What's Ed doing in LA? What are the boys up to?? Is Pierre finishing his degree in LA?
Please send news?? Nana/Mom
More Greetings from the JR Bullet Train and Nagasaki!
Hi Big Al!
Great to hear from you. Glad you have enjoyed some of our exploits! It
really is an incredible country and can honestly say we are sorry we hadn't
made the effort to visit before this. Anyway, couldn't 't be happier that we
are finally scratching the surface.
This morning, just before 10:00am, (9:57am to be precise! I think that is
why I like this country so much. When the schedule says 9:57am the train
leaves precisely then. The conductors on the platform are constantly
checking their watches and when the second hand passes the appointed time,
they wave their flags and blow their whistles and we are launched into
SuperExpress Heaven. They'd understand 77.33K!), we boarded the Sakura 553
Shinkasen, SuperExpress, bound for Hakata where we changed to a Limitd
Express, (more of a milk-run, whistle stopper), to Nagasaki for next two
nights. Spent last night at a fabulous hotel/spa not all that far way from
Toshi's/Tomiko's apartment. They and her aunts wanted to treat us as thanks
for all our hospitality in Canada. Had a wonderful onsen before dinner. I
was all by myself as there are separate baths for women and men. Around
7:00pm a lavish meal, Kaiseki, traditional Japanese food, about seven
courses, was served in our room. I drank a Japanese citrus beverage, Yuzu,
fruit wine made from small Japanese citrus fruit, akin to a lemon/lime,
etc., only 8% but extremely tasty and most refreshing after the Onsen, while
The Sisterhood sipped a Chardonnay from Kobe, 2010 Benediction Blanc, 12.5%,
very tasty indeed. (I must say that the local wine has been very good. Not
necessarily product that you might search out as not much varietal
character. However, certainly very quaffable and complimentary to much of
the Japanese food we've eaten when drinking the ones Toshi has very kindly
offered.) Absolutely stunning presentation and tastes, of course. By the
time we finished eating and chatting it was close to 10:00pm and we finished
with very tasty watermelon and cantaloupe. Course before that was miso soup,
a selection of pickled vegetables and rice to cleanse the palette but I
couldn't touch anything as the portions had just kept coming and coming!
(Didn't even manage to crack the bottle of sake we'd brought along so hope
to enjoy it in Nagasaki!)
We all slept in the same room, low dining room table put aside, on very
comfy tatami mats. While I was waiting for the bathroom, I climbed back into
the massage chair and enjoyed the pummelling and the vibrating until I was a
noodle. That and the onsen ensured sleep was a sound one. We all slept in
our kimonos and I didn't need anything else as temperature was just right
for me. Cora Lee and Toshi were buried under there duvets but Tomiko didn't
use hers either. Woke up at 5:00am to see the sunrise. Toshi informed us
that there would be a total eclipse of the sun at around 7:30am so we wanted
to go for another onsen before watching the solar fireworks. During dinner
Toshi asked the woman who was serving our food if protective glasses were
available at the hotel and when she returned a few minutes later she brought
us a device that looked a bit like a space age set of sun glasses wthout the
arms. She said it was a gift to us on our anniversary, as were about three
of the dishes served over the course of the meal. Toshi must have mentioned
our 36th when she made the booking. The food was from the hotel but the
solar protector was from her. She said she lived but three minutes away and
could use the ones her daughter had purchased. By and large, this is typical
of the open generosity and genuine thoughtfulnes/graciousness we have
experienced since arriving.
At any rate, I went up to the onsen just after 6:00am and enjoyed another
wonderful soak, both indoors and in smaller outdoor pool, before returning
to the room. Beat Toshi and Coriandre back. Tomiko had stayed and was
reading the newspaper when I walked in. We changed out of our kimonos and
started watching the beginning of the eclipse at around 7:10am. I was loads
of fun as the sun was gradually obscured. I asked Toshi to turn on TV and we
watched coverage from around Japan. Cloud cover was heavier in Tokyo, where
eclipse was to be more complete, but from comparing our own observations to
what was shown on the live-coverage, our show was better!
