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| Tokio Tagagaki
“I love to travel. I’ve been to almost as many places as my luggage.” Bob Hope
Hi Michelle!
Trust you are
well. En route to Tokyo via Shinkansen, as I write. Cora Lee is sleeping
as we zip towards The Big Sushi at 300KPH! She'll probably be snoring
gently as we whizzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz past Mt. Fuji! Cheers, Patrizzio!
Nice to hear from you - oddly, Bob
and I were talking about the bullet train yesterday - same technology as
Skytrain I think but on a much MUCH faster scale. Wow. Of course, I'm
rather pleased the Skytrain is significantly slower ...
Enjoy the sushi! Sayonara, Michelle
Greetings from Tokyo!
Hi Jean!
We arrived in Tokyo
this afternoon. Are you still here? We are staying at the Fresa Inn,
Room 516, just three blocks from the Central Station. If you receive
this message and are able to get together, that would be fun. Otherwise,
we'll just have to try to get together wherever you are after leaving
Japan. Cheers, Corinne and Patrick!
Good morning, Corinne and Patrick!
There was a small earthquake in Tokyo and Kanagawa pref.
at 1:36 in the morning.
Heard no big damages. Are you all right?
Well, name of Naomi's wife is "Mitsuko".
I talked to Naomi yesterday and once again said thank you.
He said He and Mitsuko enjoyed our visit very much!
Great to hear that!
Well, please have a fun today! Love, Toshiko
Hi Sandra!
Trust you and all the VIWF gang are well. En route to Tokyo via Shinkansen,
as I write. Cora Lee is sleeping as we zip towards The Big Sushi at 300KPH!
She'll probably be snoring gently as we whizzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz past Mt. Fuji!
See you next week at Preview. Cheers, Patrizzio!
Japan!!?!
So, I'm taking it you aren't going to be at the scotch tasting this year?
Too bad... This year we have 27 different alcohols including 4 from the
Pemberton distillery... And they're apparently mostly cask strength.
;) See you at the member event however! Sandra
Hi D,
wanted you to know that I took $160 out of one of your line of credit
accounts not sure which one, but the toilet is fixed and Myrtle has said
she will pay as it was her toothbrush. So will either have a cheque or
cash on your return.
I am not able to pick you up Thursday as I'm working
and we have no big car, I did ask Michelle but their car was in an
accident ( a fire truck clipped it) and they still have the rental and
its small as well. So unless their car is fixed by then its train and or
taxi for you guys.
See you in three sleeps. XXXXXXXX chloe
Hi Toshi and Tomiko!
We are fine! Didn't feel
anything from earthquake, fortunately. Thanks for our hostess's name! I
will send you a note to pass along to them, if you don't mind, as soon
as I have a moment.
Furthermore, thanks again for so much! Can't
even begin to thank you and your Mom for your hospitality and
generosity. Not even to mention all the travel guiding you did and the
tips on what to do and see. Just wanted to say that I certainly
appreciated your latest message about sites and activities for Tokyo. In
fact, after we left our bags at Reception, (We were too early to
check-in, (3:00pm), thanks to your expert train advice and consequently
had more time to explore the city.), arriving at the Fresa Inn, just
after 1:45pm, just a few blocks from Central Station, in fact, closer
even than in Kyoto, we returned to the station to obtain our tickets for
Thursday morning, your 40th birthday! After that, we walked the route
we would need to take early morning with all our bags! Wanted to find
the best possible way to get to the platform for the Narita Express as
we wouldn't have much time to spare and you know how Cora Lee can fuss
about being at the platform in plenty of time.
