Food and Temples

Our day ended with a wonderful meal of Okonomiyaki. It was a great treat- and coincidence as Michele and I had both decided that we'd probably enjoy okonomiyaki for dinner- given that there were a huge variety of choices we actually hit on the same idea on the same day. We had seen an okonomiyaki place the night before and then on our way to the station after visiting the temple we saw another one so headed for that at around 6:30pm. The first one appeared shut so we headed for the original one we had seen in a side street near Meguro station.
The first time we had okonomiyaki was with Sakurako in Kyoto about 10years ago. We had not only enjoyed the food but also the experience then and on this occasion we thoroughly enjoyed both the food and the experience again. The restaurant was small and made only okonomiyaki so did it well. The cook was behind the bar and we could watch as he made ours and others' meals. We had a seafood one to share which was a good idea as it is very filling. A thin pancake like mixture was heated on the grill and then cabbage and seafood and cheese and other secret ingredients were added. The "crepe" was flipped and then onion and more ingredients and the pancake like dish was placed on a hot gridle and served at our table. There was additional mayonnaise and okonomiyaki sauce on the table. It was by far the lightest and most delicious meal of okonomiyaki we have had. (Okonomiyaki is a mixture between pancake and pizza. "Okonomi" means "as you like". This refers to the ingredients.)
I had asked Michele if we could include a temple visit in our tours around the city and she knew just the one. It is a short walk from Meguro station in the midst of suburban sprawl- houses, narrow streets ans shops and there in the midst of it all Daien-ji (Daien Temple). It is beautiful. Its history is long-ish for Japan but in terms of Australian European settlement it was built just before the First Fleet!
Daien-ji was the flash point of a conflagration that burned one-third of Edo and killed nearly 18,000 people in 1772. Five hundred bas relief rakan, stone images representing the disciples of Buddha, were carved by temple monks as a form of penance. Each sculpture appears to genuinely mourn the fire victims with an individualized, grimly ascetic expression. Odd then that a wee flame is kept continuously burning at the temple. Perhaps this hints that some things -- despite modern ambitions -- never change.
The temple was built and these figures to represent the people who died in the fire- the enormity of it is apparent with the en mass sculptures, each of which is different. I tried to show the extent and number of sculptures by photographing in close and moving out.
The other lovely part of the grounds are the Jizo statues- indicated by the little hats. They are usually a little red bib or bonnet. These were crotcheted bonnets which have discolored to orange and from a distance look like bright nasturtiums in a small garden plot.

The sights of Tokyo?....

Even in my slightly jet-lagged state the sights and scenes in Tokyo provided reassurance that Japan continues to be the interesting place I knew it to be.
Michele and I headed out from the apartment with the intention of going shopping as it was raining and was going to continue to rain for the next three days! Darn- however intrepid explorers that we are nothing will keep us from the shops, galleries and other indoor activity. We caught the subway with a couple of changes of trains and "slapping down" of the Suica card. We went to Tokyo Midtown at Roppongi Hills. This involved taking the train and then a scuttle through the rain and we were at a large architectural treat.
It was far too cloudy and grey to even bother to make the effort to go up to the viewing area at the top of the tower (57th Floor) we just enjoyed the ambiance of the circular courtyard and the many sculptures despite the constant drizzle.



One of the many joys of Japan is the fact that they continue to use processes seemingly sticking to the theory that "if it aint's broke don't fix/replace it" the traditional 'birch" broom here being a good example of it.
Our tour of the complex took a bit of a different turn as the shops don't open until 11am and it was only 10:50 so we made a slight detour outside our eye being caught by the eye-catching sculpture in the garden surrounding the building. Red and white polka-dot skittles- no idea why the artist chose this particular shape but the contrast between the green grass and the art work made for great photos. Trying to get all of the pieces in was a bit like trying to get all the rocks in at the Roan-ji a temple in Kyoto. Perhaps a bad analogy but it was a struggle that I think I overcame- not in this particular shot as there were 5 of them.


