vegetables) are cooked at the table in a nabe, hot pot of water, and eaten from the communal pot. Cooking the food creates tasty broth from the water.

So Philip invited us over for Shabu-shabu last night. Not only did we have beef, but we had chicken and pork, shrimp and fish, and a ton of beautiful vegetables for an incredible feast. It was great fun to keep adding to the nabe and eating such a variety of food. We had fresh wasabi for the seafood, and two delicious dipping sauces for the meat and vegetables.


Philip lives in the Roppongi area, a lovely 15-minute walk along a promenade, which we also take to get to the symphony hall. This early-evening photo shows the peaceful cherry-blossom-lined walkway.

My overnight in Kahone

While Bill was in Kauai with Andrew and Shawnie, I took an overnight excursion to Kahone, a mountainous hot-spring area that sits on a volcano not active in 4000 years. I took a loop circuit of a bus up the mountain, lots of walking, boating over a lake, several cable cars and cog railway and a return trip on a small railway down the mountain after my overnight at a royokan hot spring spa hotel. I had a thoroughly enjoyable day and night. The area is quite beautiful and very near Mt. Fuji, but the day was cloudy and Mt. Fiji was not visible.

I walked along the shoreline of this lake along an ancient cedar tree path dating to the Edo period of the 1600s, visited a beautiful art museum with magnificent views of the lake, and climbed up a hill to an observatory and park with beautifully manicured trees, then took the boat over this lake and up to the mountain-top here.

Arriving at the top was eerie with the steam pouring out of the mountain.

On to my royokan with a soak in the hot spring, a massage and food unimaginable as to what it was - mostly fish.

On my return trip on the cog rail, I observed an amazing scene. At one stop several people got on the cog car, walked straight across the car and out through the door on the other side. It was such a surprise to see this happen. Obviously there's only one way to get from one side of the cog line to the other - walk through the car when it stops for passengers. I would never have imagined such a set up, but it works!

The question is -- how does one get to Tokyo Opera City?

The answer is - the same way over 1 million people travel every day - through the Shinjuku rail station! I was on my own tonight making my way to the busiest rail station in the world, experiencing commuter culture of literally being shoved tighter and tighter in the train car at each stop so more people could get on in order to get to Shinjuku for transfer to another train. I haven't had much trouble navigating the underground system here, but Shinjuku is another world. After arriving at the station and much walking and wandering, I finally did find the connection I needed but with only a few minutes before a symphony performance.

Bill had to leave Japan in order to re-enter the US before his 90 days were up, so instead of going all the way back to San Francisco he left tonight for Kauai to stay with Andrew and Shawnie before he returns over the weekend. So I met Bill's boss Philip and another gentleman from Bill's office at the symphony - it was worth it - another great Mahler Second. The three of us went out after the symphony for a typical Japanese dinner of Yakitori - skewered grilled meats- had some sashimi and beer too!

Philip and I shared a ride home though - no Metro tonight!

Cherry Blossoms ARE Japan!

We took a beautiful walk today - along with all of Tokyo's residents! - on a Cherry Blossom trail near the Imperial Palace. People set out tarps to stake their spots for the week so they can keep coming back to picnic and view the blossoms in the moonlight.
The three people here (who gave me permission to take their photo) were grilling asparagus and other veggies (did that smell good!) for a 10:00am feast including sushi, wine and sake, and they raised their glasses to us.

Bill and I had our treat, too. Delicious noodles from a booth along the cherry blossom festival trail.

Never let it be said that a tree can get in the way of this lovely walking path, as evidenced by Bill peaking under a well-highlighted low limb.

Kyoto Weekend

We had a very lovely weekend in Kyoto - just a little ahead of the about-to-burst Cherry Blossoms (they're out in full in Tokyo). We did everything right, from taking cabs to sights (to save time) to picking the places to see and things to do that interested us most. We started out at the Nanzen-ji Temple, which I thought was the nicest of all the temples we've seen so far in Japan. Kyoto is surrounded on three sides by mountains and the setting of the temple in the foothills among pine trees and gardens and ponds was beautiful and so peaceful.

