Shakujii park

Shakujiii park is one of the largest and most famous parks in Tokyo which I had wanted  to go to for a long time.

One sunny day, my husband and I decided to go there by bicycle.

Shakujii park is a public park in Nerima-ku, and which contains 2 ponds; Shakujii-pond and Sanpoji-pond.

The fountain in Sanpoji-pond is one of the top 3 in the Musashino area.

Especially, Sanpoji-pond is designated as a natural treasure.

From my house to Shakuhii park, it takes about 30 minutes; it was not so far.

When we reached the park, we was very surprised to see many families there, because at that time, our knowledge about Shakujii park was not so extensive.

I remembered my childhood. I used to go fishing in rivers and ponds, and used to catch crayfish with my childhood friends, most of them being boys.

We walked through a place where many families were enjoying fishing,  and came to an interesting rest shop, which was named Oyasumidokoro in Japanese.

I felt nostalgic when I saw that shop, because that shop’s style was from Showa era.

At that shop, we ordered 2 cups of sweet cold sake, which is named Amazake. It was very delicious. I really like such style cafes.

Some local customers were enjoying having a conversation in that shop.They were of various different generations which was interested for me.

and it was interesting for me.

After drinking Amazake, we walked around Sanpoji-pond.

Beside the pond, there was a small shrine.

Shakujii park is made up of 2 areas, and the atmosphere of other area, which is on the opposite side of the road, was different.

That area seemed to be not so special except for the swan boats.

After about 2 hours walking, we felt hungry, and talked about dinner.

My husband wanted to go to the delicious Chinese restaurant which is near my house, however I insisted to eat at the nostalgic shop again.

I remembered that the menu at that shop was interesting.

This dish name is Miso-dengaku, but at that shop, it was called Miso-oden.

This dish name is Oden. It was very tasty, and I felt it had a Kansai style taste.

I

This dish name is Motsu-ni. Motsu-ni is a stew of cow’s organs with a miso flavor.

It was also very delicious. We can sometimes find Motsu-ni at cheap shops in downtown areas.

We really enjoyed the weekend. I want to go to different parks around Tokyo.

Otaguro park

Recently my husband and I visited 2 parks around my residential area.

The first one was Otaguro park in Ogikubo.

It’s near to my apartment, and about 6-7 minutes walk from Ogikubo station.

It was formerly the estate of Motoo Otaguro, a music composer and critic in the Showa Era, who was credited with introducing the music of Debussy and Stravinsky to Japan.

After his death, his estate was donated to Suginami-ku, and since then it has been kept up as a beautiful Japanese-style garden.

All people can walk around there and relax free of charge from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

And if you apply, you can use a tea house to enjoy a tea ceremony. However I guess this service is only available for Suginami-ku residents.

After Otaguro park, we walked around the Ogikubo area, and we found a traditional Showa-style apartment on the way to Ogikubo station.

I like such old style apartments, because when I see them, I feel nostalgic even if I don’t know the period.

Near Ogikubo station, we found a small bakery.

Recently, I’m addicted to eating bread, shokupan in Japanese, for breakfast everyday.

So I have been trying to buy bread at different bakeries near my office and my house.

At that bakery, I also bought bread. But…the taste was not bad, but not so impressive.

I wonder if I really want to try to eat other types of bread at that shop.

Dinner party at my friend’s new house.

One of my close friends who is also my colleague, invited me to her new apartment.

She is a Japanese-American and her parents bought the new apartment in Tokyo, however her parents still live in America.

At first we were planning to have a small dinner party with just our common close friends, but she changed our plan.

She invited many friends, 17 people, to her new apartment.

I like such dinner parties, because I can get new friends, whose backgrounds are different from mine.

I bought special bread named “Melon-pan” in Nishiogikubo, and in Kichijoji, I bought one kind of Fish-cake and also some snacks.

It was about 3pm when I reached her house.

Both my friends were in the middle of cooking.

The view was very very nice from her house!

I helped with the cooking and writing the welcome board.

Other members came there around 5-6pm, and the dishes which they brought were interesting.

Some dishes were very special, so I was ashamed that I didn’t bring a homemade dish.

One person at the party was my friend’s friend’s friend, and he was a lawyer.

His background was very impressive.

He became a lawyer after working as a office worker for 7 years. Before passing the lawyer exam, he’d tried 6 times.

And after passing it, he traveled around Asia and the Middle East for 1 and half year.

Not only this story impressed me, but also the fact that he selected “Saga prefecture” as the place where he has been working.

He told me that he was not interested in working in big cities, and  he likes to connect with local people deeply and do everything by himself which he couldn’t do when he was working as “a office worker”.

