First things first. Breakfast.
Knives and forks and napkins and salt and pepper. Nothing raw except the cantaloupe. Even the tomato was grilled. No fun here.
By the time I finished breakfast it was over 90°. Next stop was 7-Eleven where I picked up a cheap umbrella. No self-respecting. Japanese woman would be out on a day like today without an umbrella.
Then I started walking to an origami studio I wanted to visit. That didn’t last long. On the Marunouchi Line for a couple of stops then 15 minute walk to the shop/studio.
It was wonderful. The shop has been in the family for 170 years. (William Henry Harrison was president then.) The main business is hand made paper. Origami is a charming sideline. Kazuo Kobayashi is called the Director of the business.
His English is better than Japanese. We talked a great long time. I showed him the wreaths that Absara and I made last year. He gave me a square of paper and he took another and we proceeded to each fold one of those roses. I was surprised that I remembered how to do it and even more surprised that he recognized it from my photograph. And this being Japan we had to take pictures of each other.
By the time I left it was 99°. That’s just too hot for me.
I made it back to the hotel. And didn’t do a heck of a lot for the rest of the day. Until it was time to go find dinner.