I know, I know I am supposed to be really polite and discreet but the visit to the toilet in the building was too much for me. It was wonderful to know that my memory of things Japanese wasn't wrong and that innovations occur everywhere. Also in the light of the comments made on our AUSSIE PD day by Alan November and his experience of the micro-chip in the toilet at some model house at an exhibition in Japan, the toilet facilities in the Midtown Building just added to my conviction that nothing is to be omitted from the tourist photo collection. I had to snap the selection of buttons available for use on the side of the toilet. They included a flushing sound to camouflage any unwanted sounds, the bidet whose speed could be increased or decreased, heating of the seat and the water. Not sure of the order in which one was to use them and the synchronizing of the actual flushing of the toilet- needless to say I stuck with conventionality and just took a photo of it all.
Later in the day when we were traversing the train stations in the bowels of Shinjuku Station (bad timing of the use of that phrase so perhaps I should say beneath) therefore when we were traversing the passages beneath Shinjuku Station Michele pointed out this particular attraction- a glasses cleaning point. There are instructions on what one does. You dip your glasses in the solution then wipe them with the tissue provided for that purpose. What Michele hadn't realized in the past was that one presses a button in the lower left on the front of the bath this causes some sort of whirring noise which we decided was magnetic force or magic that went on for a minute. You then rinse the glasses in the bath (silver) at the front of the table and then dispose of the tissue in the bin in the middle. So Michele and I did parallel glasses cleaning. Our glasses were certainly sparkle-larkle-larkling by the end.

Just a couple of the lovely differences and surprises that brought our day together. We didn't buy anything but had a lovely if exhausting day walking around the shops in the building and then out to dinner all in the rain . If only some of the rain would fall in Australia!

In Japan

Having taken forever to get back in to my blog, perhaps I can back track the past month using my photos...... but sitting here in Michele's apartment in Tokyo we are parallel blogging- she's working on her "60 Days of Celebration" blog I am inspired to begin to catch up on my own.
I flew here from NYC via Chicago arriving in Tokyo at 3:45pm. Michele had given me excellent directions and instructions on how to find my way to Shinagawa station where she was waiting for me. I was a tad spaced out when we caught up me trying to work out exactly which gate I needed to exit or did I need to go up to the "surface" and just as I was turning around to go over to the green JR sign I thought I should be standing near there she was!
I hadn't completely understood here directions as I hadn't bought the Suica train card at the airport but not to worry we got one from the station staff. It's like a metro card but much more substantial, like a credit card and refillable. You just need to slap your wallet on the big blue button and the gates to the subway open for you. You need to use it on exiting also. So we schlepped my stuff down the escalators to the subway and went about three stops changed trains went one stop and headed out onto the surface.
The apartment in down a narrow street not far from the subway and on the first floor (2nd floor in the US). I was a tad tired mainly from the flight 13 hours, and then the train trip from the airport ( sitting with my back towards the direction we are going makes me feel train sick every time).
We sat and had a refreshing cup of green tea and chatted. By this time it was late enough to go out for dinner. We went to a local "chain" restaurant and had a lovely set meal which included sashimi and fish and pickles. It marked the start of looking for the differences in culture, when I say looking I mean taking a quick picture of. The first thing that cuaght my eye was the small buzzer on the table. When we had perused the menu Michele hit the buzzer and the waiter came over and we order our dinner. (The buzzer is the round white ink pad looking thing beside the toothpicks in front of the napkins). Our meals arrived really quickly. I love the simplicity of the meal and the variety of little dishes you can have within the set meals. This one had (starting in the top left corner going clockwise) tiny eggplant in soy and miso, sashimi (raw fish) egg with seaweed, miso soup, grilled fish with sauce in a little pot and rice with tiny chunks of fish- all for $10.
Michele had a similar meal and enjoyed it as much as enjoyed mine. We walked slowly back to her apartment browsing some of the shop windows including the little bakery that had some beautiful little cakes all of which we resisted.
Back in the apartment we had another green tea and a little treat Michele had bought earlier in the day- an "umpan" a little cake filled with ungo- red bean- yum!

