Autumnal Delights

Monday, September 24th, was another holiday: 秋分の日 (Shūbun no hi), or Autumnal Equinox. This day signifies the change to longer night-time hours. From this day on, there will be more night-time hours than day-time hours, until winter solstice in late December (which is the shortest day of the year). Our weather is definitely starting to turn. Tokyo is finally cooling off and I have unearthed some sweaters to keep on hand.

On Shūbun no hi we drove out to a town about 30 minutes northeast of Tokyo called Kawagoe, which used to be a castle town until Kawagoe was destroyed by a fire in 1893. We started out by going to see Reinkeiji (the Reinkei temple) and then continued on to a street lined with kurazukuri—old warehouses that were constructed with fire-proof clay-walls composed of several layers. From there we walked to Kashi-ya Yokocho (Confectionary Row), where we bought and enjoyed such yummy treats as cinnamon candy, sweet potato sticks, and my favorite cucumber on a stick. We then had a wonderful yummy lunch at an unagi (eel) restaurant, where both hubby and I had unadon (eel rice bowls). Finally we ended the day by going to see Kita-in Temple known for its Gohyaku-Rakan (500 statues of Buddha’s disciples). All in all it was a wonderful day!

On Thursday, September 27th, of last week, I went to a small flee market (for lack of a better word) that is held in Roppongi at the ROI building on the last Thursday of every month. I found some wonderful treasures for a ridiculously small amount of money. I came away with a kimono, 2 obi (sash worn around the waist over a kimono), an obi-jime (braided cord tied on top of the obi), and a michiyuki (a double-breasted, square-necked silk jacket). What fun finds!