Tripping Far Side

So Saturday. I crashed at 8 AM, and slept until 3:30 PM, so today was pretty shot. I felt pretty hungover, but I think it was much better thanks to Dante's ibuprofen.

Anyway, Dante and I went to go meet up with the 2 wild ones of the Miki Crew, Laura and Gareth in Kobe. These two are always the life of the party; it's never a dull moment. It felt really natsukashii to hang out with them again. We started off by catching up at my favorite Indian restaurant in Sannomiya, called Chalte Chalte. Awesome awesome curry, and in my opinion, better than any Indian restaurant that I've tried in Seattle so far.

We walked to several bars around Sannomiya. The first was Second Chance, but I wasn't in the mood for reggae music or nomihodai (for shame!).

Then we walked to Trinity, where we had a round. Funny, I paid the waiter 500 yen, but it was really 600 yen. So I gave him 1000 yen and got my 500 yen back. So, he owed me 500 yen, but gave me back 1000 yen. Yay, a free Sol beer!

We went to go wait for Laura's boyfriend Shige at what I call T&A park (AKA Tits Park AKA Oppai Koen AKA Concrete Park). A popular place to wait and meet people, or just hang out with a few beers and chat. Often, bands are here playing music. The nicknames for this area makes sense when you see these mounds of concrete that look like boobs. And recently, a weird statue of naked asses got put in. And look at Gareth giving the reach around!

After we met up with Shige, we went to Ryan's, an Irish pub. I have to mention that Shige is kickass at junken. He beat all of us like 8 out of 10 times we played against him. Gareth was explaining that there's a world rock-paper-scissors championship in Toronto, and that Shige should compete. We had a round here until, what looked like the Japanese salaryman band started playing.

The next stop was the Hub, an English pub. Another round here as well. I saw that they served Absinthe so I made an order. They said it was the real thing, with wormwood, but who knows for sure. Anyway, Gareth said that there's an awesome absinthe bar in Shinsaibashi, so we'll go hang there next time.

I couldn't make the night past last train though. A few beers tonight was all I could do (for shame!). But I'm sure I'll be coming back to Japan sometime again, so there'll always be time for the Miki Crew.

TGIF! Friday after work was a hell a of a good time!

Paul took us to Aho for dinner. A curious name for a restaurant since it means "stupid" in Japanese. To get there from Shijo station (on subway), go east until you see the Starbucks. Take a left down the alley, walk for a bit, then take a right at the next big street. Then, a short ways down, it's on the left. I'm writing this down so I can remember how to get back here.

Hashida, Paul, and Yumiko ordered some awesome choices. Let's see, we started with this corn-flavored tofu topped with sea urchin and wasabi. Then we had awesome sashimi. Hashida could tell it was really fresh. He said one trick is to dip the sashimi in soy sauce, and the sauce won't stick if the fish is oily, so it's really good. We had tori kara-age, and also some deep-fried pork-wrapped roll, among other things.

But the kicker is the delicacies. We had some raw horse and whale. They brought out whale tongue, whale skin, whale meat, and whale bacon. Am I gonna burn in hell?

Okada-san, Tsuji-san, and Wada-san joined us to go the next restaurant. It's at the beginning of Teramachi on Shijo side called Mugen. Downstairs, the restaurant played some awesome rock music, and we had a flirty waitress named Ai-chan. To start of course was beers for everyone, and edamame.

Now, there's a game here. Someone plays the waitress in junken (rock-paper-scissors), and if the waitress wins, then she chooses how much edamame to serve. If that someone wins, then he can take as much edamame in one scoop as possible. And somehow, I got picked to play. So in squaring off against Ai-chan, I got lucky after the 3rd tie, and won. A fun way to kick-start the night.

We all drank a lot. Tokunaga-san joined us that night too!! Good people, good beer, good food, good conversations will bring about a good time. Of course, there was flirting with the waitress. Of course, we gave each other good ribbings. Of course, there was arm wrestling involved. Of course there was a torch involved in cooking the vinegar-cured mackerel at the table.

