“Oh, thanks.”
I take a bite of the dango. The texture is chewy like mochi, complemented by a saltiness from the glaze, making it not too sweet. “That’sreallygood,” I tell him.
Haru smiles. “Anything else you want to try?”
“Oh, um.” I take a look around again. Another woman walks past us, holding a rolled crepe in her hand. When I turn to Haru, he’s already off to the food stands. I follow him, offering to pay this time. There are a dozen toppings to choose from. We both get matcha ice cream and fresh strawberries. As we’re eating in the partial shade of a yellowed canopy, I hear music. A procession of men in gray robes appears from the corner, playing bamboo flutes. Haru and I watch them make their way through the crowd, enjoying the performance.
We finish our crepes and continue on. Some of the boutiques have their doors open, displaying their things out on the street. We walk through them together, smelling candles, looking at some of the clothes. There are robes I’ve seen people wearing throughout my trip. I run my fingers over one of them. The fabric is almost paper thin, crinkling to the touch. The sleeves billow like the top of a kimono.
“You should try it on,” Haru suggests.
I shake my head. “No, that’s okay.”
“It’s called a jinbei,” he says, picking it up from the table. “We wear them at summer festivals. So it’s very appropriate for today.”
“I won’t look like a tourist?”
“Not if you’re with me.”
I smile a little. “Alright, if you think I should.”
Haru and I look through the different colors. I decide on the light gray with ocean wave patterns, two red lines running down the shoulders. “The red goes with your bracelet,” Haru says, helping me tie on the jinbei.
“You mean,yourbracelet, right?” I correct him, remembering we switched them earlier.
Haru grins. “Right.”
I pay the woman inside and wear it out of the shop. Even though it’s humid, the jinbei feels nice against my skin. As we continue down the street, I notice Haru hasn’t bought a single thing yet. I’m about to ask where he’s leading us when he finally stops outside a stationery store.
Haru turns to me. “Wait out here. I’ll only be a minute.”
“Yeah, sure.”
I watch him disappear inside. Then I glance around the street. Giant paper ornaments hang in the air, streamers fluttering beneath them like the tails of shooting stars. I would have never known this place existed if I hadn’t followed Haru. Then I remember my camera. I’m supposed to be filming shots for my senior project coming up. I grab it from my bag, turning it on to record some of the shops, the festival decorations, the sound of flutes in the distance.
A moment later, Haru comes outside. He holds a small paper bag in his right hand. I put my camera away and wipe my brow.
“You’re sweating,” he says, noticing.
“I think it’s the jinbei,” I sigh, feeling the hot sun on my neck. “I could really go for a drink right now.”
Haru nods. “I know just the place.”
There’s a used bookstore down the street. Haru leads me inside, where a man is sleeping behind the counter. At first, I think he’s here to pick something up. But he heads to the back of the room and opens a curtain, revealing a narrow staircase. We make our way up to the second floor, where another curtain opens to a hidden café. A cool blast of AC hits my face as I look around. Low wooden tables are separated by shoji screens. I take in the smell of incense as I follow Haru to an empty table. There are no chairs in the room. We sit crisscrossed together on the woven mats as a woman comes to take our order.
The moment she walks off, I take in the rest of the room. “What’s the name of this place?”
“It doesn’t have one.”
“Why is that?”
Haru leans into me. “To keep away the tourists.”
“That makes sense,” I say, nodding. “Thankfully I’m with you, right?”
We smile at each other. A moment later, the woman appears with a pot of tea. Haru gently removes the lid. The pot is filled with loose leaves, sprinkled over ice. “This is koridashi,”he says. “It’s brewed with ice instead of hot water. We drink it during the summer.”
Haru pours me a cup first. The tea is sweet and refreshing, cooling me down instantly. A scroll hangs on the back wall beside a vase of flowers. Haru leans back and sips his tea. His paper bag sits on the floor between us. I’m curious about what he bought. So I finally ask, “What did you get?”
