The previously mentioned chanpon restaurant near our apartment has recently become popular. The seats are usually full now, and sometimes there is even a line out the door. There was no line at Chanpon Taro on this evening, but some bike riders appear to have been enjoying a meal inside.
I spotted the Seven Lucky Gods being turned into something of a bike parking lot near the Horikiri Shobuen Station (堀切菖蒲園駅).
We recently inherited a couple of bikes (自転車) from a foreign couple who were leaving Tokyo. I’m not sure how we got along without them for our first seven months here as they have quickly become indispensable.
If you would like two used bikes (for free), or a partially used yamanote line commuter pass, in August let me know.
Today’s top photo is of Omokagebashi (面影橋), a popular starting point for a 1.5 kilometer walk of non-stop cherry blossoms along the Kanda River.
Last week we had some unseasonably warm days. On Wednesday we went to Kawagoe (川越) in Saitama Ken (埼玉県) to be tourists in “Little Edo” (小江戸). There is very little in town that is actually from the Edo Period, but there are many old buildings from the late 19th Century and early 20th Century, some made to look like they are from the Edo Period. It made for a great day trip from Tokyo, especially on a weekday with no crowds.
I lived in nearby Tokorozawa many years ago, but this was my first visit to Kawagoe.
We arrived at one of the temples (or was it a shrine?) just as the neighboring kindergarten was letting out. All the moms parked their bikes on the temple grounds before picking up their kids.
This lovely, 360-year-old building is known as Jigendo (慈眼堂) and can be found on the grounds of Kitain (喜多院).
Since returning from Denmark I’ve checked in daily with Copenhagen Cycle Chic. This entry is my tribute of sorts to that wonderful blog. I miss my daily bike rides around Copenhagen. I try to get on the saddle a few times a week now that I’m back home in Ashland, but it just isn’t the same. (Not to mention the huge hill I have to climb to get back to my house…)
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