Sunday 21st Laundry, shrines, flea markets and meeting many fun folks.

For some reason our dirty clothes supply kept growing so we decided to reduce it. The ryokan owner had marked on a map where the local laundromat was so we went to find it. On the way Cindy and Steven took pictures. Finding it in a small alley we noted the time it opened and headed to breakfast. Then we hauled our laundry and started the wash. Then we had coffee at a branch an interesting chain called Makudonarudo. After tossing the clothing into the dryer Cindy volunteered to stay while Steven and I walked about. We spotted some interesting shops and a street with tanuki statues in each light post.

After laundry we headed to Shinjuku to see Hanazono shrine during the day and to check out the flea market there. Cindy and Steven took pictures, especially at the small Inari shrine, which included an impressively sized wooden phallus. When the photo opportunities ran low I suggested we head to another location I was interested in, Golden Gai. As expected Cindy and Steven discovered a wondrous place to photograph. Unexpected was the fact that we arrived during the flea market they hold there twice a year. Each of the little lanes had items laid out and people conversing. One fellow had me shake the trunk of his cloth elephant. While Cindy and Steven took pictures I noticed a fellow photographing Steven so I got both of them taking pictures of each other, then another fellow took pictures of that. We ended up spending several hours chatting, taking more photos and wandering about. In one bar a fellow was playing the shamisen and two women outside were softly singing the song for that tune. I had worn the red Gundam t-shirt I bought at Akihabara much to the delight of several folks.