2023 – Japan

Afternoon tea and night lights…

Posted on by helenhmk

We booked a traditional afternoon tea at a function centre which looks out onto a small tradition Japanese garden Happo-en.

As you can see by the photos it’s a real delight. The Koi fish were amazing- we could have spent hours watching them.. and their colour was amazing!

While enjoying the afternoon tea, we realised this was the very first garden we visited on our very first day in Japan back in 2008 when we had a goodwill guide provide a half day tour.

We finished the afternoon tea just on sunset. At this time the garden is lit up in red, highlighting the garden. This is only done in autumn and it really highlights the features of the garden.

Final breakfast

Posted on by kymdt

For those of you concerned that I might not say anything anymore (based on my capybara experience), rest assured that only related to the fact that no words are needed for a looping video of a capybara!

Today’s breakfast is courtesy of NHK World’s Dive in Tokyo which takes you to a different district of Tokyo each show.

We saw Bakery Bank on the Kabutcho episode. The bakery makes delightful pastry and other bread products. The coffee (and ceramics) from Coin downstairs are the perfect accompaniment.

When one trip ends…

Posted on by helenhmk

On the last day of a holiday you always have your mind on the time… from when you get up to packing the suitcase for a final time (aka – I’m sure I fit one more item in of if I try hard enough..), checking out, to calculating the time you need to be back at your hotel to get your bags (no… do I really have to move them again) to travel to the airport. Today was that day.

We enjoyed our last cycle to Toyosu to catch up with a friend for lunch – sushi at the new fish market. The weather was perfect… a great day to be on the bike… and the sushi was fabulous- better than what we get in ADL and fitting last meal in Tokyo.

… now we just need to plan the next one 😉