The next destination was karaoke until 6 AM (yes, again!). On the way, why not play some soccer? :) And at karaoke, one of the most memorable karaoke nights I've had. I have a lot of pics, but too bad I can only post up a few per post here. Let me know if you want some copies.

On the way back to Osaka, I had to stop off at Jujo Station to ahem, "feel better". That makes it the first time doing it at a train station. I have a story about doing it while inside the train, so I'm improving. :)

Dante and Yumiko are here! This morning, we tried the Japanese restaurant called Ukihashi in Hotel Granvia Osaka. They brought out a really beautiful set. It doesn't look like a lot of quantity, but somehow, the variety really makes for a satisfying start to the day. I mean, look at all those plates!

For lunch, we went to Kyoto Station to try some ramen. There are two really awesome shops right next to each other. In the left corner with the yellow awning is Dai-ichi Asahi Ramen. And in the right corner with the red awning is Shinpuku Saikan. It's an even match, and you can't go wrong with either.

I went to Dai-ichi Asahi earlier in the week that serves ramen with a lighter-colored broth (my favorite place).

Today, we went to Shinpuki Saikan, that serves a soy-based dark-colored soup. And most usually, there's people waiting outside, so we were quickly shuffled to do what we came to do. Sit, order, slurp, pay, and get out. They don't mess around. And it's seriously some good ramen.

Dante and Yumiko are here! This morning, rather than eating at the hotel breakfast buffet, we tried Cafe de Clever in the JR Umeda Station near the Central Gate. Busy, but damn their Japanese toast is awesome. I've never had bad Japanese toast: about an inch thick, crispy on the outside, and softly moist on the inside. My toast was topped with some kind of wasabi mayonnaise, ham, and eggs. They have optimized toast in Japan to perfection! Never knew I could be so excited by toast.

After work, Yumiko and I went to check out the basement of the Hanshin Department Store south of JR Umeda Station. In Japan, there's always awesome choices of eats in the basements of department stores. A grocery store, or places to take out food of all kinds, or a food court. Different than the states, but always worth checking out. The bottom of Hanshin is huuuuuge. Their dessert section is a sight to behold, and I quickly got really hungry. Yumiko found the "Food-teria" in the B2 level.

We found this place called Ishiyaki Bibinba, that served Korean bibimbap in a stone pot. If you don't know what bibimbap is, it's rice topped with various ingredients (like spinach, bean sprouts, kimchi, beef, and egg) that should be mixed with a healthy serving of Korean sweet and spicy pepper paste. You blend it all together while the hot stone pot cooks the rice crisp. Prices were around 600 to 900 yen, depending on the main topping (Yumiko got mentai fish eggs and I got kalbi), and the beers are a very reasonable 325 yen or so.

It might be weird to eat at train stations and department stores, but today's meals "hit the spot", as Yumiko says.

Dante and Yumiko are here! We had a fun day after work today. We went to go look for a few things at Yodobashi Camera again. Of course, this store is a diarrhea of all electronics in current existence. Way bigger than Fry's. It's sort of geek heaven, but only a step below because that honor is already right fully taken by Akihabara in Tokyo. Yodobashi is only electronics, while Akihabara has porn mags galore, game arcades, and maid cafes.

Anyway, we went up to the 8th floor, where we wanted to go eat okonomiyaki at Fugetsu. The wait was pretty long. Must be a common occurance because there are 12 stools or so outside the entrance, so people can sit in line while they decide on the menu. Aww, so considerate.

When we got in, we ordered beers, pork and kimchi modanyaki, shrimp and beef okonomiyaki, and chanponsoba. Yumiko says that modanyaki is like okonomiyaki, except they add noodles to it. The chanponsoba order was basically yakisoba with various seafood ingredients, topped with an egg. Our "pancakes" were topped with a healthy serving of mayonnaise and okonomiyaki sauce. Mua, delicious!

Really, dinner was excellent. I think we were all satisfied. If you come to Osaka, don't be afraid to go to the top of a geek store for some top-notch food. We also saw all-you-can-eat dim sum restaurant and another all-you-can-eat shabu shabu restaurant. So we might come back again.

