thank you

We are so grateful for the kindness of friends.

Thank you Ryan & S.

And thank you V!

We appreciate everyone’s thoughtfulness.

friday

Friday we went to the Magome Cyclamen Garden, to see their cyclamen.

We had been here earlier in the year but at that time it was off season for them.

This time around, they had so many pretty varieties and there were quite a number of customers sending cyclamen to friends and family.

Lunch was at Kikuya 

I think they have been around for awhile since their interior is quite retro and so is their restroom...eep! Japanese style!

I had their tempura soba...the broth was a little too salty for my liking but the warm noodles hit the spot.

Satoshi had their curry nanban soba.

He enjoyed this and perspired profusely!

There are other items on the menu that Satoshi wants to try so we'll be back.

Down the street is a little cake shop...Maiko.

They opened last year and we finally got to check them out.

Marron pie...a whole chestnut and chestnut paste covered with flaky pastry.

Love!

Satoshi had their chocolate shortcake...a chocolate sponge with chocolate whipped cream and strawberries.

We'll be back to try other items too.

The weather has been great...sunny but cold!

Have a good week.

Kikuya

3-28-13 Ikegami

Ota, Tokyo

Phone: 03.3751.1127

Open daily 11:30-15:00 (lunch), 17:00-20:00 (dinner)

Maiko

3-29-15 Ikegami

Ota, Tokyo

Phone: 03.6303.5589

Closed Tuesdays & Wednesdays

Hours: 11:00-19:00

this and that

Probably the first and last gingerbread latte of the season.

We ate at the Starbucks next to our library, the thing with masks is you cannot leisurely eat/drink.
 

Since Tokyo's state of emergency has been lifted, Satoshi has been meeting up with co-workers and friends for lunches and drinks/dinner...he received these raisinwiches from his friend O.

They have a little boozy taste and go well with coffee as well as with wine...Thank you!

I'm ready for New Years...I bought 1 kilo of mochi...I usually buy teeny sized mochi but plan to put some in our nabe(hot pots) in the coming weeks.

Last Friday, we had a partial lunar eclipse.

It was quite cloudy when it started but we were able to view the moon when it turned reddish.

Monday, I went to get my hair colored and had lunch at Civitas afterwards.

It had been several months since the last time I ate here.

Tried the golden snail "slime" mask...it works wonders.

Yesterday, took Satoshi to see Nemu no ki no Niwa...the park where Empress Michiko's childhood house once stood.

This particular rose is named "Princess Michiko".

I bought some teriyaki chicken from Shinanoya for our Thanksgiving dinner...their prices went up a tad.

I made these sides...glazed kabocha and hakusai and daikon salad.

This week Tokyo's daily case number went as low as 5 and as high as 27.

The temperature has dropped especially the early mornings and evenings and there is snow in many areas in Japan.

Hope you have a safe weekend.

happy thanksgiving

Can you believe there is only a little over a month left for 2021?

We are thankful for enough food to eat, a roof over our heads and relatively good health.

We are also thankful for family and friends (virtual and IRL)

Thankful for the good and bad days.

Hope you have a safe and delicious day. 

Be kind and be well!

1st time

Got my flu shot for the first time.

Our health insurance doesn’t cover it so it was $40-ish.

Glad we didn’t have to wait too long at the doctor’s.

Did you get your flu shot?

ii fufu no hi

Yesterday was Ii fufu no hi...(literally good couple day), which I've written up in the past here.

Satoshi went out for drinks and came home with these unusual carnations.

Today is a national holiday...Kinro Kansha no hi...a combination of Labor Day and Thanksgiving.

Hope you are having a good week.

saturday

Saturday we walked down to the Tamagawa river, then back up to Hasunuma.

No photo but there were kids walking their rabbit!

On the way, we stumbled on some sights...Love how this person re-used their portable fan "cage" to hold their tangerines...

Love the outside of this chinese restaurant, hope to eat here soon.

We stumbled upon this puppet gallery.

And went past Tire park...cool how they turned these tires into a planter.

Lunch was at Columbia which has been in business since 1957.

From the outside, it is very hard to see how the shop looks or if they were open, so we've been hesitant to try them.

Inside though, the interior is retro and there is jazz playing.

Satoshi had their egg sandwich which came with some potato salad and coffee or tea (he chose coffee).

I chose their napolitan which came with a salad and coffee or tea (I chose coffee).

The napolitan was delicious, most other places use ketchup only so their version is cloying sweet, thankfully Columbia's version is not sweet.

Their coffee is good and strong.

I loved the atmosphere of this coffee shop and I'm glad we finally got the courage to try them out.

There are other items on their menu that we want to try…we’ll be back.

Columbia

7-16-1 Nishikamata

Ota, Tokyo

Phone: 03.3735.3051

Closed Sundays

Hours: 8:00-20:00

this and that

curry beaver...not sure why this is named beaver...but these arare (rice cracker) were delicious.