At 7:30am the eclipse was almost total, just a halo of red light around the
black moon, so we went downstairs for breakfast. Another wonderful meal and
I'm always the winner with Cora Lee as I get to eat most of her pickles.
This time one of my "donations" was a custard-like tofu, cooked in what
amounts to a huge cup-cake that is set inside a ceramic bowl, atop a
mini,gel fuelled hot pot. Fortunately for me, Coriandre has never liked
custard. Fantastically yummy, especially with green onions and grated ginger
on top!
Back up to room to finish packing. We are traveling quite lightly, (The way
we should have been from the very start!), for this next leg of the trip as
we'll return to Toshi's place on Saturday. She'll meet us at our hotel on
Friday morning. We'll spend Thursday night in Kyoto, after visiting
Hiroshima, (one night), after Nagasaki, the furthest south we'll travel.
Friday night we will spend at the guest house, (cottage/cabin), of one of
the directors of the company she works for, and explore more of Kyoto and
environs. The wife of the director will be there and she is familar with
this area so she has offered to be our guide. That being said, Toshi is a
more than wonderful tour guide herself so we have really been able to
understand more about what we are seeing and doing and eating and
drinking!!!
Once we were packed, we went downstairs again to have coffee and tea, part
of the package, stopping to admire the stunning Koi in a beautiful outdoor
pond, next to the bank of elevators. I've never seen such gigantic,
stunningly beautiful , obviously healthy fish as these. There were three or
four, perhaps a few more, that were over a metre long, the thickness of my
thigh through the middle; two of these were a golden yellow, many of the
smaller ones, and even these weren't that small, were splotched red and
white and black, simply glorious, almost like Dalmatian goldfish! I could
hardly tear myself away from the window every time I passed.
Into the comfortable lounge area for some delicously strong coffee, (black
tea for Coriandre), and a chocolate biscuit from Kobe, appareny renowned for
its sweets as well as its beef. More chatting and translation for Tomiko and
then back to room to collect our bags. Around 9:30am Toshi and her Mom
walked with us to the station, about a ten minute stroll, and saw us as far
as the ticket gates. They didn't have to check out until 11:00am and Toshi
didn't have to be at work until 1:30pm. She had some time owing her for some
weekend work a while back. Her Mom was planning to go home to do laundry,
our bed linen! We thanked them for such a wonderful weekend and embraced,
saying we'd see Toshi on Friday, her mom the day after. On Sunday, at noon,
an uncle is hosting a yakatori party for us at his restaurant so we'll see
the aunts who have visited Vancouver over the years.
Longest part of today's journey was from Shin-Osaka to Hakata, about
two-and-a-half hours. Then two hours from there to Nagasaki, arriving just
before 4:00pm. Give us time to stroll around downtown after checking in to
our hotel, The Victoria Inn, fairly central, according to the Japanese
expert, Have Insight Guide, Will Travel Coriandre!
Hadn't had time, until today's train journey, to diarize the simply
incredible party Toshi organized in our honour, at her favourite Italian
ristorante, Taverna Quinta, in Osaka, on Saturday. She has a friend Luna,
whose sister, Akemi, (Koreans born in Japan), is the wife, (hostess/head
waiter), of the chef, Kenji, together with pastry chef Maiko and
Oonishi-san, waiter, (hall staff). The four of them run this terrific place,
simple, attractive decor and intimate space, just poifect for a gathering
the size of such a group as ours, 26 people, including Toshi and the Guests
of Honour, Cora Lee and Patrizzio!
The food was unbelievable, incredible and I am not exaggerating, as is my
wont.
The meal was quite traditional and started with antipasto, salami,
prosciutto and a form of quiche. Then Insalata Caprese: fresh basil, fruit
tomatoes, (sweeter than normal), and fresh buffalo mozzarella, with Maiko's
freshly baked focaccio; thin crust Pizza Margherita, tomatoe, bocconcini,
basil; Spaghetti with an incredible, spicy vegetable/shrimp tomatoe sauce;
Risotto with Gorgonzola, fabulo and then a succulent roast leg of lamb with
potatoes, served sliced, molto divino!!!
