ise jingu

Breakfast was huge the next morning
 

After checking out we made our way to Ise Jingu to meet up with a tour guide

It was my first time to Ise Jingu, Satoshi’s last time here was in elementary school!

We found another Pokemon manhole cover

I loved how they decorated the shops with these flower arrangements along the Ise Geku Sando (walkway to Outer Shrine)

This was our tour guide for the next 80 minutes at Ise Jingu Geku (Outer Shrine) area, Ms Otsu

She was super patient with all the questions Satoshi had, BUT she also spoke super fast!

Trees are wrapped to protect them against people's hand oils not to protect them against the cold

For this area, you are asked to walk on the left side.

If they tell you "no photos" please abide by the rules, there were some adults not "adulting"

I was kind of annoyed by how loud and unruly some people were here

And amazed by the huge trees

From the Geku (Outer Shrine) to the Naiku (Inner Shrine) you can take a bus or taxi

I think they said it is 6 kilos (3.7 miles)?!

We didn't have much time before our next tour to take the bus, so we took a taxi...2000 yen (one way!)

After checking in with our tour, we had a little over an hour to eat something

We stood in line for Akafuku

We’ve had these before in Osaka.

These mochi are made fresh and covered with smooth sweet bean paste by hand.

They are so soft! delicious!

Perfect with hojicha...300 yen (tax included) for one serving

Then at 13:30 we met up with our next guide Mr Takeda (we think) for a 60 minute tour of the Naiku (inner shrine)

This guy spoke so fast, walked fast, and just "threw" all his info about this place at us!

For the inner shrine they ask you to walk on the right

Do not throw coins into the rivers!

The coins dirty the water and kills all the “natural” stuff in the water

By the end of the tour our brains were fried...

We were kinda starving at this point, so we had Ise Udon at Nikodo Ichirakutei

If you like pull and chew for your udon, this is not for you.

The noodles are soft soft soft, the story behind this is that people who made the pilgrimage to Ise Jingu were usually tired, these soft noodles are supposedly better for digestion after a long journey.

I had the Asama, which was lighter than the Isuzu

Satoshi had the Isuzu, his had a thick tamari sauce on them..550 yen (tax included) each

Change up the flavors with ginger and or chili

It was my first time trying this type of udon, I enjoyed it

We made our way to the hotel we would be staying at, Senpokaku, which we stayed at in 2007

They must've really renovated over the years, because we didn't really remember too much of the place.

Dinner was kaiseki.

Lots of walking, lots of info to soak in.

Satoshi said he was able to learn quite a bit today.

Akafuku Honten

26 Ujinakanokiricho

Ise, Mie

Open daily: 5:00-17:00

Nikodo Ichirakutei

19 Ujimazaikecho

Ise, Mie

Closed: Wednesdays & Thursdays

Hours: 11:00-15:00

*cash only

Senpokaku

2-12-24 Toba

Toba, Mie

tokyo-nagoya-mie

Satoshi has another potential tour, so we went to check out areas in Mie prefecture.

First stop was Matsusaka.

It was our first time here.

But first lunch...

The more expensive way to try Matsusaka beef is at Gyugin, where they serve sukiyaki and steak, but since our dinner was going to be French, we decided to try Matsusaka beef in a more "reasonable" way, as udon at Gyugin’s sister shop, Aoyagi.

Buy your lunch ticket at the machine and give it to the wait staff, then find a seat 

I chose the half size udon with musubi filled with beef shigure-ni (beef simmered in soy sauce and other seasonings)

This was just the right amount for me, I loved the beefiness of the broth and the tenderness of the meat...1180 yen (tax included)

Satoshi had the Matsusaka beef donburi and beef udon.

He said he enjoyed it...1980 yen (tax included)

I'm glad we tried this.

From Aoyagi it is only about 5 minutes walking to the Matsusaka Castle Ruins.

You can see the preserved samurai homes from the ruins.

There are actual families still living in most of them too!

