Tokyo, Japan (d)

Di 29.10. On our first evening in Tokyo, we were invited to a sushi party. We have Arnold's father to thank for this invitation. It was a house party with about 40 people. Although the Japanese are considered very reserved and rarely invite anyone to their homes, we felt very comfortable. We were therefore very fortunate to have the opportunity to experience such an authentic evening. The sushi was first-class and prepared fresh before our eyes. But it wasn't just the food that was spectacular, but also the view we had from the apartment. We could admire Tokyo Bay, the Skytower and the Rainbow Bridge at night. At midnight, the party came to an end and we made our way to our hotel.

Mi 30.10. Our day started at the famous Shibuya Crossing. From there, we walked to Meiji Shrine. A Shintō shrine is dedicated to the worship of a native deity. In a narrower sense, "shrine" refers to a single building, but the term usually refers to a "shrine complex" where a variety of religious buildings can be found. Typically, a shrine is used to store a sacred object. Often these are mirrors or swords, but they can also be statues, as in Buddhism. When founding a new shrine, the corresponding deity must first be "invited" to take up residence. So a shrine building is primarily a storage or treasure house. It is not used as a place for religious gatherings or ceremonies. Compared to Christianity, a shrine building is more similar to an altar or a tabernacle than a church. The park with its colorful foliage was very calming, for a brief moment we forgot that we were in a big city. Now we were all hungry and treated ourselves to lunch. After that, we strolled to the Samurai Museum. Our tour of the private museum was very informative. Now we better understand the background of Japanese tradition. Next came a demonstration of combat techniques by a samurai and a ninja. I was a little nervous when the samurai performed with his sword. In the end, we even got to dress up as a princess or samurai. All three of us thought we had a great day. But the night got even better, because we had reserved a table at a special restaurant. This is a restaurant that serves Kobe beef on a table grill. The meat from purebred Tajima cattle, from the Japanese Hyogo Prefecture with its administrative center Kobe, is considered one of the best and most expensive in the world.

If you want to learn more, I found a website: https://www.otto-gourmet.de/fleisch-und-meer/wagyu-beef-kaufen/original-kobe-rind-aus-japan.html

We enjoyed every single gram and came to the conclusion that it was the best and most expensive meat we have ever eaten in our lives.

Fr 01.11. At 11:03, we took the high-speed train from Tokyo to Kyoto. After a 2:30h ride, we had lunch in Kyoto and enjoyed the sun near the train station. Then we went in search of our hotel and rested a bit. In the evening, we tried a typical Japanese dish in the city, Ramen! Ramen is a unique type of Japanese noodles. The noodles are cooked and served in a salty broth. Various vegetables, meat, or eggs are added. A healthy dish that the Japanese love and now we do too ;)!