Drinks on the roof

Having Friday night drinks has been something that has occurred throughout my working life and has been an important part of life here in NYC. It has been the time when Sue and Tiina and I would meet up to "debrief" the week as we all lived in separate parts of the city and worked in totally different work locations. It helped cope with a strange city and in part even stranger culture.
Even though Tiina is now back in Australia and Sue and I share an apartment we still meet up for drinks on a Friday evening. Some times just the two of us but more often than not it's with other consultants but still in different parts of the city.
This time we chose our very own roof and I emailed and talked to people saying it was going to be a casual affair- that is bring your own drinks and we'll meet you on the roof of our building. We began gathering around 5pm when Cait came back with me to the apartment from the meeting we'd had at 3pm. Sue had been home for a little while but hadn't replenished the wine rack so while she and Cait talked (about work) I rang the 9th Avenue Vintners and put in the oder for wine. Within 20 minutes the wine was at our door.

I gathered up snacks to share- meaning anything that was easily carried up to the roof and consumed. By this time Sue had decided to do her "Mary Mary Quite Contrary" piece and was watering the pot plants. I guess doing that while you remember is important but we were trying to get up to the roof. Anne arrived ready to start "debriefing" having just left Margie in her 28th floor apartment- Margie was still paper sorting it would appear.
Finally we started to head up, some of us with half glasses of wine others eager to catch up.

There were some poor unfortunate people up there having a quiet drink so we gathered some tables down the opposite end. Chris from 42nd floor was already there but was heading back down to get a jacket as there was a light breeze.
The group gathered over a period of half an hour with tales told:
Chris was there without Rob as he was still in Australia having had trouble getting his visa returned to him. They had stood shoulder to shoulder at the US Consulate and for no apparent reason Chris' visa had been issued immediately and Rob's has taken over a month and he had work he was supposed to be doing this past week.
Dave and Julie were there eager to catch up on everyone's news and travels and books read and plans made. They were impressed that we could use our roof for such social purposes. The Biltmore around the corner on 8th and 47th doesn't allow it. They had missed a year due to Julie's brush with breast cancer- she appeared well and has the all clear thus far. Dave appeared greyer than last time we saw him but they may be just looking for something on my part.
John arrived having been to work in Connecticut and spent an hour locating the grog and sushi that Cait had requested.
Margie eventually made to the roof carrying some dumplings that were quickly devoured by us all. She had said she wasn't going to drink as she was still recovering from the gin and tonic she had made us the night before- that was a story in itself. But she settled in to a small glass of wine and shared her experience of the previous day's workshop.
Anne regaled us with her visits to schools, her work and her brave process of going to her natural colour- far greyer than one wants to be!
There are no "facilities" up on the roof other than pot plants which may be okay for blokes (not hygenic but possible- don't think anyone has in fact it doesn't bear thinking about) so Cait and Anne headed to our apartment and were going to order some takeout to be delivered. Julie and Dave decided to head home as did Chris so the rest of us packed up partially because the light was fading.

We met Cait and Anne in the elevator which was fortunate as they had the only keys. Sue continued down stairs to collect her parcel. While we waited for the mountain of Turkish food to arrive (far too much) Margie checked her apartment for "bubbles" and rang to say she didn't have any so Cait and Anne went out to buy some.
Sue unpacked her parcel- a motorized mini bike- she bought it so she could exercise while working at her computer! As can be imagined there was much hilarity over this machine. She found out about it in the Sky Mall magazine- you know those catalogues in the back seats of planes. Despite the laughing most people had a go and Sue pointed out you can put the mini bike on the table and use it to exercise your arms.
The bubbles arrived back and were consumed, the Turkish food was delivered and delicious with some waiting in the fridge now to be used for lunch.
We commented on the amazing fact that it was one of our late Friday night we're normally zonked and in bed by 9 and it was 10:30 when the last people left.

