this and that

I wanna know why falling dishes fall in slow motion...
 

gloopy gravy loco moco...this organic gravy was meh...Satoshi still enjoyed this though

I see a smiley face

cyclamen getting ready for the pretty season

so mini

so teeny

Yesterday, got to spend some time with V...we went to lunch at Butadaigaku...so ono!

And then visited Ikegami Plum Garden

early blooming cherry blossom at Ikegami Honmonji

Thank you for all the omiyage V, the kettle corn is so ono! and we look forward to spending time with you towards the end of your trip. Enjoy!

Have a safe weekend.

9599

Yesterday was a holiday, Kenkoku kinen no hi (National Foundation Day), so we went to check out the ume (plum/apricot)
 

They were filming a J-drama "Ensemble" at the nearby Rengetsu, which we've eaten at before.

Flowers at Gonjoin

So pretty

The ume at Ikegami Baien were only 40% in bloom

We could see Mount Fuji from the top of the Ikegami Hall.

It was my first time seeing a woodpecker. 

I had heard a tapping sound as we passed by a bunch of trees on our way to Yogenji and I spotted it. Video here.

I learned that woodpeckers peck wood to catch bugs, tell their friends where they are and to mark their territory.

Lunch at MOS...I tried their chicken tatsuta burger...delicious!

The wind is still icy but it was nice to get out and about.

cafe vanni

Last Friday, I had said Tokyo hadn’t started their rainy season yet, well later that day, we did and some other areas in Japan started their rainy season too...boy was it rainy and cold!

Last Wednesday, Vanni, opened a cafe nearby.

Besides sweets, they also sell sandwiches, and other savory items too.

It was busy on Saturday, but we were lucky to secure a table

Satoshi had their soft serve...400 yen (tax included)

I had their matcha shaved ice...550 yen (tax included)

We both had coffee...450 yen (tax included) each

The coffees were strong, made to match their cakes, I think, it didn't quite match with my matcha shaved ice even if the matcha was a little sweetened.

We'll be back though, to try other items.

Cafe Vanni

6-5-1 Ikegami

Ota, Tokyo

Hours: not determined, check their social media

sakura walk (ikegami)

Last Monday, was forecast for rain, I had some things I needed to do, so instead of getting on a train to see some sakura, I went to check out the sakura in our neighborhood.

Nomi River

park nearby

The cherry blossoms have started to fall

someone is stealing this house's flowers (the paper posted in the background, says, "flower thief reported, let's all enjoy the flowers")...so pretty 

wish there were a huge sakura tree in front of our building, like this one, must be so cool to see from your lanai

got in a good walk, got my errands done and also got to see more sakura
 

sakura walk (kamata & ikegami)

Last Sunday started off overcast, Satoshi had an errand to run, so we met up afterwards.

I walked past Misono Shrine, the cherry blossoms have started to flutter here.

We went to check out the Hamazushi that I spotted from MOS, it is a smaller shop, but at the time that we went, we didn't have to wait for a table!

When we came out though, the line was krazy!

Still, we'll be back because this location is a little closer for us.

The weather was quite warm so after some grocery shopping, we had our first shave ice of the year...Tamaya is a shop from Imabari, Ehime and has been serving shave ice since 1903!

Satoshi had the milk seiki (sugar added to milk), I had the strawberry…1650 yen (tax included)

So delicious! the texture was similar to guri guri

Afterwards, we went home, put the groceries away then went up the street to Ikegami Honmonji

It was also Hanamatsuri, the Buddha's birthday, so we ladled some sweet tea over a tiny statue of the Buddha 

The sakura was in full bloom here and every one was out and about

It was supposed to be rainy, but turned out to be quite sunny, hot even 

Lots of walking and lots of eating.

end of an era

One of the cake shops in our area is closing next Sunday.

Enomoto has been in business since 1922!

The building needs to be brought up to code, so the owners decided to shut down their cake shop and will eventually tear down the building.

Sad to see them go.

It was one of the first cafes we explored when we moved to Tokyo.

Stood in line to get some cakes this morning.

At 9:45 I was 19 in line...at 10:00 when they opened many cakes were already sold out by the time I got up to the showcase.

Hope everyone in back of me was able to purchase something.

finally

Ever since Kitsune to Hachimitsu closed back in 2020, I've been waiting to see what would happen to the building (the pinkish one)

Apparently the larger apartment building to the left of it is on the same property.

Well, they've started getting it ready to tear it down.

The other day when I passed by, an elderly man was getting all his belongings out of the building...he had quite a bit of things.

Hoping nothing too tall will be built here.

bakery onipan

Yesterday, a new bakery opened in our area called Bakery Onipan.

They opened at 9:00 and I went at 9:30...can you see the line?!

It took almost 30 minutes for me to get into the shop...

And pickings were a little slim at that point...

I purchased the 1/2 kuromitsu nuts (molasses nuts), 1/2 grain cereal, rich milk roll, cream pan and curry sausage.

The curry sausage was so good! it had sweet onions and a snappy weiner, lots of curry flavor too.

The rich milk roll was not filled with anything, so I was kind of bummed but it was soft and delicious.

The cream pan was delicious, filled with lots of custard 

We'll try the kuromitsu bread and grain bread in the coming days (I put it into the freezer)

I'll definitely be back to try other items, hopefully there won't be a krazy line.

Bakery Onipan

3-40-1 Ikegami

Ota, Tokyo

Closed Mondays & Tuesdays

Hours: 9:00-18:00

ikegami honmonji & yogenji

When I was leaving our apartment Friday, puffs of pink near Ikegami Honmonji happened to catch my eye

So, I went to check it out before going grocery shopping.

I went through Yogenji, where they have huge cherry trees.

We've visited when the hydrangea was blooming, but this was my first time seeing their cherry trees.

And this area nearby that had more tulips than I had seen before

Ikegami Honmonji

The weather dude said that this might be the "last weekend" for cherry blossoms, so everyone is out and about.

If you'd like to see a few more photos/videos, please look here. 

ikegami plum garden

Ikegami Plum Garden was 70% in bloom so we went to check it out on Sunday.

Tons of people out and about, even if it doesn't seem so in my photos.

The wind was icy but at least the sun was out.