As far as we can
determine, we won't have to negotiate any stairs at all and can have the
taxi drop us off only a very short distance from the first elevator,
Yaesu North Entrance. Afterwards, Cora Lee wanted "time-alone" for
shopping so I set off for Asakusa. Took JR to Ueno and then the Ginza
Line without any trouble. It was raining heavily when I reached the exit
opposite the covered arcade so I didn't have to worry about the
downpour. I found two shops selling knives and ended up at the smaller
of the two, run by three brothers who make the knives themselves. I
bought two and while they were being sharpened I visited the wonderful
Senso-ji Temple, its gates and stunning five-stroy Pagoda, near-bye. The
rain had stopped and it was a glorious afternoon. I picked up my
purchases, thanking the owners and made my way back to hotel to take two
cups of java, (dispenser in Lobby), up to the room to find Cora Lee
enjoying an onsen in the tub!
I had a quick shower and after two
glasses each of Yukiko's fabulous plum wine we set off to find a
restaurant for dinner. Settled on a very good Chinese spot not far from
our place as we were a bit tired from day's activities. Glasses of Kirin
and Sapporo beer with shrimp dumplings, some huge gyoza-like rolls,
fried leek and bean sprouts and pork meatballs. Very tasty indeed! Back
to hotel to read for a bit before turning out the light.
Time to
go as Cora Lee is anxious to explore and our bags just arrived! Thanks
for that as well! Love to you and Tomiko. Fondestos and Cheers, Cora Lee
and Patrizzio!
Hi Raymond!
Trust you and Sylvia are both well! Really don't want to leave this
wonderful country. Please sell all you early vegetables and send proceeds!!!
If you can collect us from YVR, that would be grand. However, if the plane
happens to be late, don't even come to the airport. (I imagine you can check
arrival time on-line.) If flight is on time and we are not through Customs
by 2:30pm, again, don't wait, as I assume you have an appointment to tutor.
We can make our way home, one way or another. Sorry for any inconvenience,
however. Haven't heard from either Ragin' or Whirlygig so assume they are
not available. We are used to taking trains so the Skytrain will be a piece
of cake. Will look for The Peleton as we cross over CSTB!
We arrived in Tokyo, from Osaka, this past Monday, at just after 1:00pm.
(Had a note from a friend, Jean, (Met her in 1972 on the Empress of Canada,
out of Liverpool!), who was living here when last I heard from her. She is
now in Nice! I gather she and her husband will be moving there and she is
currently overseeing renovations, at least according to her brief email.
Will be there until the end of June. She is always one step ahead of me.
When we were in Singapore, in 2003, she had just moved to Tokyo. Now we are
in Tokyo she is in France! Does this say something? No comments from the
Peanut Gallery, please!!!) Our hotel is only a few blocks from the Central
Station so we had only a ten minute walk, bags and all. After we left our
luggage at Reception, (We were too early to check-in, (3:00pm), thanks to
our friend Toshi and her expert train advice, and consequently had more time
to explore the city.), we returned to the station to obtain our tickets for
Narita, very early on Thursday morning. After that, we walked the route we
would need to take with all our bags! Wanted to find the best possible way
to get to the platform for the Narita Express as we wouldn't have much time
to spare and Cora Lee has an obsession about being at the platform in plenty
of time.
As far as we can determine, we won't have to negotiate any stairs at all and
can have the taxi drop us off only a very short distance from the first
elevator we will have to take at the Marunouchi North Entrance. Afterwards,
Cora Lee wanted "time-alone" for shopping so I set off for Asakusa, an
"historical" district of Old Tokyo. Took a Japan Rail train, using my
railpass, to Ueno and then the subway, Ginza Line, (¥160=$2.06), without any
trouble. It was raining heavily when I reached the exit opposite the covered
arcade so I didn't have to worry about the downpour. I found two shops
selling knives and ended up at the smaller of the two, run by three brothers
who make the knives themselves. I bought two and while they were being
sharpened I visited the wonderful Senso-ji Temple, its gates and stunning
five-stroy Pagoda, near-bye. The rain had stopped and it was a glorious
afternoon. I picked up my purchases, thanking the owners and made my way
back to hotel to take two cups of wonderful java, (Wonderful "machina", in
Lobby, grinds beans of choice on demand), up to the room to find Cora Lee
enjoying an onsen in the tub!