I can understand his thinking, because I had been studying law at University, and gave up my dream to become a lawyer.

I thought about my future in a new light, because I want to continue working even if I have a baby.

Unfortunately it’s difficult for woman to have a full time job, if we have children in Japan.

So our skills are very important. umm, I need to think more..

Wonderful people who I met via CS

I met some people via CS(Couch Surfing.com) recently.

I’m keen on meeting foreign travelers via CS.haha.

Most of them have nice personalities, as I’ve written in my previous articles.

But the most interesting thing for me is to get to know their points of view about Japan and Japanese culture.

So I think I want to meet CSers one-on-one at first, not in a group.

Recently I’ve met a French woman who is a writer on town planning issues.

Her age is in her fifties, and she has a daughter whose age is similar to me.

At the first time, we met at her hotel in Aoyama-icchome after my work, and then moved to a Japanese restaurant which had a very nice atmosphere.

We talked about many topics, and had a very good time. Her experiences in her life impressed me very much.

The second, we met at her hotel again on the weekend, and I guided her around Omotesando, Harajuku and Kagurazaka.

She is very fashionable, and we enjoyed window-shopping in Omotesando.

I seldom go window-shopping these days, so it was a lot of fun for me too.

In Harajuku, we ate Crepes. It was typical Harajuku style.(Many Harajuku girls love to eat Crepes, while enjoying shopping and talking with their friends)

After Harajuku, we moved to Kagurazaka.

Kagurazaka is the one of popular places amoung people who love traditonal Japanese culture.

It wasn’t me who chose those areas.  My new French friend was interested in there. haha(Sure, me too.)

The other day, I met an Italian girl who is studying in Tokyo.

It was funny that the first person who contacted me via CS was her brother. Incidentally he introduced me to his sister.

We met at Hiroshimayaki restaurant in Kanda, which is not so far from my office.

A well-known food in Japan is Okonomiyaki, local Osakan cuisine, but  Hiroshimayaki is also a well-known local Hiroshima food.(The shape of Okonomiyaki and Hiroshimayaki is similar.)

Her Japanese was good, so I could understand everything that she said. But that day, my condition was not good, so we said good-bye early.

After I met the French woman on the weekend, I met the Italian sister and her brother in Mitsukoshi- mae, the nearest station of my office.

We moved to an Oden restaurant near Nihonbashi, Mitsukoshi-mae and Nihonbashi are very near.

At the Oden restaurant we really enjoyed talking about many topics. And after the Oden restaurant, we moved to Shiodome to see the night view.

The Italian sister and I enjoyed the night view at Caretta Shiodome, but her brother was very tired after his long trip.

So we said good-bye before getting late.

I met a Rusian woman who is also studying Japanese in Tokyo.

I set our first meeting near my office after work. I introduced her to the same Oden restaurant.(I really like that Oden restaurant, because their style is traditional and the price is nice.)

We enjoyed conversation there and  talked in Japanese sometimes.

On an other day, I met a Madagascan woman who is from the UK.

We exchanged emails several times before her trip to Japan, so I could get to know her personality a bit before we met.

We went to a Monjayaki restaurant in Kanda.

Monjayaki, a local Tokyo food, belongs to the same type of cuisine as Okonomiyaki and Hiroshimayaki.

She was interested in modern Japanese culture, especially J-pop music and Manga.

We really enjoyed our conversation at the Monjayaki restaurant.

All meetings were very very exciting, so I decided to invite all members to my house at the same time.(The first person who I was planning to invite to my house was the Madagascan woman, but I changed my plan.)

And the final person I invited to my house was a Swiss guy who also contacted me via CS. I thought  his personality was nice, so I imagined all members could become good friends.

What an amazing home party!

We ate Nabe(hotpot) and I showed them a Shamisen performance.

We exchanged our cultural differences and the experiences of traveling in Japan. All members really enjoyed the party.

The Swiss guy had been living near my house for 7 years, so I was very surprised at his deep knowledge of Ogikubo and Asagaya.(my residential area)

There were 6 different nationalities at the party.

2 days after the home party, I went to the Swiss guy’s farewell party in Yomiuriland-mae.

There I met 2 people who were friends of the Swiss guy. One of them was an Israelite, and the other was Canadian.

All members had a good humor sense, so we had a very nice time together.

I experienced very interesting gatherings within one month.

But I know for me, someone who is studying English, it’s dangerous to become addicted to such gatherings.

I need to spend my time to read grammar text books and memorize English words, because my goal is not only daily conversation but also to master business English.