Yesterday began with a nice light breakfast in our hotel. Steven can be seen here posing in front of the "living wall." It's always nice to be surrounded by some greenery.
We had a busy day planned, and didn't lollygag for long. Instead, we headed for the Hibiya line of Roppongi station, which took us directly to 中目黒 (Nakameguro), which is a really cool fashionable district of Tokyo, and also where I lived for a little under a year of my time in Japan.
Steven shot me above in my Uniqlo jacket, (which has really been nice this trip) with the Meguro river and cherry blossom trees in the background. During cherry blossom season in the springtime, these trees are in full bloom and it is really a sight to see.
We couldn't come to Nakameguro without a stop in at Coeur et Coeur, a little cafe along the river, where I spent many evenings after a long day at work, sipping chamomile tea and chatting with Junko, the owner appearing above between me and Steven, as well as Ushi, the owner of the building and a regular customer. Junko-san was pretty floored when Steven and I appeared at the door, and we spent some time chatting and catching up.
As a treat, Ushi brought us down some 味付け玉 (aji tsuke tamago), or, marinated/seasoned eggs, which we enjoyed as a snack. Check out that orange yolk!!
Afterward, we were off to lunch at Browny, a highly rated Japanese curry spot that Steven had found for us online.
The curry at Browny, shown above, was rich and spicy, topped with cheese (actually not common in Japan), and served with a green salad with sesame dressing. This curry was simmered, then baked in the oven and was quite good.
After lunch, we wandered around a bit, then I played golf at Pebble Beach. Well, okay, not the real Pebble Beach, but we stumbled upon a bar that had a golf simulation screen, where for 1,000 yen, you could play for 30 minutes. I got in nine holes, while Steven enjoyed a beverage and made an excellent caddy.
Following the golf outing, we headed to a Japanese microbrewery that Steven had read about and wanted to check out. He had a sampling of three small beers, and we hung out for a bit before heading back to the hotel and freshening up for dinner.
For dinner on Saturday, we met up with a friend of ours who lives in Tokyo, Ryo and his wife Masami.
The four of us grabbed dinner at an aptly named 串焼き (kushi yaki), grilled things on a stick, place called "Meatman." We feasted on grilled skewers of meat and veggies, washed down with cold beer and some excellent cold sake.
After dinner, Steven, Ryo and I headed to a few different bars for some drinks and Masami took a taxi home.
It ended up being a late night out, and it was somewhere between 3:30 and 4:00 am by the time we got back to the hotel.
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