Alone Time in Hamarikyu and Konatsu Lottery (Japan – Autumn 2018 Day 9)
First things first… today was the day of the Halloween Konatsu lottery at FewMany in Loft, so back to Ginza I went… solo this time.
Leaving the house was delayed for a multitude of reasons, but it all turned out to be okay. There were only 20 people that had already arrived for the event and I was worried that I would not get a ticket because at that time, I didn’t realize that it was a lottery system and assumed that each number was drawn in order.
By 1pm, a quick head count told me that there were 120 of us gathered there and I was the only foreigner… I was most definitely not blending into the crowd with my tall stature and curly blonde highlighted hair. I wanted to make myself smaller and invisible because I felt very out of place at first, but after a bit I didn’t feel so odd because people were very friendly and of all ages too! People my age, seniors and even little children with their parents were there, and from all walks of life it seemed, too.
I was handed a number and was worried that I would not know what to do since I don’t read Kanji! (yet!)
My Lottery Number – it turned out that the message below simply says “Ginza Loft” HAHAHA!
Instructions were called out in Japanese – my cursory knowledge of conversational Japanese plus context helped me to mostly understand what would be happening and watching others when their numbers were called most definitely helped.
One person called, then two, three… four. There went my chances at receiving one of the limited Sugar Skull painted negora! That was sad but I still hoped that my number would be called for one of the Halloween pieces… I clutched my precious number 28 printed paper with nervous excitement… another called, then two more and suddenly the 8th number was called – “番号28” Ecstatically I waved my paper in the air and those closest to me gave a cheer and gave me shoulder pats of congratulation – I thanked them heartily and moved forward to claim my prizes, er chance to purchase things!
The amount of figures available was rather low, so I am SO thankful that my number was drawn! Out of the three available, I chose these two, which fit into my budget:
These two special Halloween edtion Negora from Konatsu – hand painted by the artist herself!
This photo was obviously not taken in Ginza Loft, but at a garden that I walked to afterward…
I needed some time to refresh myself today, and I felt that some time alone in one of my favorite spots in Tokyo would do the trick so I settled on walking to Hamarikyu Gardens which is right on the Sumida River and close to Tokyo Bay.
Tunes in my ears and happiness in my heart, my feet started toward the garden and along the way I was surprised to come upon the Nakajin Capsule Tower! I had no idea that it was so close to Hamarikyu and if I had known how close I had been so many times before on previous visits, I most certainly would have stopped there before!
The day was hazy but I still managed to get a decent photo:
Randomly found the Nakajin Capsule Tower!
Photographing this building has been on my bucket list for many years and it was on my definite list of things to see on this trip so to find it by chance was very satisfying indeed!
A little history of the building… Nakagin Capsule Tower was designed by architect Kisho Kurokawa as a mixed-use building for both residential and office space… I’ve linked to both the architect and the page for the tower so that you can read more in-depth at your leisure.. apparently you can rent out some of the apartments to stay in but the list is long…. adding this to my long list of things that I would like to experience in life!
Close by were the gardens that I love so much… it was a haven for me on previous visits, a place for me to be near nature and recharge my spirit and today was no exception. This trip is so much more than hanging out with friends, photographing adventures and (in two weeks) attending language school. It’s finding my own self again and rediscovering what I need in life to feel whole, a task that has been in the background for far too long for me. Having days or moments of solitude are important to me, and days like today give me opportunity to turn inward and reflect in positive ways.
There are portions of the gardens that are open fields and each season they are planted with a new flowering plant… right now Cosmos are planted – the colors of Autumn are so beautiful and when the leaves begin to change I will visit again to capture that beauty as well.
Autumn Fields of Hamarikyu
This place is so special… around every corner is a new surprise and beautiful scene. There are moments that it is difficult to remember that you are in the middle of a big city because the garden plants and trees seem so dense and it’s a bit more quiet there.
The contrasts between an ancient garden and modern skyscrapers are one of my favorite things about this garden – even in the middle of the concrete jungle you can find repose.
