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mtfujishadow:

Day One, Part Two

After Yoyogi, we headed to Shibuya where we were on the hunt for two very specific stores, a sort of impossible task given the complexity of the area. We wandered around looking for these shops for a long time, a couple of hours I would guess. Having given up on one, we quickly found the other, and it wasn’t until we asked, very badly of course, two policemen, we found the other.

And then.. the Cat Cafe. If I lived here, I would probably go broke because of these places. Getting coffee or juice or soda and getting to play with and pet kitties is probably one of the finest experiences in life. Unfortunately, there was a very sweet Japanese guy who hogged all the kitty love. While we were washing our hands - part of the rules before you get to pet the cats - three kitties got in a play fight and ran under Jason’s feet, giving us all a shock and a laugh.

We came back to the hotel where I took a much needed nap.

Being sick in a situation like this is definitely a challenge. It’s nothing major, just a cold, but when your head is full and your body aches, the instinct is to stay in and sleep until you feel better, but I can’t have come this far just to sleep. I medicate myself using what medications I brought, thankful I thought ahead to this vital “just in case” moment, and keep tissues constantly at hand. (Jason is, of course, doing everything he can to make sure I feel better as soon as possible. “Eat that, it’s good for you.”  “Drink this, it’ll make you feel better.” “Have soup, you need it.”)

Our dinner was a place we had seen while out wandering last night, a lovely sushi place that was deceptively simple in design.

We had horse meat. Horse sashimi. (Raw horse meat.)

I’m not kidding. It was the reason we went to that place. I had read that horse meat is more tender than beef, better in flavor. I’m not going to lie, I am not a fan. The flavor was fine, but I was thrown off by the texture. It was fatty, which I didn’t like, and greasy. The ponzu sauce we dipped it in helped a little bit, but I’m honestly glad I didn’t enjoy it that much. I’ve read about old racehorses being sold to places like Japan and it made me sad to read about it, but at the same time, how can you not try it at least once? This is what I came here for, to experience things I wouldn’t think of trying in my every day life.