Mediations on Vacations
Apr. 10th, 2006 02:11 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ladynox25Even though I've finished my daily log of my trip with hoya99, I wanted to wrap up with some thoughts, images, occurences, etc. that didn't seem to fit in my previous narratives but which shouldn't be left out.
The first morning at Tsukiji fish market, where we had that wonderful sushi, I noticed that the lady in the kitchen, who looked old enough to be someone's grandmother (I'm guessing she was in her 60's) had green hair! Not something you see much of around here. And she was totally dignified, too. You'd never laugh at her.
Ashoya99 said, I noticed that the manhole covers all had flowers imprinted on them. From my observations, I'd guess that each of Tokyo's wards (ku) had a different pattern, probably having to do with the administration of the sewers, etc. It was very pretty though--for instance, in Ueno, which is famous for the cherry trees, the pattern was of cherry blossoms blowing in the wind. Very nice. Also, around the Imperial Palace, there were tiles that had colored images of flowers just set into the sidewalk. They were labelled, but, unfortunately, in kanji so we couldn't read them. Every one I saw was different. I should have taken pictures of them, as they were quite lovely.
I think I fell in love with Japanese fruits, particularly the strawberries. Strawberries have fallen off my list of favorite fruits in past years because the sort you get here in the States is just so awful. Large, beautiful berries, but woody in texture and acid in taste, they're just not worth the price. Now Japanese strawberries--a different variety--were tender, almost melting on the tounge, and sweet enough that you didn't need to sugar them. Much better! And I understand fromhoya99 that all the fruit is this high quality, although you do pay for it. That's fine with me!
I also fell in love with the Japanese version of Chinese mango pudding--thick orange pudding with chunks of mango....yum! Also, the tapioca pearls in coconut milk.hoya99 always told me he hated coconut, but he seemed to love this as much as I did. So refreshing! Finally, the Western style pastries were also very much to die for. Cheesecake, chiffon cake, shoe creams, it didn't matter, it was all flaky and tender and moist and delicious and not too sweet. I hate too sweet things.
Oh, and I definitely became a fan of Japanese-style crepes, which were quite delicious, and I want to try some of the non-sweet crepes, as well. The avacado wrap I had that day in Harajuku also stands out in my mind--as much for how big and stuffed and messy it was as for how good it tasted! I discovered that I like onigiri (rice balls) and Chinese style steamed dumplings/pastries. Finally, in the food department, I can't forget the lunch thathoya99's parents treated us to. I'm going to be dreaming about that meal for months to come.
Moving on to clothing, I remarked tohoya99 at several points that Japanese people seemed to favor dark neutral colors--although that could be because the largest amount of people we saw while on the trains were businessmen and women. But even the children's uniforms seemed to tend to the dark blue/black/charcoal grey. I also thought that the young businessmen were extremely cute--all dressed up, spick and span, everything buttoned down tight, on their way (they hope) to the top of the corporate heap in a few decades, so wonderfully earnest and serious. Of course, I do know that it is serious, but I still found it amusing. Finally, there were the kimonos. And oh, the kimonos! I'm sure hoya99 got rather tired of me pointing them out all the time but it really was something to see, every day, young women, old women, women of all ages, some dressed more traditionally, some with modern hairdos and boots. A lot of pink, a lot of cherry blossoms (as it was almost cherry blossom time). While in Yokohama, we stumbled across a wedding party in the New Grand Hotel and saw some very nice very formal kimonos among the ladies in that party.
Overall, I did enjoy myself, although the crowding did get a bit much at times, but I seemed to be able to deal with it okay. The pollution was harder to deal with, especially the smoking, since I *hate* cigarette smoke with a passion. The only really bad moment of culture shock I had was on the way to Asakusa, when I became confused about which line we were on, versus which line we were supposed to be on.hoya99 was also a little lost, not being as familiar with that part of the city, so I really did have a moment of panic. Being lost is, unfortunately, one of my panic buttons, and being lost in a place where I didn't speak the language well, could barely understand it, and could not read the signs was...well, difficult would be putting it mildly, because if I couldn't depend on hoya99 in that situation, who could I depend on? Actually, it wasn't as bad as it seemed at the time and hoya99 himself was quite calm and confident of finding our way out. He was also very understanding and held me for a while while I fought my panic back and eventually it did turn out okay. He is so very good to me!
hoya99, I wanted to wrap up with some thoughts, images, occurences, etc. that didn't seem to fit in my previous narratives but which shouldn't be left out.The first morning at Tsukiji fish market, where we had that wonderful sushi, I noticed that the lady in the kitchen, who looked old enough to be someone's grandmother (I'm guessing she was in her 60's) had green hair! Not something you see much of around here. And she was totally dignified, too. You'd never laugh at her.
