This week's quirks of Japan... things you see at the train station:
- 4 year olds taking themselves off to school – they come up to mid-leg!
- A girl dressed as 'Strawberry Shortcake' – top to bottom – that’s dedication, and bravery.
- A dog dressed in a red coat, sunnies, Mickey ears and a red flashing bowtie – cruelty to animals!
- Women in white - women here aren’t afraid to wear white – could be because they are all size 8’s, but it’s very popular – as are stripes and polka dots. I’d previously mentioned the ‘shorts over black tights’ trend – well, I gave in and joined the fad on Friday night for my hot date with Ninja. Knee-high socks are not going to be attempted though!
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| Following the fashion trends |
- The 'John Eales scrum approach' to getting into the trains, anytime after 7:30am.
- Several belongings not making into the train on the first door closure, including bags, and arms!
- I was unfortunate enough to witness Japan’s worst ‘moose knuckle’ on the walk home the other night – the guy needs to either: a) not wear light grey pants, b) get some looser pants, or c) wear his pants at his natural waist rather than under his armpits… the visual scarring has stayed with me!
- Had two people fall asleep on me last week – fortunately both were women… one seated, one whilst standing!!!
- No one sweats but me, it’s 90% humidity people!
It was clear skies and mid-twenties for the weekend, so we made the most of it!
Friday was a 7 course meal at Grandciar Hayamaan, a mere 10m from our apartment building! It was convenient enough to get me in heels! Our waiter spoke English, which was fortunate as there were no English menu’s! We figured out the important stuff – they had beer by the glass, they had champers by the glass, and the set menu only involved fish or other meat, no seafood (for Ninja’s benefit) – it was French cuisine, with some Japanese influence… first course was seasoned tuna, then asparagus creme with prosciutto, then chicken soup with dry noodles, then fish with a delectable deep fried pesto ball, then the tastiest, most tender beef pieces wrapped in eggplant, followed by some lemon sorbet and a cheesecake slice for dessert – we were in heaven! The French red wine was also quite delicious – much thinner than Aussie red’s, but went down a treat! Alcohol allocation for the weekend – GONE!
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| Asparagus creme and prosciutto underneath |
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| Cheesecake slice |
Saturday we hit the pavements and cycled from Minato Mirai to Motomachi – it’s about 4km away… the front port area through Yokohama is beautiful. It reminded me that I’ve only ever lived by the water… Durban, Perth, Karratha and Yokohama. I stopped to take a few pictures, which meant I lost the lead position and Ninja took to the front… I don’t travel well as a follower, particularly on bikes, but we survived and I only got beeped at once!
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| Yokohama Markets |
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| Yokohama - Landmark Tower |
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| French bakery at Motomachi |
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| Yokohama waterfront markets |
In the afternoon, I had my usual Karate class – Sensei is still campaigning tough love. She made us do the Kata individually and told us we’d be repeating this next week … subtle way to say “PRACTICE”! My MBA studies will start again in July and we’re looking for flexibility to travel on weekends, so my karate career could be short lived!
We had a quiet Saturday night in and watched Rome Season 2 – it’s horrific and I can not wait until it’s over – then we can go back to watching the West Wing and I can sleep peacefully at night! Tristan’s connected his computer wirelessly to the big flat screen in the lounge so we can now flop on our super comfy couch and watch movies etc, and whoever is closest to the kitchen has to get up to get Cranberry and Soda’s!
Sunday – we came, we saw, we conquered! Ninja can blog the details of Tokyo Disneyland. My few cents are:
- never go on a weekend or public holiday;
- wear comfy shoes;
- take a change of shirt (particularly handy after Splash Mountain); and
- if you’re not wearing a cartoon character on your shirt or on your head, then you don’t belong :P
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| Tokyo Disneyland - Easter Parade |
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| Strawberry Yoghurt and a Churro - staple diet in Disneyland |
Bye for now
Xoxo
Karate Kate
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