Today (it’s Wednesday here) was busy. It was interesting to see salad and vegetables served alongside bacon and eggs for breakfast-- the latter a concession to American guests. I’m learning how many things we assume to be a certain way -- what side is the UP escalator , 
for instance. We went sightseeing and started at the Diet, which is the Japanese Parliament. There were many groups of school children on field trips, dying to get their picture taken.
We then went to the Asakusa area, named after a shrine that was having a big celebration today. We had a traditional tempura lunch for which we did have to sit on the floor -- more food whose o
rigin was unclear, although we made a guess on everything.
We had about 1.5 hours for shopping and lookin
g at all the shrines. There was soft-serve ice cream in the flavors you’d expect in addition to unexpected flavors such as bean curd, green tea, and plum. I tasted the green tea flavor, which was aptly named -- not a flavor I would associate with ice cream. Another fun thing I saw reminded me of the state fair. A man had a booth set up with bulls-eye targets where you could pay to try to shoot one with a bow and arrow. I saw a girl hit the target -- a lot of bells were rung, but I didn’t see her get a prize. The temple, shrines, and gardens were beautiful. Many people left money or burned incense in honor of ancestors.
Tonight’s official welcoming reception involved a lot of speeches, plentiful drinks, and more new foods to try. Tomorrow I hope to visit the hotel’s expansive gardens, waterfall, and koi pond that I can see from my window that looks out on downtown Tokyo.
for instance. We went sightseeing and started at the Diet, which is the Japanese Parliament. There were many groups of school children on field trips, dying to get their picture taken. We then went to the Asakusa area, named after a shrine that was having a big celebration today. We had a traditional tempura lunch for which we did have to sit on the floor -- more food whose o
rigin was unclear, although we made a guess on everything.We had about 1.5 hours for shopping and lookin
g at all the shrines. There was soft-serve ice cream in the flavors you’d expect in addition to unexpected flavors such as bean curd, green tea, and plum. I tasted the green tea flavor, which was aptly named -- not a flavor I would associate with ice cream. Another fun thing I saw reminded me of the state fair. A man had a booth set up with bulls-eye targets where you could pay to try to shoot one with a bow and arrow. I saw a girl hit the target -- a lot of bells were rung, but I didn’t see her get a prize. The temple, shrines, and gardens were beautiful. Many people left money or burned incense in honor of ancestors.Tonight’s official welcoming reception involved a lot of speeches, plentiful drinks, and more new foods to try. Tomorrow I hope to visit the hotel’s expansive gardens, waterfall, and koi pond that I can see from my window that looks out on downtown Tokyo.
2 comments:
So glad to hear about your travels. I still can't believe you're on the other side of the world. Looking Forward to hearing more!
Rosie
Oi! Green tea ice cream!?!? Hey, the least you can do is try it, right? Glad to hear that you are having a wonderful time. It sounds like there is so much to see and experience is just three short weeks! I'm already looking forward to your next entry!!
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