Cooking Across 4 Generations

Wishing all my readers and their families a wonderful, happy New Year!

Thank you all for dropping by, reading and following my blog, I really appreciate it!!

Look forward to sharing my cooking and adventures with you in 2017.

Our last full day in Tokyo saw us with our second guide from Tokyo Free Guide who would take us to Bonsai Village/Omiya in Saitama Prefecture.

Our guide Kaori met us at our hotel and we started our trip from Shimbashi station to Omiya where we then changed trains to go to Toro on the Tohoku Main Line. Omiya became home to nurseries and bonsai gardeners two years after the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923 when they needed to move out of the central Tokyo region. The area around Omiya provided  favourable soil and clean water. As you walk past the private houses you will also see (by peeking over the fences) many Bonsai in the back or front yards.

A short walk from the station found us at the Omiya Bonsai Art Museum. The museum has only been open since 2010 and is home to a collection of bonsai and bonsai related art and items. Displays change seasonally with great information provided on the styles and types of bonsai displayed. The inside gallery has a no photo policy and some areas of the external display garden also do not allow photography,  but Mum and I were continually stopping in amazement as we walked around. Many of the Bonsai were named as they were quite old and very special.

The Museum also has live music on certain days, on our visit a classical group. Well worth a visit if you love bonsai!

After the Museum we hit the pavements in search of Bonsai nurseries. We were both looking for pots and I was also looking for bonsai tools. First up a quick pitstop at The Bonsai House of Four Seasons, a rest stop that also provides community space. Then on to the bonsai nurseries. They are quite easy to spot as you will often find  a huge collection of larger ones on the footpath.

We ended up visiting 3 as some were closed. Seikou-en  is where I managed to buy my pruning scissors and Water sprinkler spout. Still no idea how to use it but I will figure it out one day. I think we visited Mansei-en and we also went to Fuyo-en where I bought a bonsai rake(for teasing the roots out). No luck with pots as they were often quite pricey, there were some less expensive ones but not what we were after. The price on pots was similar to the prices here in Australia, but more variety and often some very special artisan made ones that have stratospheric prices. If your bonsai is special enough it deserves an artisan made pot.

Then we had a wander around and found a fabulous secondhand shop that was packed to the brim. Unfortunately our suitcases were getting a little crowded, so shopping was minimal. Note to self: pack less clothes in future, really you don’t need to leave Sydney with an 18kg suitcase. We did however manage to find some second hand bonsai pots for  around ¥500 each. I got a huge flatish one and a pretty green one. Mum picked a couple up too. This shop had the most fabulous collection of secondhand goods, I could have filled a shipping container(must win lotto first).

Hunger was starting to set in and we were lucky to find a cute little local establishment across the road. By day humble little local restaurant, by night retro karaoke bar replete with velvet seats and soft furnishing. Food was made and served by an older couple and a friend.

There were several options but it was nearly the end of our trip and we had not had a single Kare raisu(curry rice). It was on offer so Mum and I ordered that. Kaori had a tempura oyster dish, all for around ¥1000 each. Fantastic lunch, local is usually the best. As always with Japanese food presentation was fantastic.

Then it was time to head back and say good bye to our wonderful guide Kaori. I really must practice selfies.

I would like to thank Tokyo Free Guide for matching us with our two fabulous guides. If you plan to visit Tokyo try and arrange a guide through this great service. While the guide service is free you cover the cost of transport, meals and entry fees for your guide.

Thanks for dropping by!!

Stay tuned for our 8th (and final) day adventures

I am a regular watcher of NHK World and really enjoy Tokyo Eye 2020. Earlier in the year I caught an episode about Tokyo Free Guide, a service of volunteers who show travellers around Tokyo. I thought it might be a good way to see Tokyo with a local and handy to have someone who speaks the language.

Our first guide was Akiko and we had requested to go to Tsukiji fish market, Asakusa and to see some crafts people. We had wanted to go to Ryogoku to see sumo, but the Tokyo season had finished and the Tournaments were elsewhere in Japan.

Akiko met us at our hotel and we walked over to Tsukiji, a short walk of around 10 minutes. We first looked through the Outer Market which has restaurants and shops selling everything from matsutake mushrooms to nori to knives.

The restaurants are always busy and there are queues of people waiting to get in. These photos were taken around 915am.

Before we entered the fish market proper, we headed over to Namiyoke Inari Shrine (which means “protection from waves”). This is the unofficial guardian shrine of Tsukiji Market. The shrine is home to two giant Lion Heads that are over 150 years. These get paraded about at the annual Namiyoke Shishi Matsuri in June. There are also monuments erected by the merchants, wholesalers and other businesses involved at the fish market. These monuments give thanks for the bounty of the sea and land and include monuments to eggs, chickens, shrimp, shrimp used for tempura, fish used for sushi and sashimi, shrimp used for sushi and more. It is an interesting little shrine.

Then it was time to head into the inner market. Always amazing to see what they have at the markets….

After the seafood area a quick look in to the fruit and vegetable market.

Then it was time to walk over to Hamarikyu Onshi Teien to catch our boat up the  Sumida Gawa(Sumida RIver) to Asakusa. This was my first time on the Sumida Gawa and gave a new perspective to this amazing city.

After alighting the boat we took a short walk to our lunch destination Hanabou in Asakusa. Located beside the river, Hanabou is a small space that seats around 20 and is cosy and intimate. Service was wonderful as was the food.

There were several options of set course available and we went with the ¥1000 one. I can remember some of what we ate, tamago, gingko nuts, baby fish, yam, konyakku, cucumber, eggplant, pumpkin, baby corn, turnip, capsicum, tomato, tofu, mackerel, seaweed.

This was accompanied by mushroom rice and miso.

A delicious dessert of black sesame pudding with dumplings

After lunch we headed back to the main area of Asakusa around Senso Ji. Sadly the rain had set in so we didn’t get a good look around Nakamise Dori and Senso Ji. We headed to a lantern maker to see them working and then to the Edo Shitamachi Traditional Crafts Museum. A great little museum that showcase the traditional crafts of the area. An amazing array of crafts with only a couple of female “masters”.

One traditional craft that caught my eye was the very fine and petite bamboo fishing rods. They were so thin and broke down in to such a small bundle that it is hard to imagine actually being able to catch anything with them.

Back in to the cold and a quick search for some scarves for Mum and I, then a stroll through the covered arcades of Asakusa, where we saw many interesting shops, including one that sold brushes of all sorts from makeup brushes to household brushes and everything in between.  Cute shoe brushes in the shape of animals were on display outside.

We also passed an Owl Cafe where there was a lovely owl out the front very tame, but very wrong too.

Then it was time to say good bye to  our wonderful guide Akiko and head our own way back to Shidome.

We would like to thank Tokyo Free Guide service for providing us with our great guide.