Miles on our Feet and Swap Meat! (Day 7)

On the way to the garden

Yesterday was a lazy day, so we decided to relax and enjoy one of the local gardens, and visit one of the large shopping markets in Japan. We left the hotel around 12pm, which is late being that we are normally out of the door no later than 9:30am. After getting a bite at Burger King, yes, Burger King, we headed for Koishikawa Korakuen Gardens. The name of the garden, “Korakuen,” is derived from a Chinese text that states that there’s “a need for those in power to worry about maintaining power first and then enjoy power later on.”

So, "Korakuen" means "the garden for enjoying power later on." This historic garden was filled with beautiful trees, ponds, and stone walkways. One tree was in the shape of a “s.” Neat, huh? We enjoyed the beauty of the garden by sitting on a bench where you could see beautiful flowers, listen to the birds, and hear the screams of adrenaline junkies on the roller coaster that was near the garden.

"S" shaped tree--BONSAI

Me in front of Otowanotaki waterfall

Engetsu-kyo (Full Moon Bridge)

The reflection of the bridge in the pond produces a full circle, which looks like a full moon. The design was created by the Confuscian scholar, Shu shunsui of the Ming dynasty. It has survived in its original form since 1629 in the early Edo period.

Next, we headed to Ameyoko, a very busy market street filled with people selling everything from octopus to spices, to shoes and seafood. One tidbit: "Ameyoko" is a short form for "Ameya Yokocho" (candy store alley), as candies were traditionally sold there. On the other hand, "Ame" also stands for "America", since American products used to be available on the black market after World World II. They still sell a lot of American shoes and clothes, but it was swap meat.

Shermika and I couldn’t believe how many people were selling fake Sean John, New Balance shoes, and many other well known brands. And of course, Shermika did her favorite thing--shopping for SHOES! She actually found two cute pairs within her frugal budget ;-)

Check back later to see what we’ve been up to. Peace!

Seafood, spices, octopus galore!!!

At the entrance to Ameyoko. A kind stranger offered to take our picture. Arigato!