The short answer is yes! The long answer is yes, but... The "but" is really only because of the language barrier. Things we take for granted, like doing self check-out at a store, has suddenly become a bit of a chore rather than a second-nature activity because the help is, and instructions are in, Japanese. And that's our problem - not theirs! For example, if I need help identifying some crazy piece of fruit, I immediately start calculating in my head having to wave down someone to assist, use a translation app to communicate what I'm trying to do, figure out how to work the machine - and then I put the piece of fruit back and walk out of the store. LOL.
"But," aside from that, we are having fun. We went on a fantastic free tour of the Imperial Palace grounds last weekend. You have to make special arrangements to see parts of the actual palace because the current emperor and his family really live there. However, the grounds alone are beautiful and the area is full of rich history. Our tour guide was fantastic - we learned a lot.
We also visited the Tokyo Tower and Japan's tallest skyscraper (which is right next to it and just opened a few months ago). Interestingly, Tokyo Tower is very close to the same size of the Eiffel Tower, but there aren't any fancy places to eat or drink there. It's more touristy and less romantic than it's French counterpart. Still, it's an awesome sight to behold, with great 360 degree views of the city, including Mount Fuji.
We also found a terrific sake bar just down the street from our apartment in Aoyama that serves flights. We knew nothing about sake other than it's made from rice and you serve it warm. Well as it turns out, you aren't supposed to serve it warm - unless it's the kind of sake that is specifically made for that. Who knew?
The tastings were served with "sides" - the olives and nuts were expected. The sesame fish scales and radish cheese wheels were not. The jury is still out on those two pairings... Nevertheless, the sake was excellent. Again, we learned a lot.
This past Tuesday, I went on my own personal adventure to Mayuko's Little Kitchen. I love to cook and I thought while I'm here, I should really get up to speed on how to prepare traditional Japanese food. Fortunately, Mayuko lives only 20 minutes up the road which I discovered on a dry run a few days before, when I walked there to make sure I could find it. She holds cooking classes in English, right in the kitchen of her small Tokyo apartment. There were six of us: three Americans, one Brit, one Aussie, and a lovely German woman named Iris! We arrived at 10 a.m. and over the course of three hours, we prepared a four course lunch including Wakame (seaweed) & Tofu salad with sesame dressing, Chicken Yuzukosho (a sauté with Shishito peppers), Mochi (a type of hard rice) in simmered, deep-fried tofu, and traditional simmered squash.
She was a great teacher, had a wonderful sense of humor, and gave us a great deal of information about Japanese cuisine, where to find items in the store, and the proper way to prepare ingredients, etc. We left with printed recipes and full stomachs! I plan to take one class a month. Mayuko has this Survival Class series where she teaches the basics - right up my alley! Paul and I plan to take an evening class together too - just for fun.
I've also managed to find some of the hot shopping locales near us - such as Otomesando (which is akin to NYC's 5th Avenue), Cat Street (laid back side street with lots of vintage shops), and Takeshita Street (a crowded haven for teens with funky clothing shops, crepe stands, and sweets for sale on every corner).
So yes, we're managing to have fun as we slowly learn some things that will make life here a tad bit easier - like how to say key words like please, thank you, bathroom and help - and how to use chop sticks...oy. That's going to take a lot of practice!
Until next time, sayonara. :)
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