As
hoya99 said, I noticed that the manhole covers all had flowers imprinted on them. From my observations, I'd guess that each of Tokyo's wards (ku) had a different pattern, probably having to do with the administration of the sewers, etc. It was very pretty though--for instance, in Ueno, which is famous for the cherry trees, the pattern was of cherry blossoms blowing in the wind. Very nice. Also, around the Imperial Palace, there were tiles that had colored images of flowers just set into the sidewalk. They were labelled, but, unfortunately, in kanji so we couldn't read them. Every one I saw was different. I should have taken pictures of them, as they were quite lovely.I think I fell in love with Japanese fruits, particularly the strawberries. Strawberries have fallen off my list of favorite fruits in past years because the sort you get here in the States is just so awful. Large, beautiful berries, but woody in texture and acid in taste, they're just not worth the price. Now Japanese strawberries--a different variety--were tender, almost melting on the tounge, and sweet enough that you didn't need to sugar them. Much better! And I understand from
hoya99 that all the fruit is this high quality, although you do pay for it. That's fine with me!I also fell in love with the Japanese version of Chinese mango pudding--thick orange pudding with chunks of mango....yum! Also, the tapioca pearls in coconut milk.
hoya99 always told me he hated coconut, but he seemed to love this as much as I did. So refreshing! Finally, the Western style pastries were also very much to die for. Cheesecake, chiffon cake, shoe creams, it didn't matter, it was all flaky and tender and moist and delicious and not too sweet. I hate too sweet things.Oh, and I definitely became a fan of Japanese-style crepes, which were quite delicious, and I want to try some of the non-sweet crepes, as well. The avacado wrap I had that day in Harajuku also stands out in my mind--as much for how big and stuffed and messy it was as for how good it tasted! I discovered that I like onigiri (rice balls) and Chinese style steamed dumplings/pastries. Finally, in the food department, I can't forget the lunch that
hoya99's parents treated us to. I'm going to be dreaming about that meal for months to come.Moving on to clothing, I remarked to
hoya99 at several points that Japanese people seemed to favor dark neutral colors--although that could be because the largest amount of people we saw while on the trains were businessmen and women. But even the children's uniforms seemed to tend to the dark blue/black/charcoal grey. I also thought that the young businessmen were extremely cute--all dressed up, spick and span, everything buttoned down tight, on their way (they hope) to the top of the corporate heap in a few decades, so wonderfully earnest and serious. Of course, I do know that it is serious, but I still found it amusing. Finally, there were the kimonos. And oh, the kimonos! I'm sure hoya99 got rather tired of me pointing them out all the time but it really was something to see, every day, young women, old women, women of all ages, some dressed more traditionally, some with modern hairdos and boots. A lot of pink, a lot of cherry blossoms (as it was almost cherry blossom time). While in Yokohama, we stumbled across a wedding party in the New Grand Hotel and saw some very nice very formal kimonos among the ladies in that party.Overall, I did enjoy myself, although the crowding did get a bit much at times, but I seemed to be able to deal with it okay. The pollution was harder to deal with, especially the smoking, since I *hate* cigarette smoke with a passion. The only really bad moment of culture shock I had was on the way to Asakusa, when I became confused about which line we were on, versus which line we were supposed to be on.
hoya99 was also a little lost, not being as familiar with that part of the city, so I really did have a moment of panic. Being lost is, unfortunately, one of my panic buttons, and being lost in a place where I didn't speak the language well, could barely understand it, and could not read the signs was...well, difficult would be putting it mildly, because if I couldn't depend on hoya99 in that situation, who could I depend on? Actually, it wasn't as bad as it seemed at the time and hoya99 himself was quite calm and confident of finding our way out. He was also very understanding and held me for a while while I fought my panic back and eventually it did turn out okay. He is so very good to me!
