Autumn Night Walk - November 23, 2019
- Dash
- Nov 23, 2019
- 3 min read
Today was a cold rainy day. We didn't go on a long walk and I was bored. I don't like the rain or getting my feet wet in the puddles so I guess being bored was better than going outside. I brought out toys to entice the pack leaders to play and that helped entertain me for a little while. Thankfully a rug showed up yesterday and now I can lay by the couch again. I didn't like laying on the hard floor when there wasn't a rug so I hung out in my dog bed. The bed is nice, it's in front of the heater, but it's hard to keep track of what everyone is doing from over there. Now I can keep a closer eye on what the pack is doing in comfort.
Jenn's take on the day: Today was a general housekeeping day. What I really want to talk about is Thursday night (Nov 21). In the fall, Japanese parks and gardens across the country illuminate the trees in the evening to highlight their colors. The park next to our house, Showa Kinen Park, takes part in the tradition. David and I had dinner and then walked through the park on Thursday evening.
Dinner was an experience in Japanese hospitality. It was a restaurant we had not been to before so it was a learning experience like so many of our trips out of the house. We payed for our food and drinks at a vending machine in the lobby that issued tickets. We were unsure if we needed to hand the tickets to someone or not so we hung around the entrance for a few minutes waiting for someone to come by. A gentleman whom had come in for food after us indicated (with hand signs and Japanese) that we should go wait at a table and our food would come up at the counter. So we sat down. A few minutes later that same gentleman brought us cups of hot tea and napkins, showing us where we could go to get more if we wanted. Shortly thereafter we heard an annoucment in Japanese. I was watching the counter closely to see if it looked like our food was coming out (it was someone else's). The same gentleman got my attention again and pointed to a television screen (in the opposite direction of where I had been looking) where the numbers of the orders that were ready for pick up were displayed. I was very grateful for the gentleman's efforts to help David and I during our dinner. It is experiences like this one that make me appreciate how much the culture here makes the language barrier easier to navigate than if it were a less friendly place. ...and then there is the quirky side of Japanese culture... take a look at how my wine arrived:
Yes, my wine glass was filled to the rim, inside a box and the box was half filled with wine I presume had spilled over during pouring. I have never seen anything like it, but got a good laugh from it. Japan is such a unique place.
On the the tree illumination.... As we walked up we got a hint of what was to come.
A walkway flanked by Gingko Trees was illuminated.
After strolling through the Ginkgoes we had a nice stroll in the dark until we reached the Japanese Garden. I was particularly excited to see the Japanese Garden. Dogs are not allowed in the Japanese Garden so Dash and I have not been able to explore it. It was BEAUTIFUL! I was so happy I couldn't take the pictures fast enough. Here is just a small sampling of the photos we got.
It was a really fun evening and I am looking forward to exploring the Japanese Garden during daylight. Also, I can't wait to see that the Christmas Illuminations will have in store for us.
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