A (Field) Trip to Little Tokyo

Tok-tok-tok-tok-tok go Little T’s and Little Sir’s clogs, or bakya in Filipino. My children are wearing their kimonos – an orange-and-yellow hand-me-down costume for my girl and a white bath robe for my little boy.

We’re having fun,  we’re learning, we’re delighting in Masako Matsuno’s “A Pair of Red Clogs.” First published in 1960, it was recently reprinted by Purple House Press, savior of the “finest in children’s books,” for the present generation to enjoy. It is the story of how Mako almost tells a lie to get her mother to buy her another pair of clogs – geta. She has cracked her shiny and much-admired new ones while playing with her friends.

Last Sunday, we headed out to Little Tokyo in Makati City to experience a bit of Mako’s culture and to celebrate Grandparents’ Day. Little Tokyo is a small cluster of Japanese restaurants along Pasong Tamo Extension.

We bought some food items from Choto Stop, a grocery store.  It was a great place to observe people as we were the only non-Japanese there.  Little T stared in amazement at two Japanese nationals bowing and talking to each other in their own language. She also recognized an item – KoolFever.

Little Tokyo has a charming courtyard where patrons can dine. I think it would be beautiful at night when the lanterns are lit!

 

But we needed to experience the Japanese way of eating. So we peeked into several restaurants and chose Nodasho for its small rooms and low tables. We were lucky that the food was great too! Whew!

We’re still not done with “A Pair of Red Clogs.” There are still several more days for my children’s clogs to go tok-tok-tok-tok-tok. I’ll just cover my ears.