xxxx

I kinda wanna be in a band again. Something like Praise would be cool.

Writing this from Moku O Lo’e. Incredibly grateful to have the opportunity to stay here. Unreal.

I finally finished posting about our trip to Tokyo at the beginning of June. Here is each day collected:

• Day 1
• Day 2
• Day 3
• Day 4
• Day 5
• Day 6
• Day 7
• Day 8
• Day 9
• Day 10
• Day 11
• Day 12

We went to the library in the morning, and it was so close to Momma’s house. It’s like a minute away. It wasn’t open, but Michi dropped books off for donation anyway. We then went to a tiny coffee shop in the neighborhood called 8068 cafe, but it was full.

We then went to U ra ra, or Ooh La La, a little secondhand shop just down the road from her. Michi found some cute Maneki Neko statues. After that, we went to Ebisu to look for ink refills for the Sakura craft_lab 003, but nothing. Then we went to Loft in Shibuya, also nothing, and then to Hands. We got em! Michi bought all of them.

We got food from Masaka again. We got the lunch set of gyoza and rice, Michi got yuzu pepper karaage, and I got tartar sauce. Both were phenomenal.

We went to the Sky Tower and found Ocha Room, an Ito-en cafe. I had shave ice and Michi had mochi and tea; it was amazing. Michi said it was great to get her stress out that way.

We took the train back, and Momma had made dinner for us: tofu, spinach, konnyaku sashimi, and corn rice. We talked, and then Michi met Shiho, the hanko maker, at the library. Michi wanted to learn from her, but they couldn’t figure out a time. She returned in the middle of the night with supplies left on the door for Michi to get started. We ate truffle sora-ame and had N/A Asahi before getting ready for bed for our last night in Japan.

It was my fourth time going to Tokyo and it was the best by far. Even though I was sick half the time, it was meaningful on another level. I learn so much each time I come to Japan and the plan is to move upon my retirement. Seeing it with that perspective, made it very different this time. I am grateful to Michi’s family for making this possible.

We ate breakfast at the hotel in the morning and then made our way to the train. We took a fancier express train to Takadanobaba and then transferred to Kichijoji.

We went to Parco, and I got some tapes from the Disk Union, William Tyler and two Keita Sano cassettes. Then we ate sushi and went to the Ghibli Museum. It was perfect.

We went right into the theater and saw the short The Day I Bought a Star. Set in Iblard and with a magical terrarium sci-fi solarpunk story, I loved it. We went to every spot in the museum, and I fell in love with the animator’s work areas. I learned of Oga Kazuo, who painted all of my favorite backgrounds. I got a ton of postcards and the Only Yesterday and The Day I Bought a Star soundtracks. Then we found the bookstore, and I got the programs for Only Yesterday, Pom Poko, and another art book. Michi got a book about the flowers and plants of Hachikokuyama Park. We took pictures on the roof with Laputa. We then spent time with a walk through the nearby Inokashira Park.

We got more sushi and I got a YMO cassette and the Legend of Mana and Suzume soundtracks. We headed back and I bought a digital clock that I loved from a nearby shop.

We came home and captured a big roach from the kitchen. Momma made tofu, and we talked and ate together, laughing about wanting to live in Kawagoe.

This morning, it rained like crazy, but we went to Kawagoe and walked around in the wet. We saw the shrine to crows, which was really cool.

We warmed up and learned alot at the matsuri museum. Then we got coffee, pickles, and a smoked tofu caprese salad from Cafe Elevato. We loved the art there and got postcards from Shigetsugu Yoshida, one of the animators for Lupin and many more. Everything was great and it was the perfect place to warm up.

Then we went to Kawagoe Kou Sushi and had an amazing meal. Soba, tempura, and of course sushi and it was all so good. The restaurant has been open since 1878.

We walked around more and then headed to check in at the hotel. After that, the rain lightened up a bit and we went back out before everything closed. Michi and I got some great bags from a handmade canvas company. She got a few things from her mom’s favorite basket weaver. We saw the most elegant Starbucks that I have ever seen. Then we spent some more time at the hotel to dry off again.

