Time is flying by faster than I would have anticipated. The weather though is a bit frustrating. Much more rain and clouds than i would have liked but in some ways a blessing. It is also pretty warm. The combination of humidity and warm weather ...sucks...in a word.
On the last Friday i was in Japan I got up early and made a trek back out to have my final samples of sushi. I arrived shortly at 10 am owing to the congestion on the trains. As I am sure I have mentioned in the past, it amazes me how so many people can be moved so efficiently. The trains take a little longer during rush hour(s). From my experiences it seems there are three times of the day where the trains are almost guaranteed to be packed to the gills. Early morning for the start of the work day, late afternoon for the slackers who leave work at 5 and students and then again right before the system shuts down for the night around 11 pm or so, for the real workers who put in a full day and pound back a few beers before returning to their homes.
Getting back to breakfast, I sampled my favorites and true to form, Eddie was able to come up with a creation that I had not had before, nor seen elsewhere. In honor of my final visit I washed it all down with more than a few ice cold beers. Who needs coffee in the morning. I did finish up with a little hot tea just so I would not appear like a total lush, but i think it may have been too late to try to save face. I made my way back to Shinjuku to hang out for the afternoon. I was meeting Yasu after work to get dinner and hang out.
Oddly enough he did not work late that night. We met up at around 6 pm. The challenge was finding a location within the station that we both knew how to get to. The station is enormous and always crowded. If I had not had a phone i would never have been able to connect with him. It took wandering around in the station for a good thirty minutes before we ran into each other, I insist it was purely by chance. The next search was to find a place to eat. I did not want anymore fish for the duration of the time I was in Japan. We chose a little izakaiya we found after being turned away from a few because they were packed and had many people waiting in line. Our choice was fine, a good sampling of food, a few more drinks and we were ready to hit the streets. We were club bound
We made it to the Asakasa section of the city and stopped by a few places. The bars we visited were small and the club even smaller. But the drinks were good and the music not bad at all. The evening flew by and we were well aware of the time sensitive nature of our venture because we did not want to get stuck in the city and have to cab it home. We made the last train at 1130 pm and were met with what i mentioned earlier. A packed train. I think i was sweating as much on the train as I had in the club. That was a long day.
We chatted about what we were going to do for the last few days. the weather was just not cooperating so we stayed local for the most part. We did plan to visit Tribes, for dinner. It is the African restaurant we visited earlier int he week only to find it closed for renovations. When we arrived it was mostly complete and it looked great. The closed space had been opened up to include huge sections of the outside wall opened up so there was more light and air. Once it is totally complete it will be a great place. The food was good. I would only suggest that they work on getting food out a bit faster but because we were not in a hurry, it was fine. There was a good selection of food and drinks. I even had a beer made from bananas. Sounds strange but it really was not too bad.
Sunday was a lazy day, doing domestic stuff. There were a few things I needed to buy so we did some shopping right in the area of Yasu's place so we did not get too wet. Food was the main reason we went out, chinese was the fare for the night. Back home early and began packing. We were going to head to the airport hotel the next morning. I am glad I have taken to stay the night before at the airport. There is no rushing around to get a train or bus the day of the flight. For the "last meal" at the hotel we opted for the Teppanyaki restaurant. The food was great. A few scallops, a thick and melt in your mouth steak and veggies made for a great meal. The chef, however, did not display many knife skills that we might see here if you go. I could have done a better job in fact.
It is always sad to say goodbye. As you have seen, this was a great trip. The ride back was uneventful, I was comfortable and well fed and plied with drink for the ride back. I arrived on last Tuesday and started work Thursday. So, it has been a week and I think I am finally back on my regular sleep schedule.
Until the next trip, I hope you all stay well. I have not yet made plans to take a vacation but i am sure to have this conversation with my boss soon. The faculty in this department is mostly gone for the summer so I have not met many of them. I am sure the beginning of the school year will bring lots of long hours and the need to take some time off will come during the middle of the semester. The big question is where to go next, I will have to consult with Yasu.