Plans

Having spent part of the week deciding what I should do, I finally booked tickets to travel back to Australia after visiting Michele in Tokyo. It Michele's birthday on October 2 and a very special one that we have planned to share together for ages. But because Maddy's treatment for lung cancer hasn't been as successful as hoped she (Maddy) is feeling much more fragile. Although she is at home by herself and managing quite well, I have decided that a 10-11 hour flight from Tokyo is much shorter and more doable than one from NYC. Trying to book the intricacies of a flight from NYC to Tokyo then a flight to Melbourne then back to NYC with as few changes, as fast as possible and as cheap was possible was way beyond my searching skills on Expedia so I settled for using a travel agent recommended by Anne. Wasn't that a good idea! Call on the experts! I did so and needed to pay for the ticket by Friday.

Given that I was supposed to work Friday a trip to Forest Hills in Queens was on the agenda for the day.
It is a lovely area with the timbered look. The strip of shops has a combination of chain stores like Victoria's Secret and Bolton's as well as smaller stores that give the shopping area a much smaller town feel.
I'd received advice from the travel agent to take the "F" train as it runs express and I was there in less than 30 minutes.
While there I also booked my ticket for another quick trip to Australia at Christmas which hopefully I won't need to change to an earlier time in the year and can have a trip home to family for the first time at Christmas in about 6 years.

Getting the laundry done

What else does one do on one's almost last day of the holidays- that's it the laundry!

Actually it isn't all that difficult just time consuming and an opportunity to compare life here in NYC with that of life in Aireys Inlet.

The process for doing the laundry is not as simple as in Aireys Inlet because here it involves catching the elevator to the RP level ( second floor US; first floor Australia) and there awaiting your undone laundry are the approximately 20 washing machines. Today as usually happens mid week the "maids" from other apartments had filled most of the machines. Yet another difference!



Thank goodness we don't have to use coins- at least with coins though you can see how many you have sometimes once we've got to the laundry we find that there isn't enough on the card and so it is a rather fraught trip back up to the apartment to get the credit card to refill the laundry card. Fraught because the elevators seem to take an age and fraught because you can never tell if someone else isn't going to come down and assume you have finished your wash and piff it out of the machine.



Once the wash is on it's back to the apartment to utilize the 39 minutes it takes to wash. The danger is one gets caught up in the joy of other housework (not likely) or some other activity so this little vegemite sets the timer on the microwave so that I can get back down to the laundry and get it all in the dryer/s.

Unfortunately there is no chance that I could hang the washing out in the sunshine and fresh air so the dryer it is.
Part of an additional problem is that the dryers require longer than the washing machines so there can be a backlog. And as a fellow resident mentioned to me people tend to forget the time (not as efficient as we who use the microwave timer!).
Some of the buildings apartments are leased to companies and non long term residents use the washing facilities and apparently it is not uncommon for people to leave the city and their laundry in the machines.








I'm not sure whether it is cause and effect (laundry left in machines- recycle bin) but we now have a very large trolley/ bin for recycling clothes.

On the way to work?

We Sue and I were on the way to work that is. Not sure about this little fella but there he was in the woman's handbag looking very cute.
I just hope she was taking the dog to visit a park or something and not taking it to work with her.

I have seen some of the weirdest places and ways of "caring" for pets. (See Dogs in diapers and Scribblers) I can never understand why people "have" to take their dogs or cats shopping with them. OK perhaps they need to be cared for while they are out but shopping in Bloomingdales?!! Or taking the dog to lunch and sitting it on your lap while you eat lunch in midtown Manhattan- why!? My only regret when I've seen these sights is that I haven't been brave enough to take a photo!

It is actually not that uncommon to see dogs in baskets or bags on the subway. Perhaps I should start making a list of weird things seen on the subway or is that a type of oxymoron!