From there we walked about a mile along the stone-paved The Philosopher's Walk, following a cherry-tree-lined canal meandering through beautiful quiet neighborhoods of lovely homes where we had a quiet lunch outdoors. We then came to Ginkaku-ji, the Silver Pavilion (never received its intended coating due to wars) and beautiful gardens. Later we took a cab across town to Kintakaku-ji, the Golden Pavilion (the upper two stories are gold-leaf). By this photo here you can't tell that we were two among thousands enjoying the day there!

We passed up some Japanese restaurants for an Italian restaurant on the 11th floor of a huge department store over the train station. We had the best thin-crust pizza I've ever tasted - yummy! After dinner we took an outdoors central escalator down the 11 floors by just 5 continuous banks of escalators to the mammoth central entry of the soaring glass and open-space futuristic train station. Being in such an enormous, quiet space was quite thrilling.

On Sunday we took another wonderful stone-paved walk through the charming and unspoiled Higashiyama district, again in the foothills, past temples, small shops, restaurants and beautiful homes. This walk lead us to the famous Gion (Geisha) district where we wandered a while among the tiny, tiny alleys sprawling with life.

As in Tokyo, and in passing cities and towns, temples and shrines are everywhere, including Kyoto. We saw only a few, and each one is visited by many Japanese observing Shinto rituals and Buddhist practices. Temples and shrines are surrounded by gardens of water, stones and gravel, all beautifully landscaped, raked and meticulously tended.

Our Shinkansen (bullet train) ride from Tokyo to Kyoto took 2 hours to travel the 325 km. It was comfortable, quiet and FAST!

Cherry Blossom Festival Begins

Yesterday was a holiday in Japan, Shunbun no hi, celebrating the Equinox. We were invited to Kamakura, an hour south of Tokyo by train, by Yoshida-san - who works at Visa with Bill - and his wife to see the sights and to their home for dinner. We had a lovely day - as did thousands of others - in this beautiful city by the sea, home to over 200 shrines, some small and others very large. The cherry trees are just now coming into bloom, so Japan has announced the official Cherry Blossom time - relative to one tree that signals spring.


Mr. Yoshida showed us many shrines from the 13th century, including the Tokei-ji Temple, a beautifully landscaped serene convent for women who wished to flee from their husbands. Only husbands could apply for divorce (as easily as drawing 3-1/2 lines on a piece of paper and announcing to his wife that they were divorced), but women in earlier times had no other right other than flee to this convent and stay for three years at which time she could initiate divorce.

We also saw the Great Buddha, 44 feet tall, cast in bronze. All in all, we walked over five miles on a beautiful spring day, and Mrs. Yoshida picked us up and took us to their nearby lovely home for a delicious dinner of sushi, tempura, soup, meat sticks, vegetables, salads, cheeses, dessert - beautifully presented. We very much enjoyed our first experience being hosted by a Japanese couple.

Tokyo Giants Baseball

We had a fun afternoon at the Tokyo Dome (just 4 stops away on the Metro) for a Tokyo Giants pre-season baseball game. It was a great game, tied 4-4 until the 9th inning, but the other team, the Hawks, won by 1. The crowd was so much fun to watch. Both outfield sections were loaded with very spirited and chanting fans (with drums and horns).

There's an amusement area in the same complex as the Tokyo Dome. How about this roller coaster going in and out of buildings - space is limited here! - and unbelievably Bill and I went on the ride after the baseball game in the RAIN! We were nuts, but it was a thrill!

A day ahead celebrating St. Patrick

Since we arrived at St. Patrick's Day a day ahead here's a toast to everyone from The Dubliner's Cafe in Tokyo. We had delicious Colcannon - the potato-cabbage mixture we ate throughout Ireland - it was just as good here in Japan!