Bye all
Craig
Friday, August 7, 2009
Japan in June ('09)...more to do pt. 2
There does always seem more to do and or get done. At the beginning of the week we started by going for some fish. The Tsukiji market was not very busy by the time we arrived so getting a seat at the bar was easy. Unfortunately my favorite chef was not out front but instead in the back doing some prep work. He(Eddie) and I made plans to hang out in the middle of the week. Yasu has a business dinner so it worked out perfectly. WE chatted briefly with him but our main chef was not a talker. We ordered soem great fish and stayed probably an hour as opposed to my usual two or three or four. Yasu had an appointment in the afternoon so we really did not want to head home and have to come back out. WE opted to head to Shinjuku to pass the time. We walked around got some coffee and then walked some more. We ended up in Kabuki-cho. A fun place. By day somewhat reserved but at night until the wee hours of the morning it is a bustling place where all seems to be going on at the same time, legal or not.
We stayed clear of the hostess clubs and instead decided to bowls a few rounds. Now, I thought i had some skills in this game but I was sadly mistaken. There were a few initial challenges, the first being getting the shoes taht would fit. The machine did not have them but the front desk did, that was easy enough. The second was a bit more of a challenge. We wanted to play ten pin so I had to find a ball that had holes in it that were large enough for my fingers. This was the big challenge and one that I was never really satisfied with. Every ball seemed to be just tight enough that the ball would not realease at the proper time, at least taht is what I convinced myself of. The ball and pins just never got that right connection. I think there was a conspiracy going on, the system just would not allow either of us to break the 100 mark. A SAD showing all around but lots of fun. I wish I could say I won both games but alas, I would be telling a fib. We left with me vowing to get my revenge and to also find a way to break that magical 100 number. We had just enough time to make the apointment Yasu had. He took care of business and I just hung around. When he was done it was dinner time.
A friend of Yasu`s owns an African restaurant so we headed there. By the time we got to the neighbothood we were both pretty hungry. You would think all would have been fine, but Nooo, the place was closed for renovations. The owner was there so we had a few drinks chatted a bit and sat through a tremendous thunder storm. The rain was coming down iin buckets. We had another drink. The rain finally subsided and we headed off with the understanding that we would be back for the opening this coming weekend. We were famished so we just went into the first place that had some sort of a selection. It was a Royal Host. One steak and one order of fried Oysters. I had the shellfish. Time to head home. It was a long day but a good time. The forcast continues to have rain as the headline. Tuesday would be a day to get some domestic work done. I also had alot of paperwork to complete for MIT, half of which I was also to get done online. I am still working on lists and introduction letters. It is keeping me busy. I had forgotten about the number of forms and passwords that are required to get started. And the endless number of acronyms to learn......they go on and on and on. I spent most of the day on the computer or cleaning some part of the apartment.
Wednesday came pretty fast. It was cloudly but no rain. I spent the morning finishing up paperwork and had an early lunch. Around 3 I headed out to meet Eddie. He had to work a half day so I just met him at Tsukiji. We decided that a shabu-shabu would be a nice dinner. All you can eat in an hour and a half. Prior to getting there though we had a few drinks and nosh at an izakaiya Shibuya, This happens to be Eddie`s old stomping ground. He knew the owners of the place so it felt like old home week. Half way through our first beer Eddie though of a different option for dinner. He also worked for Iron Chef Sakai(French) at one point a number of years back His restaurant was around the corner from where we were. I thought that was a cool idea. Having dinner possibly with an Iron Chef.
We made our way over to La Rochelle, having made reservations beforehand. We were greeted by at least a half dozen of Eddie`s former co-workers. The reunion was fun. Unfortunately Chef Sakai was not there. He was away doing a television spot. The menu also changed and they did not have the buffet option we were hoping for. What to do?...a few more drinks and then back to the shabu-shabu choice. Before leaving La Rochelle, we got a tour of the kitchen and met the Grand Chef, Kudoh. He also was a regular on Iron Chef as Sakai`s second in charge. The kitchen was immaculate. The floors were even covered in carpeting --bright red, that was a first for me. I would not even have carpeting on my own kitchen floor. By the time we made it to the dinner we were famished. I was alboe to put away three and ahalf plates of meat and veggies, Eddie bested me and ate four. The food was good, filling and the company alot of fun. I hit the trains and made it back home 10 minutes after Yasu arrived. Perfect timing.
