8/16 (Sun): Edelstein Cafe and Tamagawa Daishi
8/16 (Sunday)
While I finally got to sleep in time-wise (until 10am), I only really got about 6 hours of sleep. Was considering going to Ikebu first for some manga shopping, but decided to keep my load light until later. Got to Shinjuku at 11:30am, about 30 minutes before I was supposed to meet up with Ayli. So, I went to look for Edelstein Cafe beforehand to make sure we wouldn't get lost going there and miss our reservation time. Edelstein Cafe was pretty each to find, just 2 blocks from the station and in one of the alleyways.
We met up back at the station, and go there with time to spare. Not knowing what to expect, we were a bit nervous.
There was a guy with long bangs and glasses, in black and white. He was the receptionist. After confirming your reservation time, he greets you. Then, he has you fill you visitor cards (point card) and a birthday ticket for a future visit during your birthday month.
When that's finished, they have you walk down a small hallway to a quaint room with 6-7 two-seater tables. Most of the things are natural wood-colored. You can put your bags in a basket set next to the table.
Our original server was 式地 (Shikiji), but we couldn't figure out how to pronounce his name (I heard "Tsukiji" like the fish market). We were given an explanation of the menu and the "dorms", after which the lunch sets were named. A different server called 七瀬 (Nanase) with short, orange hair came to take our order because Ayli and I were speaking a lot of English. Nanase knew some English because he studied in Bath. ("Bath is where they had baths." XD)
Ayli got "Granat" (mushroom soup), and I got "Perle" (tofu salad), and we both got lemon ice tea.
Granat
Perle
Nanase played piano and I looked around at the other customers in the cafe. All of them were very relaxed -- doing crafts like origami, looking at photobooks, or reading (there was also a "2nd year" guy at the windowsill reading). Ayli says I looked around so furtively that it was funny...
Later, we were brought 2 books: one was the daily journal of the students, and the other was a guestbook where we could write messages. Nanase also gave us an explanation of the ribbon/ties around the collars of the different students. There were red, blue, and white ones, all which depicted the different class years, clubs leaders, and dorm leaders. Nanase had a white ribbon and was part of the astronomy club.
When Ayli and I wrote our messages in the guestbook, the servers were surprised that we could write a lot of Japanese, as was the girl sitting next to us (on my left, on Ayli's right). I managed to finish my message just as it was time to leave. Then, Nanase saw us out.
As an observational note, all the guys say "Gokigenyou" to each other as they are passing. On the day that we went, it must have been sailor uniform day. The color of the uniform was navy blue with white stripes, and they were wearing long shorts with 3/4 sleeves.
---
After Edelstein Cafe, Ayli and I went to Shibuya to take the Den-En-Toshi line train to Futako-Tamagawa station. From there, we walked towards Takashimaya, under a highway, down a covered stairway with lots of ivy, and between a building and the higher road. Then, we made a left and walked about 200+ feet to the Tamagawa Daishi temple. From the roadway, you can see a tall stone statue with its head sticking out of the trees. First, we looked around outside, then went into the main temple.
Ayli in the covered stairway
Tall, tall statue at Tamagawa Daishi
A very solemn statue... for children who have died...
Main temple
To go downstairs into the underground walkway, it costs 100 yen. You're not allowed to take pics... so I'll link to someone's blog where they did take pics.
Pics inside the passageway: Here
Pics outside the temple: Here
Inside the passageway, it was pure dark in certain spots, so we had to feel our way around. I went first, so Ayli kept her hand on my shoulder. We were also told that if we met 2 hands along the way, in the wall, we were to shake hands with them. I came across one of them, and it scared me so much I jumped and hit my head on the other wall (shows how narrow the walkway was...), LOL. There were a lot of statues, some for each area in Japan, and people are supposed to find the one that represents where their family came from and pray for them at that statue.
There was one statue at the end that is supposed to look through to your heart. At that statue, you pray. Afterwards, there is a gong that you hit at the end to say you have made it through.
Both Ayli and I bought charms. I bought one for me and Yoshi. =)
---
After the temple, Ayli and I went back to Ikebu and made a quick-ish trip to Animate. I bought some manga from my shopping list, and then we hurried back to the weekly mansion to see off Kanae (nittle_grasper and her friend Yasmin). Ayli went off to have dinner with a friend, and I had delivered take-out bentos with Febby and Rune in their room (took 50 minutes to deliver..). By that time, it was about time to head back, and I decided to take the Marunouchi subway line all the way back to Ogikubo. (Ikebukuro is one terminal, while Ogikubo is the other terminal. XD; It takes about 50 minutes from one end to the other, so I was able to nap on the train.)
