The Japanese items at breakfast were boiled rice, rice porridge, grilled fish, seaweed sprinkles, fermented bean curd and miso soup. I played safe with just the miso soup and rice.
I was then very tired and it was also raining so I went back to bed. I woke up at 3.15pm to tour an exhibition of modern craftwork for the tea ceremony at the Tokyo Museum of Modern Art. It was interesting to see how sparsely the items were exhibited. I am inclined to see this as indicative of the Japanese appreciation of space. It might be they did not have very much to put on display.
There was a wide variety of styles to see but we were only allowed to take photos in one room.
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| Most things in Japan come in sets of 5 because the word for 4 means 'death' which is considered unlucky. |
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| An incense container. |
We were then whisked off to the British Embassy for a rather fine BBQ although we had to introduce ourselves to a room full of Japanese (in English), a feat made all the more daunting by a microphone that I felt made my voice sound rather high.
The evening was hosted by the junior members of the British Japan Society who were very welcoming. Many of the girls were wearing kimonos and looked quite beautiful. Some of the members have offered to help us with our flat hunting which is extremely kind and no less helpful.
We then went to a smashing bar where all drinks (including cocktails) were only 315 yen which is about £2.40. Not bad given Tokyo's reputation and the fact we were in Shibuya, a very popular area.
Returning home I saw this in a shop:
Tomorrow we register at our language school. In return they give us a test on hiragana and katakana, the Japanese syllabic scripts. This is troubling because although I can read them I cannot produce them to order. I think it's too late to be sent home.
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