The following day was a Public Holiday so some friends could take us sightseeing. They showed us how to use the Metro and we quickly got the hang of getting around, but the stations themselves are challenging. Finding the right exit was initially done by trial and error - usually error - but luckily we discovered the many maps with "you are here" written in English. Also gratifying was the way that many people took pity on these poor gaijin looking lost and many times we were approached with offers of help.
Having lived in London for many years, I am used to the crowds and navigating underground railways, but Tim and Rhiannon were wide-eyed at it all. We find the Metro incredibly cheap, immaculately clean and exceptionally efficient. The large pot plants that adorn the stations amaze and cheer us, and our most used phrase about nearly all aspects of Tokyo is, "can you imagine this in the UK?!" The plants would be stolen and / or vandalised within minutes.
Despite spending her entire life deep in the suburbs of an East Midlands town, Rhiannon seems to be a natural city-girl and experienced no qualms about the crowds or the Metro, which was advantageous because our first excursion was to Shibuya; what a baptism of fire! The busiest place in Tokyo on a normal day: on a Public Holiday it was incredible. Hachiko crossing was a sea of people ambling across at less than normal walking speed.
As a blue-eyed blondie, Rhiannon gets masses of attention when we are out and about. We hear "kawaii!" (cute!) a lot and someone even told her she looked like "a doll"! She was not amused. Initially, she became cross and embarrassed about it all but soon started to enjoy the interest with a shy smile.
Our next excursion was to Asakusa, which gave us a taste of a slightly more traditional Japan, with its rows of wooden stalls leading to the Sensoji Temple. Again it was incredibly busy so we didn't stay long - just enough time to get a taste for the area and to see the famous Philippe Starck Asahi Brewery building with its golden 'flame', or 'golden poo', as it was soon christened... The building to the left represents a glass of golden beer with a foaming head.
On the way home we made our first foray to our local supermarket. We have been blessed with a nearby Marusho and didn't discover the expat essentials of Costco and Nissin for several weeks. Rhiannon expressed a desire for fish-fingers and baked beans, bless her! The look on her face was an absolute picture when she saw the extensive fish displays in Marusho. Fish fingers were quickly forgotten and she decided she wanted an octopus and some of the "pretty jewels" (glistening red salmon eggs). I had to refuse as I have no idea how to deal with an octopus and we finally settled on chicken and vegetables for the time being.
I decided to buy something unfamiliar on each shopping trip, but this hasn't been successful. The baps I bought were filled with azuki - red bean paste, which was a surprise, and not a taste we are accustomed to. Rhiannon chose something she thought were packets of sherbet that turned out to be furikake, a mix of seaweed and seeds. Surprisingly, she didn't like it - such English tastes will soon change, I'm sure.
