Day 6 Tokyo
The day began well with a me feeling a lot better after a
night’s sleep. I had a risk averse breakfast with just fruit and toast before
we set off to the Tokyo Modern Gallery. The walk to the gallery was through the
tree shaded and wide streets of this fabulous city, and it was just as well as
the clouds had cleared and a determined sun was bearing down on us.
We had a pit stop at a coffee shop in the lower level of a
shopping centre and it was the perfect. There was a vast array of gorgeous
little cakes absolutely designed to tempt you as you wait for the coffee order,
and we showed great restraint in just sharing an Earl Grey snd chocolate chip
muffin.
We left the cool (cool both in temperature and in the jazz
playing) of the coffee shop to take the streets through the business district
and down to the environs of the Imperial Palace. We took the path along the
vast moat that surrounded the compond. It was quite a long walk and the heat
made the walk quite hard. We remembered that Wil recently ran these streets in
the Tokyo marathon and could only marvel at his fitness and determination. I have
to say that by the time we reached the gallery, I felt quite depleted.
We lined up for tickets, but the woman behind the counter
took one look at us and whipped out a prepared sign that said in English that
elderly visitors over 65 entered free. Win! We were pleased to see that the
gallery was about the “modern” history of Japanese art without going so far as
some of the contemporary stuff that just seems to take the piss. Johnny
declared that his favourite was a small piece of a vase with an apple perched
on it. Strange boy with strange tastes was all I could think. It was an
interesting gallery over four levels, but I found myself searching for a seat
in each room. I think the long walk over had drained me.
There was a lovely city skyline view from a long picture
window that sat across the upper level and even though the Imperial palace was immediately
in front of us, the view was hidden by a lush band of trees.
After the gallery we thought it best to go back to the hotel
for a rest as we had booked for a sushi cooking class in Asakusa and we wanted
to be fresh for the journey over and the session, Johnny had no problem
understanding and negotiating the metro and its multiple lines and we were soon
in Asakusa district. The streets were busy but the students had gone home and so
the atmosphere was less claustrophobic. Tokyo has everything except street
seats and so when I found a stone plinth outside the cooking school I nabbed it
while johnny went off to find me a drink from a nearby shopping centre. I was
bit worried as I felt as if I was fading fast.
The cooking school was up on the higher levels and there was
already a Dutch couple there when we arrived. The class was taken by a fun and
exciting young duo that were very supportive and helpful. We learnt how to make
both nigiri and maki. Surprisingly, they looked great, held together and tasted
wonderful. Feeling increasingly better as time passed we had a chance to get to
know the other couple. They were a little younger than us and had met online
during covid and been together for six years, even though they both kept their
own homes, her in Amsterdam and he in
the countryside.
It was a lovely warm evening and wishing to avoid any peak
hour crush on the metro, we took a long walk down to the river and over two
bridges. The Asakusa lights lit up the water and the Tokyo Skytree put on an
everchanging lightshow. We had a quick call to Gin so that we could show Charlie
the river lights. It was a lovely walk and the peace of the riverside walk was the
perfect place for people to decompress after a day’s work,
The metro ride home was less crowded and we were soon back
in the Ginza where the luxury shops were still open and people were still
shopping. We went straight to bed as Friday we had booked for an early tour of
the fish market.
