Perfect lunch for a hot day!! Cold soba + tempura! <3

Visited the Ueno zoo today! I really had fun, but the sun was hitting so hard, it was too hot!! But I was so happy to see the Pandas!! They’re so cute 🙂

I couldn’t have imagined that the zoo has over 2000 animals from 464 different species! It’s huge!!! You have to spend the entire day there if you want to see them all!

The polar bear seemed to really enjoy being in the water in this hot day! He was swimming and playing around, it was fun to watch!  (^.^)

Went to my little sister’s school party today at the International French School of Tokyo. My first thought was: wow it’s big!!! It was a nice and sunny day! There were many booths of food and games.

There were so many french people that I really had the impression I wasn’t in Japan, but in France!!!

Every Friday we have an English conversation class with the staff.  Today’s topic was: which one do you prefer, dog or cat? Everyone had to give a reason that explained their choice. It was interesting to hear each answer, but more than that, their determination to improve their English skills.

Today, with Sato-san, Yoshida-san and Yonezu-san, we went at an exhibition in Koenji. While we were there we took advantage and walked around the streets. There were many small shops, actually this neighborhood is well known to have a lot of shops dedicated to second hand articles.

We made a quick  stop at a doughnuts shop “Floresta”, and…it was soooo goooood!!!! Best doughnuts I ever ate!!

Today at G-try we watched all together a movie about the importance of hospitality, customer service, as well as creating a good working environment for the employees.

To illustrate this concept, it gave the example of a hair salon in Tokyo, where all the customers are treated as someone special. They would serve them tea, bring them magazines… but also surprise them when they least expect it. For example, wishing them happy birthday with a piece of cake, congratulating a  young customer who just graduated, even thanking the water delivery guy with a thank you note card on which every single employees wrote on it. It was so incredible to see this…it was truly admirable.

Omotenashi is all about anticipating the needs of a customer in advance in order to offer him/her a pleasant service that he/she doesn’t expect. It is the heart of Japanese hospitality, and a great lesson of life.

I’ve seen a lot of posters featuring these new Haagen-Dazs flavors right now. They are one of a kind! I like that in Japan there are many things that you will never find anywhere else.
I was curious to find out how they taste, so I tried out the tomato and cherry ice cream. Well, the taste is very special, but I prefer by far the white peach and raspberry!  (^.^)

I learned that Yakatabune are privately owned japanese boats, on which you can have dinner, party, and the guests lounge on tatami mats. Apparently they exist since the Edo Period (1603-1868). In this picture that I took, I like the way the traditional and modern world collide.

I find awesome that in Japan there are stores dedicated entirely to snacks!!! So many to choose from! I sure can’t get out of it without buying a little something! It’s a paradise not only for kids, but also for adults!  (^.^)
This one is in Kagurazaka.

On the way to Kyu-Furukawa Gardens, we stopped at this little shop and tasted several wagashi. Their daifuku was so good that on the way back home we stopped again to buy some more.  (^.^)