We're even going to a big parade on Sunday on Omotosanto - the Champs Elysee of Tokyo. Can't wait - it should be fun. We'll be sure to have another beer!

Books, and more books

Today I went to a large bookstore which I had heard has a very good selection of English language books. I was in heaven, as I am running out of books to read.

A while ago, there was an article in the local newspaper about why so few Japanese speak English, or other languages, and one of the reasons was that (almost) everything that has ever been published has been translated into Japanese, thereby negating the need to learn a language in order to read about a subject originally written in another language.

I have yet to see a Japanese book in hardback so, therefore, stores can get many more books on their shelves. Whether books are all paperback for this reason, I don't know, but the store I was in today was jam-packed with thousands and thousands of books on four floors - the 4th being the English-language books.

I've also noticed that when people read books in public - and so many read on the Metro - every book has a paper cover, another sign of one's privacy in this crowded society I would suspect. So, when asked at the checkout if I would like paper covers on my books, of course I said yes.

The Engaged Couple ...

When I was in Carlsbad staying with Gina and David & Kyla, the timing was such that I could be there for Steve and Valerie's engagement party. The morning of the party Valerie picked me up and I went with her to help make a final selection of her wedding dress. I thought that was just wonderful that she wanted to share the decision with her future mother-in-law. Of course she selected of lovely dress, and she'll be beautiful in it on August 12 - their wedding date.

I also spent time with Valerie's two children, Jacob and Kalia, our next two grandchildren-to-be in August. They're lovely children, very well raised and they obviously love their mother very much - they think Steve is pretty cool, too!

From Japan I brought to Kalia a kimono and a fan and Jacob a Yomiyuri Giants baseball shirt and ball signed by the player. Pretty cool stuff, they thought.

The engagement party gave me the opportunity to meet Valerie's family and both Steve and Valerie's friends. Can't wait to have another daughter in the family!

An easy mistake ...

... or maybe dumb!

When my new round-trip air to Tokyo was set for March 1, I went to the JR Rail Station and purchased a reserved bullet train ticket from the airport to central Tokyo, also for March 1. After I arrived and got myself to the train I placed my ticket in the turnstyle, and "beep, beep," an alarm went off - at which the attendant came over, looked at my ticket and said, "This is for March 1, yesterday." Like a ton it bricks, it hit me that we're a day ahead here in Tokyo. Not once did it enter my mind I'd be arriving on March 2! I wasn't allowed to turn in my ticket for the correct date, so I had to purchase another. Bummer - that was about $26 down the tube.

I like to think my logic in picking March 1 at the time I purchased the ticket was a very easy mistake to make - not so dumb, really!

Kyla and Grammy!

I spent four incredible days with our little sweet, beautiful Kyla. Now I can recite all the superlatives I've heard about being a grandparent. She's beautiful, sweet, smart, and everything else that goes with a perfect little granddaughter. It was a thrill to hold her - and I got to do a lot of that, much to my joy - and change her, too. Anything so I could get my hands on her. See how she loves her Grammy already! Goodnight Moon - David's first book, too! She loved the colorful pages, that is when she wasn't staring at me.

I missed her the moment I left. Now that I'm back in Tokyo, we're going to see her on the Webcam, but that's not the same. A little more than a month to go in Tokyo and we should be back home to see Kyla again.

Going to America today

At last starting my journey to meet our little granddaughter Kyla. I'm leaving today, Monday, at 5pm and arriving in San Francisco Monday at 9:00am - just in time for the start of a new business week. I'll keep my fingers crossed for good weather so I can get a tennis game in on Tuesday. Then on Wednesday, I'll fly to Carlsbad to hold Kyla for the first time, and enjoy her (and of course Gina and David) for the rest of the week, as well as to help where I can. I'll also see Steve and Valerie and be able to attend their engagement party on Saturday, and to meet Valerie's children Jacob and Kalia - to be our next grandchildren in August. Whow, what a week. I'll return to Los Altos Sunday night, and depending upon the sun (to play tennis) or rain (not to play tennis) return to Tokyo on February 28 or March 1 and reunite with Bill. It's a great life!

