Nostalgia Day - Visiting Kichijoji

 

Short post today because we didn't do much :-) There were two goals for today:

Finding some replacement parts for Nobue's Hina Matsuri dolls. This is the large display of idealized Japanese court life which are shown on "Children's" [nee "Boy's"] Day. One of our trips to Japan Nobue picked up an almost antique set.  The last time she put out the display, there was a sword missing and the hair piece of the daimyo was a bit ragged. 

Naturally, Shitemachi has craft folk specializing in everything dolls. This is in the Asakusabash district where we found this little shop which specializes in the items needed to fix up your set (as well as special orders and some trinkets for whatever tourists might wander in (they are on the 4th floor of a nondescript building, not tourist central).

Just to make sure you are still in Shitemachi, look for the special branding on the vending machines...

On to Inokashira Park...

When we lived in Tokyo way-back-when, we lived about a 30 minute walk from this marvelous park. We would walk along a stream which flowed from the park's lake, usually filled with large, colorful koi - many bred in the lake and flowing downstream as guppies (or whatever). Unfortunately, we didn't have time for this day.

The park was originally part of the Imperial holdings which they "gifted to the people" in 1917. There is a small Buddhist temple dedicated to goddess Benten. 

Lets say the park is very dog friendly. There are a couple of cafes that actively promote bringing your beast in. Then there is using the park as a backdrop for you Instagram moments - as ever, cuteness reigns supreme in Japan...

That's about all we did - it takes over an hour to get to Inokashira Park from where we were staying and it was a priority visit for some of us. There are a few more images at:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/4cpfq2CL9PnSsazc9