Duck Blind on the lake – old hunting grounds
The Sumida river and boat lock that leads to Tokyo Bay and Odiaba.
After much strolling, photographing and long periods of sitting quietly, it was time to have a photo session with my Konatsu Halloween Shibara (Shiba/Kaiju) and Negora (Cat/Kaiju)!
Oooooo look out for that scary Negora! She’s gonna getcha!
Shibara looking stunning in Autumn colors!
I took quite a while to get just the right shots of these figures and then it was time to meet up with Chris for dindin!
We settled on going to Monja Street near the Tsukiji Market… not for monja though… we craved Okonomiyaki!
“Original Generation Monjayaki” is what Google translate says is the name of this restaurant is. XD
Chris had been here before on a previous visit and said that he liked it quite a bit, so I was eager to try… I was not disappointed! Every bit as good as Okonomiyaki that we had in Osaka last winter – so full of flavor and not too heavy, considering what the food was.
After our delicious dinner, Chris suggested that we get some cake dessert at a place in Ginza – he said that he had been to another location and enjoyed the desserts there… the name of that restaurant was Harbs, which tickled me quite a bit…. I suggested that instead of calling it “carbs” which would automatically imply some unhealthy food they dropped the “C” and inserted an “H” to stand for “Healthy Carbs” – sound logic yes? Of course yes! XD
Dessert was tasty but uuuugh a little too sweet on one of them. We had some sort of roasted chestnut pie which I thought was quite good and obviously made well, but way too sweet. The other selection was a Pear Tart, which was amazing and more to my taste… I might already have a bias because pears are one of my very favorite fruits.
Chestnut Pie in the foreground and Pear Tart in the background – at Harbs!
After the dessert we were a bit too full for our liking, and both of us were getting quite sleepy so we departed with happy hearts and full bellies. Here I am at home now, tired but unable to sleep and it’s almost midnight here – uh oh… I may have ingested too much sugar! (It’s going to be a long night, methinks!)
Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden Was Open! (Japan – Autumn 2018 Day 6)
Cooler weather has arrived, though it is still warm and still quite humid. It feels great to me until the mid-afternoon, when I really start sweating and my hair freaks out. I swear… I just cannot look good while I’m in Japan in any other season than winter… naturally curly hair and humidity do not mix well so I get about half a day looking okay and unless I take pains to wash and actually style my hair in the afternoon, then it becomes a wild and woolly mane that is out of control. Because I do not like to fuss over my appearance for more than a very short while, I choose the wild hair rather than look my best. I wonder what this says about me as a person?
My compatriots woke about an hour after I did and we did not take too long to relax this morning since we wanted to make it out of the house and to Shinjuku with time enough to enjoy the park before it closes at 4pm.
Paulina, Fredrik and I went to our station (Hikifune) and jumped onto the train to Shinjuku. I had expressed the desire for a proper coffee as did Chris, so I looked online for a good place to go… and found a Blue Bottle Coffee right next to Shinjuku Station – oh the joy! They have really good coffee and I was surprised to see that they expanded from Northern California into Japan!
Chris suggested that he pick up the coffee, since he would arrive shortly before we would, since he was only coming from Shibuya. He also surprised us with some tasty pastries from a French bakery that was right next to Blue Bottle, which we saved to eat in the park.
Yes, we finally made it into Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden – wooooooooo!
I took SO MANY PHOTOS but I was not alone… Paulina is also a photographer and Chris has gotten the photography bug so it was nice to not feel rushed to move on when I was busy composing nice shots. Prepare yourself for a very photo heavy post today!
This was my second time in the gardens… the first being back in June of 2015 when Chris and I lived in Tokyo for 3 months. On that first visit I was solo, and spent the entire very hot day there. It was 91 degrees F with 90% humidity, and this time it was much cooler, and about 10% less humidity – much more pleasant weather for certain! Regardless of the weather, I feel like I could visit this garden over and over and never tire of it. I am VERY much looking forward to when the leaves start changing their colors – this is one of the gardens that I will definitely be going back to!