Afterwards, we went to Hep 5 area again, to the east of Hankyu Sanbangai. We wanted to go check out an izakaya on the 5th floor above Doma Doma we went to previously, but the wait was too long at 30 minutes. Downstairs in front of the public menu, Yumiko found that they served raw horse sashimi that Dante likes, so we might make a trip back here. But in meandering the alley next to the building, we found a little place called Umetatsu.

Umetatsu is a plum wine bar. The decor is really nice, and they have a whole menu of just plum wines. I can't remember what we ordered, but it was soooo yumm. So we had a few drinks on the "rokusu" (on ice). Dante noticed that there was a leg of meat at the entrance of the door. Odd eh? He asked Yumiko to ask if it was on the menu twice, and yes it was! So we had a plate of raw ham, probably cured or something like prosciutto. The most flavorful ham I've ever had the pleasure of putting in my mouth. :) And did I mention it was pretty inexpensive! A pleasant find!

Dante and Yumiko are here! Now it's time for a food post, with someone in it!! Woot!

So we decided early (actually the day before) that there was only one place to have dinner. So after work, we hit the vending machine, grabbed a tall boy and walked north. Directly south of Kyoto Station is this chain restaurant called Coco Ichiban, which is a Japanese curry house. You can choose how many grams of rice, the type of curry, the meat, the toppings, and the spice level.

Now the spice is what Dante is really excited about. There's a 1-10 "star", where the higher the number, the spicier the curry. I suppose what's interesting is that they won't let you have above a 5 without trying lower levels first. Not that it's enforceable of course, just amusing that they can try to contain this man. Hehe, this time, Dante went all out, opting to go all the way for 10. Of course, the theory I heard was that there's a clamp at a certain level, where you don't feel the heat as bad. I don't buy that all. This guy was born to conquer the hotness, and considering Japanese people's intolerance to spice, it's more like a fact that just hasn't been realized yet. And what do you know, he didn't even break a sweat.

The beef katsu curry was good. Even though this 10 is a bit of a joke to him I think, I'm still impressed. He's like a statue I pointed out in front of the place we ate lunch at. Those aren't legs underneath that tanuki. No sir. That's 2 giant balls. For all to see, while the tanuki just smiles back. Yah, that's Dante.

It's not every morning that you get waken up by an earthquake. It was a 6.9 magnitude that hit in central Japan, but from Osaka, I could feel it from the 24th floor. I was worried at first, as you can feel the building swaying and the walls creaking. Here's the article on it:

http://www.japantoday.com/jp/news/401808

So many injuries, so sad. A moment of silence....

Today wasn't so interesting. I swear I'm still hungover from Friday night. :) I needed to get some luggage to bring back some of the gifts that I bought here. So I went to check out Yodobashi Camera again. I saw a 103 inch TV while I was there. 5,600,000 yen anyone? That's about $47.5K US dollars!

Then I walked to Loft, which is my favorite store in Japan. They have the coolest stuff--really all kinds of things. If you're making a stop in Japan, make sure to stop by here or Tokyu Hands. You'll find stuff that's hard to find in the States. Especially for trick watches or neat toys, you can't find a better selection.

Dante and Yumiko arrived today! So we went to grab some dinner at Ganko, a kaitenzushi place. And then we hit Doma Doma, an izakaya near Hep 5 and Hankyu Sanbangai. It's great to see them--they're only here for a week, so we need to make sure to work hard and play hard, for sure.

Um, yeah. So I had a pretty massive hangover today. And I wasn't in any mood to switch hotels. I slept a few hours until I had to pack and checkout. Then I moved to Hotel Granvia Osaka, which is right at the heart of JR Umeda Station at the Central Gate. Great location, but it feels like I've stepped into the 70s. The decor inside is dated and my hotel room is a big difference from the one in Kyoto. It's all good though--it's just a place to sleep anyway.

