gurdymonkey | Weekend activities (Reply)

The ever lovely and talented

takadai_no_tora came up to visit this weekend.

Our first stop Saturday, by request, was Daiso Japan over in Daly City. I've mentioned this Japanese 100 yen chain before. For reasons only known to the Klearance Kami, they had New Year's decorations! I now have a shimenawa garland with a lion dancer mask and sprigs of pine on it for Rising Sun camp next year. Since I actually liked the cheap kitchen knife I bought there on my last trip, I got another of the same make in the next size up. Tora got some bargain papers which she uses for bookbinding.

From there, we went into downtown SF to the kimono fashion show at the Asian Art Museum. Having had lousy luck trying to use a camera in the gloomy cavern that is Samsung Hall, last year, I didn't bother trying to get photos. Most of this year's designs by Tomita Nobuaki were keyed to the current Drama and Desire exhibit of Edo period paintings from Boston's Museum of Fine Arts. I rather liked the kimono decorated with kai awase shells, and the red and white butterfly furisode. After the fashion show, we checked out the exhibit itself. My absolute favorite painting has to be this work by Katsuchika Oi.

We wandered across the street to the SF Public Library, who had some ettiquette and ettiquette spoof books on display, then headed up to Japantown. Most of the shops were closed or closing, but we had big slurpy pots of noodles at Mifune, then headed back over to the East Bay for a gelato at the food court in Emery Bay.

Sunday's plan to hit the antique market was scotched when we got there and found an insanely huge line at the gate. I wouldn't be surprised if a recent news article about the market had generated the turnout, because it wasn't exactly a beautiful day - yet. Instead, we hopped BART back into the city and hiked around Chinatown most of the afternoon. Yes, the shopping up and down Grant Street is totally touristy, but I came home with a very pretty choker of jade beads, a silk sleep shirt sort of thing with a dragon on it that is a lot prettier than it sounds if you're thinking Chinatown Tourist Schlock, and a pashmina shawl in green and rust that just spoke to me. I can't remember what all Tora bought, but she got some Mah Jong tile jewelry and a few other goodies of her own. At one point we were walking up Bush Street and I glanced up and saw we were passing a very pretty church, Notre Dame des Victoires. We went in. It's a mid 19th century confection with very pretty windows, and it was founded by French immigrants who'd settled in SF.

We had a rather lateish lunch at the Far East Cafe - a cavernous restaurant that looks like something out of a 1930s movie with massive lanterns hanging from high ceilings, dark paneling and small private booths along one side of the room. I had the roasted pork and oyster hotpot, which turned out to be generous on the oysters, making up for the rather fatty bits of pork.

All in all, an enjoyable, if busy weekend.