Three Days in Tokyo

We've been busy little bees, flitting from one job to the next and trying to fit in little trips in the meantime. Sorry for the delay in posting, but I hope this post -- the first in a series of three on our trip to Tokyo -- eases any feelings of bitterness/anger/depression you may have been feeling. Because I know how important reading this must be to most of you ;-)

DAY ONE

Chad, Yasu and I took a night bus to Shinjuku and arrived at about 5:30 AM. That's right, 5:30. You probably remember what a chipper morning person I can be, so I'm sure you can imagine how (un)happy Yasu and Chad were as I forged into the city in search of coffee. Luckily it didn't take too long to find a cafe where we could eat breakfast and hang out for a couple hours while we waited for things to open up. We were also lucky that it was such a beautiful day and that we were surrounded by interesting buildings like this one:

After breakfast, we left to drop off our stuff at The Washington Hotel.

After stopping at the hotel, we were off to Harajuku -- making a quick stop at Meiji Shrine first. It was really tough to pick only a few pictures of Harajuku, but here is a peek at some of what we saw in the famous city:

It was super crowded, and mostly with teenage girls! There were some interesting sights (and people!), but my favorite part of Harajuku was a little restaurant tucked away called Blue Garden.

(Left to Right)
1. Chad and Yasu thinking about where to go after lunch
2. Salad from an awesome salad bar, and a 100 yen beer (about $1.00 USD)!
3. Pizza-in-a-Cup
4. Cool guys
5 & 6. Carubonara Raisu in a stone bowl (it continued cooking after it was brought to the table!)
7 & 8. Chad's Curry Rice dish -- so yummy!
9. Eating fondue
10. Yeah, did I mention fondue in #9? Because it was part of the salad bar. And it was amazing.
11. Once again, amazing.
12. Flowers to celebrate the restaurant's recent opening

After a really wonderful lunch, we headed to Yoyogi Park. We got to see some pretty interesting people around every corner, including dancing Elvises (Elvi?).

Pretty sure this was a man...

We thought this girl's look was pretty impressive:

This guy was a mime-rabbit:

And these guys were the two most interesting people in the park that day!

We had been walking for hours and it was quite hot, so we headed back for a nap and a shower (finally!) at our hotel. After a brief respite from Tokyo-overload, we headed out for a little shopping and dinner. Sorry to report that I've forgotten the name of the ramen restaurant we went to and where is is exactly, but I feel like you can still take some time to drool over its glory. Chad's ramen is pictured on the left in the middle, and he says it was the spiciest ramen he's ever eaten (see his picture directly below the ramen--he's sweating!). I ordered salt and butter ramen (pictured on the right in the middle). So healthy! ;-)

And so came the end of our first day. There was so much to take in, we couldn't imagine what lay in store for us on day two. Can you? We'll be posting soon to let you know!

Our Pizza Party, Weekly Ramen Night and the Loop

A couple weeks ago, Chad and I tried pizza for the first time since we've been in Japan. We had a pizza "party" at our apartment with two of our friends, and with interesting choices like Seafood with Soy Sauce, Potato & Curry with Tartar Sauce, or Potato Special, we knew we were going to have interesting flavors bouncing on our taste buds. Of course, there were some more normal sounding options, like Hawaiian or Mexican or BBQ Chicken, but even so the pictures of the pizzas looked very different from those back home. We ended up choosing a Large Spicy Tuna pizza and a Large Pepper Roast Chicken Pizza.

Below is the Spicy Tuna. It had BBQ sauce, tuna, red pepper, black pepper, garlic, onion, two types of sausage, mushrooms, parsley and double cheese. At the equivalent of 34.00 USD, it was pretty nummy, believe it or not!

Here is the Pepper Roast Chicken (~$29.00), which was my favorite. It had mayonnaise, mustard mayo, roasted chicken, potatoes, black pepper and double cheese. MMM!