Found a Garbage Can

At last I finally spotted a garbage recepticle in this very clean city. Once I noticed the first, then I saw a few more. But they're only at 7-11 type stores, at which people buy a quick drink or bite. No one eats while walking along the street, so anyone who buys something to eat in a 7-11 stands in front of the store, sips and eats quickly, and drops their garbage into the appropriate container for bottles, burnables, etc. There are many 7-11's as well as Lawsons, Family Marts - all similar to 7-11. (A piece of information - 7-11 is owned and franchised by the Japanese.) It's difficult not to munch on something tasty I've just bought from a delicious bread bakery while walking back home, but again I am to conform.

I had a problem yesterday in trying to get cash from an ATM. After I entered all the data, the machine said something like - unidentifiable account (I think a generic response it's not giving out money). So I spent some time on the phone with my bank at home and then customer service, both of which informed me there wasn't anything wrong with our account. I had had some problems when we first got here, so I was a little worried in having to go without getting cash for a few days. Japanese are not credit card enthusiastic, so many stores and restaurants take payment in cash only. So, today I ventured again armed with both my ATM card as well as Bill's to try once more. The moment I started entering the amount of Yen I wanted I realized what I had done yesterday. Instead of 50000 (about $450), I entered 500000 (almost $5K) - a wee bit more than my daily limit to withdraw! Such is life in another currency!

Excursion to Nikko

On Saturday, we made an excursion to Nikko, a small town north of Tokyo, a Buddhist-Shinto religious center from the 17th century. Marnie, Bill's sister and brother-in-law's friend from North Carolina, recommended we go there. It was a short Shinkansen (bullet) train ride with a local transfer and took us about 2 hours to get there. The Shinkansen train was very fast, very smooth, very quiet, and a great way to travel.

On the local train, a young girl touched my arm and shyly excused herself, asking if I spoke English. The Japanese are usually very reserved, so for her to approach me was being quite bold, but she desperately wanted to use her English skills, which were quite primitive. We had to use a bit of sign language and word substitutions to understand one another, but what she knows about America is Los Angeles and the glamous movie life there. She never heard of San Francisco. She is 20 years old and on a two-month break from college spending her time in a judo group. On her way off the train, she gave me a little Snoopy on a chain, which I hung on my carry bag.

We spent the time in Nikko at two shrines, both within lovely park areas. It was one amazing beautifully carved and decorated shrine after another. We even came across a wedding taking place in one of the shrines. After several hours walking around and seeing the shrines, we found a great steak house for a late lunch.
The alcoholic menu really tickled Bill, especially the price for a "glass" of wine (note the listing on the photo). Even my young friend on the train really didn't say "los angeles." She asked me about "ros angeres." It took a few trys on her part to make me understand she was saying Los Angeles.

Kyla Kangna Watt

Miss Kyla Kangna Watt is at home now with Mommy and Daddy - who aren't getting much sleep, but they're all getting the hang of this parent/child stuff, and loving every minute. Kyla's middle name has been chosen - Kangna - in Chinese means lovely and beautiful, as does Kyla in Gaelic. She's not tooooo cute - she even smiles already!

I'm planning to go home February 19, de-jetlag for a couple of days, and then go to Carlsbad for a few days to love our sweet little granddaughter - and help out where I can.

I'll return to Tokyo the next week after also attending an engagement party for Steve and Valerie in Carlsbad, and getting in a tennis game or two in Los Altos.

No rain in Spain!

Bill and I are still so high thinking about our new granddaughter - it's wonderful to think of our future pampering her - as is what grandparents should do! Kyla has a middle name now, but we'll "publish" it when we get another photo of that sweet beauty.

