Saturday11th

Bill set off to visit Mt Fuji by bus but the rest of us decided to stay local. I couldn't face the thought of a four hour return trip on a bus. The rest of us mooched around taking it easy before we headed off to the gardens in Shabashi. I felt a desire to get amongst greenery for its soothing effect on the soul. It required a trip by train of course. We feel like we have spent half our holiday in Tokyo on the trains. They are amazing, efficient and run about every two minutes and we have used them constantly. I usually walk everywhere when I am travelling but here we have not walked from one end of the city to the other. It is too hot and too easy to use the train.  Just before we left Bill appeared. There were no tickets on the bus to Mt Fuji  available! All alternatives would take too long and he wouldn't be able to return on the same day. We should have planned it earlier, though the weather hasn't been good. Mt Fuji is notorious for being shrouded in cloud or haze! David decided to go freelance looking for a festival and so Bill came to the gardens with us.

We arrived at the gardens and found them delightful and relatively empty. They have sea water ponds because they are close to Tokyo bay and adjacent to the river. We saw huge fish leaping out if the water as well as lots of baby eels/ tiny fish skittering across the surface.  There were these amazing old wisterias with trunks the size of trees all twisted and split yet still producing new shoots. There were also Gardeners on ladders trimming the pine trees to maintain their sculptured shape.

In the centre is a tea house where we took a bun and cold green tea. There were leaflets that explained how to drink the tea and though we did not have a tea ceremony as such  we got the gist of it from the instructions.

 

I love the simplicity of these tradional Japanese buildings with their sliding doors and tatami mats. They are so peaceful and gracious. While walking through the gardens you can smell the change in the air quality. It seems so fresh there.  Next stop  Omato-Sando for a last attempt to buy the Comme de Garçon shirt for Ziggy. What an upmarket trend spot this part of Shibuya is. We tried to sit on some benches ouside the Prada shop to eat some sandwiches we had and a young man from Prada asked us to leave! We did but felt quite offended. We laughed about being refugees from Prada. You don't see people eating in the street like that so we were probably offending them too.

No luck in the Comme de Garçon store so we headed over to the Meiji-Jungu shrine the most important in Tokyo. As it turned out thousands of others did too! It was along walk throufpgh two huge Torii gates before we got to the shrine. It was impressive but not compared to those at Hongu and Naichi we thought. 

By now it was past four and we were all tired out. 

We came home and got takeaway for dinner. We were in bed quite early and lights out by 10 pm.  

Taking it easy

We have taken it easy this morning by sleeping in, doing the washing, catching up on the diaries, ringing Mum. Bill has been endlessly fascinated by the construction site opposite the apartment. The skill and finesse of the workers has impressed him no end. The site is always kept tidy and the workers  very skilled with their machinery. 

We have been so impressed with the service and attitude to work here. There are  a lot of people employed to assist everywhere in shops and stations. That is why it is so clean and efficient here.

Eventually we went off to the Issey Miyake exhibition via the Suntory exhibition of Hara Yasusaburo Collection of Utagawa Hiroshige woodblock prints. They were first edition prints made in the 1850s. They looked so modern and the colours so bright.

We were mis-directed to Roppongi Hills to see the Issy Myaki exhibition only to find it was back where we came from! We finally found it and what an amazing building it was. The exhibition was so interesting. What a creative man. It was fascinating to see the graphic flat designs that you lifted up to be a dress. 

We returned via Shinjuku and a new way home. It was exciting to see a new area. Irene was suffering sore feet and glad to return.

Thursday 9 th

This morning we went to the Tzujiki Fish markets. This required an early start but we were not committed enough to make the auction of the Tuna at 5:00 am.  We were there early enough to see the wholesalers. What a scary environment with little trolleys zipping every which way. The most confronting sight was a fishmonger scaling and then slicing a live fish that flipped and flopped while he cut it. Ann saw a tuna heart still beating while it was being sliced! Wandering around the outer market was so interesting too. There was a huge range of sea products that I had never seen. After the guys had been shoved aside a few times we decided to leave. We settled on a breakfast at a street stall on the main edge of the market and had sashimi with seaweed and rice which was amazing. The cleanliness of the staff was outstanding. We kept getting these whiffs of bleach!

Leaving the market I went home to meet up with Hiko my friend from walking the Camino Fraance in 2012.  

 Some of the produce

Baby eels alive

 Ann eating fresh crab

I was so hot I had to have a shower before meeting them. Hiko had prepared lots of questions and checked off all the things I had seen so far. He was very pleased by all the things I had seen. We used the Google translater and his electronic translator to converse. His wife was a lovely person who had some English. They bought a gift of a Shinkansen train for Ziggy and some Yokohama biscuits for me. We had tempura in a little place around the corner then off to coffee. I invited them back so I could give them the chocolates I had bought. They are such kind hearted people. I was embarrassed that when I brought them up to the apartment that the others did not hear my knocks so I went down again to the letterbox and tried to put my hand in. Hiko and his wife both tried too without success. Back we went upstairs and I knocked harder this time and finally the door opened. We all came in and I gave them the chocolates. They stayed for a cup of tea. I was exhausted from the effort of concentration. 