Thursday is anotehr day to stay in. I have more work to get done so I will just go shopping and cook at home. Yasu may have a late work day but it is up in the air how late. When he does get home we will plan wha to do during my last weekend for this trip.
Happy reading
Craig
Japan in June ('09)...lots of rain pt. 1
Well it is rainy season and I am back again in Tokyo. You may ask yourself, ....didnt Craig just get back from a trip to Japan. The answer would be yes. To be exact, I was back in the US less than amonth before making the decision to come back. I wish I could say it was because I found a job here, that would have been a great oppportunity. The truth of the matter is that I did get a job but it is in Boston. I will start working at MIT at th end of the month. The position title is Administrative Officer in the Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences. I wont go into allthe details, mainly because there are still so many questions I have about what is not part of the job. Upon receiving the job offer I made the hard decision to take one last trip before starting. Yasu had no objections to having chance to spend more time together but he did say he had to work.
I left Boston Last Thursday and arrived here Friday afternoon. The flight was not bad at all. I was upgraded to Business service and it is sucha different experience. The seat reclined to a flat bed-like position, were I a few inches longer I would not have felt like I do on many beds I have slept in in Japan where my feet hang over the end. I did, however, have a nice relaxing experience. The food choices were exceptional and what can you say about an open bar, truffles, and a whole season of 24. Well, a foot massage might have been nice but taht was not gonna happen. After landing and making my way through custons on the fast track, I picked up a phone at the rental counter, exchanges some money and bought a ticket to Kanagawa. After leaving the plane and boarding the bus less than an hour had elapsed. I was schedule to be settled at Yasu`s space by 1930. Even with the Friday afternoon rush hour in downtown Tokyo we arrived a bit ahead of schedule.
While the plane ride was relatively comfortable I did neglect to say that I did not sleep very much. I was ready to garb a quick bite to eat and then crash. Well, we ended up doing some planing and then headed out to eat. We were back early but we had made plans to be up early yet again. We did not want to wait very long to get ourselves over to Yokohama. Even though we did not have much time or the desire to travel very far, both yasu and I have wanted to see this city. The Chinatown area has been written about often and there was great praise. Yasu booked a hotel for Saturday night and we were off.
The forcast was cloudy, some rain and on the warm side...yucky weather. I should have planned my wardrobe a little better. We made it work though. After only three train transfers, we rolled into Yokohama. The sun kept teasing us, First it would hide behind the clouds, then it would be bright and beautiful. After a few hours of that we resigned ourselves toa mall area called Queen`s Mall (no comments from the peanut gallery). For lunch we opted for Hiroshima style Okonamiyaki. As it turned out, not my favorite style. This version of a cabbage pancake was layered rather than mixed together and was less tasy I thought. I was more used to the version, introduced to me by Takeshi and his family at a great neighborhood place in Nagoya. The cabbage was mixed with lots of goodies and then fried and topped witha few condiments. Lets not go into a cooking lesson here. I have over time been able to replicate the recipe so if you are ever around my palce, you can ask for Craig`s version of okonamiyaki.
Back to Yokohama.... After lunch we made a short trek to the Cosmo Clock, Proclaimed to be the world`s largest Ferriswheel, with a clock in its center. The whole weather thing made getting good pictures of the clock and the city views less than delightful. We left after taking a spin on the rollercoaster and getting our heads thrown from side to side, mind you after being stuffed into a car that was not made for a somewhat tall middle aged american guy. Get it? It was just an hour before we could check in at the hotel so we meandered over to a nearby seaside park and walked, took some pictures and relaxed. After checking in to our room in the middle of the afternoon, it was time for a rest. The hot humid weather wa s a bit draining. After the sun went down, we went back out.
