September 23, 2016: Tokyo Day #9!

Today marks our last full day in Japan. Tomorrow, we head back to Canada and I have very mixed feelings about that.

Yesterday, we met up with Akemi’s sister, Hiromi, at Tokyo Midtown. While waiting for her to show, I ate one of the largest pistachio cream puffs I’ve ever encountered.

It was…indescribably good. I was even thinking about ordering a second but Akemi suggested I just share with her sister. Share? SHARE?!!! Upon her sister’s arrival, she elected to go with the pistachio cream puff as well but, as I’d hoped, insisted she couldn’t possibly eat the whole thing.

Then went ahead and ate the whole. thing. 🙁

The Aota sisters, a contrast in styles.

From Midtown, we headed back to Ginza where we checked out more dessert stops, a toy store, various tableware (I’m thinking of getting myself a dedicated sake cup because I think I’m going to need it), and a kimono shop.

Akemi and friend.

At one point, Akemi was browsing the purse section at one of the high end shops when the sales lady tried to sell her on a clutch she was considering…

Her: It’s not unreasonable. It’s less than two thousand dollars.

Akemi’s eyes widen.

Her: It’s also great for instagram!

Ah, now THIS is more my speed. And just in time for Halloween!

Last night, we had a magnificent meal at L’effervescence. It was Akemi’s first time and she loved it!

On tap for today – a final round of sushi, shopping and, possibly, sweets.

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14 responses

sylvia

September 22, 2016 at 10:30 pm

The Samurai armor and Katana should be part of your vestments as you encounter the source of your “irritation.”

And, the sake cup and sake to drink from said cup.

sheeeesh…seems like you just got there. Hope you got your fill of goodies until the next time.

Meanwhile, we have 38 more weeks until Season 3.

OH…OH…Meant to ask you about this
a Dark Matter shirt on Amazon US. It does not seem to be avbl on Amazon Japan, Canada, or UK..

https://www.amazon.com/Dark-Matter-Show-Shirt-Black/dp/B018LKHJUY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1474608256&sr=8-1&keywords=dark+matter+t+shirt

Is this all that you are aware of?

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TheOtherOne

September 22, 2016 at 10:45 pm

Aargh! People are sooo annoying when they say one thing … then do another! Though, I think I can understand Akemi’s sisters change of heart. That pistachio puff looks devine!
Ooh, I hope you bought the sake cup (although you seem to drink bottles rather than cups!) & do you think you’ll ever wear the kimono… actually, I can picture …..

Try to enjoy your last day.
I’m sure, as your friends here have said in the past, you’ll make the right decision with Lulu. And as for work… battle on. It’ll be worth it! 😊

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Ponytail

September 22, 2016 at 11:07 pm

Oh no! I’m not ready to go home yet! The pictures this trip have been their usual spectacular. Thank you so much for sharing. Akemi and her sister sure do look alike. Both are so pretty. Her sister is quite the fashion maven. Enjoy your final hours in Tokyo.

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TheOtherOne

September 23, 2016 at 12:22 am

I appear to have given Akemi loads more sisterss! 😃

And do tell, is that pistachio cream puff REALLY more gianter than that chocolate macaroon from the other day?😂

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maggiemayday

September 23, 2016 at 3:22 am

Oh my, lovely giant cream puff, I would have found room too!

I have many lovely sake cups, some singleton leftovers from sets my parents had, some gifts, a couple Mom lifted from hotels, and a pair of amazing art glass ones from Kamakura. I found a gold and porcelain set in my mother’s things after she passed, dainty and now collecting dust on a shelf. I had a very naughty but tasteful set from the Nagoya fertility festival which I eventually gave to my younger friends who actually drink sake and host parties. I don’t even drink sake now. I should find some of the cups new homes …

You can’t go home yet! I haven’t caught up on your blogs!

My surgery went well, although it took over twice as long as the surgeon expected. There was a bad mix-up post op, one which could have had serious consequences. I usually adore the nursing staff, but one needs some serious re-training, I ended up in the outpatient area, not the admitting area for my overnight stay. At least one nurse didn’t read my orders until after she forced me out of bed into a recliner, not a good thing. Plus a few other issues, so the Nurse Manager definitely wants me to put in a formal statement to prevent any other incidents and avoid hurting or damaging any other patient (and lawsuits no doubt). Good thing I’m a frequent flyer and know what have expected, as first time patient would have been scared off. But now I am home, looking good for recovery, and I have yet another insulated souvenir mug from the hospital. Thanks for everyone’s warm thoughts, knowing people care, even online, is special to me.

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Tam Dixon

September 23, 2016 at 3:58 am

Gorgeous sisters! I’m with Ponytail, there’s much more we haven’t seen. AND You have to make another trip to La Maison de Chocolat!

Can you get those buns in Canada or the U.S.?

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jimfromjersey

September 23, 2016 at 5:38 am

That samurai Vader costume is amazing!

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jimfromjersey

September 23, 2016 at 5:45 am

@BoltBait: Thank you! I just canceled cable 3 weeks ago to go streaming only. (And saving $140.00 a month in the process) And I missed the last few episodes of DM because they were on my DVR.

