Mrs. Anlun and I are not a superstitious bunch, but it has become a tradition for us to visit Sensoji Temple and get our fortunes each time we go to Japan. I initially was averse to this idea, because, as my hero Billy Zane from the movie Titanic would say, "a real man makes his own luck." However, the last time we visited, I ended up getting "The Best Fortune" while Mrs.Cleo over here got "The Worst Fortune" and had to tie it to a tree, less it follow her home like a stray dog you fed scraps to. It should be noted that my "best" fortune stated I would find many treasures by boat. Two years later, and I'm still waiting for my damn treasure! Thus, with the prospect of a second chance to tease her over a bad fortune, we trekked to the temple to see what our futures would hold. Japanese fortunes are derived by shaking a shaker filled with numbered sticks. The stick that falls out has a number corresponding to a cabinet, wherein your respective fortune is held. Apparently it’s a down year for me. I went from the "best" fortune, to just a "Regular" fortune. Mrs. Anlun really improved. She went from "worst" to "regular." SUCCESS!
Mrs. Anlun's second fortune
Both of my fortunes.
Riding our fortune high, we made our way to Rikugien Gardens. It’s a little farther out of the city center, and a little less popular than the main gardens, but it’s definitely worth visiting. The beautiful autumn leaves, tranquil lake, and scenic bridges, offered us a bucolic stroll in an otherwise hectic city. At times, we felt like we were the only ones in the park, until we would pass by a retired couple just enjoying their time together. The park also has an area with various food stands. Seeing older women handing out food on sticks, we mad our way there and devoured another serving of dango, this time it was a shoyu flavored option. It was great, but seeing as the proprietor was a sweet old women who talked our ear off, we knew that going in.
Although I got my daily dango fix, I still wanted to visit a confectionery store I had read about. Unfortunately, the owner was off on vacation and thus the place was closed. Curse you fortune gods! We made our way back to the metro, me walking like an extra in Charlie Brown, Mrs. Anlun consoling me by reminding me I’ve had plenty of good dango. While true, my fomo was in full swing, and thus no consoling could ease my broken heart. As fate would have it, it started to rain while we were walking, the first time it rained on our trip. My Google-fu showed there was a faster path by taking a narrow alleyway to the Metro. As we made our way through the alley in the rain, what to my wondering eyes did appear, but a small storefront selling dango! And inside, was the sweetest oldest woman yet! Without even looking at me, Mrs. Anlun took me inside, and my Cheshire grin lit up the room. The owner seemed shocked that any foreigners would come into her shop. She asked us where we were from, what brought us to Japan, and congratulated us on our honeymoon and thanked us for celebrating it in Japan. She told us she was ninety two years old, and planned on working for as long as possible. She offered us the best mitarashi dango I’ve ever had (keeping true to my age/taste theory), and she threw in some additional daifuku as a present for our wedding. My spirits restored, I privately said a thank you prayer to the fortune gods and we made our way back to the city center.
I had read that Burberry has a special clothing line unique to Japan. It used to be called Blue Label, but now it has branched out into its own company called Crestbridge. We decided to make a stop there to get a gift for a special friend of ours, and so Mrs. Anlun and I can do some shopping. We lucked out that the store was located in Omotesando, and near the restaurant we intended to eat at. Omotesando is one of the many shopping districts in Tokyo, and one can spend an entire day just going from store to store. Thus, I was cautious watching Mrs. Anlun as we ventured through the area towards Crestbridge. Luckily, she was not in a shopping mood, so we made it with my wallet intact. We really liked the offerings at Crestbridge. Mrs. Anlun got herself a lovely plaid wool cape, and I purchased a nice burnt orange cardigan and scarf.
Following our shopping trip, we made our way back to the Ritz. Seeing as we still had some time to kill before dinner, we made our way to the club and decided to have afternoon tea with some champagne. We were very impressed with the club’s afternoon tea offerings, to the point where my wife even exclaimed it was the best offering we’ve had to date (Aman would later cause us to revise this statement).
Our dinner this night was at Ometesando Ukatei. Ukatei is a refined teppanyaki restaurant offering three different set menus for you to choose from, each ranging in price and quality. We make a habit of going to Ukatei each time we come to Tokyo, and it has never disappointed. In classic teppanyaki style, you sit in front of the chef as he cooks your meal. That is were the similarities end. Ukatei offers an innovative menu with refined ingredients from kobe beef, to abalone. Overall the meal was exquisite as usual. After the meal, you are escorted to the parlor, where you can choose from an array of desserts and order coffee if you wish. The parlor has floor to ceiling windows and wonderful city views. It was a great way to finish our meal.
We intended to walk back to the hotel to see the city a little more, but due to the rain, we just had the restaurant call us taxi back to the hotel. Upon arrival, I took one last trip to the steam room, packed, and went to bed. We would be leaving early the next day to Asaba Ryokan, aka ‘Holy hell is this place real!’
Next Time on
A Honeymoon to Remember: Asaba, I Hardly Knew Ye!