golden week

Today is the last day of Golden Week and it is raining so we are staying at home

Yesterday we had lunch at Biwako, I tried their pizza toast, so cheesy! love!

Satoshi had their tarako (pollack roe) & kinoko (mushroom) pasta which he enjoyed (no photo)

Iced coffee at these old skool coffee shops often serve the coffee in these metal cups...keeps things super cold!

On our way home we bought some kashiwa mochi for Children’s Day a.k.a. Boy’s Day from Iseya

You cannot eat the leaves but the mochi was delicious.

They were filled with chunky sweet bean paste.

And then did some grocery shopping at Benny 

Dinner was kinda chirashizushi-ish for Children's Day

It's been several weeks since I've had this clipping.

I noticed it had roots coming out, so I planted it.

We'll see what happens

Really refreshing dessert I tried the other day from Seijo Ishii.

Mango, pineapple and dragon fruit pieces mixed with a gelatin tops a milk gelatin...delicious!

We also went to Capricciosa, Freshness Burger and 31 (Baskin Robbins).

Our Golden Week was mostly low key since we wanted to avoid the crowds.

The rain has dropped the temps almost 10 degrees!

The weather dude says the summer temps are just around the corner...sigh.

Back to “work” tomorrow

children's day

This is the first Golden Week since the pandemic that there have been no restrictions (no state of emergency).

So, "everyone" is out and about.

Every night there have been reports showing the crowds and traffice jams.

We've been laying low because...1) I don't like crowds

2) I don't like crowds.

Tried this kashiwa mochi filled with sweet bean paste and a whole kuri (chestnut) from Ookuniya.

Delicious (and huge!)

Some of the flowers we saw on the way to Ookuniya.

Satoshi goes back to work tomorrow.

Hope you are having a great week.
 

around senzokuike

In 2019, the Katsu Kaishu Memorial Museum opened up to the public where the Seimei Bunko Library used to be on the grounds of the Senzokuike Park.

We went to check it out today.

There were many videos and artifacts explaining the life of Katsu Kaishu, who founded the Japanese Navy, and who was a peacemaker.

Loved the tile!

Katsu Kaishu and his wife are buried next to the museum.

Nearby is Myofukuji.

Super peaceful.

Down the street is Yukigaya Hachiman Shrine.

Shusseishi : stone to pray for success

Before becoming yokozuna, sumo wrestler Taiho, taught some children sumo in this area.

Then, in 1959, when Yukigaya Hachiman Shrine was built, and Taiho was promoted to yokozuna, he donated this shusseishi to the shrine.

Pretty flowers.

Lots of koi nobori decorated by children in the area.

Many had wishes and prayers written on them.

It was nice to walk around and get out and about.

Katsu Kaishu Memorial Museum

2-3-1 Minamisenzoku

Ota, Tokyo

Phone: 03.6425.7608

Closed Mondays

Hours: 10:00-18:00

Admission: 300 yen (adults), 100 yen (children up to Junior high age)

this and that

How are you doing? We are hanging in there.

We picked up some wagashi (Japanese sweets) for Children's Day (what was called "Boys Day"  when I was growing up)

I think Kanto (East Japan)  wagashi often has miso an (miso flavored filling) in their sweets as I've seen other items with the miso flavored fillings...

The kashiwa mochi that we tried from Okuniya had miso flavored bean paste in it...more savory than sweet.

We also tried their mikan daifuku...the mikan (tangerine) that they used was kinda sour though...meh!

Love this arare snack...it is sweet and salty.

We went back to Sakaeya Bakery...this time around we tried their katsu pan...super thin piece of pork that is fried...I guess it is similar to schnitzel.

I loved how crispy it was.

We also tried their mini an doughnuts...tiny orbs filled with sweet bean paste that are fried and covered in sugar.

So good with coffee.

This month in front of the senior day care...origami irises.

I was surprised to see so many different foreign languages on this construction sign but it makes sense since there are many foreigners working at these construction sites these days.

On the last day of Golden Week, we had a pupu party.

We picked up various stuff at the market, ran back before the rain and had a leisurely lunch.

Have "finally" taught someone to use their ear pods...now I don't have to listen to him "blasting" his podcasts...a good thing about his using the ear pods, he cannot hear when I take photos of him...ha!

Rainy season has started in Okinawa...it is only a matter of time before Honshu starts.

Our state of emergency will be extended until the end of May and I think the wedding we were supposed to attend at the end of the month might be postponed (again!).

There are so many hiccups with the vaccinations that it is getting kind of ridiculous.

We found a few more places to explore nearby, so we hope to get out to see them on the next sunny day.

Have a safe weekend.

golden week (second half)

Thursday, May 2, we went to Kawasaki and Satoshi got to try CPK in Japan.

The menu is different from what he remembered, the portions seemed a bit smaller to him too.