So many ume (plum) trees in bloom

At the Harada residence, a merchant in the Matsusaka area, there was also one in bloom

Up to Matsusaka Shrine

I purchased some wagashi (Japanese sweets) for us to try

From Tatsumido, suzu monaka, tsuru no tama and mo-chan manju...430 yen (tax included)

the most interesting of these three was the mo-chan manju which had beef shigure-ni mixed in with the sweet bean paste.

It had a savory flavor to it, I'm glad we got to try these.

Kirinohayama and oinotomo from Yanagiya Houzen, which has been in business since 1575! 

The kinohayama was savory too with aonori (green laver) mixed in to the white bean paste...280 yen (tax included)

oinotomo was a monaka (wafer) filled with sweet bean paste gelee...185 yen (tax included)

And we also tried these hachimitsu (honey) manju from Tenrinyaki...95 yen (tax included))

From Matsusaka we caught the train to Toba.

The last time we were in Toba was in 2007!

The area has some new places, like the Toba Marche.

A place that sells locally grown veggies and locally made foods.

We found a Pokemon manhole cover here.

From the marche, I bought some hoshiimo (dried sweet potato) for us to try called Kinko...1000 yen (tax included)

We then went to Mikimoto Island.

Where Kokichi Mikimoto invented cultured pearls.

You can also watch Ama (sea women) dive for seafood/pearls.

On this day it was blustery and fahreezing...I give those women credit for jumping in to show us this!

We checked in late so our dinner time was 19:45!

French dinner : everything was delicious!

A long day, but Satoshi got to see everything he needed to.

Aoyagi

1657 Uomachi

Matsusaka, Mie

Open daily: 11:00-17:00

*cash only

Tatsumido

2172 Honmachi

Matsusaka, Mie

Open daily 8:00-19:00

Yanagiya Houzen

1877 Nakamachi

Matsusaka, Mie

Closed: Tuesdays & Wednesdays

Hours: 9:00-18:00

Tenrinyaki

650 Hinomachi

Matsusaka, Mie

Open daily 10:00-18:30

Altia Toba

1061-9 Arashima-cho

Toba, Mie

ps more photos/videos, here (I haven't labeled everything yet, but will do so soon!)

m.3546 bakers

Been wanting to try m.3546 Bakers after seeing them on a tv show.

They are only open on Wednesdays and Saturdays.

I know Saturdays would have way more people, so I aimed for a Wednesday.

I was first in line, and luckily there was wi-fi, so I emailed Satoshi to ask him what kind of dessert he wanted.

I purchased the cultured butter scone...380 yen (tax included)

I put this in the freezer and will try it later.

Satoshi wanted the basque cheesecake...626 yen (tax included)

He enjoyed this.

I wanted the carrot cake...648 yen (tax included)...this was different from carrot cake I've had before.

I loved how much spice there was and I think the carrots were grated because you couldn't tell they were in there.

There was also a nice amount of nuts in there.

I also purchased their saba (mackerel) tuna sandwich...590 yen (tax included).

This was a little too salty but I liked the smokiness from the saba

And the campagne bread! was so delicious too, glad I toasted the sandwich before eating it.

This particular day, they were selling mostly desserts instead of breads, so I will try for another Wednesday to check out their breads.

I'll be back.

m.3546 bakers

2-11-25 Minamiyukigaya

Ota, Tokyo

Open on Wednesdays & Saturdays

Hours: 11:30-16:00 (earlier if they sell out)

this and that

Was finally able to try Alain Ducasse's 75% cacao fruit tablette

So delicious with the semi-dried fruits and nuts on it.

So they demolished the house and this pink house that I can see now

Reminded me of this Barbapapa character
 

so teeny

Tokyo People: thought her ear muffs were so cute

Tokyo People: these guys were clearing out an office

spotted this ume tree near Kugahara from the train, so I went to check it out, it was huge!

So pretty!

Chocolate stollen from Patisserie Ease...marzipan around the stollen and coated with Amazon chocolate, lots of fruits and spices...delicious!

Roast beef sandwich from Bakery Bank...had to take it apart to eat, but the meat was super tender...love!

The weather was quite warm this week, but will snap back then get warm again

Have a safe weekend