The 4 of us strolled the garden and stopped at a large field to enjoy our tasty French treats, and then strolled more…
We had quiet times
We walked a lot – photo courtesy of Chris Danford
Chris roaming in Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden
Taking closeups of…. something.
Photographing me photographing a tree – photo courtesy of Chris Danford
Wandering Boo. – photo courtesy of Chris Danford
Views like this make me want to move to Tokyo.
Those are my feets with smushed fallen Autumn leaves.
…. and silly times
We felt compelled. – photo courtesy of Chris Danford
Fredrik… STAHP! (DEUTSCHLAND!)
Caught in the act! – photo courtesy of Chris Danford
It’s THIS way!
Chris demonstrating exactly what this sign means… complete with stick!
Somehow this moment just… happened… and it was glorious.
WHA! A wild Fredrik suddenly appears!
and selfie times.
Happy people in the happy greenhouse!
We happy!
Happy! – photo courtesy of Chris Danford
But mostly, plant times.
We liked the greenhouse. – photo courtesy of Chris Danford
photo courtesy of Chris Danford
Something was interesting! It was probably that brown plant that I was fascinated with. – photo courtesy of Chris Danford
– photo courtesy of Chris Danford
I love the greenhouse in Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden!
Just a little bud… I’m sure it will open soon!
I risked life and limb for this shot. – Photo Courtesy of Paulina
I wish that I knew what sort of plant this is…
Potted plants in pleasing arrangements.
The upper level in the Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden greenhouse.
I want to know what this plant is also!
This tree is going to look SO nice with Autumn color!
Why yes, this plant WAS FUZZY! Yet another that I desire to know the name of.
Oh, and cloud times too. So many beautiful clouds.
A couple was having kimono times. I’m pretty certain that we got better photos of them than they did of themselves. Thanks, Kimono Couple for giving me a nice photo subject!
Thanks for providing excellent composition, Kimono Couple! I think that we had better photos from you being there than the selfies that you two ended up taking. 😀
Garden times with my special friends was so needed, and what a sharp contrast to the inner turmoil that I was experiencing the day before! I was feeling completely opposite emotionally and while physically I still wasn’t great, I was much better in comparison.
We were all pretty hungry at the end of our garden visit. Chris suggested Gyukatsu Motomura, another beef katsu restaurant. This place was special! At the table are pots made of pottery that they light up so there is an open flame in each pot. Each person gets to choose their own pot, which is topped with a slab of pottery – this slab gets VERY HOT…
We actually cooked our meat on these!
The gyokatsu is breaded and quickly deep fried, then sliced up and served with many sides. You take slices of the breaded beef and place them on your hot slab of pottery where it sears the meat – you get to choose how well or not well you cook your meat!
The accompanying sides were delicious: Pickled vegetable, miso soup that I think may have had a beef base instead of fish, sweet mochi with what seemed like it had a syrup either made out of light molasses or maple, rice with barley and mountain potato which was in it’s stringy form of goodness – I do love mountain potato and on top of rice! OH YUMMERS! Two sauces were included as well… one that seemed like garlic and the other a sesame of some sort?
After dinner a very tired Chris said adieu… Paulina, Fredrik and I went to Flying Tiger, a store that has origins in Denmark. We found all manner of quirky and useful things! I was after a nail brush and a sleeve for my MacBook…. I found what I needed! A Llama MacBook sleeve came home with me, and I don’t even find the pink background too annoying! x
In Flying Tiger – they had all sorts of fun things.
The three of us then went to Akihabara to meet up with Joy and Zach, who had been in arcades all day again… Fredrik left Paulina and I for a boys night out of karaoke with another friend from Sweden – Paulina and I went to a few arcades and then dragged our weary bodies back home with the intent to go to an Onsen in Asakusa, but once we were still and comfortable at home, we decided to not go anywhere.
I called it a night fairly early – no plans as of yet for the morrow except to find some useable wifi so that I can upload some photos to my blog posts!