Dessert, on a gorgeous platter, with our names written in chocolate sauce,
sprinkled with icing powder, was Maiko's special gelato, mango, vanilla,
chocolate, together with panna cotta and strawberry sauce and a large creme
brûlée. Poor people had to make do with just vanilla gelato and a slice of
cake, (If they don't have bread, let them eat cake!), of some kind. Not that
anybody minded as all the courses were more than generous. We shared almost
half of our platter as it was simply too, too much for the two of us and
too, too, too delicious not to share and Heaven forbid, waste!
About half of the guests spoke at least some English, (Laura, per esempio,
is from London and teaches ESL), so we could converse with many of Toshi's
friends. As you might expect, I stood on a chair and gave a number of
speeches which Toshi translated, as I spoke. Felt like I was a visiting
politician somewhere or at the UN General Assembly. We wanted to thank Toshi
for her incredible hospitality and for the terrific opportunity to meet so
many of her friends. i must admit that I became a bit "weepy" when I
mentioned how she had become part of our family over the course of the three
years that she lived with us at Hotel Kits. For a bit of comic relief I
mentioned that "English Only" was the refrain of the day when she was in
Vancouver and that the reason we had taken so long to visit Japan was that I
was afraid to hear the dreaded words "Japanese Only"! This was well received
and then I added, for good measure, that in order to accomplish this
language learning, we would be spending two weeks with everyone present, on
our next visit! Great good fun and then I explained that I wanted to lead
them in a round of For He's a Jolly Good Fellow, substituting For They are
Jolly Good Fellows, in order to thank them for coming to the celebration.
Had to lead them through one or two rounds until they got the hang of it but
didn't take long and everyone was shooting both arms into the air with every
"Which"!!! Think the restaurant staff were a tad astonished but seemed to
enjoy the merriment, nonetheless. I insisted they help themselves to the
single malt and they all were quite capable of knocking it back. Left the
couple of remaining fingers as a small token of our appreciation for
stupendous meal and remarkable service. When espresso was served at the end
of the dinner, one of the guests said she didn't drink coffee and
Oonishi-san was back immediately with tea, without even being asked. Just
one small example of the care everyone took in serving throughout the night!
As you can tell, food was extraordinarily delicious and so was the wine,
Italian, as you might suspect. We were even allowed to bring our own hootch
as alcohol was included in the cost per plate. I brought two reds, a Durif
from Rutherglen and a Cabbage from Coonawarra, from Patrick Winery, as well
as a Laphroaig Quarter Cask, Duty Free in Sydney. People started to arrive
after 6:00pm and Toshi had said earlier that it would probably be over by
9:30pm as people would have to catch trains, etc. However, by 11:30pm party
still showed no signs of letting up! Owners were very accommodating but they
did have to close shop. (Staff had already done most of the clearing up by
this time!) Finally, Toshi called everyone outside for a group shots and
succeeded in sending all the very happy guests home after numerous snaps
from everyone's cameras.
Bit of a noisy crowd as we all walked towards the nearest train station,
small groups heading off together, those who lived in similar parts of the
city, the streets otherwise fairly quiet. The three of us made for JR
Kitashinchi Station where we caught the direct line to Takarazuka to finish
journey with a short cab ride home. We all feel asleep without much trouble
after having to wake poor Tomiko as Toshi had forgotten her key!
Signing off now as we have a busy, busy day tomorrow. All sorts of museums
and historical sited. Fondestos and Cheers, Cora Lee "Move Over Rick Steves"
and Patrizzio "We Don't Need No Stinkin' Travel Agents" San!
To be continued...
Hip hip Hooray! Had a good chuckle envisioning you on your chair fist
pumping and picturing Corriandre probably covering her face and shaking her
head as well as I'm sure somewhat confused looks of guests. I'm sure you
won't be forgotten anytime soon in that part of the world. Bravo!! Have a
wonderful time and give our best to Toshi.Greetings from Nagasaki!
