My Weekend

Well that's my last weekend coming to an end. It's just four more work days now. I think that's managable!

Thursday I did a lot of packing...my suitcase is 3/4 full which is good cause that's most of my stuff. And I'm also planning on taking a duffle bag. Luggage wise I think I'm doing well. Found a soft case carrier for Neko, so that she can travel as carry-on (no temperature restrictions apply for pets as carry-on, so this would solve the problem of the still too cold weather in Toronto). BUT, this case is only ok for the Narita to Atlanta flight, but not for my connecting flight to Toronto. There is a later flight from Atlanta that is a bigger plan and larger size allowances, but after going to the travel agent I discovered it would cost over $300 to change that flight. So I'm not going to do that. Tomorrow I will try to find a smaller case at a different pet shop, cause the other was only 1/2 an inch too high. So keep your fingers crossed that I find one for me and Neko!!! =^._.^=

After that Kedist and I went out for lunch at a place called "The Hamburg Restaurant" and it was sooooo good!! Too bad we just found this place yesterday. And our plans with Gavin finally happened, and we went to "Pandora's Box" with him and his girlfriend, Tomona. This restaurant is great! Not only food wise but it's also so cozy! You have your own private little booth (with kotatsus - heated tables) that have curtain/door type thing for a closing. I really like this place.

Today, Ked and I went for lunch to an Indian buffet with Aya, our friend and Japanese co-worker. Then at 5pm I met Junko, Kazuhiko and Youko for dinner. They picked me up at the train station only to drive bascially around the block to the restaurant we were going to have dinner at. We went to a very traditional Japanese restaurant which was called "3 Pines" that's a translation of course. There we had kaiseki, a series of small dishes, which might be the most traditional Japanese food and is usually eaten on special occassions.

Click on the link if you want to know more about Kaiseki.

The restaraunt was beautiful! We had our own private room with a traditional table which was decorated beautifully! All the dishes used were so nice too!! And the server wore a kimono. I don't remember how many dishes we had, but it was about 4 or 5. I ate several soups, a lot of fish, both raw and cooked, fried fish and vegetable, Japanese pickles, steak and potatoes, amongst other things! Oh and lets not forget the sweet rice with tiny fish in it. This was the only dish I was hesitant to try...all those little eyes looking up at you. But it actually was very good! And we ended our meal with a lovely crepe filled with custard cream and topped with blueberries and strawberries. We arrive there at about 5:15pm and left at 7:30pm, and this entire time was spent eating! And drinking about 5 cups of green tea. It's strange, I never used to like green tea, but now that I'm leaving I'm actually really starting to enjoy it!

The ladies told me that: The kaiseki meal is the flower of Japanese cuisine. Everything is garnished so nicely! Presentation obviously must be very important. It was so nice of them to take me out, and it certainly will be a meal that I will always remember. A definate nice way to end my time in Japan.