(cat in the window) keeping warm...

I switched to paper packages for my wet garbage.

It doesn't quite fit in the plastic corner thingy I have and I hope it is better for the environment than the netting thing I used to use.

I've been toasting hoshiimo (dried sweet potato) before eating it.

Heating it up actually makes it soft!

furry one waiting for his mom to come out of the bakery...

Thought it was eery to see all these entrance cameras on the entrance fence of an apartment building.

This week Tokyo's daily cases ranged between 7 and 31.

Japan's fully vaccinated rate is up to 75%.

In December they will start giving booster shots to the medical system and elderly.

Hope you all are doing well.

Have a safe weekend.

toshi au coeur du pain

Went to Toritsudaigaku area today to run an errand and also stopped in at Toshi au coeur du pain, a teeny bakery near the station.

I picked up their special baguette, chocolate pave & ham camembert sandwich.

The sandwich was so good especially after I toasted it...thinly sliced ham and camembert cheese. The bread seemed like ciabatta.

The chocolate pave was delicious too, lots of dried fruits and chocolate chips.

We'll have half of the baguette with wine tomorrow (I froze the other half).

I'm glad I tried this, they also have a cafe above the shop that I want to try the next time I am in the area.

Toshi au coeur du pain

2-13-5 Nakane

Meguro, Tokyo

Phone: 03.5726.9545

Closed Mondays & Tuesdays

Hours: 6:30-17:00

hutte

Haven't been buying a lot of stollen this year, but had to get this one from Hutte because we've enjoyed their version in the past.

We'll be enjoying this one in the coming weeks.

Hope you are all doing well.

shibuya

Friday, I went to Shibuya.

My first stop was to buy some bagels from Tecona Bagel Works.

The shop is teeny and they only allow 4 people in at one time.

I purchased a salted butter bagel and a cheese with szechuan pepper bagel.

I also purchased their carrot cake.

(Since Satoshi went out for drinks Friday night, I had the szechuan cheese bagel with wine.

The numbing pepper didn’t match too well with wine but overall was tasty after I toasted it.

The carrot cake was more like carrot bread and was moist and delicious.)

(We enjoyed the salted butter bagel the next morning toasted with avocado and everything seasoning)

From Tecona, I walked back to Shibuya to have lunch at Usagi.

During the pandemic, they moved from their original space to a smaller space.

I thought the original space had so much character with all the vines growing on the outside of the building. (this is a photo of the original space)

After being seated I had to use a QR code to order…I had thought they had taco rice on their Friday lunch menu but didn’t, so I ended up choosing their roast beef bowl…and then I waited almost 30 minutes for my lunch to come out!

Bummed that the roast beef wasn’t sliced thin, it wasn’t tender AND it was ice cold!

um, if you just had to take it out of the refridge, I think I could have been served sooner…

The shop is popular for avocado, you can add it at no extra cost to almost any meal…so I did.

I think their menu has changed during the pandemic because a lot of items I had previously seen on their website is no longer there...

Not sure I’ll be back but I’m glad I tried this place.

After lunch I went to check out Miyashita Park which opened last year.

4 story shopping complex, restaurants and a large park on the roof that runs alongside of the Yamanote train line.

Beside the park, there is also a beach volleyball court, skateboard area and rock climbing area.

It’s also a great place to sit and chat (I think the arches are used to run tarp over during rain.)

13181…the weather has been great.

Usagi

2-14-15 Shibuya

Shibuya, Tokyo

Phone: 03.5778.3200

Hours: 11:30-16:00 (lunch), 18:00-22:30 (dinner)

this and that

Tokyo people...I think pajamas are trending...

So many interesting fashion choices...

Hello...

I ordered the spice stollen from Une Clef.

I've been wanting to try this bakery since before we moved to Tokyo.

Since the pandemic though, they have only been selling items online.

Most times they have a lottery for people to buy items, but their stollen was not in a lottery, so I was able to order one.

It is harder/crispier? than the other types we tried in the past but I love that it has lots of fruits and nuts in it.

This week, Tokyo's daily case numbers were between 14 and 30 this week.

Some clusters cases are being found here and there around Japan.

Our 65+ age group is 91% fully vaccinated while the rest of us are 74% fully vaccinated.

Hopefully we are keeping our numbers in control.

This week Japan started allowing business travellers that have been fully vaccinated (according to V, Japan is only accepting Pfizer, Moderna and Astra Zeneca vaccines as being fully vaccinated) and a negative PCR test to quarantine for 3 days.

We don't qualify for this 3 day quarantine period because we wouldn’t be going to Hawaii for business.

So...we will continue to wait until they loosen up for tourists...

Hope you are all are doing well.

Have a safe weekend.