This day was a Monday and I had only one plan: get my Thai visa. My hotel was within walking distance to the embassy and I arrived early, lining up with the other Japanese. They all looked confused as to why a foreign blonde was there... (laugh) I love confusing people these days..
Waiting..
I had prepared all my paperwork very carefully before coming to Japan, so the process was very smooth. The following day, I could pick up my visa. Yay!
After completing that business, I had one dream: to visit the tea shop famous in the book, "Train Man" (電車男). You can read an excerpt from the book, where the characters talk about this tea shop HERE.
My friend Mr. Tokyo, researched the shop's location, which was in Ginza.
I could find the shop easily..Benoist Tea Room. Yay!
The inside was quite fancy. I made sure to wear a dress on this day. ^_^
Of course, I ordered the "Afternoon Tea Set", which included sandwiches, scones and sweets. I selected Darjeeling tea for my first pot.
The tea set:
My tea! (I felt like Lady Hermes here...^_^)
I also drank Apple Tea for dessert:
The best part of this tea set were the maple scones! Holy sheep! They were super yummy!!!! I was in Canadian heaven....
A (Canadian) Maple scone:
I also bought souvenirs here....Darjeeling Earl Grey Tea, which smelled amazing! I bought 2 cans, but I think I might keep one for myself. ^_^
The shop staff were very kind to me, and looked incredibly relieved when I spoke Japanese. There is one thing I learned while traveling in Tokyo -- people really appreciate you more when you can speak the local language. I had many wonderful chats with the shop owners/cashiers everywhere I went; I think this was due to the fact I could speak Japanese. One cashier told me that most foreigners in Tokyo don't speak Japanese at all, so I felt special.
After these nice experiences, I felt this that no matter where you travel -- if you learn the native language, the people of that country will always respect you more. It made me realize the importance of learning languages....the world is not always in English, でしょう？
The Royal Thai Embassy is located in Chiyoda-ku. Site HERE. Open from 09.00--11.45 for Visas. The Benoist Tea Room is located in Matsuzakaya Ginza, 4F. Open from 10.30 ~ 20.00. To get there: take Tokyo Metro to Ginza station, walk 3 minutes. Afternoon tea set is ¥2,100 / person. (800 baht/ $21) Site HERE. (日本語)
Funny side story:
ReplyDeleteI ended up being the only customer in this tea shop. I was like Lady Hermes without Train Man. I was really enjoying myself, but I must have looked kinda sad to the wait staff... eating a gorgeous tea set alone. (laugh)
Oh well, there was no way I was going to share those maple scones.