Sunday in Tokyo
Today was our Neighborhood exploration day. And the day of 500 year old “Sanno Festival” which we’d been seeing preparations for and glimpses of all week.
From shrines set up on sidewalks, to drumming and shrine visitors clapping and offering reverence, we were at the right place at the right time. It seems that each neighborhood group has its own shrine, colors, outfits, and drumming music, chant, with which they all converged on Sunday into a larger neighborhood parade right down the street from our Smile 😊 Hotel.
The day prior was/had been a larger circumference area parade through various parts of Tokyo. (See maps of Sanno Festival.)
Although it was all Japanese people in the parade plus 95% Japanese watching- and no one spoke to us nor smiled at/ acknowledged us, we enjoyed being in the exuberant atmosphere. It was funny seeing all the Japanese businessmen, always conservative and modestly dressed throughout the week, now baring their white legs and dressed in Sanno attire behaving like school kids.
There were a few Japanese women carrying the shrines or playing instruments- flute. But mostly men and they switched off who the shrine carriers were as they paraded along. When we’d had enough of Sanno chanting and drumming (see videos!) we ventured onward and Pauline went into a new 7-11 to give another try at using the smoothie machine.
I waited outside and said, “Hello” to a fellow non-Japanese who appeared American. Well she happily stopped in her tracks on the clean Tokyo sidewalk and started chatting with me. Turns out she was from Spain. A small town in Spain and she was here studying with a group of 15 internationals, and was finding it surprisingly difficult connecting with any Japanese which is what she had been hoping for.
Lamenting over this, she’d already decided to cut her intended stay shorter than anticipated. Pauline walked out of 7-11, with a successful smoothie experience under her belt, and I listened with awe as they fluently chatted in Español. How had I not known that my travel partner was Argentinian?!
We shared her perception that we too, had not been able to connect nor even chat with any Japanese except for our Bike Tour Guide Masa, who was excellent. Outside of friendliness in the hospitality service, which I would call servitude rather than friendliness, the Japanese we had interacted with were polite. Very polite. But friendly? No.
Don’t expect a Japan person to come up and ask you where you’re from, or to start a conversation, not to smile in passing, or even shoot you an eye contact as you cross the street or pass by on the busy Tokyo sidewalks.
Sure certainly any time we asked for directions, Pauline starting with niceties, interjecting and ending with as many Japanese niceties as she knows, the Japanese were helpful in trying to provide directions or answer logistical inquiries. And if they didn’t speak or understand English or could not help us, serve, or seat us, they very clearly let us know.
Even though me and the student from Spain were the only two people i noticed with blue eyes in the entire trip, and I was clearly not Japanese, they did not stare at me. As they did in China and in Slovakia, so that was nice. But it was also a little creepy, because I felt invisible 🫥 to them.
At one point, one day we were walking (I think it was Sunday) back to our hotel smile at the end of the day. And we saw ahead on the sidewalk one block up, what looked like an abominable snowman. A seven foot tall, wearing what looked like fur boots up to his knees, which Pauline later said was plastic bags tied on. He carried a long white umbrella as he was lumbering around the sidewalk. To my insistent suggestion we walked around the street until we passed him. Or It.
If the abominable were to attack us, I felt quite certain that none of the Japanese would get involved nor do anything to help us, but would stand by and watch. That was the creepy feeling I got from Tokyo’s populace. I could be wrong, but there is a definite shield I encountered between the locals and us. So onwards.
Although I must add as a counterpoint to that as we walked and wandered through this gigantic cityscape that is Tokyo, with only Google Maps as our guide, and 19,000 steps a day, we never once got to an intersection, street, alleyway or corner where we said, “Oh shit. We better turn around.”
It felt safe at every nook and turn we walked. And that has never happened to me in my travels, except in Shanghai back in 1999, when I was temporarily living there.
So, onward we ventured, stopping back at Tokyo Palace Hotel pastry shop located underneath the main entrance, where I purchased the coveted macaroon chestnut cream pastry. See photos and video.
They packaged it up behind the scenes after I placed my order and reappeared with an ice packed ensemble advising me to eat it within the next seven days. Pauline asked where there was a park I could eat it in and they advised upstairs.
We ended up venturing over and into the Imperial Gardens which was open today! We’d already downloaded the informative audio guide on our phones and we plugged away listening and touring as we walked through the Imperial Gardens enjoying leisure life as tourists In Tokyo.
There was a large rock where I found it suitable to sit, plopping down to consume my Chantilly Macaroon treat, with an espresso bought from a vending machine we had passed along the way. See video!
Then we meandered, taking in the delightful views, on this perfect weather day, loving life in Tokyo. We learned that the Imperial Family still functions as a figure head of the Japanese government /society and lives in the Imperial Palace, which is fully lit up at night when they host official state guests and functions.
As we grew weary of walking the gardens, taking in the various flora varieties, hunger began to beckon. Recalling a fabulous five-course lunch I’d read about at Hotel Niwa, not too far away. We called and made a lunch reservation for two at 13:30.
Scampering up to walk the nearly hour distance, we mapped ourselves out of the Imperial Gardens and through Tokyo city, side streets and alleys to arrive at the hidden elegant Hotel Niwa in time for our reservation.
We were immediately seated at a table for two right up against the huge picture window looking out into the forest setting. We cozied up to the table on thoughtfully designed stools that were not too high and admired the serene peacefulness of dining in a small forest 🌳 in the midst of a 40 million population city.
The service was only to support the food experience – not obtuse or intrusive. We didn’t have to hear what their names were and consistently answer questions. They left us alone and allowed us to enjoy our experience, suddenly reappearing each time our course had been finished.
We ordered the fixed five-course menu and everything was most EXCELLENT. See photos with descriptions. I even wrote a Yelp review about it.
As lunch was served until 15:00, they indeed collected our payment promptly at 15:00 then let us continue to sit there. One server, might I add, did ask where we were from, as he had been in San Diego and went surfing in P.B. and Mission Beach!
We were so full, and walking home to our Hotel Smile, we took our time, shopping at a few nic-nac shops, in a food coma, making our way back to our Smile Hotel.
Sunday, June 9, 2024
Sanno Festival
7-11 smoothie experience and candy shopping
Iced coffee
Imperial palace grounds audio tour
Hotel Niwa lunch reservations 1:30
Close at 3:00 will collect the check then
And you can still sit there
Sunday, June 9, 2024
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