this and that

Monday, Satoshi had his second tour guide job.

The person that assigns him these jobs is so disorganized which is disappointing because the company itself is quite large and well known.

He was told (the day before) that he would greet guests at a hotel desk (which is why we went to check it out) and help them figure out where to go for the day but it turned out all the guests already had their plans and just needed help to find transportation

He said it was so chaotic because they had to also clean up the COVID antigen tests that the passengers had to take before gallivanting, ick!…so he didn’t get to eat lunch until 16:00!

Tuesday, he and some of his coworkers were invited to the Australian Embassy for the Embassy's Spring luncheon under their cherry blossom tree (which was why we went to check out where it was)

It rained in the morning so they were all under tents for most of the event.

Changing the subject, have you ever been on the Hozu River boat ride in Kyoto?

When we lived in Kansai, we've always wanted to try but never got around to

They had a scary accident the other day.

So sad the man that steers the boat fell overboard and died and there was one crew member missing who they found yesterday, unfortunately he died also.

Changing the subject again...WBC Samurai Japan fever is still going strong...

Hope you have a safe weekend.

gotoku

Since moving to Tokyo, I realized I had not used my Bialetti

So I decided to use it the other day and then realized that the "spokes" of this gas stove burner must be larger than the one I had in Osaka because the Bialetti was too small to sit on the “spoke” looking thingy

So after scarily balancing it and making some espresso, I looked online to see if I could find an “adapter”.

And in the process learned a new word...gotoku

It literally means 5 virtues and also means tripod/trivet

When I looked at Hands (previously Tokyu Hands) website, they had it in stock...1650 yen (tax included)

So I put one on hold to be picked up at their store in Kawasaki

And within one hour I got an email saying that my order was ready for pick up...love technology!

The trivet is ceramic.

The smooth side is what the pot sits on when using.

The "rough" side is what secures the trivet to the "spokes" of the gas burner.

I'm glad I'll also be able to use it for smaller pots as well as the Bialetti.

niihao

Sunday we met up with friends from Osaka for dinner.

Between life and the pandemic, it has been 3 years since we last saw Hiromi and her family.

Her son will enter the workforce soon, so they were in the process of moving him.

And since they were near Tokyo, they contacted us to meet up for dinner.

We took them to Niihao because Kamata, the area we live near to, is known for its hanetsuki gyoza (gyoza with "wings"/“skirt”).

Two hours was just not enough time to catch up.

Now that their son is near Tokyo, they said they'll visit often.

Looking forward to more outings with them.

We appreciate all the omiyage & your friendship!

10127

Sunday, it rained for most of the day.

Luckily Monday, the rain stopped but it was still very cloudy.

I saw a sliver of sun, so I got out and about.

I went through Hakusan Shrine.

And stumbled upon Zomyoin.

Then made it down to Tamagawa.

This area is always pretty.

Because it had rained Sunday, the ground was still wet, so no one was picnic-ing.

Then made my way home.

Hoping to check out more areas later this week.

If you are interested in checking out a little more photos/videos, please look here.
 

kitade tacos

It had been two years since I'd had Kitade Tacos' taco rice.

Since Satoshi was eating out on Friday, I bought one for my dinner.

This time around I chose the chicken tinga for my protein.

This was delicious!

And I love the colorful veggies that they used too.

Glad this didn't disappoint.

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Yesterday it rained and was super cold, but we needed to go out so that Satoshi could see where the Australia Embassy is.

The trees in Azabujuban where the embassy is located were already starting to lose its petals...

Then he wanted to see where the Imperial Hotel was so we went to Hibiya

I think Frank Lloyd Wright designed this hotel.

I was intrigued by all the mosaics and tiling in the different stations as we made our way to Azabujuban and Hibiya

Lunch was at Curry Labo Tokyo...I chose the 15 vegetable curry with a ripened tomato curry roux...1700 yen (tax included) + 200 yen coffee

Large portion and lots of differently seasoned veggies...love!

I think they gave me Satoshi's curry choice though because this curry was demiglace sauce based and didn't have much tomato flavor...

Amao matcha cheesecake to share...1200 yen (tax included)

Super sweet strawberries top a very bitter matcha cheesecake.

The custard used to hold the strawberries on top of the cheesecake helped to balance everything out.

Satoshi's curry aigake (two curry) left spicy spinach and right matsusaka beef...1500 yen (tax included) + 200 yen coffee.

I'm pretty sure his matsusaka beef was what I was given because my curry had nice big pieces of beef...oops

I think next time we should share because their portions were quite large.

I wouldn't mind trying other curries on their menu (I think they had like 12 different choices), we’ll be back

Since we were already at Hibiya Park and the rain didn't seem like it was going to stop, we took in the cherry blossoms as we walked to the train station.

The cherry blossom season is definitely too quick this year.

