Japanese traditional parasol (wagasa) by a traditional sweets and tea shop. This gave me a feeling of being in Kyoto, the former capital of Japan.
Years ago, I first landed in Osaka, Japan, to a place that became my new home. I worked in the city for two years. I really loved it but my job and family situation changed and I eventually moved to another city. Eleven years after moving from Osaka, I decided to visit my “old town”. It was a bittersweet experience. It was sweet being back but it was “bitter” seeing how much things had changed. Before visiting, I had heard that my former landlord had passed away, his wife was quite elderly and was hospitalized. That was a bit sad but I thought I’d re-visit the town anyway.
There was an old sweet shop at the end of the road where I used to live. At the time, it had a history of about ninety years. I was hoping it would have been there but it was no longer in sight. It must had been hard for them to decide to close. The owner at the time was quite elderly and would often call me to give me some sweets. We had some “highly gestured” conversations in an effort to understand each other. I wish I had at least remembered her name.
As I walked the streets, eleven year old memories flooded my mind. In those streets I had my first Japanese conversations. I remembered being uncertain of things I should say and deciding to just open my mouth and “try”. It felt good walking down memory lane but at the same time, I felt confused. Places I remembered and searched for, were no longer around. It felt like trying hard to grasp and contain sand in the palm of a hand. The memories were there but somehow seemed to be escaping or were just hard to keep in tact. With all the changes I had observed, I realized that there were three places that remained the same. These were a tea shop, a snack shop and a Daiso (100 yen store). They saved the day.
They were in the same location and helped to pivot my past experiences.
I clearly remembered the tea shop because it was where I had my introduction to Japanese tea culture. I remembered how hospitable the tea shop owners were. While their faces were a blur and I could see that they had aged, their hospitality remained the same. I knew that they were the same people I had met over a decade ago. I considered striking up a conversation to remind them of times past. It had been so long and I hadn’t stopped by the shop often enough. They would have met so many other foreigners over the years. Instead of striking the conversation, I smiled, waved and bowed. Maybe in my mind, I said, “thanks”. I was grateful that the shop had remained and had helped me in connecting the dots. It remains a precious “unspoken” memory.
I walked through the Daiso and stopped by the snack shop. There, I would usually buy many snacks for my co-workers and friends. I decided to strike the conversation there. I mentioned to the clerk that I had lived in the area many years ago and that so much had changed. She agreed that in that number of years, many things would have been different. Assuming she was in her early twenties , she would have probably been an elementary student when I used to live in the area. I could feel the “sand slipping through my hands” but appreciated the conversation.
A mall close to home is being restructured. My family recently decided to check out all the new stores and shops already in place. We enjoyed “touring”. There were so many changes. This particular experience somehow reminded me of the visit I took to my old town in Osaka. This time however, I could actually see some of the changes unfold as renovations are still going on.
We saw two new cafes, a shop selling tea and traditional sweets and a big Daiso (100 yen shop). The tea shop had a big red parasol (wagasa). I loved the ambience it created. We hadn’t realized that there was so much going on in the area. We walked along and saw “Excelsior Caffe”. I did notice that “caffe”was spelt with two “f’s” but before I could ponder that enough, the drink special and pasta being offered, drew my attention. I’m yet to have the drink but “Espresso Meets Orange”, seemed quite inviting.
Recently opened - Excelsior Cafe
Drink special- Espresso Meets Orange
Pasta being offered at Excelsior Cafe
We continued to look around the facility. As soon as we got to the 4th floor, we were greeted by a lovely book cafe. There was a big bookstore. I could see friends and family drinking, dining and reading away. I strolled around the bookstore and found a kids’ section. I checked out the decor, menu and serving section of the cafe.
I thought to myself,” Hmm… such lovely additions to the mall”.
Lovely decor-gives a modern yet cultural feel
Though just touring the new compound, I had to get close to the menu to see what was actually being offered. They did well with the concept of the book cafe. Going through I could feel “traditional Japan” and “modern Japan”. This too I believe was reflected in the menu.
They had a good selection of drinks with traditional Japanese sweets. They had three kinds of warabimochi(traditional sweets)drink. There was one with organic matcha, another with hojicha ( a kind of green tea) and another with brown sugar and black honey.
There were so many other items. I would say there was a good variety. There were shakes and smoothies, juice floats, doria, pasta, waffles, grilled sandwiches coffee and tea.
The tea menu included **chamomile, earl grey and royal milk. **The coffee menu included, cafe mocha, espresso, cafe latte and cappuccino.
Enticing menu
Kids’ book section.
We enjoyed seeing the new attractions and loved the old Japan-new Japan ambience. The changes in my old town and new, create a merge of experiences.
Things change.
Thank you for reading my post. Have a lovely weekend. 😃
