Cafe Ma Maison

 Sato and I wanted to get some coffee so we came here. Cafe Ma Maison! The windows aren't frosted, it's just steamy from the heater that is blasting at high heat inside.

 If you see this ice cream cone outside a restaurant or cafe your chances are very good that they serve ice cream!

 It was pretty late in the day when we came here so their cake display is a little low, but still looks very appetizing!

 The decor inside this place was really nice. It was relaxing in here. Also, considering that the chairs were made of wood and had no cushions they were pretty comfy!

 When you look at these chairs, comfy isn't exactly the word that first comes to mind, but they were.

 You can see what the other side of the cafe looks like from where I was sitting. This is a mirror so it's a reflection of what I was seeing. You can see one of the employees behind the counter and a couple customers on the other side of the cafe. You can see the Halloween decorations that they put up. It's an American holiday, but people like to decorate for Halloween in Japan. Some people even get dressed up and go to clubs or a party.

 Sato and I waiting for our order.

Our table post-arrival of our order. I had the Ma Maison latte, it was really good! I would definitely order it again. Sato had the organic coffee which came in the kettle pot that he got to pour himself. We also ordered the raspberry torte which had fresh whipped cream and custard with some raspberries and one blueberry on top. Delicious!

A Public Telephone

This is what a public telephone looks like in Japan. They are all neon green and they have been for years. I think this one has been here for years. I'm surprised at how dirty it is considering how nobody uses a pay phone anymore...How old is this thing?

Sushi Extravaganza!

 Here is all the sushi that Sato and I bought at the grocery store. We got it all at 30% off because we bought them after 8pm. The first discount about 20% happens around 7pm and then the second mark down. I'm sure there is a 50% mark down when it gets to be an hour before closing time. They need to get ride of the fresh fish or it just goes to waste. It's not exactly fresh fish anymore the next day, so they have new fish for the following day. If you get off work late at night while the grocery store is still open it's great, but of course you can only choose from what is left over. If you are lucky there are still some good stuff left, but if the grocery store is lucky there is nothing left. This happens in all grocery stores and not just the fish, it's also the deli food!

This was only about 200 yen off, but it had some good stuff in there!

YUM!

This is my kind of buffet!

This squid was really good! It wasn't tough nor did have a fishy smell! It was sooo good! I got to sit at the fish end so I was in Heaven!!

Tokyo Banana

 Ok, I know this has nothing to do with Nagoya, but I just had to put this up. I LOVE Tokyo Banana! They are known for their banana shaped cake with a banana cream filling and it is soooooo good! But, they also make a lot of other cakes and cookies that are also good. For instance, this Baumkuchen is from Tokyo Banana. It is a banana and chocolate layered baumkuchen.

Sato had gone to Tokyo for the weekend and he brought back an "Omiyage" (a gift) for me. He had actually gone the weekend before too and he had brought back the Tokyo Banana that I was talking about. I would have shown you a picture of them, but......they were so good that I ate them all without even thinking about taking a single picture of one. Sorry! 

If you are in Tokyo or are going to Tokyo, this is something that you should try! They have a lot of different items, but the Tokyo Banana, Kurobe (a chocolate version with a Banana cream filling), and this Baumkuchen is so delicious it would be a crime to not try at least one of them while you are in Tokyo. If you forget to locate this and are at the airport buy a box and take it home with you, either as a gift for someone, or as a little extra gift to yourself. I think only Haneda airport has a store that sells them, but there may be one in Narita airport. I hope you get a chance to try them!

A Bus Stop In Japan

 This is one of many bus stops in Japan. Depending on the area and bus company the bus stop will be a little different. Some even have a shelter to help keep you dry when it is raining or to give you shade when it is really hot outside.

 Here is the schedule for the bus. They put in a paper time sheet so they can change the times if they need to.  This is the weekday schedule, there is a weekend/holiday schedule below.

It Was Cheap, But It Was Good!!

 This is the set that I had. In the middle bowl is chicken, potatoes and some green onions in a broth. The flavor was simple, but good! The upper right bowl is cold tofu (I poured soy sauce on top later) and the bottom right bowl is fried chicken......delicious. The upper left bowl is red miso soup with wakame and green onions. I think everybody can tell that the bottom left bowl is rice, but the two dishes above the middle bowl is probably not obivous. The left one is Natto, or fremented soy beans, I really like Natto, but it's not for everybody. The right one is Takuwan or pickled Japanese radish. They both go very well with rice!

 This is the set that Sato had. The bowl on the right is Udon. Th bowl on the left is tuna and nagaimo (a type of potato that gets sticky when it is grated) on top of rice.

Here is a close up of the tuna. I'm thinking it was really good, because he inhaled his food and made yummy noises. lol

Japanese Graffiti

I love this graffiti! Sato and I pass this parking lot on or way to our favorite coffee shop. I always look at this piece of art when we pass by. According to Sato, this graffiti wall art has been here for about 5 years. There are some pretty cool graffiti art in Japan like this one, but there are also the uncreative graffiti initials. Which, truthfully are really annoying, because it doesn't do anything to enhance the surroundings. At least this is interesting, way to go Evil Dots Crew!

Japanese Buffet

 There was so much food! I ate way too much! The food that was good was really good, and the food that wasn't good was really blah. It was a hit or miss depending on what came out of the kitchen.

Food continuously kept coming out of the kitchen. Each time the food disappeared from this table a new dish would come out. They had about 40 different varieties so that the same dish didn't come out again right away. Plus, people can only stay for 2 hours max. and the likelihood of running into the same dish again is pretty slim. I wish they had better desserts though, they didn't have any cakes or anything. It was mostly jellies and mochi. The coffee jelly was good, the mango jelly was not.

Nabana No Sato

 The first of many flowers that I took pictures of at Nabana. I have no idea what kind of flower this is, but I liked it so here it is!

 Begonia house. There were so many different colors of Begonias. I've never seen so many in one place.

 Hanging flowers in the Begonia house...is this a Begonia too? I don't know the different species of flowers so please forgive me if you do know.

 Here is a view of all the different colors that were available. It was like this all around the room, plus the flowers that were hanging from the ceiling.

 Another hanging flower pot.

 This was in the next room that is connected to the Begonia house. Again, I have no idea what this flower is called, but it's Pretty!

 Some foliage.

 And some more foliage.

 Here is Sato looking at some flowers. You can see some of the hanging flowers.

 Here is a wide view of what the rooms looked like, with the hanging flowers and potted flowers.

 Maybe some kind of moss?? All I know is this was growing on the ground like moss and it had a very interesting texture.

See? Interesting texture, no?

 This flower was really interesting. The pink part is the flower. I've never seen flower grow like this before.

 These looked like cat tails. They were all fuzzy.....and pink. Ok, cat's don't have pink fur, but other than that they look like cat tails.

 Sato not being able to pose normally for a picture.

 Sato and I in front of some more Begonias.

 This pond had Begonia petals floating on the water.

 Close up of the pond with the floating Begonias.

 Dahilas! This is the Cosmos and Dahlia field. I liked the Dahlias the best. Apparently, they pull out the cosmos and replace them with other plants for the winter. They light up the park for Christmas time.

 A close-up of the Dahlia flower.

 The Field of Cosmos. Say Bye, because they won't be here for much longer!

 The view of the entire Cosmos field.

 Sato making a face, because he didn't want me to take his picture. lol

 Sato and his mom in front of the Cosmos field.

Sato and I in front of the Cosmos field. Ok, I'm done with the flower pictures! This is the last one. Hopefully, you enjoyed at least some of them!