kichijoji, day two
On the following day I returned to Kichijoji to finish shopping for some gifts, though this time Emeth accompanied me, rather than Berek who was teaching an English class and trying to smooth out the translation of the lectures I was to deliver on Saturday.
One benefit of shopping with Emeth was that she had a better sense of Japanese toddler clothing sizes than Berek and was a great help to me in picking out a cute little outfit for Claire:
It's made of a nice seersucker-style fabric, which is light and comfortable during hot summer days, and looks ever so cute on Claire, who is now two years old.
While shopping I was able to pick up some great postcards in "Engrish," the (in)famous Japanese penchant for bowlderizing the English language in amusing ways, taken almost to an artform:
The small print on the lefthand card reads, "Banana is the best!! No other food is nicer than this. This sweet smell is over everything. The ripe banana tastes really sweet and fresh. It is important to make out the moment being ready to eat. Find the best one with the color and the smell. But don't eat too much!"
This one says, "Hello! Hello! Hello! You and me always be together. Whenever to say hello, you can't stop smiling."
The other items I wished to purchase were Japanese teapots, one for my parents and one for Laurel. Emeth took me to a wonderful little tea shop with quite a selection of teapots, tea canisters, and (of course) green teas:
The salespeople were very helpful and polite and, as with many Japanese shops, were more than willing to gift wrap selections, which, in the case of the tea canisters, involved a skilled crimping of the paper around the base and cap of the container, producing an attractive pattern.
The shop carried a wide selection of teas, though, since I wasn't sure which one to purchase or whether the recipients would much care for Japanese tea, I ended up passing on the possibility of purchasing any. But the array of colors and textures of the tea was fascinating:
For my parents I purchased a handmade teapot with built-in tealeaf strainer, glazed in beige and green, along with a tea canister in complementary colors. Since our own kitchen is largely blue and white, I bought Laurel a nice blue glazed teapot with a lift-out strainer that rests in the mouth, along with a matching tea canister:
From Kichijoji we walked back to the research center in Mitaka, though on the way Emeth stopped at this gyoza shop to pick up a bite to eat:
Gyoza are what we might also call "potstickers," meat-filled dumplings where the wrappers are browned in a pan before steaming them the rest of the way. One thing to notice about this shop are the banners hanging over the sliding door into it, with the name of the restaurant printed across them. I'm not sure where such banners originated, but they are common place at Japanese restaurants and make one have to duck a bit when entering. Perhaps they have some further significance, but if so, I'm not sure what.
(continue to next post: architectural museum, part one)
One benefit of shopping with Emeth was that she had a better sense of Japanese toddler clothing sizes than Berek and was a great help to me in picking out a cute little outfit for Claire:
It's made of a nice seersucker-style fabric, which is light and comfortable during hot summer days, and looks ever so cute on Claire, who is now two years old.
While shopping I was able to pick up some great postcards in "Engrish," the (in)famous Japanese penchant for bowlderizing the English language in amusing ways, taken almost to an artform:
The small print on the lefthand card reads, "Banana is the best!! No other food is nicer than this. This sweet smell is over everything. The ripe banana tastes really sweet and fresh. It is important to make out the moment being ready to eat. Find the best one with the color and the smell. But don't eat too much!"
This one says, "Hello! Hello! Hello! You and me always be together. Whenever to say hello, you can't stop smiling."
The other items I wished to purchase were Japanese teapots, one for my parents and one for Laurel. Emeth took me to a wonderful little tea shop with quite a selection of teapots, tea canisters, and (of course) green teas:
The salespeople were very helpful and polite and, as with many Japanese shops, were more than willing to gift wrap selections, which, in the case of the tea canisters, involved a skilled crimping of the paper around the base and cap of the container, producing an attractive pattern.
The shop carried a wide selection of teas, though, since I wasn't sure which one to purchase or whether the recipients would much care for Japanese tea, I ended up passing on the possibility of purchasing any. But the array of colors and textures of the tea was fascinating:
For my parents I purchased a handmade teapot with built-in tealeaf strainer, glazed in beige and green, along with a tea canister in complementary colors. Since our own kitchen is largely blue and white, I bought Laurel a nice blue glazed teapot with a lift-out strainer that rests in the mouth, along with a matching tea canister:
From Kichijoji we walked back to the research center in Mitaka, though on the way Emeth stopped at this gyoza shop to pick up a bite to eat:
Gyoza are what we might also call "potstickers," meat-filled dumplings where the wrappers are browned in a pan before steaming them the rest of the way. One thing to notice about this shop are the banners hanging over the sliding door into it, with the name of the restaurant printed across them. I'm not sure where such banners originated, but they are common place at Japanese restaurants and make one have to duck a bit when entering. Perhaps they have some further significance, but if so, I'm not sure what.
(continue to next post: architectural museum, part one)
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