The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3

Hi! On Saturday my boyfriend and I went shopping and movies to Shin Yurigaoka after my recipe work. We happened to see our GYM demo, introducing hula class! (top right image) The weather was still nice and warm like summer, so we enjoyed beer at open-air cafe in the afternoon, before the movies ;)

We saw The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3.
"Armed men hijack a New York City subway train, holding the passengers hostage in return for a ransom, and turning an ordinary day's work for dispatcher Walter Garber into a face-off with the mastermind behind the crime."
The story was interesting. It is not only the action scenes but pictures the human heart. We of course enjoyed sceneries in NY, where I met my boyfriend. He-he. Romantic right?! :D

Late at night, we had dinner at Kyomachiya. We enjoyed autumn menu. Saury is in season, so we enjoyed saury sashimi. I think it has been 2 years since we last went there.

Today I'm taking a day off because I worked last Saturday! This afternoon, I'm gonna attend the last hula class for this term. We are going to learn new choreography from October. Then gonna have lunch with my bf in Shibuya ;)

Sorry that I'm way behind on replies... I will catch up soon!

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Kyoto

The next day, we left Hikone and went to Kyoto.

Over a finite period of time, we went to see Kiyomizu-Dera (Kiyomizu Temple), Kinkaku-Ji (The Gold Pavilion), and Ryoan-Ji (Ryoanji Temple).

Kiyomizu-Dera (清水寺) is an independent Buddhist temple in eastern Kyoto. It stands in the wooded hills and offers visitors a nice view over the city from its famous wooden terrace. Behind the temple, there is a shrine called "Jishu-Jinja". The shrine dedicated to the deity of love. We took a pic in front of the entrance and bought love charms together ;)

Along the route to Kiyomizu-Dera, there are many shops and restaurants. My boyfriend found a cool lunch menu, which is called "Enmusubi Soba set", which means good luck and marriage soba set! Of course we had it for our lunch.





Kinkaku-Ji (金閣寺) or formally Rokuon-ji (鹿苑寺) is a Zen Buddhist temple in Kyoto. It takes 30 minutes by bus from Kiyomizu-Dera. The admission ticket looks like a bill. The bottom right image is the Sekka-Tei tea house. The upper left mountain is called Daimonji. The kanji "大" that means large is written on Nyoigatake (Daimonji Mountain).

Ryoan-Ji (龍安寺), the temple of the peaceful dragon, is a Zen temple located in northwest Kyoto. The temple is famous for Sekitei (石庭), the Rock Garden. The garden consists of fifteen rocks. When looking at the garden from any angle (other than from above) only fourteen of them are visible at one time. It is traditionally said that only through attaining enlightenment would one be able to view fifteen. We had a relaxing moment in the garden.

Before we leave Kyoto, we had a dinner at a restaurant by a river called Kamogawa. My boyfriend found a romantic open-air restaurant called Suigetsu. There was a nice, gentle breeze blowing at that night. We enjoyed Kyoto cuisine and went back to Tokyo.


I love him and he loves me forever ;)

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Hikone

This week, we had three consecutive holidays, which we call silver week: 21st (Respect-for-Senior-Citizens Day / Keiro no hi), 22nd (National Holiday / Kokumin no kyujitsu), and 23rd (Autumnal Equinox Day / Shubun no hi). Our silver week was great! On 22nd and 23rd, my boyfriend and I visited his family home in Hikone city (in Shiga prefecture). It is about 2 hours by Shinkansen from Tokyo.

On the day of arrival, we had lunch with his parents at a sushi restaurant called Izukiyo. Last time I saw them was about 2 years ago in 2007, so they were really happy to see me again. His mom was doing super fine. She rapidly recovered from the illness!!!

After lunch, my boyfriend took me to Hikone Castle! Hikone Castle is the most famous historical site in Hikone. We enjoyed walking the castle road lined with food and souvenir shops. We had Hayashiya (林屋)'s local brew beer, which was super refreshing and delicious.

At night, I requested his dad to cook something for us! He used to own a teppanyaki restaurant, so he is a great cook! He cooked us croquettes. Yay! I really love homemade food. Maybe someday I want to cook something for them ;)

The next morning, his younger brother who got married and have a child came to see us! I met them for the first time. His child was so cute. I hope I can have a child someday.

Earlier in the day, we left for Kyoto. We just had few hours until the return train, so we made a quick plan to do sightseeing. I will write about it tomorrow ;)

See you again!!!

P.S.
I will catch up with the replies today or so.

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