Outside the Tempura restaurant

After a couple of plum wines I felt restored. We finished the evening off with a fabulous dish of noodles from one of the restaurants under the office building opposite our apartment.

Wednesday 8th June

Today was a shopping day. We hit the local shops in search of a Yucata and any other enticing things. I found a  great jacket with lots of pockets for travelling!  We lunched at another 'natural' food place where Irene and Bill parted ways with us and Ann and I took the train to Ginza to explore that area. We found some great gifts for Ann to take home and I was frustrated again with the search for Ziggy's shirt. 

We returned home and this time ate local food so we were all happy! Especially the keeper of the kitty.

 A sculpture in the shop at Tokyu Central Plaza.

Tuesday 7 th June

Anne and I decide to complete the bus tour and use it to return to the market section  at Akihabara to explore a less glitzy part of Tokyo. We catch the train to the central Maranouchi business area to pick up the bus and also try to find a place to print the voucher for the Robot Restaurant we are to attend tonight. We are somewhat disoriented when we get out of Tokyo station and need to walk around the block before we identify the exact pick up place. That was so interesting because you could see how so many office buildings have shopping and food courts in their basements and lower floors. We tried to find a printing place at a variety store but found the printer was out of action! At the same time I received a message from the restaurant saying that my phone would be acceptable so the search had been a waste of time in one way but very illuminating in others. It was a good feeling for both Anne and I to be roaming free. Unfortunately the weather has changed and when we boarded the bus we were issued with white poncho type raincoats. Mine came down to my ankles and really we looked hysterical. Caspar the ghost with pregnancy. Our bags were covered as well.

 We enjoyed the ride and learned and saw a few things we missed from the day before. Arriving at our destination we wandered the stalls and shops and saw that this is where a lot of locals shop. I finally bought a Buddhist prayer bangle. We tried our first vending machine cafe and after getting help to get the sequence correct we ordered a dish of scallops, Chinese Vegas and noodles. It was delicious and we were impressed by the efficiency and cleanliness of the two young women who were working there. They were brilliant. They didn't stop! It would be hard work standing all day over the woks. We had to hustle then to get back to the apartment in time to freshen up before the restaurant.

We arrived in our white raincoats which caused the others to collapse laughing. I was sure I knew were we were going but once I checked the phone I realised we were going In the opposite direction. We turned around and then checked with a passerby who insisted on taking us all the way there! She was a Taiwanese student who has stayed on as a translator. The restaurant was up where we had eaten the first night. The show was a hoot. A cross between kitch and electronics, high energy music and youthful enthusiasm. The actors were having so much fun it became infectious. 

Tokyo Skytree and bus tour

Today we decided to visit the Tokyo SkyTree and do a hop on Bus tour to get a sense of the city. The sky tree is the tallest communication tower in the world and an amazing construction. It is quite beautiful and moves from a triangle to a circle in shape. As a huge attraction the crowds were enormous  but also so well organised that we didn't wait long to get up to the viewing platform.  Unfortunately the day was heavy with cloud so viewing into the distance was limited yet it still gave us a great view of Tokyo and greater Tokyo. Actually we were amazed. There are several canals and the river as well as the harbour. Seeing on ground level helps to give sense to the extensive train system.

 After  lunch in a restaurant featuring fresh farmers produce we decided to take the hop on bus to get a ground level sense of the place at ground level. It proved to be good value as we covered from one end of the city to the other and saw some amazing architecture along the way.  

 Everyone is a really tired and bit tense after being in such close quarters and on the go for so long. When we got off the bus we were hungry and needed a pick me up. The others are still not ready for Japanese food yet so we spied a Tapas restaurant and ventured down to it. It was quite atmospheric but the English was a problem as usual. We managed to get some tasty dishes and there was the usual indecision about are we eating dinner or snacking.  I am over the dithering. Kim was initially just having snacks but then it was decided that it was too late to snack.  Those of us who keep irregular hours versus those who keep regular set times, those who snack and those who don't, it all just got to me but we ate there and then didn't get the meal we anticipated. I had ordered a platter of pork and chips but only the pork came. I insisted we get the chips.  When the bill arrived there was consternation about the cost and I found myself reminding people that if you eat other than local it is going to cost you a fortune. 

We decided to go to Shibuya to see the famous crossing - the scramble. It was fascinating observing how the crossing pavements swelled until the are about overflowing then the lights go green and all four corners plus the diagonal cross at once. We participated by crossing over all corners. Then we went home! 

Tokyo Imperial gardens and the Museum of Modern Art

PKijiro Ota Rice planting 1883-1951

 My favourite painting

Just had a massage and the girl worked me over well and truly. My legs feel so light now but oh, the pain when she worked on my calves and my shoulders. Lots of hot towels too so feel very relaxed.
Visited the Imperial Gardens and the National Museum of Modern Art. Saw some beautiful art especially magnificent screens and a few coloured woodblocks. I kept thinking about the artist in a book I read before coming to Japan because some of the art was post war and he had been a famous Japanese artist over the pre and post war period and had broken from painting tradional methods. We were impressed by the influence of European styles/tecniques with Japanese interpretation..

  Painting on silk

Tomorrow we will go to the Sky Tree Tower and a tour around .

We are now back at the flat relaxing. Almost time for Plum wine.