For this visit, I will go backwards from the end and work to the beginning! This places the largest section at the end.
I visited Shinjuku for a second time on June 4, 2023. I didn’t see many sights in Shinjuku this time, even though I spent some time wandering the district. (Shinjuku is a maze of tall buildings and flashing neon and if you don’t know exactly where you’re going, it’s easy to get lost.) But I did come across this cute little shrine nestled in between the big buildings. I was surprised to see it in a place such as Shinjuku.
For dinner, I went to a restaurant called Harukor. It is the only Ainu restaurant in Tokyo. The Ainu are the indigenous peoples of Hokkaido, the north island of Japan. Like the native peoples in America, they have faced discrimination and culture erasure, but – also like the native peoples in America – they are meeting with more success in fighting back and reclaiming their culture in modern times. Please enjoy these images of Ainu cuisine and culture from Harukor.
This restaurant is crammed into a very small space. I was surprised by this. But it is cozy!In addition, sitting shoulder-to-shoulder with strangers is a great opportunity to meet and talk with people! I had a great conversation with the Japanese people next to me. Some of the dishes in these pictures were theirs!This is the menu for Harukor. I was happy there was an English version of the menu. As you can see, Ainu cuisine is heavily based on ingredients that can be hunted and gathered from the wild. But this doesn’t mean the food isn’t tasty! It’s very delicious.This was ohaw, fish and vegetable soup. The broth tasted like seawater, except just less salty and fishy enough to not be overwhelming. It was very good.The top is chiporo-imo, potato with salmon roe, and the bottom is rataskep, mashed pumpkin and herbs. The potato was unseasoned except for the salmon roe, which is very salty. So it tasted like normal mashed potatoes with salt, except even better, because the salmon roe added a little extra flavor that you can’t get from just salt. I never would have thought of substituting salt with salmon roe, but it worked great! And the pumpkin dish reminded me of some traditional pumpkin dishes in America, except with different herbs.This was hokke, or grilled mackerel. My neighbors kindly shared some with me, and it was absolutely delicious! I will definitely get this if I go to Harukor again.This is venison, but I’m unsure which menu item. This is another dish my neighbors shared.This is ikagoro, roasted dried squid with guts. This is a very adventurous dish to try. I don’t think it tasted very good, but it was also probably chock-full of nutrients. This is kitopiro, wild alpine leek, prepared as ohitashi, where it is boiled and topped with dried salmon flakes. This dish had very simple flavors.The following pictures are of the decorations inside the restaurant. There are posters of pop-culture references to the Ainu culture, as well as actual items from Ainu culture such as clothes and mats.
Shinjuku Gyoen, Round 2
Even though my first visit to Shinjuku Gyoen had not been very long ago, the garden had almost totally transformed in the few weeks between visits. There were fewer flowers, but leaves had finished growing in on most of the trees, making the garden look very lush and green.
Here are the targets for this visit:
The garden.The greenhouse.
And here are the results of the garden scavenger hunt: 15/15 found 1. Rose ✓ (pictures in the final gallery thanks to there being so many of them) 2. Alstromeria ✓ 3. Southern catalpa ✓ 4. Southern magnolia ✓ 5. Shrub coral tree ✓ 6. Oak-leaved hydrangea ✓ 7. Giant false spiraea ✓ 8. Fish mint ✓ (see pictures in Flowers, Pt. 2 under dokudami, and unlabeled in some pictures below) 9. Deciduous camellia ✓ (also called Japanese stewartia) 10. Oleander ✓ 11. Smooth hydrangea ✓ 12. Hydrangea ✓ 13. Japanese beauty berry ✓ 14. Feijoa ✓ 15. Cape Jasmine ✓
I’m very happy, I found all of them this time! Being more familiar with the layout of Shinjuku Gyoen really helped. Also, lots of different varieties of hydrangea. You’ll see more of them in the final gallery.