Although pizza is a rare--and expensive--treat, something we spoil ourselves with more often is our weekly trip to Kitakata Ramen. Kitakata, meaning "north place," is originally named after a city in northern Japan that is famous for its delicious ramen. The restaurant in Yokkaichi doesn't disappoint, either. Much better than any package ramen in the US, the ramen sold in shops in Japan is hearty, filling and delicious. Kitakata Ramen offers two noodle choices: futomen, or thick noodles, and hasomen, thin noodles. There are also several types of flavors and ingredients from which you can choose, but we usually go with the basic kitakata ramen with tamago (egg) topping.

We also enjoy gyoza and an occassional beer.

Other than our food adventures, we've had some other neat experiences as well. Friday night we went to a really interesting Japanese arcade called The Loop. Upon entering, you are given a bracelet to wear. Each time you want to play a game, use the crane machines, go fishing (for real fish!), play darts, or whatever you like, you scan your bracelet across the front of that game, and it adds the price to your bracelet. When you leave, the total is calculated and you pay. Below is the bracelet.

(I couldn't get very clear pictures because I couldn't use my flash)

Above is an example of the price box that you swipe your bracelet over. This game would add 350 yen to your total (about $3.50 USD). The first game Chad tried was a boxing game, and it cost 90 yen.

After that, we all played table tennis. It was 300 yen for 30 minutes, plus an unlimited drink bar during that time. SO much fun!

Yasu and Chad playing air hockey:

We also tried Purikura, these little booths in which you take lots of snapshots with you and your friends before decorating them and printing them as little stickers. The only downside is that everything is timed, so you generally have to move pretty fast. Considering how popular Purikura is, the time limit makes sense.

A rather scary aspect of the payment system at The Loop is that there is a whole floor for gambling. Like many casinos in the US that are now offering customers the convenience of paying by credit card, customers here can just swipe their electronic bracelet. Here are some pictures of the horse racing games. In the first one, you can see actual miniature-sized play horses racing around a track. It was crazy! In another game, players bet based on the very realistic animation appearing on the large screen in front of them.

Place your bets!

Needless to say, it was a very fun and amusing night! And to top it off, we made it outta' that very addicting place spending less than $15.00 between the two of us!

Golden Week

When the end of April hits, everyone is abuzz about what they will do for Golden Week (the first week of May). During Golden Week, a series of holidays fall right in a row; thus, many people are out of school and/or off work on paid holidays. Chad and I filled our time off with a good mix of relaxing days at the apartment, and a little local traveling.

The first day that we traveled, we went to Kyoto (Japan's former capital). One of the most preserved and beautiful areas in Japan, Kyoto is a popular tourist site. It has always been one of my favorite places in Japan--there is so much established history, exciting culture, beautiful and historic buildings and gardens, and delicious food! We arrived in Kyoto around 10:30 in the morning, and decided to go to Tenryu Temple first.

Chad took this shot in part of the garden. It was so beautiful (and so BIG!). It is no wonder that Tenryu-ji is an official World Heritage Site.


Inside the temple, there were several interesting paintings. Among them was this large daruma painting. As daruma figures are modeled after Bodhidharma, the monk often credited as the father of the Zen sect of Buddhism, it is understandable that such figures can so often be seen in Buddhist temples. Tenryu-ji is a head temple of Rinzai Zen Buddhism.

Such a sunny, warm day!

After spending a couple hours walking around the area, we started to get pretty hungry. Our friend Tomo drove us to a cool udon shop and we were able to enjoy a very delicious meal! Below, we are smiling for a quick picture before eating a great lunch of udon and tempura!



After lunch, we were ready for round two. And not just sightseeing--it was time for dessert! We headed to one of Kyoto's most famous sites: Kiyomizu Temple. On the way up to the temple, all kinds of traditional shops line the road. Our first stop was at an ice cream shop for sesame ice cream. I knew Kyoto was famous for its green tea ice cream, which is very delicious, but Tomo told us we had to try the sesame flavor.

Mmm! Delicious! And almost no sesame flavor *haha* !

Tomo, Chad and our friend Tomoko standing in front of the temple. Hisashiburi, Kiyomizu-dera! (Long time no see!)

Kiyomizu Temple, too, is a National Heritage site, with beautiful architecture, and beautiful views.


