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Daily Journal
Saturday, November 18, 2000 Today was a free day. Free means that we could do whatever we wanted. It was the opposite of free if you are talking about spending money. Since I promised you (the students) that I would bring back some of the things you have been learning about, I just had to go shopping! I won�t bore you with the details of the shopping excursion, suffice it to say, I did very well. You will be learning first-hand about many traditional Japanese things when I return. There was a little difficulty finding the store we wanted; however we explored some very interesting sections of the city during our search. At first, Tokyo looks like any other big city, but there are side alleys and streets with lots of surprises. Our first shortcut took us down a very narrow alley lined with interesting stores and people.    I�m just not used to seeing platform boots, picture cell phones, and restaurants that entice customers by displaying their entire menu of fake food. Back on the main street, we needed to walk carefully to avoid being jostled by the crowds of shoppers. Many American stores and restaurants could be found on this street, including Wendy�s.  One of my fellow Fulbrighters noticed an interesting looking side street. We turned down and found a temple with a cemetery and beautiful gardens.  We got hungry and looked for the first restaurant we could find with an English menu. (We are adventurous only at dinnertime!) How does Japanese Italian sound? Okay, we would eat at Auntie Pasta�s. Get it?  I had a caeser salad and a pizza. It wasn�t the usual, but I was so hungry that it tasted good. After shopping and lunch, we took a stroll to the Meiji Shrine. This Shinto shrine is dedicated to the souls of Emperor Meiji and his wife. He ruled Japan from 1868 to 1912. It was during his rule that the Japanese began friendships with overseas countries, and developed and prospered in culture and education. The temple is deep in the center of a forest which is deep in the center of the city, similar to Fairmount Park or Central Park. We walked under the biggest Tori Gate in Japan  to enter the sacred property. Do you remember I told you about the festival earlier in the week- shichi-go-san? Well, many parents don�t take off from work on that day, so they bring their children to shrines and temples on the weekend following or previous to the holiday. We saw lots of beautiful little girls  � and their moms dressed in kimono as well as little boys dressed in ceremonial clothing. It seems as if we were in the right place at the right time. As were about to leave the temple area, we turned to look in the direction of drums beating, and saw a wedding procession entering the courtyard where we were standing! The priests led the procession, with the bride and groom under an umbrella, followed by the members of the wedding party.  Before we left, we had our temple books stamped, to prove that we were there (it cost 500 yen). Our adventurous dinner this night was teppanyaki. It�s what you know of as a Japanese steak house. We each ordered the $50 all-you-can-eat American beef. Our other choice was Japanese beef at $150 per person! The cooking is done on a grill at your table, which is part of the fun. Again, we had no idea what we were getting ourselves into. A waitress began by tying a white linen apron onto each of us, our bibs for the meal.  Next the oshibori, the hot towel for us to clean our hands. Wow, it was really hot!  We were brought a small bowl of yellowish stuff. I think it was curried fish. (This was the first thing I did not eat.) Next a bowl of salad, which was harmless. Now the cook arrives with a plate of different types of fish, which she grills in butter, then divides for us each to eat. There were only two types of fish that we could not identify on the plate, but since I saw it being cooked before my eyes, I thought it was safe to eat. 
(Nothing on the plate looked like blowfish!) Delicious! Next
came the vegetables- funny looking little green
peppers, strange sweet potatoes, Japanese eggplant,
and chicken. When the plate of beef was brought
out, we noticed that there were three different
varieties. They were cooked on the grill and given to
us. The first type I tried was flat. I put it into my
mouth and chewed and chewed and commented to the
others that this was not like any steak I�ve ever
eaten. We made the mistake of asking the cook what
type of meat this was. She knew this English word...it
was tongue! An immediate gasp was heard from all five
of us sitting at the table, but only one person spit
out what was in her mouth! We were careful before we
put any other meat in our mouths that night. Although
we enjoyed the experience, we all agreed that we�ve
had better $50 meals in our lives!Sayonara Rosen San Mrs. Natale, I bought you your bamboo brushes. Mr. G. I think I walked 10 miles today... add it to my card. Mrs. Clark and Mrs. Bogia, I bought a book of poetry set to music with a CD included. |
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