Trips

After the visit to Kenrokuen Gardens, the group walked over to the Oumicho market. Each group of four was given 500 yen ($3.50) to buy something none of us had ever seen before. Our group bought what we learned later was a taro potato and a green candy-like Cheetos with wasabi flavoring. Other groups bought a lily root, fried machi, and a squishy radish. All were edible but we only tried the fried machi and wasabi snacks on the bus. The market itself was extensive and full of all kinds of new (to us) things. Remember, markets are one of my camera's most favorite places, so lots of photos are produced.

Oumicho market	Live snow crabs
Dried cod	Mushrooms and carrots
Grilled eel on skewers	Dried sardines
An assortment of goodies	Variety - bottom right is wasabi
Assorted veggies	Everyone needs to rest
Squash, artichokes?, tomatoes	Lotus root
White radishes	Mushrooms
Unknown	Assorted fish - shrimp and rockfish on the right
Looks like an eel	Octopus
Bluefin Reef Squid	Happy Halloween
The next stop in the day's activities was in the Higashi Chaya district. This area is described as a traditional tea house district known for its geisha performances. The streets are lined with old two-story cedar wood houses that are now touristy restaurants and shops. There are a few tea houses where geishas still can be hired to entertain. Lunch at Todoroki-tei, a “French” restaurant in the district. It included a hunk of focaccia bread, chicken, half of a small boiled potato, and a slice of carrot served with pesto and mustard. Panna cotta and espresso finished the meal.	Higashi Chaya district
Higashi Chaya district	Higashi Chaya district
Welcoming doorway
Shrine in the Higashi Chaya district	Brewing company in the Higashi Chaya district
The day's last visit was to the Hakuichi gold leaf museum and shop. The visit began with a tour of the museum and watching demonstrations related to the preparation of the gold leaf. In a studio area containing work tables and chairs, each of us picked out a blank postcard and a gold leaf design, and learned how to apply the gold leaf design (like a decal) to the adhesive on the card. It was fun and we got to keep the cards.	Hakuichi gold leaf museum and shop
	Armor and Helmet of Lord Maeda Toshiie - Japanese military commander
Hammered gold leaf	Wall sculpture
Pounding the gold leaf into very thin sheets - the pounding used to be done by hand with a mallet	Transferring the gold leaf sheet
Waiting for instruction	Designs
Patterns and instructions	More patterns and instructions
The last part of the visit was spent in the shop where they sold gold leaf souvenirs and gold leaf covered ice cream cones, cheesecake with gold leaf in it, coffee with gold leaf sprinkles, etc. Several in our group tried the ice cream cones. If you were worried, the gold is not digested and passes straight through your system.	Get out your translator
Gold leaf covered ice cream cone	Julia said it was good
Sign advertising unusual gold leaf products

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