Travel: Chicago during the holidays

The clock at Macy's (Marshall Fields) on State Street.

In the days between Christmas and New Year's, we took a short trip up to Chicago. The purpose of our trip was mostly to visit family and friends, which we did for the first three days. After all the visiting and merriment, we took some time to head downtown and enjoy the city on our own. We started at Macy's on State Street (which I will forever call Marshall Fields), where we had lunch at the Walnut Room. This was something that my family did yearly when I was growing up, and a holiday tradition that I want our little guy to cherish as well.

On the eighth floor, the Walnut Room and the Great Tree in the background.

Wishes being granted.

Desserts- Frango Ice Cream Pie, Toffee Pie, and the traditional Ice Cream Snowman for the kiddo.

Our next stop was the Art Institute, where we spent the afternoon cruising the galleries. As per usual, little dude was a huge fan of Minimalism. Since he was about a year and a half, this has been his favorite. Even before he could verbally describe his love, he would clap his hands upon entering the Minimalist galleries at the Nelson Atkins. For me it was nice to see the Impressionist works that I loved as a child, and to view the Asian galleries.  

Seurat. Nostalgia for me, mediocre for little dude.

Penetrable de Chicago was a huge hit for all of us, and little dude befriended a guard.

Ellsworth Kelly- so exciting that he jumped out of the stroller.

And Miro, which he remembered seeing in Tokyo (!), and requested a photo of. 

Our final stop in the museum was the Thorne Miniature Rooms. This gallery is so magical, and captured all of our imaginations.

A great afternoon was had by all.

Another highlight of the day was riding the El, even though it was just a short trip around the Loop.

We finished our evening by relaxing at our hotel, which had a great view of Streeterville, the Chicago River, and the Hancock Building, walking down Michigan Avenue (with a stop at Dylan's Candy Bar), and having a great dinner at Volare.

Hotel view.

The next day started (for me) with a 16 degree jog along the river, lakefront, and through Millennium Park.

Funny, where are the other joggers?

Jogging selfie half way through a 3 mile run. The wind was tough at this point (near Buckingham Fountain), thus the face.

Post-run coffee back at the hotel. Joe went to the indoor fitness center, as he isn't as crazy as I am.

We finished out our trip with a late morning brunch at Yolk and a cold-weather walk through Millennium Park to see Cloud Gate (the Bean). It was such a great trip, and such fun to see our hometown in sparkling holiday splendor.

 

Cloud Gate.

天丼 Tendon

 

Hello internet friends! 

As my move back to the U.S. gets closer, there are so many things to do. I've sold most of my furniture and household goods, made all the necessary arrangements for utilities to be shut off, health insurance to be cancelled, and shipped a few boxes of things back to KC. As my kitchen is mostly cleaned out I have been eating out for the past few days, which is a nice way to get out of my empty apartment, and a great way to celebrate and enjoy my last week here in Tokyo. On Saturday I had lunch at a small local restaurant, so adorable in it's localness and with really great and affordable food.

 

The Perfect Sunday Outing in Tokyo: Meiji Shrine and A to Z Cafe

 Entering the shrine.

Last week, my dear friend Emily came from the States for a visit. On her first day here, we headed down to the Harajuku-Omotesando area of Tokyo for what may be my perfect Tokyo outing: the Meiji Shrine and A to Z Cafe. We exited Harajuku Station with all the cool kids and hit up the shrine first- perfectly beautiful, verdant, and calm, despite the throngs of Sunday tourists. 

Shrine gate.

The Meiji Shrine is where Emperor Meiji (r. 1868-1912) is enshrined. It is also a huge shrine in the middle of Tokyo, includes two museums dedicated to Emperor Meiji, and is a large green space, making it a popular site with a variety of visitors. As it relates to the Imperial, and is a lovely natural escape from the concrete expanses of Tokyo, it is one of my favorite spots in the city.

 A small waterfall along the path.

 Pals.

 Sake barrels as donated by breweries.

 Little dude exhibiting proper ritual behavior at the shrine.

 Little dude goofing around (e.g., not exhibiting proper ritual behavior).

 The main area of the shrine.

 We saw a wedding!

 Shrine doors.

