It has been mad busy here the last few days, with visitors the latter part of the week then Saturday Ebi-kun had football and then we had dinner at a friends house and got back very late then yesterday we spent the day at Ikea but more about that later.
We took my uncle and family to Kawagoe for the day, it is a lovely city but I don't know it that well so I don't think I make the best tourist guide. We decided to head to the old part of the town first and find somewhere to have lunch, my friend Ann recommended a place near the bell tower which I managed to find but then the menu was all in Japanese so I struggled with the translation, it went something like this...
ermm....well chicken and something
garlic and ermm something
chicken bowl with something
some kind of grilled bird
eel
you get the picture! The waitress, who I obviously managed to fool with my excellent Japanese when we came in, went to get the picture display from outside, we all ended up with a good meal so no worries there. It was a bit worrying that I could translate the whole of the drink menu without problem *blush*
A lot of the buildings in the old street are shops selling traditional foods and crafts, so we wandered around sampling this and that and keeping an eye out for large animals which I think were part of an exhibition.
after wandering up to candy street we walked over to Kitain, which is the big temple. The picture below Ebi-kun is walking over the nightingale floor, the floors are designed as a security device so when you step on them they squeak, I'm not really sure why they are named after a bird, they just sound like squeaky floor boards. Ebi-kun is pretending to be a ninja and get across without making a noise - he failed, and so did we.
Of course we had to visit the 500 Buddhas again but by this time it had gone really cold so we didn't stay long.
It was lovely to spend time with Si and Charlotte but even more lovely to have my newest cousin stay, she is adorable and the smiliest child I have ever come across, she never cried, just grumbled a bit if she was hungry, Ebi-kun was smitten and wanted to keep her. They left Friday lunch for the next leg of their trip - New Zealand, hope it is warmer there for them!
Hi Jo,
ReplyDeleteIf I may know, what's the name of the restaurant near the bell tower? I am going to Tokyo for the first time in Early April with my 2.5 years old son and hubby. Kawagoe and International Toy Museum in Shinjuku are in places to visit list (inspired by your blog).
I am so excited for this trip. It has been a dream to go to Japan.
Thank you
Desi
Hi Desi, if you find the bell tower, it is a small street off the main road in the old part of town, the restaurant is directly opposite, it is called Toriya but written in Japanese. It is a traditional Japanese place, and had a picture board outside with the main dishes on it. you will need to take your shoes off when you go in and there is a pretty little garden at the back. For a set lunches they were about ¥800-¥1000.
ReplyDeleteThe toy museum is great and if you have a little boy, the fire museum just next to the station is worth a visit too