I had a quick shower and after two glasses each of Yukiko's, (Toshi's
Aunt's), fabulous home-made plum wine we set off to find a restaurant for
dinner. Settled on a very good Chinese spot not far from our place as we
were a bit tired from day's activities. Glasses of Kirin and Sapporo beer
with shrimp dumplings, some huge gyoza-like rolls, fried leek and bean
sprouts and pork meatballs. Very tasty indeed! Back to hotel to read for a
bit before turning out the light.
Have found this city an incredible experience. Almost as easy to get around
as London, language barrier notwithstanding. (That in London, I mean!!!)
Given population it is amazingly clean everywhere, litter and completely
graffiti free, and wonderfully quiet off the main thoroughfares. Always feel
comfortable, everywhere, no matter the time of day or night. Last full day
here so went to the Imperial Palace, (again, within easy walking distance,
no more than fifteen minutes on foot, if that), to drink Green Tea with the
current Emperor. Quite lovely grounds with rather imposing, massive, massive
fortification walls, moat, etc., to say the least. In the Edo period the
successors to the first Tokugawa Shogun made the castle here into the
largest/tallest in Japan, if not the world, at the time. Ironically, the
castle burned down, never to rebuilt, nineteen years after it was completed,
around 1657, I believe.
Near the entrance, (free), just before one reaches the inner castle grounds
and various gardens, there is a small museum which displays a small number
of art and craft works produced between 1877 and 1903, for and from the
First National Industrial Exposition to the Fifth, all taken from the
Imperial Collections. The works created during this brief 25 year span have
become symbols of this era and are now called Meiji art. Seeing them it is
not hard to understand the immense popularity of Japonisme.
After a most pleasant two hours or so, we headed back to Central Station
where we kissed goodbye. Cora Lee was headed back to scope the stores in
Ginza. We had walked around this high, high end fashion district last night,
only fifteen minutes by foot from our hotel, and she wanted to drop me like
a hot potatoe in Tokyo's version of Knightsbridge or Rodeo Drive. I told
her, as we waved goodbye, that I would need the last of Yukiko's plum wine
to drown my sorrows, to assuage the pain of being abandoned for designer
wear and impending credit card financial catastrophe! I dream of Greece and
its monetary woes in comparison!!!
For my part, flashing my JR pass, I took the Chuo Line, (track # 1&2), to
Shinjuku Station to make for Tokyu Hands, a Japanese department store famous
for its cornucopia of housewares and related wares. I was keen to try to
find the bicycle locks we'd first noticed in Aizu and helpful woman at the
Info Kiosk at Central Station suggested it might be the place. Few stops
later I was striding into the store only to see the bicycle department right
ahead of me. Found the locks in question but clerk suggested they probably
would not work on our bikes as the fenders would probably interfere with the
attachment mountings, etc. Decided to take two just in case they do work.
I'm sure I can get Dusty, (Mr. Fixit), to use a coat hanger or two to make
them work!
Back to Central, happy as a lark, and then to the hotel to pick up two cups
of java to sip while I repacked the second of our large, (albatross),
suitcases. Coriandre arrived about an hour later, overwhelmed by the sheer
expensive of everything in Ginza. Nevertheless, all her fellow shoppers were
loaded with shopping bags from all the high-end fashion and designer stores.
Not Madame Butterfly, however, as she showed uncharacteristic restraint and
returned none the poorer for her afternoon amid the rich and famous.
We plan on having an early dinner, (In fact had a wonderful meal at La
Bellota, a Spanish place but a few blocks away. Delicious tapas and a bottle
of equisite Tempranillo, 2005, 14%.), so that we can hit the hay in time to
have a reasonable sleep. Will have to be up around 4:30am tomorrow morning
as the taxi has been ordered for 5:15am. After we had breakfast at a
terrific sobe restaurant in "Kitchen Street" at Central, (I had an egg and
roast beef on my noodles. Cora Lee had a bowl of rice and six tasty gyoza as
she can't handle buckwheat.), we checked out the station exit where we
intend to be dropped, once again, just to be sure we had it right. Turned
out that the elevator there was out of order or at least was being worked on
when we walked by! We were assured, however, that it would be functioning by
tomorrow so hope that this is the case. Not looking forward to getting all
four bags to the Narita Express platform by elevator, let alone having to
deal with numerous steep flights of stairs! Three of the bags are "easy".
