Bean Cakes and Bike Rides

My second day in Tokyo, Rachael and I were going to take it easy and explore her old stomping grounds. We took the train just a few stops from the Takatsu-ku neighborhood to the Setagaya-ku neighborhood. We explored the Takashimaya shopping center, which is like a 10 story mall with a garden on top. It was full of really nice stores. My favorite part of that center is a floor towards the bottom that is full of food vendors. It feels a bit like a street market with vendors yelling and fresh fish laid out. There were all different foods being sold. What was really interesting was how beautifully and carefully everything was packaged. We walked around for a while as Rachael told me what was what. We ended up buying a dora yaki or red bean filled pancake. It was made in front of us and served warm. It was delicious and what a steal for 80 yen (about $0.80). (Check out Rachael's blog for more on these bean filled delicacies.)





Then we bought steamed pork dumplings and salmon sashimi. We took it up to the roof garden and enjoyed our Japanese picnic in the warm sun and the cool breeze.




From there, we walked past Rachael and Brad’s old apartment and checked out the Garden Island shopping center. They had a really neat pet store. There are lots of little dogs here and they are almost all dressed better than me! I wanted to get Nelly (my mom’s new puppy) a dress but it turns out Japanese dog clothes are more expensive than human clothes! Sorry Nelly. Garden Island also had a great garden store. I didn’t find anything at that store but it was fun looking at all the plants.

I did buy socks. Seriously.

Then we took the train back to the home station and rode bikes back to the apartment. Brad was nice enough to lend me his bike for the day—he walked to work. Well let me tell you, riding a bike with a full basket and navigating around all the pedestrians is not easy. (But it was very fun.)



Tonight Rachael and Brad had band practice. We biked over to their friend Jeff’s home. Two other friends of theirs, Justyna and Triston, were there too. What a fun band! The Tuques (what the Canadians call beanie –type hats) played Johnny Cash’s Burning Ring of Fire with kazoos! It was a riot! Plus, they actually sound terrific too.



We got take out on the way home and ordered Tonkatsu. Imagine breaded and fried pork with a really mouth-watering sauce served with rice. It was a great late dinner. Today promises to be just as exciting with a trip to Meiji Gardens planned.