 On our way out.

After a bit of walking through Harajuku, and a quick lunch stop, we headed over to the Omotesando area, one subway stop away. If it had not been raining, and us not in the company of a tired-of-walking kiddo, the stretch between the shrine and Omotesando is a nice 15-20 minute stroll along streets filled with beautiful high end retail- in some ways a museum of contemporary material culture combined with the adjacent Harajuku fashion (read: youthful hip). Ultimately, our destination in Omotesando was the A to Z Cafe, which is a project of the artist Yoshitomo Nara.

 Seated.

 Sparkling wine and pumpkin coconut cake. Dreamy.

 Artist kid in a cafe created by an artist who addresses kids. Woah.

Yoshitomo Nara, long a favorite of mine, creates work that has a certain child-like quality to it. While many of his artworks are somewhat disturbing, others focus on the emotions of childhood, and the childhood experience. So, it was completely appropriate that little dude went straight for his blank-page book with his crayons. 

 

Lighting by the cafe entrance.

えんやラーメン Enya Ramen

 

Last week, I was getting ready to make myself a quick rice bowl lunch at home before heading into the research institute for the afternoon when I thought to myself- no, don't just make rice at home, go on a Tokyo food adventure. Live it up. Enter Enya Ramen.  A quick web and Tabelog search came up with the shop near Oji station. They serve shio (salt) broth ramen with chicken broth (I know, cheating vegetarian, but ramen is just not often veg), seabream, sanma, and shallots. It is so savory perfect. Mostly I love the noodle part of ramen, so I'm hoping to explore a bit further afield on my next ramen adventure to find veg ramen. That, and the meat-based broth is a bit oily/greasy for my palette, so I'd prefer something lighter. Enya was a great little shop though, and was voted one of the top new ramen spots in Tokyo back when they opened in 2012. Yum.

 

Kayaba Coffee カヤバ珈琲

 

This is Kayaba Coffee.  It's located not far from the research institute in a neat little neighborhood between Nippori and Nezu stations, and close to Tokyo University of the Arts and the well-known gallery SCAI The Bathhouse. I've been meaning to post an ode-to-Kayaba Coffee for a while now, but finally got some decent photos to do so with. The building was constructed during the Taisho period (I believe 1917), but didn't become a coffee shop until the late 1930s. They serve great coffee and fantastic matcha cake, as well as a changing daily menu. I've only been for lunch, but it is always something light and healthy with lots of veggies. There are usually three options, plus the standard sandwiches. It is affordable, but it really feels like somewhere special-I always leave having had a great conversation and a fantastic meal.

 

Yokohama: The Sogo Museum of Art and Chinatown 横浜:そごう美術館と中華街

Yokohama!

With all of the recent Golden Week holidays the past few weeks have been full of adventures and travels. Last Tuesday, April 29, or Showa Day,  little man and I adventured to the land of his birth- Yokohama. As with many of our explorations, we started our trip by finding the station stamp upon arrival in Yokohama. Most JR stations have unique stamps, and we are collecting them in a special stamp book.

Getting our station stamp.

The main purpose of our visit was to see the Thomas and Friends exhibit at the Sogo Museum of Art. The exhibit included original illustrations from the book series, as well as copies of the original books, and the small engines used in the television series. It also included a play area with wood track and trains, and a few video stations.

 Ticket to the show.

 

 The Sogo Museum of Art, located in the Sogo Department Store, attached to Yokohama Station.

I was concerned that little man might not be into the exhibit, or that we would go through it quickly, but he spent time looking closely at each and every illustration, having me read the labels that described the stories for each, and working through the images to invent his own stories. A true museum goer!  He also acquired his first exhibition catalogue, a serious milestone.

 Art lookin'.

After a few hours at the museum, we took the train over to Chukagai, Yokohama's Chinatown, which is the largest in Japan, to have dinner and do a bit of exploring. It was wonderfully nostalgic to be back in Yokohama, where Joe and I lived for a year, and to show little man around the city where he was born and spent the first half year of his life.

 Chukagai gate.

 Chukagai restaurant. Little dude called the lighting "treasure lamps."

 Mmmmmm......

Another Chukagai gate.