Scenes From Japan: Day 2 - Discovering Wataminchi

It's a Monday and we officially started our hell week. We left the hotel at around 7:30 to head to Kumagaya train station which is about 10 minutes away by foot. It was still cold but I guess the mornings are more tolerable than the night because it's just breezy and not windy. By now, I'm starting to get accustomed to all the walking. Besides, after all the rice that we've been eating, I think this walk is just the perfect way to start burning all those carbs up.

Our itinerary for the week has been slightly altered. So we're spending the first two days of our stay here in Japan to train and support our colleagues in Hanyu. They're transitioning to adapt our accounting system so we wanted to be there to help address the issues that they encounter during this pre-closing period. (Okay, I know I'm starting to sound really boring so I'm ending this here.)

Hanyu is about 20 minutes away by train from Kumagaya. I enjoyed that train ride. There's mostly just the view of rice fields and quite suburdan neighborhoods. Most of the houses had vegetable patches (with actual vegetables planted in them) and some even had cherry blossoms in their yard. 

Left Hanyu at around 530pm and went straight to dinner at Wataminchi. My colleagues introduced me to Umeshu (plum wine). It was so good I had two tall glasses. Sharing below photos of today's adventure:

The star of this week's dinner table - Ume-shu

my Filipino colleague's favorite stop. it's just a few meters away from the Kumagaya train station
and not very far from our hotel as well. 

condiments

free salad appetizers, Hiro's black sour sandwich by our Umesours (Umeshu)

Yakitori, Kaarage, Tuna Sashimi

not my best photo but this will do. and no, that isn't my beer glass. hahaha.
i finished 2 glasses of Ume-shu though

Nabe. So good!

giant asparagus in comparison to most asparagus sold in our groceries

patiently waiting for the Nabe to cook

broth so good!!!

Tuna Belly Sushi 

Inside Wataminchi.