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Sakura, sakura
Apr. 12th, 2009 04:56 pmThey look so young as
They peer at the Muni map
On the shelter wall.
"Where are you going?" I ask.
"Japantown." "Take the 38."
It's cherry blossom time. I went to Japantown. Along with the two Japanese American teenagers from the bus shelter - I cannot decide which was cuter, the boy or the girl - and a significant chunk of San Francisco.
I got permission from the one of the proprietors to shoot photos inside Genji Antiques. (I think she simply appreciated the fact that one of the invading gaijin actually bothered to ask.) Geez , but they have lovely things. The pearl grey silk hitatare. The tanuki tansu in the entranceway. The dolls. The lanterns.
I stumbled u
pon a kaga chochin in their back room! I snuck closer and took it apart while no
one was looking. The bentwood handle is set into a round wooden bottom with a candlespike in it and the paper and cane cylinder lifts off. No clue how old it is, but probably not too terribly old given the condition. I was tempted, but did not plunk down the $75 they wanted for it.
I did, however, break down and buy a dokuri (vintage sake flask) with calligraphy on it. (I discovered the mysterious rattling when I picked it up was caused by the fact that the original cork appears to have ended up inside it.
Despite crowds, I managed to snag a reasonably decent spot at stage right to watch SF Taiko's set and used it as an opportunity to try the "sports" mode on the new camera.They're downloading as I write. (Please, Kannon the merciful, do not ever let Sean-sensei get a wild hair about trying "Yatai Bayashi" out on us. Crunches or not, my Hotei-sama abs are not up to that.)
And it WAS crowded, being a nice day and all. I managed not to leave Kinokuniya with anything except a few scribbled ISBN and titles. I also browsed some of the other shops, and picked up two canvas totes with ukiyo-e prints on them because I'm done with plastic bags from the grocery store and they were cheap.
I had a plate of pretty good yakisoba from one of the street vendors and sat watching an insane line for the takoyaki stand, which was serving takoyaki with no tako (octopus) in it. I know this because they had their ingredients posted and they were made with ground beef and fish stock. Frankly, that was no inducement to join the line. If I'm gonna try takoyaki, I wanna try takoyaki, you know?
I eventually hit critical mass from the crowds and went back up to the Muni stop at Geary and Laguna. The bus was pretty crowded when I got on, but started to clear out as we headed down Geary. A seat opened up - and the boy behind me offered it to me. I said I preferred to stand - bus surfing on a hill with multiple jerky stops is actually easier on my back than sitting down and jolting at every stop. He and his friend took the seat. A stop later, he realized he should've maybe offered it to his girlfriend and jumped up. She rolled her eyes and declined. Again one of the seats is empty. The kids all looked pleadingly at me. I insisted I was getting off in a few blocks and was happier standing. The boy who'd gotten up said, "Somebody should take it." The boy who was still sitting pulled out a roll of candy and set it on the seat beside him when his friend suggested someone at least PUT something on the seat. I grinned, hanging from my pole and said, "There's probably a sociology thesis waiting to be written about all this somewhere." We reached Powell Street. I tried to get around Standing Boy and he mistakenly moved into my way. We danced around each other and I laughed at him until I finally got past and out the door.
They peer at the Muni map
On the shelter wall.
"Where are you going?" I ask.
"Japantown." "Take the 38."
It's cherry blossom time. I went to Japantown. Along with the two Japanese American teenagers from the bus shelter - I cannot decide which was cuter, the boy or the girl - and a significant chunk of San Francisco.
I got permission from the one of the proprietors to shoot photos inside Genji Antiques. (I think she simply appreciated the fact that one of the invading gaijin actually bothered to ask.) Geez , but they have lovely things. The pearl grey silk hitatare. The tanuki tansu in the entranceway. The dolls. The lanterns.
I stumbled u
pon a kaga chochin in their back room! I snuck closer and took it apart while no one was looking. The bentwood handle is set into a round wooden bottom with a candlespike in it and the paper and cane cylinder lifts off. No clue how old it is, but probably not too terribly old given the condition. I was tempted, but did not plunk down the $75 they wanted for it. I did, however, break down and buy a dokuri (vintage sake flask) with calligraphy on it. (I discovered the mysterious rattling when I picked it up was caused by the fact that the original cork appears to have ended up inside it.
Despite crowds, I managed to snag a reasonably decent spot at stage right to watch SF Taiko's set and used it as an opportunity to try the "sports" mode on the new camera.
And it WAS crowded, being a nice day and all. I managed not to leave Kinokuniya with anything except a few scribbled ISBN and titles. I also browsed some of the other shops, and picked up two canvas totes with ukiyo-e prints on them because I'm done with plastic bags from the grocery store and they were cheap.
I had a plate of pretty good yakisoba from one of the street vendors and sat watching an insane line for the takoyaki stand, which was serving takoyaki with no tako (octopus) in it. I know this because they had their ingredients posted and they were made with ground beef and fish stock. Frankly, that was no inducement to join the line. If I'm gonna try takoyaki, I wanna try takoyaki, you know?
I eventually hit critical mass from the crowds and went back up to the Muni stop at Geary and Laguna. The bus was pretty crowded when I got on, but started to clear out as we headed down Geary. A seat opened up - and the boy behind me offered it to me. I said I preferred to stand - bus surfing on a hill with multiple jerky stops is actually easier on my back than sitting down and jolting at every stop. He and his friend took the seat. A stop later, he realized he should've maybe offered it to his girlfriend and jumped up. She rolled her eyes and declined. Again one of the seats is empty. The kids all looked pleadingly at me. I insisted I was getting off in a few blocks and was happier standing. The boy who'd gotten up said, "Somebody should take it." The boy who was still sitting pulled out a roll of candy and set it on the seat beside him when his friend suggested someone at least PUT something on the seat. I grinned, hanging from my pole and said, "There's probably a sociology thesis waiting to be written about all this somewhere." We reached Powell Street. I tried to get around Standing Boy and he mistakenly moved into my way. We danced around each other and I laughed at him until I finally got past and out the door.
