Spying on turtles at Kiyosumi Gardens

Last week I mentioned how, back when we were still living in Tokyo, the duck and I went to a garden before we admired a lovely Kawawa Chizuru 猫魚姫 (cat fish princess) exhibition and had a delicious sorbet brioche. Said garden was Kiyosumi Garden. After meeting our lovely tour guide friend at Kiyosumi-shirakawa station, it only took a few minutes and a minuscule entrance fee until we could enjoy a nice and refreshing (as refreshing as a humid summer day in Tokyo can be) stroll around the lake, marveling at the peaceful scenery – and the turtles! At one point one of the turtles even got out of the water, started following us around (maybe plotting to bite us, as our friend theorized) and then posed for some photos surrounded by other park visitors. Our fond respect for turtles definitely increased even more that day! Of course we also enjoyed seeing all the cool birds and fish.

If you ever visit (Eastern) Tokyo, the duck and I highly recommend checking out Kiyosumi Gardens. At around ¥150 the entrance fee is super affordable for getting the opportunity to admire all that wonderful flora and fauna – and maybe even have your own memorable turtle encounter.
If you have some free time after, we suggest strolling around the area surrounding this beautiful garden, maybe having some tasty coffee or an ice cream filled brioche and visiting a Buddhist temple, as we did that day before the duck and I went to Shinjuku (a mere 20-25 minute subway ride away) to meet up with some old and new friends, including our Kyoto, Edo-Tokyo, Akita and Kamakura (among other little adventures) travel pal.
That was one of our last mini adventures in Tokyo, and the duck and I are so happy that it turned out so memorable and, well, perfect.
Have you ever experienced such days – days that turned out better than you could have imagined when you woke up in the morning?

⁓Ice Cream Brioche⁓ #sorbetactually #refreshing #kiyosumishirakawawalks #learnaboutoneofourfavoriteartists #TBT

The duck and I don’t eat out much these days. Therefore, daydreaming about all the nice things we ate in the past has become one of our favorite pastimes. Recently, with the summer heat keeping us from sleeping through the night sometimes, we’ve started craving a big serving of sorbet – which is best enjoyed together with a friend, ideally after a day of exploring nice gardens, a pretty exhibition (we were lucky to see one featuring Kawawa Chizuru’s lovely Nyangyohime, cat fish princess, watercolors – and going by what we did last week, you can bet how thrilled we were!) and lovely old neighborhoods, as we did about two years ago when we took a rest at Brigela with our favorite Ginza guide! As the name suggests, this shop’s main attraction is ice cream hugged by a fluffy brioche. So, of course, that’s what we got! The duck and I went with two sorbet flavors: melon and pineapple (I think). We were a bit worried about whether the sorbet would work inside a milky, buttery brioche, but, I don’t know what we worried for! This was definitely the most refreshing and one of the most delicious snacks the duck and I have tasted in Japan! 5/5 cat fish princesses for the delicious sorbet brioche and the wonderful company ❤

Talking about cat fish princesses: Do an image search for 猫魚姫 on your favorite search engine, if you like, to see what all the hype is about! We got to chat with Kawawa Chizuru at her solo exhibition and she was truly lovely. The duck and I need to study some more Japanese so that, one day, we can casually check her website to see what’s new.