Every morning we wake up to photo and video updates from Sharky’s home-stay family.  I asked how he’s doing when left alone and they informed me that he is NEVER let alone.  They even take him grocery shopping…

The boy is so spoiled.  And yet, he seems to appreciate the simpler things in life as can be evidenced by the top pic of Sharky proudly showing off his box.  Yes, we can splurge on expensive dog beds but he is at his comfiest inside this shipping box which he has evidently claimed as his own.

Meanwhile, back on the Away front, it was a beautiful Saturday in Tokyo.  Maybe a little too beautiful as, by mid-afternoon, it was downright hot and I regretted having to sling my coat around with me.

This morning, we visited Shibuya and Omotesando.

Our first stop, the weekend farmer’s market.

Lots of fruits, fresh veggies, and a myriad of other foodstuffs for sale.

A local rescue was there, along with some needy dogs.

Akemi grabs some roasted Japanese sweet potata-to-go.

For some reason, I discovered a new appreciation for oranges on this trip.  Specifically Japanese oranges.

Picked up some oranges, then picked up a package of these assorted orange slices, tried them, then picked up a second pack along with a bottle of orange juice.

And a sample size of the raw pepper.

This city is home to some absolutely gorgeous building.

My pizza date

Even though I’d already had pizza on this trip, Akemi was feeling nostalgic for Napule, a pizza place she used to visit with her girlfriends back in the day.  And so, we went to Napule, lining up half an hour before opening so we could get an early seating.

Akemi is a big fan of the more “relaxed” style of pizza.  It was good.  But I still prefer Serinkan.

What’s this?  The Omotesando branch of I’m Donut?  Akemi was curious, as I’d proclaimed their pistachio cream the best donut I’ve ever head, but still dubious.

Akemi’s favorite was the plain powdered original that she likened to a giant beignet.

The raw French crueler was mighty tasty too.

But my favorite remains the pistachio cream.

I’m Donut? lived up to the hype.  Akemi is a convert!

Couldn’t resist snapping a pic of this, uh, interesting Jo Malone print ad.

Akemi: “Maybe we’re not smart enough to understand the message they’re trying to tell us.”

It got really hot, so we had to stop at The Matcha Tokyo so I could grab a cold matcha latte and cool down/soothe my fiery throat.

Only to spill some green tea on my white dress shirt, causing me to lose face and retreat back to my hotel.

Hoko-ten (Ginza, Tokyo)

More awesome Ginza building at night…

For dinner, we were back at Sushi Taichi for sake and…what else?

We got back to the hotel a little after 8:00 p.m. and had the apple and chestnut pies we picked up from Sembikya (Akemi had a hankering).

Hard to believe this trip is almost done!