We were lucky to come this year--parts of the temple were open to the public that generally remain closed. Every hundred years, people are allowed to temporarily enter such areas, though photography is prohibited. Coinciding with this anniversary is the above exhibition of Buddha's strength. Chad and Tomo can't lift the staff in the middle--even when they try together!

A monk outside the temple

After leaving Kiyomizu Temple, we spent hours wandering the city (we passed through Gion, but didn't spot any real Geisha). Before we knew it, is was past 9:00! And...we were hungry again!

We headed to a kaiten sushi restaurant, and got a little daring with our choices. Chad tried little squid sushi (pictured below), and I tried sea urchin. Just remembering the yellow, fishy-smelling paste makes me nauseous, but Chad was lucky enough to enjoy the squid.

All in all, it was a pretty good day.

Our next Golden Week adventure took us to Matsusaka, a city in Mie with beef that rivals that of Kobe. We didn't try any beef, but we got a taste of a little Matsusaka flavor not many others can claim to have tried.

We set off with our friend Tomo again, joined by two of our Canadian friends: Doug and Danielle. Our destination was a music party. At the time, we didn't know exactly what this "music party" was going to involve. On the way to the party, we were asking Tomo all kinds of questions that reflected our uncertainty: "Where is this party again? What kind of music did you say they were going to be playing? What kind of food is there?" Once we arrived, our worries vanished in seconds.

We pulled up to a beautiful cottage. Surrounded by trees, valleys, a small barn with a pony, and a little chicken coup, I had to pinch myself and ask, "Are we back in Michigan?" We walked inside to one of the most amazing, airy, smartly constructed homes I have ever had the pleasure of entering. Not only was the home wonderful, but the atmosphere! Inside, there were several people huddled around the kitchen making all kinds of traditional food! We found out it was all organic, and in a matter of minutes, we also got to find out how a lot of it was made.


Above, Danielle happily sets to work making sweets. She is taking rice balls and rolling them in sweet soybean flour (right) or sesame seeds (left). We also got to make gyoza (fried dumplings) and sweet red bean paste-covered rice balls.



So far, the party was so much fun! We couldn't wait to try the food. But first, it was time to hear the starting band. Believe it or not, it was a cover band of the Police! We got to hear hits like "Roxanne" ("You don't have to put on the red right") and "Message in a Bottle." They kept saying, "We're robbers!"--despite our insistance that they are actually a cover band.

The "Robbers"

Caitlyn and Tomo

Danielle, Doug and Chad

A drummer from Tokyo


Okay, time to eat!!!

Vegetables with avocado dip, pitas stuffed with lettuce, tomato and egg, stir fry with meat substitute (looked like beef!), gyoza, mini pizzas, home-brewed sake and wine, and soooooo much more. We were happy eaters, to say the least.

After dinner, it was time to settle down and listen to the last band. We listened inside, this time, munching on snacks and filling our already-too-full bellies. The lights were dimmed, and easy, low-key jazz filled the room.

Before we left, the owner of the house thanked us for coming (shouldn't we have been thanking him!?!?!), and gave each of us a horseshoe. Everyone was so friendly and kind. We will definitely cherish the memories we were able to make that day.

Our last Golden Week journey brought us to Akame, near the city of Iga. Akame, literally "red eye," is an area known for the origination of ninjitsu (a Japanese martial art) and ninjas. Although we didn't see any ninjas, we made fools of ourselves pretending to be them.

Notice our sweet hats? Chad wasn't messing around when he said he wanted one. And it just so happened that it was pouring that day, so we all decided to go with the trend.

Akame's main lure is its 48 waterfalls and its giant salamandars. Taking on an 8 kilometer hike, we treked forward to see them for ourselves.

Before you start the trail, you go through a little aquarium, and I couldn't help wondering, "What the heck are these!?!?!" These little buggers really freaked me out. They look like little dragons or something!


So weird... Anyway, onto the hike. Below are a few of many pictures taken on the rainy, but beautiful, day.

Chad, our friend Yasu, Doug and Danielle

After a long, wonderful day in Akame, we headed back to the apartment for a nummy dinner of tonkatsu (pork cutlets), gyoza and edamame. The next day we relaxed and did some lesson planning, and before we knew it, we fell back into the groove of our normal work week. What a vacation!