We went out for some snacks and to check out more of the shrines and then stopped for dinner at Pizzeria Rocco. We both got marinaras, some pickles, and Michi got an ume soda. It was so good. It’s the best pizza and crust I have ever had.

It’s Momma’s birthday today, so we started the day a little slower. For breakfast, we had some delicious bread and salad.

We went to Kumegawa and she sold a necklace that she no longer wanted. We went to Mosburger for lunch, then checked out a stationery shop and Seria, which is like Daiso but huge.

We went back home and everyone took a short nap.

Michi and I wanted to walk around a bit and explore Higashimurayama. We went to Aeon, which was huge. I saw the amazing electronics section. They still sold blank minidiscs and cassettes, and there were some phenomenal appliances.

Daichan came over and cooked dinner and our breakfast for the next day and it was all really tasty.

We played the rating game and it was really funny. Michi gave her mom a massage and then we got ready for bed.

We went for a mini walk around Momma’s house and saw the secondhand shop and a small park near 7-11.

Then it was back to Shibuya and got some soft serve and a hot dog from Ikea. We got another orange juice from the machine and then went to Tower Records.

I got a rajio taiso tape and a Secret of Mana 3-cd collection. We got my new glasses from Zoff, Michi got another pair and we ate Mos burger.

We went to Ginza after and visited the Yamaha store. It was super cool, but there was no Genos, which is what I really wanted to try. I played bass and Michi played drums and we had fun.

Then we went for a walk and got some souvenirs, a shiso herb drink that was delicious and headed to Komeda Is, a plant-based kissaten. We had a delicious tofu fritter plate, wasabi seaweed burger and tonkatsu sandwiches. We were full but had to finish off with an ice coffee and coffee jelly.

After we saw the Kabuki-za theater with Snoopy kabuki merch and a super cool little row of shops.

We went to Itoya, which is heaven for stationery nerds, and had a great time. I got some more stamps and Michi found an excellent Sakura .8mm pen that we bought. We headed back and got flowers in Takadanobaba for Momma and spent the evening chatting with her.

Sickest morning so far, but I started to feel a bit better. We went to Nakameguro, and Ballon was our first stop. Everything was great, especially the lilikoi pistachio soft serve ice cream.

Then we walked to Waltz. It was a very cool shop and I got a Lucky Dube, a Culture, and a lo-fi Ghibli tape there. Michi got two Popeye magazines.

Then we walked around and got on the train to Shibuya. We went to Disc Union, and I got two Yukihiro Takahashi tapes, a Tears for Fears best of, and a Sugar Plant tape.

Then we drank some amazing fresh orange juice from an automated juicing machine. I felt instantly better.

From there, we walked to Harajuku, stopping at a few spots. Michi wanted to go to Lafloret, where we saw tons of interesting vendors. We then went to Takeshita St, which was nuts. Three Tides was super cool. Then, there was a vintage store named Kinsella, which was after the Midwest emo king. I have no idea why; I mean, obviously, but there were framed photos up, and yeah.

We ate at Jangara ramen, and it was delicious. We headed home after that.

In the morning, we walked up to the shrine before breakfast. We saw an impossibly old tree, it was something like a thousand years old. I felt a little better, health wise as we were walking around. We ate breakfast and then went up to the room.

I started reading Nausicaä while Michi was getting ready. I sampled the warblers and made a beat, too.

We checked out from Komadori and took photos with the owners. I shared an Instax photo with them and still can’t get over how a business can run for 19 generations. We went up to the now-opened shrine and said prayers, and took lots of photos. We got omiyage and then stopped at Momijiya for some delicious coffee and tempura with an incredible view.

We made our way out and checked out the visitor’s center then we had some delicious oyaki before we left from the obachan there. She was super sweet.

We took the cable car out and down the mountain. We picked up fresh wasabi from the train station and headed back to Tachikawa. We got lunch and soda and then spent time at the Book Off there. I got some great CDs, Studio Ghibli soundtracks, Square Enix game compliments, and the Metropolis soundtrack. Then we came back and ate dinner with Mama.