dream cafes of tokyo

So, we had the cake for breakfast. A little later we went to the hot stone spa one station away. I've never really been to any kind of spa before. At this one you go in and lay on this hot slab of stone for ten minutes in a very humid room, then go into the cool break room for five minutes and drink a lot of water. This is repeated several times. It was so nice, warm, and relaxing. But i sweat so much. But you're supposed to.

From there we went to the area where Yukari used to work and got lunch. We went to an old style Japanese tavern. I got a raw fish rice bowl, also with tofu, miso, and pickles.

Next we went to Akihabara to see the maids at the station and the electronics. From there we walked an walked and walked along the river to a neighborhood i can't remember the name of (Kagurazaka i think, but i cheated), which Yukari said was very classic Japanese. After we got there, it started to rain, so we had trouble finding the cafe she wanted to take me to. When we did find it, it was full and not expected to empty out anytime soon because of the rain. The hostess lent us an umbrella and sent us around the corner to another cafe, Mugi Maru 2. It's a coffee and tea shop in a tiny little house with a tiny little upstairs area to sit on the floor Japanese style, where you could buy various kinds of steamed buns for 100 yen. (It's a fun website too, with that spinny thing.) I forgot (or didn't know) to take my shoes off when i started to go upstairs. Embarrassed! I ordered chai, Yukari maccha and a tea flavored bun. This is the door to the cafe:


When we were finished there we decided to try the first cafe again, Saryo, and as the hostess was telling us again that she wasn't sure how long it would be, and seeming to say it many times, one party left and opened up a table. Yay! I really can't explain what i ordered. It was cheesecake, but with this season ingredient we can't translate, which we later noticed in all sorts of seasonal goodies throughout my stay -- something to do with green peas and grass. I can't really say what's in the bowl, except for ice cream and a pink jelly. I have no idea what Yukari ordered. Here are photos though:

But as for drinks, i got a cappuccino, served with delicious and fun maybe-kinako brown sugar, and she got a maccha latte served with brown syrup. Isn't it all very lovely?

By then the rain had stopped so we walked around the neighborhood for a while and then went to Tokyo station to get certain sweets. She also took me to a little clothes shop she'd told me about before. I bought the dress i wore yesterday, which sort of matches my swimsuit.

Then, we went home to get our bags and took them to the bus station, where we boarded the midnight bus to Mie.