Try number two

Turn your eye on the blog text for one second to play around with some pictures and the app decides to get rid of your heartly ramblings in the meanwhile.. I swear this thing needs more supervision than a hyperactive 3-year-old if you don't want anything important to be destroyed. 

But well. Let's try again shall we?

So the first days have been pretty lazy on my part. Mostly I've spent them trying to desperately fight the jetlag and the naussea its brought with it. But I'm surviving. And  even the icky feeling hasn't kept me from exploring my surroundings and getting to know places. I've taken long walks in Koenji in order to map the place a little and to get familiar with the corners I live at. My nonexistent sense of navigation has had its fun while in the meanwhile I've gotten lost some threehundred and so times in these past couple of days. But that's just part of the fun, isn't it?

(This is the picture that previously got my entry destroyed so you better enjoy it.)

One lovely thing about Tokyo is that whereas the city is absolutely huge and massive and infinite (no exaggeration whatsoever) it still has its rather peaceful places - like the parks. In the mini collage above are two pictures of Sanshinomori Park in Koenji. The rocky waterfalls were the midpoint of the park - very pretty and somehow calming to sit next to. I'm very glad that for example this park is just a walking distance from my apartment, the big city life could feel suffocating otherwise.

To next things. The power of social media nowadays.. A couple of days back I happened to come accross a post in facebook from a Finnish guy who happened to be in Tokyo and wondered if someone would like to hang out. Well, I did. So the past one and half days I've then spent strolling around Harajuku and Shibuya with him, doing nothing too special but just chilling and hanging around Yoyogi Park. Yesterday we met at Shibuya, at the famous Hachiko statue so of course I had to take a picture! For you who are not familiar with Hachiko's story - long time ago there used to be a man and the man had a dog, Hachicko. Every day Hachiko would walk the man to the Shibuya station when he left for work and be there to greet his owner right on time at the station when he was coming back home. Unfortunately, one day the elderly man passed away during his work day and never returned. Despite this, Hachiko faithfully came to the station every day for the next nine years precisely as the train came, to wait if his owner would come back home to him. There is a movie about it and I promise you will cry your eyes out. Now go and watch it.

I already said that we did nothing special during these days apart from the leisurely walks around the park and nearby areas. Well, of course there has to be one "but". So.. But. My Finnish companion had seen recommendations about a place to eat delicious お好み焼き 「okonomiyaki」 and asked if I'd like to join him for a lunch there. Well never say no to food so of course we went!

Okonomiyaki is a traditional savoury pancake that contains.. well a lot of things. Ours had for example, pork, shrimps, squid, corn, cabbage, noodles, egg.. what else..At this point I must disappoint you by saying that unfortunately I do not have a picture of our precious first okonomiyaki but I'll explain you why so maybe you'll understand. In many places okonomiyaki is served, it is done so that the customer themselves can then cook the meal on the hot stove that's inserted into the table. Well. Two foreigners trying to do okonomiyaki for the first time? It was delicious but the look.. not so much. So I will save your eyes and our pride as well as the dignity of this traditional Japanese meal by not showing a picture of our very first attempt at making one. But it was delicious, really. And  we managed to make it alright even if it wasn't the beauty queen by looks. Totally and utterly delicious and would eat again. If you have the chance, you should try it too! 

I guess that's about it for now? 

I think I'll have a lazy day today and head to Koenji to see some shrines next and enjoy the sunshine.

Until next time! xoxo