The BBQ chicken pizza was delicious! (though the crust was a bit burnt)

The weather was funky, and at one point it rained super hard!

Friday, May 3, we woke up super early and caught the train from Kamata to Fuji (Shizuoka).

It was exciting to see Mount Fuji from the Mishima area all the way to Fuji city.

We then caught a local bus up to Sobinashita and walked about 15 minutes to Obuchi Sasaba.

This is where you can catch Mount Fuji with the tea fields.

They were having a festival and there were many people who rented tea picker outfits and stood in the fields to pose for everyone's photos.

I'm glad we got to check this place out and that Mount Fuji was not clouded over.

From Fuji we then caught the train all the way to Mito (Ibaraki)...boy, was that a trek! (because we weren't riding the Shinkansen (bullet train))

Dinner was at Hitachino Brewing...

I was super disappointed with this place.

Seasonal potato salad was nothing special.

Fried saba (mackerel) was thoroughly fried and hard.as.rock...the renkon chips were kind of fried to death too.

The only thing that was decent was the gyusuji (beef tendon) gratin, though they could've given us more bread...

The tasting menu was pre-set, so you couldn't try anything off their taplist...boo!

Glad we tried this place, but I won't be back.

Mimatsu Hotel was scary...dark halls...smoking almost everywhere...our room had a semi-double big enough for one...at least there was free wi-fi...sigh.

Saturday, May 4, started out early, rushing down to the breakfast buffet (which started at 6:45), eating and trying to get out to catch a train before 7:20.

Luckily we made all the connections and were at the Hitachi Seaside Park by 8:00-ish.

During this time of year, they open the park early (7:30) and even arriving at 8:00-ish, it was already packed with people!

You should've seen the line of cars waiting to get into the parking!

If you do visit this park, buy the one-day pass, it allows you to get on and off the Hitachinaka Kaihin train route (from Katsuta to Ajigaura) and take the free shuttle to the Hitachi Seaside Park.

The pass also gets you into the park too, so no need to stand in line to by your entrance ticket.

Our main purpose for visiting this park was this...nemophila!

A huge hillside with nemophila.

Tons of people, but we were glad to be here!

In another area of the park were tulips...lots of them!

Lunch was at the Nakaminato Fish Market...at a place called Morita Suisan.

I had the Kaisen donburi, which came with soft shell crab miso soup and other items...great deal at 1500 yen (tax included).

Satoshi had the sashimi set which was also a great deat at 1500 yen (tax included)...unlimited rice too.

After lunch he also had a farmed oyster for snack...300 yen (tax included)...huge yeah?!

I loved the signage in this area, so cute!

And then we headed back to Mito and checked out the azaleas at Kairakuen.

Huge azalea bushes.

The main attraction at this park is the ume trees, but since that season was over, we were glad to be able to see the azaleas.

And then it was a long trek back to Tokyo.

These days, whenever we travel, we try to get back a day or so ahead, so that we can recoup and get back into regular sleep patterns.

Sunday, May 5, we took it easy, though I went to the market to restock on some groceries.

"Someone" also caught a bug and has been a bit whiney...sigh.

Lunch was at Kaei.

A cute shop nearby.

Satoshi had their gomoku (5 item) noodles...he said it was delicious.

Their gyoza on the other hand wasn't up to the picky gyoza eater's standards...wrappers too thick (I have a feeling this is the type of gyoza in Kanto (East Japan).

I had their hiyashi tan tan men (cold spicy noodles).

This was spicy...it kind of crept up and lingered on your lips.

I loved this...we'll be back.

On the last day of Golden Week, Monday, May 6, we again stayed close to home.

Lunch was at Capricciosa with pizza, pasta and salad.

Dinner was shogayaki (pork ginger)...I'll post the recipe for this tomorrow!

Many Japanese felt these 10 days were too long a break, others loved it.

Most doctor offices shut down.

And there were areas without trash pick up.

Golden Week is a nightmare for people driving cars or riding tour buses, though the trains are also packed...

I'm glad we got to do all that we did, though we need to go on a diet.

Hope you enjoyed our Golden Week as much as we did.

Hitachino Brewing Mito
Excel Minami 4F
Mito, Ibaraki
Phone: 029.306.7575
Open when Excel is
Hours: 11:00-22:00

Mimatsu Hotel
2-4-26 Miyamachi
Mito, Ibaraki
Phone: 029.224.3005

Morita Suisan
21-7 Minato Honmachi
Hitachinaka-shi, Ibaraki
Open when the fish market opens
Hours: 8:00-16:00

Kaei
2-6-13 Higashiyaguchi
Ota, Tokyo
Phone: 03.3758.1150
Closed Mondays
Hours: 11:30-14:00 (lunch), 17:00-21:00 (dinner)