I had to go out to grab something to eat. I walked around Gare West, one of a gazillion shopping centers in Osaka. I found a place where I could eat my favorite pasta, Tarako Spaghetti (otherwise known as Mentaiko). If you haven't tried this pasta with fish egg cream sauce topped with seaweed, it's really excellent. I actually prefer Japanese Italian food over American; especially how they saute the sauce and pasta together in a skillet.

Then I found some takoyaki, a food originally from Osaka. They're little balls of fried octopus batter, but really yummy. They don't look so good in the picture since I took it back to the hotel, but whereever you see a stand with red lanterns, it's a good chance to try some takoyaki.

Then I passed out at 6 PM, and didn't wake up until 10 AM the next day. Drinking has a price, but I'm still willing to pay. :)

Today, two members of our department were transferring to another department, so there was a sayonara enkai, if that's what you call a goodbye party. It was a good chance to get to know people better, especially after a few drinks. Actually, a lot of drinks. :)

Everyone is really friendly and good natured. I really appreciated a lot of people reaching out and trying to speak a little English. All night, they always tried to include me in the group or the conversation. If any of them come to Seattle, I'll for sure take good care of them. Sometimes, situations can be awkward, but that's normal and it's all overshadowed by having fun.

The cool part is that the restaurant we started off at was nomihodai, which means all-you-can-drink. Sure, there are some limits, like you have 2 hours and you can't have two drinks at once (they take away your glass). But, in this kind of situation, how can you not have fun?

From the restaurant at Gojo station (underneath Tsutaya), we moved on to another bar, then to nomihodai karaoke until 6 AM. I think people in Japan know how to party hard, and it's good fun to be a part of it. There were a lot of pics from that night, but I'll only post a few.

So, when I checked into Hotel Granvia Kyoto, they gave me a breakfast coupon for every morning. Normally, I never eat at hotels because the food is way overpriced. My favorite breakfast was at Grace Garden at the top of the hotel, where they have a buffet and a fantastic view of Kyoto.

I like their congee bar, and the do-it-yourself combination i liked the most was prosciutto, shrimp, cayenne pepper, and green onions. They also have omelettes, pasta, pastries, homemade jams, cheeses, bacon, fruits, etc. I liked their mango yogurt drink too. The day was pretty hazy, but if you know what the Nintendo headquarters looks like, you can barely make it out on the horizon, to the left of the right black bar.

After work, Wada-san and I went around looking for dinner. We left work pretty late, and most everything was closed by 10 PM. But we eventually found a really good yakitori restaurant, I think called Warikan. It's just north of Kyoto Station, on top of a gambling parlor called "Pachinco".

He taught me how to order all kinds of yummy stuff, like negima (green onion and chicken skewers), tare and shio yakitori (chicken skewers cooked with sauce and salt), tsukune (fish cake), niku jaga (beef and potato stew), kara-age (deep fried chicken pieces), mochi agedashi (mochi deep fried in a broth), and sunahimo (gizzard). I had been here before with Anna but the menu is all in Japanese and we didn't know how to order all this yummy stuff.

Today is March 21st, the start of spring. And, also a holiday that Japan celebrates, so I had the day off from work today. Unexpected, and really nice to take a day to relax.

I didn't do much today, which is what I had planned. I was thinking last night what I should do, and I read through the Lonely Planet Kyoto Guide book. But, I've already seen a lot of Kyoto sights, and I didn't want to make a trip outside the city. I was thinking about Lake Biwa, but going without Anna is just no fun.

So, this morning I went out to go do some gift shopping for people back home. I went to the Avanti Shopping Plaza on the south side of Kyoto Station, in the Hotel Keihin building. First, was lunch at Chibo, an okonomiyaki restaurant. It's quite a sight to see the 1 chef cooking everyone's meal. And making okonomiyaki is hard work, and usually takes at least 5-10 minutes per serving. A bit of entertainment and good eats.

Then, I went to Uniqlo, where I bought some clothes for me and Anna. Uniqlo is like the Gap of Japan--they just opened a flagship store in New York recently. Their style is simple, functional, and understated. And not so expensive. Work shirts, undershirts, underwear, socks--damn almost all of the clothes that I brought TO Japan, are from Uniqlo. Usually there are sales, but I only picked up a few things.