Still, I hope to get out and see more areas.

Curry Labo Tokyo (UPDATE:2024 out of business)

1-2 Hibiyakoen

Chiyoda, Tokyo

Phone: 03.6205.4866

Open daily 10:00-19:00

*does not accept cash

If you are interested in seeing more photos/videos, please look here

21791

Thursday night it rained, really hard.

Then Friday morning, the sun was kind of out, so I hurriedly got out and about....from where we live it took me about an hour to get to Nishi Kasai, from there, I walked through the Edogawa Natural Zoo...it was free!

They had all sorts of animals.
 

Next door is the Heisei Garden

So beautiful (and free too!)

Then I walked to the Shinkawa (Shin River) they are supposed to have 1000 cherry trees along this river.

It was pretty.

Remembering that wagashi shops also sell savory items, I picked up some inarizushi and sakura mochi for my lunch from Notoya on my way to the Funabori station

340 yen (tax included)...delicious

Thankful the owner gave me some waribashi (wooden chopsticks) to eat this with.

There was also some benishoga (red ginger) on the side to balance out the sweetness from the inarizushi.

Walked through Ojima Komatsukawa Park in the Koto ward.

Huge park!

Along the Komatsukawa Senbonzakura Promenade, they are supposed to have 1000 trees here too.

It was overcast for most of the day, so it wasn’t the best for taking pictures, but I'm glad I got to check out these places.

Notoya

2-12-18 Funabori

Edogawa, Tokyo

Phone: 03.3680.1307

Closed Tuesdays

Hours: 10:00-18:00

if you'd like to see more photos and videos, please look here

this and that

Not much to write about

150 yen for avocado, the BLT sandwich was free because I filled up my Subway point card….whoo

Found some brown rice cakes at a supermarket, these are organic as well as salt free.

Wednesday the weather dude said that Tokyo's sakura was at "full bloom" level.

It rained all day Thursday.

Next week it looks like it will rain too so not too sure when I'll be able to get out to see more sakura.

Hope you have a safe weekend.

wbc & ginza

Were you watching the WBC (World Baseball Classic)? 

This was probably the first time I watched ALL of Japan's games from beginning to end.

Wednesday was the championship game and it was a nail biter.

Satoshi was bummed he couldn't work from home.

In the end, Japan came out champs...what a krazy ride!

After the game, I went to run some errands in Ginza...

cool window in front of Wako

Some flowering momo (peach)?

and flowering camellia and sakura...

since I was nearby I picked up salads from Frijoles we’ve only tried their burritos so this was our first trying their salad...so good with their citrus lime dressing.
 

 this was the Yahoo Japan screen, congratulating the Samurai Japan team... they are already on their way back to Japan today, too bad they aren't arriving at Haneda though, otherwise I would go check them out.

Congratulations Japan!

resilience

Was worried about the cyclamen plant after the renovations.

Look how scraggly it looks!

But I noticed a couple of flowers ready to bloom.

Hopefully the plant will recover and look like it did in past years...photo from 2020.
 

18264

WARNING: my photos uploaded wonky again, so this post will be all over the place...

Got to check out a coffee shop that is often used in commercials and J-drama...Roman.

Well, when I finally found it…ha!

I walked in one direction, then walked back, then crossed the street...

Was flip flopping between a parfait or hotcakes and in the end ordered their hotcakes with an iced coffee...880 yen (tax included)

The hotcakes weren't anything special, but I liked the vibe of this place. 

My only peeve is that they allow smoking.

When I do go back, I hope they let me sit by the door like they did on this visit.

Green Road is a 21 kilometer (13 mile) walking path that I saw part of near the Seibu Hana Koganei station on my way to Koganei Park

They have so many flowers.

And benches to sit on along the route...nice!

Interior of Roman

Since I am not too familiar with manga nor anime I didn't know the location of the “Astro Boy” takes place in Takadanobaba.

For that reason there are several large murals near the JR Takadanobaba station and the “music” you hear before the train leaves the station is the theme song of the “Astro Boy” anime.

Tokyo people: the guy that changes the ads in the train...wonder if you have to be really tall to be hired for this job...

Koganei Park, if you remember we visited the Edo Tokyo Open Air Museum, which is on the grounds of this park.

So many camellia trees...pretty!

There was also an area with azaleas but that wasn’t in bloom yet

Many people hanami-ing (flower viewing)

The cherry trees are huge!

my lunch was a fan tuan from Tokyo Doujiang Seikatsu...love this!

Green Road...the sakura just started blooming but there was just enough to still be pretty and it’s nice to be outside.

Roman

2-18-11 Takadanobaba, Toumon Building 2F

Shinjuku, Tokyo

Phone: 03.3209.5230

Open daily 11:30-19:00

*cash only

p.s. if you're interested, more photos here