We had a terrific Saturday in Portland today. Started with a breakfast feast at a diner-like joint up the street coincidentally called The Feast. Nate didn’t have Japanese pancakes, but it was definitely a plate of pancakes the size of Okinawa.
Then we headed to the Japanese garden and it was truly stunning. The bonsai alone were unforgettable. A darling docent told us the story of Jizo the road guardian, and we bought four pairs of chopsticks for our at-home Party Girl rolls. James and I did a quick visit to the Rose Garden and serendipitously smelled a patch of peach roses, out of hundreds. Then we saw the Just Joey sign—the name of our very first rose bush at Baby Jacob’s house. I couldn’t believe it. Followed by a short stop for ice cream at Salt and Straw before we loaded up on Manga at the Japanese bookstore.
Somehow Pokémon is making a comeback in our house. After a short break, we headed over the river to Game Guardians where Nate picked his Pokémon souvenir and was thrilled to get some kind of rainbow Cheryl. He can’t wait to sell poor Rainbow Cheryl. The boys were perfectly trained to find the kid playhouse at Rejuvenation under the stairs. It only took $80 in Japanese products to buy myself uninterrupted time to look around at lighting, hardware, and furniture. Then a short walk to Afuri for a truly memorable meal of gyoza, sushi and a bite of asparagus that was outstanding. We loved our special drinks and tried all of the desserts.
Finishing off the day with Tokyo Olympics. Such a great day. Omayawa mu shindu.