Oct. 6 - Ann and I enjoy experiencing daily life in Tokyo and especially visiting places where people go about their daily lives. One of my favorite places is the Sugamo Jizo Shopping Street just north of Sugamo Station on the Yamanote line.

I first learned about this street when I was a graduate student at the Tokyo Institute of Foreign Studies. Every day I would take the streetcar from Otsuka Station on my way to class. One streetcar stop, Koshinzuka, always seemed busy with shoppers. At the time, I was more interested in exploring districts frequented by college-age shoppers like Harajuku, so I never disembarked there.

Much later in life when I finally visited this street, I discovered its exotic atmosphere. It is located on Tokyo's old "Nakasendo," one of the major roads out of Japan's capital, and it developed into a major tourist center during the Edo period. Traces of this long history still exist today, as the street has a busy temple with many visitors seeking help curing their ailments.

Ann and I returned to this street last week. It was busy with shoppers at the many stores selling souvenirs, including homemade rice crackers and sweet bean buns. Ann and I enjoyed an especially delicious lunch of "matsutake" rice (rice steamed with fragrant mushrooms), "dobinmushi" (a small pot of mushroom broth), and sashimi. After lunch we saw many shops including one selling red underwear and another that sold dried fish. We purchased some Japanese pickles and "umeboshi" salted plums to enjoy that night with our bowl of rice.

We ended our day at the Koshinzuka shrine, just next to the streetcar stop. This shrine is dedicated to monkeys. As someone who was born in the year of the monkey, I left a generous donation.

Until next time,

Jim