Sekibeya

I met two friends at Shizuoka Station, and from there we took a bus to get to Sekibeya, a 200 year old traditional Japanese sweets shop. It is located near the Abe River and is open 9 am - 5 pm every day except Thursday. I never would have found this place on my own.

This display shows the sweets that can be ordered.

This place is like going back in history.

All three of us ordered the same thing - mochi with anko and mochi with kinako and sugar, with Japanese tea for 800 yen. What a wonderful treat!

Work In Progress Wednesday

Zipper Pouch progress (all hand stitched)

More cross stitch on leftover fabric (to be finished into ornaments later)

Lunch and Roses

Last week, I met with friends at the home of one of them. We had a delicious lunch and chatted about many things. 

After lunch, we walked to a nearby park, where the Rose Festival was being held. There were many varieties and colors.

I always appreciate getting together with these friends.

Monday Morning Star Count - Four More

 

Tanaka Castle

After leaving the Wisteria Festival, I decided to visit Tanaka Castle, even though I had visited it in 2023. By chance, I came across the second moat of Tanaka Castle, which I hadn’t seen last time.

I also came across Tanaka Castle Ruins on the grounds of a school, that I hadn’t seen last time.

This is the place I wanted to visit, which shows up as “Villa of Tanaka Castle”, on Google Maps.

From the JCastle website:

The history of Tanaka Castle begins with a fortification built by the Isshiki family under the orders of the Imagawa around 1537. The moats and modern castle fortifications were built after Takeda Shingen conquered the area in 1570. After the fall of the Takeda, the castle came under the control of Tokugawa Ieyasu. Ieyasu liked to use Tanaka Castle as a getaway when he was in nearby Sunpu castle. In particular, he used it for hawking. Through the Edo Period, Tanaka Castle saw a succession of of fudai daimyo (hereditary vassals of the Tokugawa) move into the castle. The castle was mostly dismantled and destroyed during the Meiji Restoration. Some of the buildings were sold to individuals and survived until the villa garden and park were restored in 1992.

Tokugawa Ieyasu with his hawk greeted guests.

There are several displays in the two story castle.

There is a view of the grounds from the top.

Two buildings - a footman’s house with stable and tea house are on display.

Inside Tea House

The grounds are very pretty.

The walk back to Nishiyaizu Station is about 20 minutes.