Alstromeria (pink var.)Southern catalpa. It doesn’t look like it’s in bloom, but it is. The flowers are just tiny.Southern catalpa. Was unable to get close so I apologize for the blurry picture.Southern magnolia. Reminds me of home!Southern magnoliaSouthern magnoliaShrub coral treeOak-leaved hydrangeaOak-leaved hydrangea, with my hand for scale of the leaves. They were huge!Giant false spiraeaDeciduous camellia/Japanese stewartiaOleanderOleanderSmooth hydrangeaSmooth hydrangeaHydrangeaHydrangeaJapanese beauty berryFeijoaCape jasmineCape jasmine
And the results of the greenhouse scavenger hunt: 12/15 found Some of these targets are the same as last time! 1. Giant white bird of paradise (found the remains of one last time; this was waaay out of season this time) 2. Clock vine ✓ (repeat from last time) 3. Fountain tree ✓ 4. Hybrid abutilon ✓ 5. Jade vine ✓ (caveat – I found this plant during my previous visit, but not this one) 6. Mexican shrimp plant ✓ 7. Jabuticaba (repeat from last time, still unable to locate) 8. Heliconia humilis ✓ 9. Torch ginger ✓ 10. Begonia formosana 11. Lollipop plant ✓ 12. Pink banana ✓ 13. Red banana ✓ 14. Yellow strawberry guava ✓ 15. Powder puff tree ✓ (I missed the flowering of this one…)
I did much better in this greenhouse scavenger hunt than the last one! The greenhouse is harder to find things in – while the space is smaller, you also have to look above and below you for the plants. And, it seems that the information center doesn’t seem quite up to date with the real locations of some plants.
Clock vine. The coverage was less than last time.Fountain treeFountain treeHybrid abultilonHybrid abutilonJade vine (image from previous visit; unable to locate this time). These are flowers, not fruits, despite the resemblance to bananas. Also, it is not related to bananas – it is related to beans like the kidney bean.Mexican shrimp plant. The color isn’t quite at its maximum vibrancy.Heliconia humilis, though it’s not looking 100% happyTorch ginger. This is my favorite target this time!Lollipop plantPink banana – edible!Red banana – also edible!Yellow strawberry guavaPowder puff treeThe remains of the powder puffs (ignore the sign, it’s for another plant)
And finally, here are the other pictures from garden and greenhouse that were not part of the scavenger hunt. Enjoy!
I was lucky – admission was free on that day! Something to do with a day about respecting natural areas?Turtle!This level of green was present all throughout the park.Please enjoy some more pictures of hydrangeas.I didn’t know hydrangeas could look like this!I’ve always seen hydrangeas looking like pretty flower blobs.I love the delicate colors on this one.These little purple flowers are very cute! Unsure what they are, though.Peruvian lilyPeruvian lilyI almost didn’t recognize this corridor from last time. All of the mottled branches were covered in a thick coat of leaves!This tree is called the London plane, or Platanus acerfolia.Look at how big the leaves are! They grew so fast!A return to the rose garden!There are about the same number of roses as on the last trip, except on the other end of the blooming season. Hopefully, there are a bunch of new varieties different from last time.Unknown rosesTrumpeter rosesCherry Bonica rosesMy Granny rosesFriesia rosesInternational Herald Tribune rosesPicasso rosesRyokko rosesNew Dawn roses. Those spikes are huge!Princess Chichibu rosesWestfalenpark rosesJubile du Prince de Monaco rosesF.J. Grootendorst rosesSpring Corsage rosesCocktail rosesMozart rosesMarjorie Fair rosesBallerina rosesBlue Moon rosesRosy Cushion rosesPure Poetry rosesHelmut Schmidt rosesEsmeralda rosesDouble Delight rosesI only barely remembered to take a selfie, oops.A look over the grounds. Shinjuku Gyoen is just as popular as last time.This tree was all wrapped up in a nice coat. Unsure why.An agave cactus! A familiar sight. I wonder how it’s dealing with the humidity…
Greenhouse
A look at the outside of the greenhouse.The plants are as interesting as ever.If there isn’t a label in the picture, I don’t know what it is.Except for pitcher plants. I know those.I know orchids, too.Underneath the flowers in the previous picture. It’s cool how it’s hiding a purple center!The orchids at Shinjuku Gyoen are pretty incredible.Pink pineapple! Unsure if it is edible.A regular(?) pineapple, except unripe.The color and shape of this orchid just blows me away. Wow!
Spectacular pictures, Melissa! So many beautiful, fascinating flowers and trees. Thank you for sharing your adventures.
I noticed there was a stringed instrument at the restaurant! I wonder what it sounds like when played.
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