"Easy", in this case, is relative as I have a knapsack and Cora Lee a wonky
carry-on. Its wheels are too close together so it sways from side to side,
like a drunken sailor after too, too much rum. At one point, she was
literally dragging it along the pavement, unbalanced as it was and on one
end, and the stitching started to wear away. Fortunately, the wonkoid can be
put around the pull-up handle of Cora Lee's suitcase, on level ground, so we
only have to pull two wheeled bags each.
One wheeled bag presents few difficulties, in most instances but having to
load four into an elevator the size of a small closet, most of the time, or
onto the train, (Mind the Gap!), can be a struggle, especially when train is
crowded and doors are closing! The real problem is the El Cheapo, the one
which sports a nifty duct tape and wire, makeshift handle that I pray holds
together until I kiss the bag goodbye at the Cathay Pacific check-in
counter. After that, let the baggage handlers worry, say I!
Cheers from Cora Lee, the woman who, single-handedly, can, and usually does,
incur more debt than all the national governments of Europe combined and
Patrizzio "¥ Doesn't Grow on Trees" San! See you soon, one way or another!!!More Greetings from Tokyo!
Monday, May 28th
After a lazy sleep-in and a great breakfast at a cafe in the Central Station
we took the subway to Hama-rikyu Gardens, the family garden of the Tokugawa
Shogun, a typical example of the famous gardens of the Edo Period. Built
around a tidal pool that depends on the intake of seawater from Edo Bay, it
contains two duck hunting sites, kamboba. These areas feature many narrow,
dressed watercourses built into the gardens and the blinds were used to
observe the water fowl and feed them grain. When they were close enough they
were caught using nets. Close to the entrance one can observe a 300 year old
pine, planted when the 6th Shogun, Ie-nobu, renovated the garden in 1709.
Surrounded by an inner moat, the stunning Peony Garden contains 60 different
types of peonies. A small hill near the sluice gate which faces Tokyo Bay
affords a lovely view of the bay and some of the surrounding skyscrapers.
The sharp contrast between the formal elements of the garden and the
strikingly modern architecture surrounding the oasis of calmness and
greenery makes for quite an interesting, almost contradictory juxtaposition.
Not far from the Shogun O-agariba, the landing where the Shogun boarded and
disembarked from ships, the present day Tokyo Bay waterbus system has a
landing so we took one of the craft to Asakusa as Cora Lee wished to visit
the Senso-ji Temple, also known as Asakusa Kannon, Tokyo's most sacred and
spectacular temple, and pagoda, the ones I visited the day before. En route
we took a brief foray into the working harbour to pick up more tourists and
then followed a route which took us under 14 major and unique bridges which
span the Sumida River. A terrific sea wall lines both sides of the
watercourse and joggers and cyclists abounded. Close to Asakusa we were
afforded a spectacular view of the recently opened Tokyo Skytree.
Once off the waterbus, (We noticed about four or five monks aboard, making
for the Buddhist shrine, we assumed.), it was a short stroll to the temple
grounds. I sat in the shade while Cora Lee strolled around the crowded site.
Her tour over, we tried to decide where to go next. Thought that we might
make for the Imperial Palace but once we finished browsing the stalls which
lined Nakamise-dori, an endless arcade of traditional and modern wares and
food stalls, we took the Ginza Line to Ueno and then JR back to Tokyo
Central. Here we split up, Cora Lee to head to the Shopping Zone, (so
described on the station's signage, Dear Reader!), while I made for our
hotel. I was happy to return to the room with a couple of cups of the very
good java, freely available in the Lobby, and work on re-packing the two
bags which had arrived at Fresa, from Takarazuka, forwarded by Tomiko after
we left on Monday, at 10:00am that morning.
