The most gorgeous day

Just Resurfacing from yesterday March 2, today March 3, after getting sufficient sleep FINALLY! Let me tell you about our long day yesterday.

After 4 hours of sleep, and unable to fall back asleep at 3am 🤣😭, we got an early start, promoted by Dan for a change! He wanted to see the salarymen, those who wear suits, work too long and hard, and get wasted in a certain area to deal with their unhappy lifestyles, passed out on the streets in the morning in Kibochiku. Well, the police must have cleaned the streets for the Tokyo Marathon by then, bc the area looked post-apocalyptic at 7am - completely empty.

We went for breakfast at what must’ve been a hang over eatery, or just a really casual kitchen and everything was just fine. We got to select different items on the racks to put on our trays. See photos.

We made our way to the train station and unintentionally walked through Korea town. It was bustling and amazing. We will need to go back and eat there.

The train system is easy to navigate and is so orderly. You must wait in a line on the left side of the entrance while the people exit. Once they are off the train, it is now your turn to board the train. Please put your backpacks on the front of your chest, if you have any, and try not to make eye contact with anyone, and please no talking. The trains were so quiet and so clean - the US has a long way to go to get to this level of orderliness.

Our first stop, was guided by a desire to eat at a particular Fishcake store. The street ended up being very interesting, filled with shops and food, and with a couple Buddhist temples, with which we witnessed meditative chants, gongs, incense & water purification - it was enigmatic and calming with the drums reverberating throughout the streets. The food was also fun to see and taste. Going to this area was unintentional and happened to be the best part of our day. I love it when that happens!

The ume blossoms are in full bloom with whites, pinks and purples projecting from the branches, and the aroma is wonderfully sweet. These Ume blossoms in English are plum blossoms, and they bloom mid February to the beginning of March and last several weeks. Where as the cherry blossoms (Sakura) bloom at the end of March through April (and May in the northernmost part of Japan), and last about one week or so. The cherry blossoms do have more blooms on a branch than a plum blossom, but we did witness in early, blooming cherry blossom tree, which was gorgeous. There is something called Hanami, which is flower viewing, that takes place in parks, backyards, and is essentially a picnic where you enjoy the nature, and this can also be done at night under the glow of lanterns.

We next visited a market area, historically known for cats we didn’t see any actual cats, but there are seven statues which you are supposed to look for in the area which we found to. It also survived the damages from ww2 and is well preserved. This was supposed to be the main event of the day, but wasn’t as interesting as the previous street we had visited earlier in the day. By now everyone’s legs snd feet were hurting and Dan needed a refresher at 7-Eleven, but really just a seat, to which we both bought alcoholic beverages ( Dan sake, me some carbonated white peach can) and drank them there since you aren’t supposed to walk around with open beverages or eating food so they must be consumed on the spot or in a designated area, so that is why there’s seating in many of convenience, stores and 7-Eleven’s, etc.

We made our way to our first Shinto shrine learned a couple things and walked through the torii gates, which are red or vermilion in color. Of course everything has a meaning, all of which is quite extensive, so I’ll spare you on the details for now, unless you would like to know more then contact me please, or just Google it, as AI seems to know everything.

The evening was exhausting on such little sleep, and it was a struggle to go out and get food, to which we did. We were both extremely exhausted and it was a real struggle to leave the hotel. After waiting in line to eat ramen, we found that it was a different type of dining experience than what we’re used to. We ordered our food from a kiosk, then specified how you wanted each item prepared (hardness of noodles, richness of broth, etc). We ate in stalls so you could not see your neighbor unless you turned your neck to the right or left. There was a bamboo curtain in front of you, to which you never saw the chefs face, but saw their hands put the bowl through the window onto the space in front of you. This ramen place is known for their Tonkatsu Ramen, and the broth was much better than what I’m used to at home so I would say it was a success perked me up a little bit. We walked through the red light district and returned to the hotel to listen to meditative Buddhist and Shinto chanting, which put us to sleep.

We both had a successful night of sleep of at least eight hours and we are now headed out today, on March 3, which is girls day or dolls day in Japan! This has a long history of celebrating girls and their first girls’ day is the most important. It’s basically wishing for healthy and a successful life. They also have a children’s day in May, which the boys have their special day on, and I love that this culture celebrates both of these days. Hopefully, this I will see something related to girls/dolls day today March 3rd!

P.S. we walked 19,000 steps yesterday and I’ll need to get us both wheelchairs for the next couple of days to recuperate 🤭Read more