We went out tonight to a little - and I mean little neighborhood restaurant (about 200 sq. ft. max including toilet and kitchen) that has been intriguing us. Everything outside or in the restaurant is written in Japanese, but we knew it was a little different. Turned out to be Spanish, so with our non-Japanese and the waiter's little English we had four delicious Tapas dishes, very much worth going to again. We discovered they have paella and sangria, so that's what we'll have our next trip there. The place is so cozy - obviously small, only 10 seats at tables and 8 at the bar - tightly decorated with wine/liquor bottles, wooden artifacts, and charm.

We have heard the statistic that Tokyo has more restaurants than New York, London and Paris combined. With a restaurant in every nook and corner of every alley, below-ground restaurants galore, and floors of restaurants below and atop buildings, it's believeable. Interesting also is the fact that no matter the ethnicity of a restaurant, all staff are Japanese - we also understand owned by Japanese as well.

We like this city living more and more - and we're even becoming pretty comfortable with the subway system.

It's a girl! It's a girl!

Gina and David presented the world with a beautiful baby girl - Kyla Watt - at 1:38p PST February 6. She was born at 6.9# and 19-1/2". Gina went through labor and birth naturally and both mother and daughter are doing very well. Gina's so tiny, and where she put that beautiful little thing with those fat little legs I'll never know! The new family is ecstatically happy and thrilled, as are the first-time new Pa and Grammy. We would have been thrilled with either a healthy boy or girl, but David seems to have broken the boy mold and given us a girl!

Kyla's Chinese middle name will be determined before they leave the hospital, so I'll post her full name and another photo of our new granddaughter very soon.

Every new plateau in life is absolutely incredible! I'm so emotionally charged you would have "thunk" that I gave birth - must be the feelings of all new grandparents - how proud and happy we are!

Breakfast at Wimbledon ...

... oops, Breakfast at Superbowl, that is. Yeah, I'm so excited! It's on live, and even in English! I'll have a second and third cup of coffee while y'all have your beer. Bill has to go to work - bummer.

Another night at the symphony

We're enjoying dashing here and there last-minute with all the offerings of living in a city. Mid-week I went to a women's tennis tournament that included Sharapova, Hingis, Hantuchova and Dementieva, among others. I saw most of the big names except Maria Sharapova, and enjoyed my full day at the tournament - good thing because for the price of entry to anything here in Tokyo, one better enjoy oneself! Bill had a business dinner so I stayed right on through the evening to enjoy doubles too. The tournament probably made the sports news in the USA because Hingis defeated Sharapova yesterday - a wolloping, too! So Martina is on her way back, although she got walloped today by Dementieva.

Last night Bill and I ventured over to the symphony hall without advance tickets and discovered the performance was sold out. No problem - I have my friend Mr. Egami there. Even though he wasn't there, I dropped his name and two tickets appeared for us. Interesting seats because they were beside the orchestra and the 120-strong male chorus. The major work (about 1 hour long) was Japanese, Cantata Tengai, for orchestra, chorus and boy solo. It started out as a contemporary piece, but evolved to a lot of a Rutter sound - absolutely mesmerizing and beautiful. The boy solo voice was beautiful - having had a boy singer ourselves and hearing many others, this boy's voice was the best we've ever heard. He looked to be about 9 or 10 in his darling formal shorts and suit jacket, high white socks and patent shoes. But the lady next to us said he was 13. Hopefully his voice will change late so he can use that exquisite instrument for a while.

Three weeks here and four times to the symphony - all of them different orchestras. Much fun.

Morning at the Fish Market

A must do in Tokyo is to experience the enormous fish market between 5:00a and 8:00a for the morning sale of fresh fish. We got there about 6:00a, a little later than planned but in plenty of time to see an incredible amount and variety of fish - a lot of which were still alive - and every stall was busy preparing fish for sale today. A statistic we just read was that Japan consumes 30% of the tuna caught globally - believable when walking through the fish market.

The photo of the room of tuna (and me) was probably wall-to-wall fish at 5:00a, but we got the full impact anyway. The shell fish are huge, as the photo shows. I thought the steaming brass teapot alongside the fish and men in boots was an interesting shot.

