Japan 2012 - Part 11 (Tokyo)

Two posts in one day. At last, the final post in this Japan series! It has only taken me 18 months to blog it.



My initial plans after afternoon tea were to wander around a few shops (I wanted to get to Muji) and head up somewhere for dinner (I actually can't even remember where it was I was so keen on going). However these plans came to an abrupt end when I noticed another parade going on down Omotesando. It was an anti-fur rally! I was cheering them on when, on a whim, I asked if I could join and jumped into the protest march. I was promptly given a clacker and was soon chanting along. It was awesome! One of the organisers, Mimi, was absolutely lovely and after the march introduced me to some local animal rights activists. Mimi and her family then took me out to dinner, which was lovely. We went back to the Vegan Healing Cafe, which was close to the end of the parade. Good thing we got there early, as lots of other marchers had the same thought!





I ordered the Fried Soy Meat plate, which was OK but nowhere near as good as the Felafel plate! Mimi's son had some pasta, also pictured. The meal ended with some lovely banana cake.

Marching with the rally and meeting Mimi probably ended up being the highlight of my trip! Mimi gave me a card with her email on it, but sadly by the time I got home I couldn't find it. I am sorry Mimi, I am not being rude by not emailing, I just can't find the card no matter how many times I look for it.




The next day was the last morning in Japan, and I wandered off back to the Imperial Palace to have a look at the walls. While I was there, someone asked if I was waiting to see the emperor, apparently he was going to be making an appearance on the way the parliament. However not for several hours, and I had other places to be.






That other place I had to be was back at the Hibiya Chaya, for more amazing food. I started with a Pear and Soymilk Fruyu to drink, because it sounded so interesting. It tasted like pear and soymilk, and was quite nice. I ordered the Vegan Omlette Set, which was absolutely amazingly delicious. Check out that gravy! Yum. And of course, a final piece of Strawberry Shortcake.

Chaya also sells a variety of sandwiches (I got one for the plane) and other assorted groceries, including things like maple sugar and vegan Kewpie. It also sells little packs of cookies, but absolutely do not bring these home for gifts for people because they taste like seaweed. What on earth?

After this I also got a chance to stop into a Muji, where I was able to get some adorable cat silicon molds and cookie cutters. This place has super cute kitchen stuff, so stop in if that is something that you like. Then it was back to the hotel to check out and a long bus ride to the airport.




Before leaving Tokyo I had bought a platform ticket to Tokyo Station and picked up a bento box and a pumpkin muffin from Brown Rice Deli, which was my lunch while we were waiting for the plane. (I had also spent a last half an hour running around the amazingly cute shops that they had in the station).




Once on the plane, as Jetstar do not offer any vegan options even in StarClass, I ate the Avocado Soy Nugget Panini I had picked up from Chaya, with some tomato soup, a leftover cookie and some fruit from the plane. It was a night flight, so breakfast was the bagel I had picked up from Eat More Greens and some more fruit.

Then it was off the plane and a drive home from the Gold Coast to my home to greet my beautiful kitties.

Japan is amazing, if you get the chance to go you should definitely take it! Since I have been, some places have closed but lots of other food places have opened. Check out the Happy Cow List to see what amazing food Japan has for you! More recently, Jojo and Cassie have both had Japan adventures, so check out their blogs to see what they got up to.

If you are looking to stay connected with WiFi in Japan, I highly recommend hiring a portable WiFi device. I hired one from Rentafone Japan, and it was excellent service and a great help being able to consult Google Maps and Happy Cow on the go.




Finally, just a couple of the cute things I brought home with me. I do love kitty things. :)