There were a few things to wrap uo before we leave Japan. Namely… shopping.
I had something to pick up in Kichijoji. While there, I walked around. It is a very pleasant place with few tourists. I stopped by the temple and the shrine and looked into some stores.
I then realized that I needed to head back to Asakusa. Hisashi had confirmed that it was a great area to buy souvenirs. I wanted to avoid it because of inflated prices for tourists. Chinese and Korean tourists have apparently flocked to Asakusa for hundreds of years.
It turn out, it is a great area for souvenir shopping.
Today was “less hot”. I would not call it cool but it was tolerable.
By the time I had finished up shopping, I was famished. Owen had eaten so I was on my own.
Tempura
I was in the mood for tempura so I searched for a good restaurant for tempura in Shinjuku. I was not disappointed.
I had never been to a place that specializes in tempura. I was lucky to get there early before crowds.
I ordered a recommended “set” and then sat back and enjoyed an excellent meal as the chef and his teacher made each piece of tempura and served them in courses.
It started with shrimp.
Then I was served rice and miso soup.
That was followed by vegetables.
Squid followed
Next came eel.
Then scallops.
Then a squid with a sweet dessert paste.
Then dessert with tea.
It was incredible. There were five chefs working with a host and five waiters. Throughout the meal, I drank a lot of sake.
It was really fun watching the two chefs working together. I was wondering what skills must be learned to become a tempura chef. They certainly did a great job. Again, I’ve been spoiled.
Our last meal in Japan
When I got back from dinner, Owen wanted to go out and eat and drink. I was stuffed but he wanted to have a nice time on our last evening. So we went.
We walked around quite a bit to find a place. Eventually we settled on a great low key spot.
We talked about our trip. We talked about our ups and downs. I had a chance to tell him how proud I am of the man he is becoming.
It was really sweet.
Packing
We bought two suitcases to haul home our loot. It’s funny because we traveled with little day-packs for a month and tomorrow we will be wheeling two suitcases through the subway and the train station.
We are pretty much organized and packed.
Tomorrow should be a breeze.