“For those of us without cable…

Available Oct. 16 on Netflix:

Dark Matter: Season 2”

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Maggie L80

September 23, 2016 at 6:30 am

Best looking cream puff…ever! The second Akemi’s sister finished that little morsel, without sharing, I’d have ordered one to go. I do hope that you picked up some souvenirs yesterday to include that sake cup & kimono – both perfect to unwind from a stressful day! Surprisingly I have 2 sake sets. One my cousin brought back from Japan while stationed there & one I bought at a county fair. I use the sake cups as shot glasses.

Love the pics as usual. Wishing you “safe travels” on your journey home. You’re gonna need a vacation from your vacation!

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gforce

September 23, 2016 at 8:28 am

Still loving all the great pics, and I really do wish to get to Japan sometime. It looks fascinating.

That is one big cream puff there! Perhaps you can console yourself with getting one from Beta5 when you get home? They are pretty awesome, too!

So, did Akemi get the purse? 🙂

Hoping you guys have a good and stress-free trip home. Try not to think about any controversies awaiting you until you actually get there. Then, get geared up in that samurai suit and mercilessly vanquish your foes! 🙂

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shinyhula

September 23, 2016 at 12:55 pm

Kawaii Squared Sisters! I love Akemi’s and Hiromi’s different styles but same rocking boots, I need to get a pair of cool Five-ish boots.

You can have all my cream puffs amigo. Why is it that the missed desert or entrée haunts us for days, even years?

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2cats

September 23, 2016 at 3:00 pm

Isn’t anyone curious about what was in that email Joe received that led to “blowing a gasket” and a “holy sh&t moment?

I would have shoved that cream puff into my mouth so fast, I may have choked, but would have died with a cream smile on my face. Love pistachio anything!

Come on Joe, what was so upsetting?
I hope it wasn’t harmful to any cast or crew member of DM? Or has someone forgot to pay the lease on the studio stages/offices, thus placing our gorgeous sets in jeopardy? Or your Toronto apartment has been let to another?

Inquiring minds want to know… safe journey back home.

Take good care all,
2cats

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KathyC

September 23, 2016 at 4:33 pm

So glad Akemi got to see her sister; she’s so far from family it’s nice to get to spend as much time as possible while you’re there.

@Maggie; ugh on the nurses! My hubby works for a hospital, and he complains about them quite a bit. I too complain, when it’s 3am on a weekend and I get woken up. They need him to come in and fix something that stopped working, and yes they did check that it’s plugged in, there is no way they accidentally unplugged it with their foot…for him to get dressed, go in, and find the damn monitor unplugged. UGH.

I want a cream puff.

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PBMom

September 24, 2016 at 10:09 am

The pistachio cream puff looks delicious. Sisters are like that. My oldest sister was very smart but not socially comfortable. My middle sister was a social butterfly who didn’t really apply herself during grade school & high school. She had a lot of street smarts though. I was grateful for the gifts each shared with me. I followed in the smart steps of my oldest sister and developed the street smarts and social bug of my middle sister. My oldest sister still doesn’t understand my love of the entertainment world as she claims it makes no sense to her. When she told me of an encounter with someone who wrote a book and how much she loved the book, the excitement in her voice was familiar to me. I told her, “THAT is what the entertainment world does for me.” She still didn’t seem to understand. I added, “The way you were moved by the book and wanted to share that with the author is the same I feel for things that I watch. Things I watch move me in some way.” She still didn’t understand that. So I said, “You know how you love Blue Bloods?” She STILL didn’t get it. At that point, I said, “Never mind–I don’t think you will ever understand then.” Sometimes I think she has a mild form of Asperger’s. My middle sister has became socially isolated now but her third marriage changed her. I think it crushed her spirit.

A $2000 purse???? I can’t even imagine. I think a $50 purse is unreasonable.

@Maggiemayday Glad your surgery went well, but it is so irritating about your postop experience. You need to write that letter. There are definitely nurses who are trying to do the work of 3 people because hospitals want more profits for their upper corporate people and shareholders. But there are definitely people who should not be nurses. Nowadays you really have to have an advocate with you to make sure you are taken care of, that the medication you are receiving is the proper one and the proper dose, and to go to the nurses’ station when you truly need a nurse and it’s been an hour and no one has shown up yet. Whether that is family or someone you hire to be your patient advocate. This is one of the reasons I believe we need to take the “profit” out of medical care. The profit off people being sick is just a disgusting thought to me. Sure people need to be paid for their services, but a for-profit market drives things like trying to make nurses do more work (and thus winds up with a lot of errors in patient care). Fingers crossed and prayers said for an uncomplicated recovery process for you. XXOO

@KathyC That’s annoying. We had equipment provided by our company for the hospitals and our tech guys would share similar things with us. I would have to take call for the company every 4th weekend. It was support for the employees and the hospitals. I had to troubleshoot what I could for them, but if it involved a visit to the hospital, I would have to send the tech guys. But I remember getting calls at 3 a.m. for a hospital needing a stat report and would have to track down someone to do it (or log on and type it myself for them).

I’m about to watch the MacGyver reboot. I expect that I won’t like it because there is only one MacGyver. But we’ll see.

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