Then, at another store, I bought the same pair of shoes I recently bought, but for Anna in brown. Now we can match. :) I walked around the other floors, and most all of the stores are for girls. But at the top, I discovered Sofmap, an electronics "Gigastore". You see, Sofmap used to be in Kintetsu Plaza north of Kyoto Station, but currently being renovated by Yodobashi Camera. So, it was nice to know where I can go if I need anything quick. They have a sampling of everything there, from TVs to cameras to PCs to software to games to anime to toys.

At the basement of Avanti is a quirky Spencer Gifts-like store called Outlet. I won't post the pictures that I took, but I bought some cool gifts that the friends would appreciate. For example, I found a cheap lighter where you can swivel the flame--and on the highest setting, the flame is 3 inches long. What could that be useful for? And, I picked up a ashtray that is normally closed, but when you push the button, the bottom drops and rotates, so the ash and butts can go into the tray. Interesting store; you get the picture.

Back at the hotel, I started watching episodes of Freaks and Geeks. Another excellent TV show that Fox mismanaged into cancellation (More Firefly!!). Thanks to Lucas's suggestion, I'm getting really into it. I'll share it when I get home.

Then I had Aloe Yogurt for dinner.

Another food post. Life is exciting during the work week eh?

There's a small restaurant close to work that we frequent for dinner. We usually always order this "setto" or dinner set called Hitokuchi Katsu. I'm not sure what the translation is, but it's smaller pieces of deep fried pork. I ate it quite often when I was living in Kyoto for several months, so I took a little more time to savor dinner today.

The restaurant has two sections. Up front are small tables and chairs. In the back are tatami mats and cushions. Kinda neat eating at really small tables or sitting cross-legged for dinner. While eating dinner is something all humans must do, it's interesting to think about how basic behaviors are shaped into different cultures.

Not sure where I'm going with this (maybe just so not all my posts are mindless about food), but I like to think about the why behind things, whether it's interesting or not, whether there's an explanation or not. Even in a stupid example like this. It's probably something only a foreigner would think about. I'd recommend everyone to experience stuff outside of your home country, hopefully from a point of view outside your knowledge. There's a lot that we could learn.... and be confused about as well.

So, on Friday night last week, after Masumi, the coworkers and I went to another restaurant. The night was kinda fuzzy, so I remember bits and pieces. Like, I remember where we sat because there were some cool cushions.

Anyway, I had blazed out forgetting my gloves. So on Sunday, I went around the neighborhood south of Kyoto Station to search for the restaurant. Something to do, yes, but also, as I've heard the Japanese say, a "cha-ren-ji". Most places were closed for lunch thankfully, and I found it pretty quickly. It's this restaurant called Miho, and when I walked in, my gloves were neatly placed on the bench, in convenient view.

In fact, there was no one in the restaurant for lunchtime, and the waiter was really friendly. I explained that I was drunk on Friday night, and that was all that needed to be said. :) I made a step out the door before I asked if they were serving lunch. He said yes, so I asked him what he recommended. I can't read and I didn't understand, so you can just see the pic.

While I was eating, I heard a tune that I had heard at karaoke before. I think Laura picked the song, and I remember it distinctly since there was a shamisen, an Okinawan instrument. I actually liked the song back then, but never knew the name. When I asked the waiter, he brought over the CD case, said the song was Okinawan. In fact, I saw that the album was Okinawa Best Song Collection as he served an Okinawan dessert. It's called Shimanchu nu Takara, or the Islander's Treasure. Cool song, check it out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZ96S9mYEnE

Now that I found the video, I found the translation and trying to memorize it for karaoke. Interesting cultural flavors to experience. I heard that Orange Range is a more modern Okinawan band, so I'd like to check them out.

means "rotating sushi". Like Sushi Land or Sushiyama in Bellevue, plates of sushi roll by on a conveyor belt. This was today's dinner. Today's meal tasted unbelievably fresh--I tried toro, tuna, salmon, all the usual dishes. Sushi here tastes better on the whole.