Unfortunately, the hotel does not have a scale for baggage. (Very pleasant
woman at Reception showed me a tiny scale for weighing letters when I
inquired about the possibility of using one. When we were staying in
Akihabara at the Washington, I noticed a guest using a scale supplied by the
hotel and simply assumed that this was standard for Japanese hotels.) We'll
simply have to gauge 23 kilos, (maximum allowable weight per bag on Cathay
Pacific, at least for our ticket class), and hope for the best. However,
since we should be at the airport in plenty of time, we might have to do
some re-packing, on the spot, and use the baggage scales there.
At any rate, I had finished one bag by the time Cora Lee returned and had
the foresight to have a bottle of Santa Digna, Chile, 2010 Sauvignon Blanc,
13.5%, chilling in our doll-house sized bar fridge, ready to re-vive her
after an arduous hour or two of Power Shopping! She sipped and read while I
had a quick shower, sipping myself on a glass or two of Yukiko's delicious
plum wine, a bottle of which she presented to me at the family gathering on
Sunday. Both changed, we set off to stroll to Ginza, only about fifteen
minutes away. Our hotel really is almost ideally located. Since it is within
more than easy walking distance to Tokyo Central Station, connections to
virtually all the other Metro Lines are readily available. In this instance,
we could have taken the tube at Takaracho Station, just a block or less from
the hotel, but it was just as easy to walk as it was more trouble than it
was worth to change trains and would probably have taken more time, to boot!
We set off at just before 7:00am and were in front of the Seiko Clock
Dome, in the heart of the archetypal Tokyo shopping experience. An admixture
of venerable Japanese department stores and small exclusive shops joined by
most, if not all, the international designer boutiques. It goes, almost
without saying, that restaurants, nightclubs and bars abound, although the
extremely wide sidewalks on the main thoroughfares were easy to navigate as
the pedestrian traffic was busy but not overwhelming. In fact, it was a most
pleasant outing, strolling along in the 24C evening air, gawking at all the
neon, window shopping and snapping picture after picture. Tokyo is an
extremely clean city and once one moves off the main avenues, the narrow
streets are very quiet, more pedestrians than cars. We have always felt
extremely comfortable at any time of the day or night so it truly is a
delight just to walk if the distances are not prohibitive.
By about 8:15pm we had seen much of what we wanted to experience and headed
back towards the neighbourhood near our hotel. We had noticed a Bulgarian
restaurant the day we arrived and decided to give it a try. On the second
floor, Sophia was a very congenial spot. We assumed that the food would be
much the same as the fare we had eaten in Turkey and were not disappointed.
We shared a very tasty "Greek" salad to start. Cora Lee had a delicious
moussaka, while I ordered home-made lamb sausages on a plate of mixed beans
and a red pepper stuffed with minced meat and rice. I had a small glass of
Rakia to start and we nibbled on a small plate of complimentary, (and
tasty), cheese cubes. (Cora Lee pulled a fast one as I had poured the
remainder of the SB into a soft drink bottle before we left, at her behest,
and she took surreptitious swigs from it as I enjoyed my Rakia!) We each had
a glass of Bulgarian red, Mavrud, with the main courses. Wine was drinkable
but not remarkable. Nevertheless, the food was delicious and the head waiter
very pleasant and attentive. Funnily enough, he wasn't Bulgarian but Italian
and had lived in Tokyo for twenty years with a Japanese wife and a number of
children. Apparently his father was the first to come to Japan from Palermo.
We paid our bill, (¥6,800=$87.45), thanked the staff and made for home. Back
in the room, Cora Lee read for a bit after brushing and flossing, while I
tried to capture the essence of the full day. As soon as I take care of my
pearly whites I'm headed for bed and book as well.
To be continued... |
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