Ended up having to get my iPhone’s lens repaired, so we spent most of the day in #Ginza which we haven’t visited before
Bongen was a great #SpecialtyCoffee shop, and “Komeda is” a #vegan kissa (Showa era tea / coffee house)
Oh and when in #Ginza, Natural Lawson has you covered for your already cooled bottles of Moët champagne needs. So fancy.
It was raining cats and dogs all day today, so #Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography in #Ebisu it was!
#NoguchiRika’s Small Miracles exhibition and a recurring contemporary Japanese #photography exhibition called “seeing as though touching”
I’m always delighted to see this umbrella locker contraption in the museum’s entrance. This always feels so quintessentially #japan to me
Today we mostly walked around the Kiyosumi Shirakawa and Morishita neighborhoods as part of a #photography project, after getting some delicious caffeine at Blue Bottle’s flagship store #SpecialtyCoffee
Visited a #MechanicalKeyboard shop in Akihabara today, had all sorts of great DIY keyboards and kits available. Even a #Reviung34 which was unfortunately not for sale 😪
Later we took the Sakura tram, the Toden Arakawa line, the last tram in operation in #Tokyo. We’ve always stayed in #Otsuka when in Tokyo and our hotel is right at the tram tracks 🚋
It’s been a good food day in #ShimoKitazawa, which isn’t always easy as #vegan people
First visited Paris’ Belleville outpost in #Tokyo, and close by the vegan bakery Universal Bakes.
And even more food later in #Jiyugaoka
Yakiimo (whole roasted sweet potatoes) and then vegan tonkotsu dipping noodles.
All that needs to be said about today is that we went back to “Komeda is” the vegan kissa and we finally had a (vegan) pizza toast 🤤
Read everything about them (and Kissaten culture) through @craigmod in his Kissa by Kissa book
We went to KOFFEE MAMEYA (literally means the beans - mame - shop - ya-) which really took the #SpecialtyCoffee experience to a different level. Not a typical coffee shop but really a seller of a curated selection of beans from different roasters around the world. Can still get a cup of coffee to taste though!
Accidental poetry by Google Translating Japanese #SpecialtyCoffee descriptions:
“The impression of navel orange and hassaku, and the sweetness of caramel is full. The mouthfeel is round and the afterglow of black tea is gently fragrant.”
Today we walked around #Yanaka, a part of #Tokyo near Nippori which has mostly kept its old world Tokyo vibe and visited the Asakura sculpture museum which is housed in Asakura Fumio’s old studio and residence. A grand concrete building in the front housing his studio (with an electric lift built in the 1930’s for his sculpting work), and a typical Japanese wooden house as the residence, with the most serene courtyard garden with trees and a pond.
Day trip to Mount Mitake, technically still in #Tokyo but a good 90+ minutes away by train from #Shinjuku station. On top of Mitake-san is the Musashi Mitake #Shinto shrine, amongst others “Oinusama” is enshrined here which according to legend is the god of dogs (or rather now-extinct Japanese wolfs).
It was fairly cold and heavy fog rolled in after we had a delicious bowl of #Soba noodles, which made for a tranquil descent down to the cable car.
Flew back last night, and we took an interesting route right through the Russia / Alaska border and then over the north pole.
Given the flight path and time, we've had a sunset visible on the horizon for multiple hours. Oh, and apparently there were Aurora / polar lights visible, but we must've slept through it unfortunately.
@chdorner Planning a trip to Japan Spring 2023. Looks like they have another location more convenient for a first time visitor. (Description: Screenshot of walking directions from Google Maps). Anyway, all tips for first timers are welcome.
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Christof
DSA
😂
EineKleine