Hi Goils!
Thanks for updates on Mom and George. I hope Gaelan and Steph are handling this difficult time. Did June and Myrtle arrive?Toshi sends her fond greetings to both of you. It really is an incredible country and can honestly say we are sorry we hadn't made the effort to visit before this. Anyway, couldn't 't be happier that we are finally scratching the surface.
Hi Claire and Greg!
Glad to hear that Greg actually can change his mind! Cycling in Spain sounds wonderful. What a great trip. Congrats on camper completion project. Please send a case of chutney to the Island Inn, pre-payment to hold your reservations when you decide to visit! Cora Lee, kimono clad, sends her fond regards to you both.
Hi Chris and Jim!
You are too busy to fill the role of grandparenting! I trust all goes well on that front. For my part, I despair of being bale to keep up with Robo Ray when we return at the end of May. No exercise, except walking and opening bottles!
Hi again, Big Al!
How well you know Coriandre! Was there a live cam at Taverna Quinta, focused on Her Majesty, The Honoured Guest? Will certainly send greetings to Toshi, on your behalf, when we see her this coming Friday.
Yesterday, Ayn reminded us that it was, in fact, the Victoria Day Long Weekend, (One simply loses track of time after a while. One day seems just like another on the travel roller coaster!) By chance, we enjoyed Victoria Day at the Victoria Hotel, a booking made some time ago. We dined at a lovely Chinese restaurant, (Cora lee claimed she needed a break from Sushi this and Sushi that, mainly the pickled vegetables, I suspect!), about two minutes away, near the entrance to the fairly large Chinatown here. Gorgeous entrance gates and attractive, colourful metal dragons overhead along the narrow streets of the precinct. Apparently, according to Coramandel Steeves, the Chinese had a very early influence in Japan, here, following the Portuguese and Dutch when foreigners were allowed in. At the moment, my local guide is snoring gently, resting up for the busy tour of the city's highlights to come! We plan to buy a one-day tram pass to get around the city, a comfortably sized place with very friendly inhabitants, based on the people who have gone well out of their way to help us when we've asked for directions. Time to make another hit of java, (Starbucks Instanto sticks purchased in Tokyo as emergency rations!), and sip if from our multi-purpose tea/sake cups!
Hi Treacherous Tree Person!
Great work with the series! You should do something similar with bonsai for the Japanese market. We could be your agents here and set up a gallery/sake tavern!
Hi Champagne!
Thanks for kind thoughts about Annie. According to Chloe, she has her ups and downs but is still hanging on!
Hi Mad-Cap and Bad Boy!
Trust High Game Tourney will go well!
Hi Slammin' Steve!
No Merlot so far, but a few whites are really enjoyable! See you in early June. Cheers, Coriandre "Rick Steves", broadcasting, semi-live, on location in Japan, and Patrizzio, her trusty, underpaid Sherpa!
Hi June!
Trust you are well and were able to "break-in" to The Island Inn! Thanks, in advance, for bringing the single malt. Much appreciated. Looking forward to Kyoto as well. Enjoy your holiday in Canada.
Hi Ski!
Congratulations, in advance, on your coming anniversary! Long-suffering Ron and Corinne! We are just not understood, Ski!!!! Will decipher card when next we hook up. Pleased to learn that all your bright offspring are doing so well. Dublin is a fabulous city so you'll have a great time visiting Sam when you are not skiing, Ski, in Switzerland or being a roadie!
Hi Flash!
I knew there was some reason not to live on Vancouver's East Side! Glad all goes well, in spite of handcuffs! How was your long weekend?
Hi Lady Patrizia and Sir James!
Trust you are both well!
Hi Fe!
Wasn't actualy locked-out. Just a silly game a Facebook friend was playing.
We are still in Japan and won't be back in Vancouver until the end of the month. However, will certainly give Sylvia a belated birthday hug when next we meet.
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