Bento!
Previous entry: 8/13-15
While I finally got to sleep in time-wise (until 10am), I only really got about 6 hours of sleep. Was considering going to Ikebu first for some manga shopping, but decided to keep my load light until later. Got to Shinjuku at 11:30am, about 30 minutes before I was supposed to meet up with Ayli. So, I went to look for Edelstein Cafe beforehand to make sure we wouldn't get lost going there and miss our reservation time. Edelstein Cafe was pretty each to find, just 2 blocks from the station and in one of the alleyways.
We met up back at the station, and go there with time to spare. Not knowing what to expect, we were a bit nervous.
There was a guy with long bangs and glasses, in black and white. He was the receptionist. After confirming your reservation time, he greets you. Then, he has you fill you visitor cards (point card) and a birthday ticket for a future visit during your birthday month.
When that's finished, they have you walk down a small hallway to a quaint room with 6-7 two-seater tables. Most of the things are natural wood-colored. You can put your bags in a basket set next to the table.
Our original server was 式地 (Shikiji), but we couldn't figure out how to pronounce his name (I heard "Tsukiji" like the fish market). We were given an explanation of the menu and the "dorms", after which the lunch sets were named. A different server called 七瀬 (Nanase) with short, orange hair came to take our order because Ayli and I were speaking a lot of English. Nanase knew some English because he studied in Bath. ("Bath is where they had baths." XD)
Ayli got "Granat" (mushroom soup), and I got "Perle" (tofu salad), and we both got lemon ice tea.
Granat
Perle
Nanase played piano and I looked around at the other customers in the cafe. All of them were very relaxed -- doing crafts like origami, looking at photobooks, or reading (there was also a "2nd year" guy at the windowsill reading). Ayli says I looked around so furtively that it was funny...
Later, we were brought 2 books: one was the daily journal of the students, and the other was a guestbook where we could write messages. Nanase also gave us an explanation of the ribbon/ties around the collars of the different students. There were red, blue, and white ones, all which depicted the different class years, clubs leaders, and dorm leaders. Nanase had a white ribbon and was part of the astronomy club.
When Ayli and I wrote our messages in the guestbook, the servers were surprised that we could write a lot of Japanese, as was the girl sitting next to us (on my left, on Ayli's right). I managed to finish my message just as it was time to leave. Then, Nanase saw us out.
As an observational note, all the guys say "Gokigenyou" to each other as they are passing. On the day that we went, it must have been sailor uniform day. The color of the uniform was navy blue with white stripes, and they were wearing long shorts with 3/4 sleeves.
---
After Edelstein Cafe, Ayli and I went to Shibuya to take the Den-En-Toshi line train to Futako-Tamagawa station. From there, we walked towards Takashimaya, under a highway, down a covered stairway with lots of ivy, and between a building and the higher road. Then, we made a left and walked about 200+ feet to the Tamagawa Daishi temple. From the roadway, you can see a tall stone statue with its head sticking out of the trees. First, we looked around outside, then went into the main temple.
Ayli in the covered stairway
Tall, tall statue at Tamagawa Daishi
A very solemn statue... for children who have died...
Main temple
To go downstairs into the underground walkway, it costs 100 yen. You're not allowed to take pics... so I'll link to someone's blog where they did take pics.
Pics inside the passageway: Here
Pics outside the temple: Here
Inside the passageway, it was pure dark in certain spots, so we had to feel our way around. I went first, so Ayli kept her hand on my shoulder. We were also told that if we met 2 hands along the way, in the wall, we were to shake hands with them. I came across one of them, and it scared me so much I jumped and hit my head on the other wall (shows how narrow the walkway was...), LOL. There were a lot of statues, some for each area in Japan, and people are supposed to find the one that represents where their family came from and pray for them at that statue.
There was one statue at the end that is supposed to look through to your heart. At that statue, you pray. Afterwards, there is a gong that you hit at the end to say you have made it through.
Both Ayli and I bought charms. I bought one for me and Yoshi. =)
---
After the temple, Ayli and I went back to Ikebu and made a quick-ish trip to Animate. I bought some manga from my shopping list, and then we hurried back to the weekly mansion to see off Kanae (nittle_grasper and her friend Yasmin). Ayli went off to have dinner with a friend, and I had delivered take-out bentos with Febby and Rune in their room (took 50 minutes to deliver..). By that time, it was about time to head back, and I decided to take the Marunouchi subway line all the way back to Ogikubo. (Ikebukuro is one terminal, while Ogikubo is the other terminal. XD; It takes about 50 minutes from one end to the other, so I was able to nap on the train.)
Bento!
Previous entry: 8/13-15