Kairakuen at Mito in Ibaraki

Kairakuen in Mito, Ibaraki is one of the three most beautiful Japanese Gardens in Japan. Every year, public can enjoy plum blossoms viewing during the Mito no Ume Matsuri from mid February to end of March. The park has 100 different types of plum blossoms. Kairakuen was opened by Tokugawa Nariaki to the feudal lords and warriors, as well as the commoners in 1842.

Overlooking the Kairakuen-koen.

Old plum blossom trunks such as this (80 years) twist as the tree age.

The Japanese plum blossoms comes in all shapes and sizes including this, which shapes like a dragon.

A unique plum blossom with green hue.

Weeping plum blossoms.

Pretty shade of pink.

Three of the 10 Mito no Ume Musume (Mito's Daughters of Plum Blossoms)

Kinkan/Kumquat

I discovered kinkan/kumquat recently. It is a kind of citrus fruit that has a sweet skin and a sour (sometimes sweet) flesh. The fruit is oval in shape and has a nice bright orange colour. It is a winter/spring fruit. 

To eat the fruit, first wash the skin. Then cut it into half and remove the seeds. The seeds are slightly bitter in taste. 

Tonki's Tonkatsu at Meguro

I tried Tonki's tonkatsu at Meguro based on a recommendation from my colleague . If you make a reservation, you may not have to queue too long but will be seated on the second floor, where you will miss all the action. I didn't make a reservation and instead queue for a good 45 minutes before I got a seat at the counter.

Arrived at 5.30 p.m. The shop only opens after 4 p.m.

The queue on the right. About 50 people can sit around the counter. 

The second guy from left specialises in taking orders and remembering who is where in the queue. The other guy specialises in cutting the tonkatsu in portions of 70:30. He even got a permanent slouch from his work. The lady on the far right is responsible for cleaning the table when people leave. Another guy is supposed to only put the mustard sauce on the plate. It works like a factory serving good tonkatsu to their continuous flow of customers.

Got the meal at around 6.35 p.m. It was good and authentic.