The Golden Week

What a difference from yesterday: today is the start of the Golden Week, a cluster of Japanese holidays put into one week (albeit not necessarily starting from a weekend and ending on the next weekend). As an example, today is a day off for everybody, but tomorrow (Friday) is a work day. Then people are off again for few days in the next week. To me, this is like a mark into the summer season, much like the American Memorial Day is.

It is amazing how the usually busy Shinjuku falls silent around this time of the year. Make no mistake, there are still many people travelling in and out of the station, one of the major stations in Tokyo, but the number of people definitely decreases dramatically. In the vast public area a bridge away from the Takashimaya department store, one can walk freely without bumping into anyone, ever. The young people who usually sit around sipping their latte and checking their text messages are elsewhere.

There is a florist (La Palette) not too far from where I live. The staff work almost around the clock, catering to parties and businesses, and usually they close really late at night, seven days a week. It is therefore rather a new sight to see the business close for a few days. They, too, could use a break.

It is cool and sunny at the moment. I am thinking about going to Ueno or Asakusa...

Tokyo Weather

After a windy and drizzly Tuesday, Tokyo awoke to yet another gloomy day. With neither rain nor wind, the foliage in my garden stood still as if a willing model for a life painting. The two pots of lavender plants bought a couple of days ago now flank a low metal bowl that is filled with water, two fallen camellias, and a floating candle.

Oh, wait, the sun just came out.

Ah, too late; it has already disappeared again. Some Tokyoites said that the weather would go up and down three times before it finally settled into spring, but that stubborn rollercoaster of a weather has not yet decided if it wanted to remain in winter or to leap into spring.

The Hanezawa Garden

The Entrance to the Hanezawa Garden, originally uploaded by bloompy.

Our first impression when we saw the Hanezawa Garden from the outside was that it was a public park. The fortress-like compound, however, was too contained to invite outsiders to come in. Upon a quick entry to the complex, we realized that this was a private enterprise with nine enjoyments within: the Salon; the Sushi Bar; the Main Dining (serving French Italian Japanese cuisine); the Bar; the Cigar Room; the Garden Room; the Oriental Room; the Hanezawa Second; and the Terrace Restaurant (serving BBQ in the summer, from April until October, and shabu-shabu in the winter; all outdoors). The Garden Room, the Oriental Room and the Hanezawa Second are used more for private gatherings, available for rent at a cost.

In the Spring, when the weather was excellent, a lot of weddings took place here. Almost every weekend we could hear music coming out from the compound. Other than that, any other noise is provided by the weekend revelers who probably occupy the BBQ place, which is located outdoors.

Lunch at the French (French and Italian Japanese) restaurant is an excellent experience. Usually, during the weekdays, the place is teeming with ladies who lunch. I usually end up being the only man with a book in the dining room. Once when I came in, the room fell silent, the other ones probably wondering why I had strayed in there; but at another time, I saw a table of four senior men, enjoying themselves.

This Dining Room overseas a garden, which provided a nice vista during one's meal. During the day and in the summer, the beautifully manicured lawn are surrounded by lush vegetation. At night, the dining room is transformed into a cozy restaurant, with extremely dimmed ceiling light and lots of candles. The music they play tend to be contemporary pop and soft rock. Even sitting at the bar room next door, overlooking yet another side of the garden, was quite an experience in itself, especially during the twilights. The food never disappointed (more review at the following site: http://bloompyeats.blogspot.com).

For such a posh looking place, it was rather a nice surprise to find that the pricing was extremely inexpensive for Tokyo standards.

[UPDATED NEWS: December 20, 2005]
Sadly, the Hanezawa Garden has recently closed (December 17, 2005) due to aging facility. The architecture has been in existence since 1915. I have decided to keep the restaurant reviews in the Restaurant Review Section for sentimental reasons.