It had to be said that in this era, as the late Meiji period gave way to Taisho,
the entire Far East was enveloped in a strange atmosphere of division and fusion.
It had a dreamlike quality, with old and new intertwined.
On one side were ordinary people who still retained a strong air of the past and continued living traditional lives.
On the other, under the influence of Western civilization, even municipal streetcar systems had begun spreading across the country.
To describe it with a term popular at the time, it was a so-called "blend of Japanese and Western styles."
But precisely because of that, as long as one had enough money in one's pockets,
Tokyo's fashionable entertainment and refined luxuries were arguably the most flourishing the Far East had ever seen.
They were enough to open the eyes of the Kocho Sisters, who had not lived normal lives in quite some time.
As for Ye Ying,
she was too young to have seen any of it, whether old-fashioned or newfangled.
And so,
the group arrived in Tokyo that afternoon.
First, they followed an itinerary many girls in the Meiji period would have enjoyed and sampled the big city's famous sweets.
When the matcha shiratama and red bean paste dumplings were served,
Shinobu Kocho ate away without much concern.
Kanae, however, ate very demurely because her clothes were so elaborate.
In the end, she had to put down her snacks and help wipe the red bean paste from the corners of her younger sister's mouth.
Afterward, at Xia Xi's recommendation, the group tried one of the Western-style coffee shops currently in fashion.
With money and a little charm from his craftsmanship, Xia Xi successfully persuaded the owner to clear a small space.
There, the Dawn Hashira personally brewed this