On Friday, August 19, 2005, our second full day in Tokyo, we went to Ikebukuro to a couple of department stores. They were ridiculously expensive! For example, we found a small, plastic measuring cup for more than 2,000 yen. (That is about $20.00). We found a good bread store, but it was a very crowded area and seemed quite expensive. We were exhausted when we got home!
On Friday afternoon, we went to the Tourist Center in Yurakucho to get maps in English even though we were very tired of walking and being out from the day before. We were worried about the office not being open on Saturday and did not want to go all weekend without English language maps, so we forced ourselves to go out again. We were up early again, so I got the unpacking finished before we went out. We got the maps quite easily, and decided to go to Roppongi and Azabujuban, the area where we lived when we were in Tokyo two years ago. It was like going home, but everything seemed more expensive! We bought very little, but got to experience a summer festival on the street. Women and men were in kimonos and many artists were selling wares on the street. The prices were high, but I did make a great deal for a couple of table cloths. There were lots of food stalls, but we didn’t dare eat at any of them. Actually, we weren’t interested in eating at them—the food looked greasy and not enticing at all! It was so crowded and hot! We finally found a 100 yen store and prices we could afford. It turned out to be a great store, and we got some things for the apartment (e.g. glasses, coasters, place mats, flower pots). It was quite late when we went home. Clearly, David can get us anywhere we want to go by using the maps!
On Saturday, we went to the Meiji Shrine in Harajuku. It was very, very hot and the shopping area was aimed at teenagers. We thought there was going to be a flea market, but there wasn’t. David found out after we were home that the flea market is only on some Sundays.
On Sunday, we went to Ikebukuro searching for a Chinese grocery store. I searched the Internet for one in Tokyo. Unfortunately, we didn’t take the name and address with us, so once we got there we had to walk quite some time before we found one. It was much smaller than we had expected, but they spoke Chinese! What a relief to be able to ask what was in things and be able to chat! As we were leaving the area, David noticed a sign in Kanji and asked me what it said. As usual, I read the Kanji in Chinese, not Japanese, but this time it made sense! It said Chinese Qigong. We decided to check it out. It was a place where they treat people, not teach them, but they put us in contact with a teacher. Again, it was great to be able to communicate because they spoke Chinese! The nice people called the teacher and made an appointment for us for Monday at 2:00. It was a good trip, and we came home with vegetable bau dz and sesame candy!
Cool! I remember what a relief it was to meet my Chinese classmates in Germany. Struggling with German, then being about to switch to Chinese was a relief!