Persimmon Trees & Marmalade Skies

The following day, our Airbnb hostess, Sanae took us on an older train line in Setagaya to explore the local landmarks. After she told us we'd be going witness the autumnal colors at the cat temple, I pictured live cats lounging in the hazy sun under the protection of the temple and the red Japanese Maple leaves...well, you can't blame me for that after seeing the ten cats in the baby cradle, but nonetheless they were clay. Some Japanese use these as talismans...depending on which paw is raised, you can either attract good fortune or people. Even though I wish I had a fortune to travel the world, I'd always rather meet fascinating people and learn about their culture.

Soon after we left a temple in Setagaya which was built in 1665, walking past trees lined with Persimmons and blue skies with wavy clouds like I've never seen, we stopped and gazed up at this interesting house made of bamboo and tree that had such a narrow and escalating staircase, it was like maneuvering through a classic Atari game.  The owner saw us gazing in awe and beckoned us up to his roof with an unprecedented view of the city. He wanted us to know that he built his house in 1963 and that even though he is 88 years old, he still rides his motorcycle all the time. How cool is that? It must be from climbing up the Donkey Kong ladders every day.

Once we were finished visiting all of the unique landmarks, we went to an Udon and
Soba noodle house that has been open for sixty years! After tasting their Sukiyaki Udon, we could see why. The only glitch was when I went into the restroom, I couldn't figure out how to use it because it was not a Western style camode. I had to walk out and ask exactly how I must go about this precarious procedure. Blush!

After that, Sanae took us to Carrot Tower where we could marinate in the vastness of Tokyo. Our friend Masashi met us there and we parted ways with our lovely hostess to go to the Bohemian area of Tokyo called Shimokitazawa where we were enchanted by incredible antique stores, colored glass stores and record stores. I found David Bowie's Ziggy Stardust and Stevie Nicks, both of whom my son Alex goes crazy for, so I had to choose one considering the fact that he doesn't own a record player. Lynzie bought a Queen record...because she is a champion. After the vinyl store, we took the train back to Shibuya where Masashi patiently helped me pick out Pokémon cards for the kids at home; where after he took us to the old fashioned Nintendo bar where he works on Sunday nights. He put a giant Mario out on a chair as to let the patrons know they were open, as it was above street view. Looking down at the hazy neons, listening to the Beach Boys and Bowie while Lynzie donned a Mario cap while playing Super Mario Brothers, while sipping on delicious Japanese specialty drinks- particularly the Umeshu, which tastes like snow cones in the spring, I felt a blanket of calm cloak me in the darkness of the empty streets. Unfortunately, our new Japanese friends had never had the pleasure of a snow cone, but our friend Masashi misses Twinkies from America the most, as we will miss him.

After the rain started, and instead of bringing Mario inside, Masashi gave  him an umbrella, we tearfully said our goodbyes to our new friend, who said to say 'Matane' which means goodbye for now instead of goodbye forever.