This restaurant is found easily on the east end of Kyoto Station on the ground floor. A few notes though. I had 8 plates, and it came to a total of about 2200 yen, which is about $20 US. So, a bit on the pricey-side and they only accept cash. I'd go back though. :)

Also a few notes on the differences between the States and here. Rolls are really popular back home for the Americans, but you'll only find super simple varieties of rolls here, like cucumber or tuna rolls. No fancy spicy tuna rolls or dragon rolls. Some Japanese kaitenzushi places serve really exotic things, but this restaurant was pretty tame. One cool part to this restaurant is that the conveyor belt was protected by a clear plastic tunnel. Neat.

Also, you'll find that Japanese people generally don't douse their sushi with soy sauce, preferring to dip only the fish part because the rice soaks too much and ruins the flavor. As well, wasabi isn't used heavily in the soy sauce, since a bit is already provided between the fish and the rice. To each their own, but out of respect, tact in front of serious sushi chefs is recommended. It's ok to use your hands though, especially since an oshibori (hot mini-towel), was provided at the beginning of the meal. Try eating sushi with the fish side down, so that you can taste the fish more thoroughly.

Today, I met up with two Miki JETs, Gareth and Stephanie. O-hisashiburi! It's been awhile guys! Steph's friend Victoria was visiting Japan, so we went to go party in Osaka for St. Patty's Day. Victoria went to the same college as Steph in Alabama, and how she's working for Thomson Financial. Steph and Gareth are now in their second year as JETs, and cool as ever.

We started off at an Indian restaurant in Shinsaibashi called Akash. Ordering was interesting because they had 15 points on the spice scale. 1-5 being mild, 6-10 being hot, and 11-15 being very hot. Is 15 levels really necessary? I mean Coco Ichiban can justify 10 levels. And most all other restaurants use 5 levels. Gareth had a strong showing with a 15. I ordered a 10. Can you tell from the pic? Doesn't look like my quantity, but the flavor is deep as the curry is thick.

Oh yah, Victoria is from Chicago. She was telling us that Chicago has huge St. Patty's Day celebrations. Even Chicago dyes the river green and has two parades. She even brought green hats and beads on her international flight, in her plan to party tonight. Props!

Afterwards, we went to an Irish pub called Murphy's in Shinsaibashi. Holy sh*t it was packed. Lots of gaijin in green. They were serving green beer too, which was in the spirit. And of course, the Irish music: "What to do with a drunken sailor..." And of course, the Ireland rugby match. The bartender offered a free round of shots for everyone in the bar if Ireland won by some margin. But too bad we couldn't stay long since we weren't in shape to be out until 5 AM. Gareth and I had a lingering hangover from Friday night, and Victoria was still jet lagged.

But since we could drink on the streets, and on the trains, we just left with beer in hand. Ah Japan is cool like that.

A very Happy Merry St. Patty's Day!

... is fun!! I'm really thankful to be invited out to dinner and drinks. We started with Takatori-san, Tsuji-san, Fukuda-san, and Okada-san.

We went to a place called Masumi, which is south of Kyoto Station. Every table had a hot plate, from which we eat. I don't know what they ordered, but it was all really excellent. Drinking is always good fun here. It's a lot easier to loosen up after work. Japanese people are really quite entertaining, so it's nice to get to know them a little better.

Okada-san recently broke his hand, so he was showing it to us. There's metal rod that supports his entire middle finger. Hehe, he knows what that symbol means in the West. Hilarious picture and good times!

Tokunaga-san was working late, so when he arrived, we went to another restaurant called Miho. I can't even remember what was ordered since I was pretty drunk. Then we went back to my hotel room, where we drank and talked some more.

In hindsight, I get pretty talkative when drinking, so I need to make sure to give Japanese people room to speak their mind, especially since English is not their first language. But the good thing is that everything is forgiven by the next time I see them, so it's ok. Fukuda-san planned to crash in the room after Okada-san and Tokunaga-san left.

A really fun group of people. I want to go drinking with them again. :) Next time, I need to remember to take a group picture at the end of the night!!