No shoes here!

Bill went out to lunch yesterday with a couple of Japanese men from his office, and after entering a restaurant and walking to the rear a staff person had some "words" with them. After these words, they all turned around and walked out. They explained to Bill that the staff were angry at them for not taking their shoes off at the door.

When we moved into our apartment, we were told very sternly that we were not to have shoes on in our apartment either. So, like good little soldiers, we're shoeless in our own apartment. The floors are heated so it's quite comfortable.

I do have a shoe problem upstairs at the spa, though. Having solved the sneaker issue in the gym, I still haven't figured out which colored pair of flipflops (three kinds, black, green and blue) to put on when going from the spa reception area, to the ladies locker room, to the hottub and then the sauna. A woman who spoke English tried to show me, but she was interrupted by the staff who then just motioned what to do - which I didn't understand. One of these days I'm going to get up the courage to take advantage of the sauna and hottub, but I'm sure not I'll succeed before making a mistake and getting chastised!

Earthquake

Just felt our first earthquake at 8:35p JST February 1. Wasn't too bad! A little pre-tremor and a bit of shaking, but thankfully not much. We have an earthquake package in our hall closet - we better check it out. I'm not sure what good it's going to do on the 11th floor, but we'll check it out anyway. I've been told that the upper floors feel quakes less than the lower floors - I'm not sure that's good or bad for us. However, if it's bad for them, it's definitely bad for us!

In search of sauerkraut

Shopping in Tokyo, and probably in most large cities, isn't just a matter of hopping in one's car and going to the store. I was planning to roast a pork loin the other night and had some rutabaga on hand (for some unknown reason a favorite of the Watts) and I started to crave sauerkraut to go with dinner.

So I took about 600 Yen in small change (the change that Bill keeps emptying from his pocket and dropping in a dish each night) and went out in pursuit of sauerkraut. There's a nice Japanese market a couple of blocks away, but no sauerkraut there. So I started my hike to the international supermarket - about a mile each way - up a hill and along the perimeter of the heavily policed Russian Embassy, (an interesting aside here is that the Tokyo American Club is directly behind the Russian Embassy) and back down the other side of the hill to the market, wondering all the way if my 600 Yen would buy a jar of sauerkraut, and if I didn't have enough would they let me take the sauerkraut and pay them the difference next time? If not, well then, at least I had a 2-mile briskly-paced walk.

No need to worry. Even though the cost of living here is super high, the sauerkraut only cost 263 Yen, about $2.50 (I'm sure still very expensive compared to US stores). So, there I was counting out all my 1 Yens, less than a penny, and 10 Yens to get rid of the pocketful of change I had.

I returned home via my other favorite route, through an inviting metal archway named Azuba, similar to the gateway to Chinatown in SF, and on to a small lane of tiny Japanese shops and restaurants that leads right to the foot of Tokyo Tower.

Dinner was good that night - especially the sauerkraut!

Ginza

Neither Bill nor I are big on shopping, but we decided to take advantage of the pedestrians-only streets to soak in Ginza on Sunday. We strolled around and didn't venture into any buildings except the large department store Matsuya, where we chose a Chinese restaurant among the couple floors of restaurants for lunch. The ceilings in department stores are very low, so travel up and down the escalators is real quick. Here are a couple of shots we took - the Matsuya is on the right - the large white building, and the other a beautiful display in a store window.


All the big stores names are at Ginza, so it's easy to part with some Yen if one is so disposed. The Mikimoto shop of fine pearls is one I'd like to see another time - supposedly very glittery and worth a look around.

When we came up to the street from the subway at Ginza, directly in front of us was a very dramatic and colorful Japanese theatre where traditional Japanese Kabuki is performed - plays performed in elaborate makeup, flamboyant settings with trapdoors and overhead cables for flying around, clanging, etc. From what we understand, these plays go on for hours, but a ticket with an English headset can be purchased for an hour or so - probably enough for us to experience and enjoy the culture.