I will always look forward to going to Tokyo no matter how many times Gordon and I visit. It is such a fascinating city and I could live a lifetime in Tokyo and never experience all it has to offer.
I was particularly excited when I found out Gordon and I would be making a trip to Tokyo with our good friend and Gordon's coworker, Yashiro.
The past three times I've gone to Tokyo have been with Gordon and we've just used the internet and word of mouth to explore different places and areas. This time we would have a seasoned Japanese local to show us a glimpse of Tokyo! Gordon and I basically sat back and let Yashiro be our tour guide.
We started off the day early. We arrived at Yashiro's house a little after 9 am and he drove us into Tokyo. From Yashiro's house it only took us 1 hour. Not bad!
Our first stop in Tokyo was at Yashiro's cousin's apartment. Yashiro's cousin, "Ma chan" we were told to call him, is a Japanese history teacher in his mid 30's. Ma chan is definitely living the bachelor's life and has a beautiful apartment on the 38th floor in the Shinonome area (east Tokyo). We got to see the amazing view he experiences everyday which includes Tokyo Bay and Tokyo Tower.
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| Nice view of Tokyo. That would never get old. |
After we took a gazillion pictures, we all sat down to have some coffee and cake (TEA TIME!) We talked about teaching, life in Japan, Gordon's job and learning English. Ma chan knows only basic English, so Yashiro was there to help translate.
After tea time, we went up to the roof on the 42nd floor and got an even better view of the city. It didn't hurt that it was a beautiful day out and around 70 degrees. Perfect weather.
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| Peace. |
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| Yashiro, Gordon and Ma chan. |
Our next stop in Tokyo was the Edo-Tokyo Museum, where we got to learn about the history of Tokyo from past to present.
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| Edo-Tokyo Museum. |
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| We watched a show with traditional Japanese instruments. |
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| Greetings from the past! |
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| I was tired of walking, so Gordon gave me a lift. |
We were all starving by the time we were done at the museum. Yashiro wanted to take Gordon and I to an area of Tokyo know for okinomiyaki (okinomi means "whatever you like/want" yaki means "grilled"). Okinomiyaki is essentially a pancake filled with whatever ingredients you want, but it normally always contains shredded cabbage and tiny, pink, sakura shrimp. I love okinomiyaki, particularly when it has mochi or kimchi in it!
Along the way to the restaurant, we went down all these neat, quiet little side streets with beautiful flowers and plants.
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| Quaint. |
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| So pretty. |
Oh, and we saw a man walking his turtle. No big deal.
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| Turns out that this man owns a restaurant on the street and occasionally walks his turtle. The turtle is from Africa. |
We finally arrived at a street that stretched for two blocks and consisted entirely of okinomiyaki restaurants. The smell was heavenly. We selected a restaurant that Yashiro and Ma chan suggested and ordered all-you-can-eat okinomiyaki and soft drinks for 70 minutes (only 1,800 yen... about $20! Cheap!). Have I died and gone to heaven?! Yes. Okinomiyaki heaven.
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| What's that I hear? Ah, yes, a chorus of angels! |
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| Los tres amigos. San tomodachi. The three musketeers. |
The meal would have been perfect, except they kept putting the little pink shrimps (baybee skrimps, as I like to call them) into the okinomiyaki mix. The shrimp give the okinomiyaki a peculiar shrimpy taste that I'd rather do without. Luckily, Gordon and I finally got them to omit the shrimps on the last order of okinomiyaki. We also ordered yakisoba (fried noodles) that were delicious!
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| Ma chan and Yashiro. Yashiro was the master chef. Here he is cooking yakisoba. |
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| Looking at this makes me hungry! |
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| Gordon digging into the monja... like okinomiyaki, but made from wheat flour. |
After we stuffed ourselves to the max, taking full advantage of all-you-can-eat, we went to a nearby mall. We walked around the mall and went to the book store so Gordon could get an English magazine (a luxury we can only find in Tokyo). The mall was big and had many interesting shops. We then went to the Starbucks in the mall and went outside to sit and enjoy our drinks. The temperature was just right and the view of the sun setting was beautiful.
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| Gordon and I relaxing with our Starbucks. |
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| Yashiro and Ma chan. Yashiro loves sweets (particularly whipped cream) and ordered a strawberry frap. |
And here is your parting shot...
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| I can't help it. I think he is so cute! (the turtle, that is) |