The streets were packed and the restaurant hawkers were working overtime to fill the seemingly endless number of eatieries. It did not take long for us to make a decision because one, we were starving and two, we really had no clue as to which place was any better than the next. The choice we made was a good one. There was a set number of courses and we added a few peking pancake rolls to complete the meal. Stuffed and almost ready to sleep, we decided to head back to the Cosmo Clock. We were determined to get batter pictures and hoped to get some great views of the city at night. Even though it was Saturday night, neither one of us xpected to see the long lines that greeted us. We waited well over an hour to get our butts into a gondola. It was worth the wait. By the time we were atop the ferriswheel, the sky was clear and the lights bright around the city. I only hope that the pictures we took did justice to what we saw.
It was approx. 2300 and neither one of us beong club kids, we headed back tot he hotel, after picking up a few drinks and some munchies. The night ended uneventfully, save the rash of misquitoes that hovered over my bed during the night....Yasu did not want the AC on but instead opened the window....needless to say, he got an earful the next morning, and a few bites of his own.....too bad I say (with a smile on my face).
After taking advantage of the buffet breakfast, wheich had some very good asian and ameriacn selections we headed back to Tokyo. A little house keeping, a little shopping for domestic goods and a dinner out ended to day. Early to bed because we had plans to hit the fish market, relatively early, but not so early that we would catch the tuna auction.
Be back soon.
Craig
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
April - May 2009 - Japan (4 of 4)
The Oooooh, Ahhhhhh Tour. I am not typically a fan of organized tours. I have found them to be restrictive and not very interesting. In order to see some of the more interesting sights in the time period that we had alotted ourselves in Hakodate we opted to take a chance. We were not disappointed. After checking out of the onsen we soon boarded a nice bus that was to be our transportation for the five4 hour tour. I was even more reluctant initialy to sit for five hours but we actually did move about quite a bit.We visited a number of sights that held some degree of significance for some reason or other. Some of the most notable include the old British Consulate, a building that served as a community center sponsored by Hakodate patrons and a tower that over looked a beautiful park full of Cherry Blooms which were well in bloom. As the guide described many of the details of the various sights the ooh's and ahh's got louder and louder. I sometimes fell into the practice even though I was a little bit delayed because yasu had to do the translation for me. The entire party with the exception of me was japanese sleaking. I still got the jist of most of the important things....I think.
As the day wound down we were all getting tired. There was alot of moving around during the day. We had a room for the night in a hotel that was to be one of the smallest I have ever stayed in. We were not to be in the room for long so it really did not hatter too much. We checked in and were able to squeeze the bags in the room with us. It was a good thing we did not pack using suitcases. That would have been a real challenge. Exhausted, we took a quick nap before dinner. When we went out for dinner we discovered the temperature dropped significantly. We were going to go walking around twon after dinner but neither one of us packed clothes that were made for the colder weather. We went back to the room and crashed early. We had planned to visit the morning fish market anyway. We set the clock for six am.
After a good nights sleep we were wide wake and ready to hit the streets. We caught a taxi and were downtown at the daily fish market by seven am.. Mind you, we had a train to catch back to Sapporo at 9:30. That gave us about two hours to walk around and get someting to eat. After seeing the lines to get into various restaurants we opted to get in line sooner rather than later and it was a good thing that we did. After standing in line for almost an hour we started to worry that we might not be able to wait. But then a rush of people left the place and we were able to get two seats at a table. We ended up sharing the table with two different couples. Obviously the place was famous for its menu. Lots of fresh shellfish, squid, uni, and roe was on the menu. I could not resist a bowl of rice topped with uni, roe and scallops. Yasu had the squid. It was a filling breakfast washed down with an ice cold beer. By the time we finished we had to head to the train staion. We boarded and soon after sitting down, Yasu crashed. He slept for most of the trip. I on the other hand could not, after all, I am still not sure I have adjusted to this time zone yet. Byt he time I am used to it, I will be back home in Boston.
Our third and final hotel was by far much closer in quality to the first place we stayed. The rooms in the Keio Plaza Hotel in Sapporo were fabulous. large, comfortable and full of amenities. It was also located in a great part of town. We had one night to stay and then a whole day to travel the city before boarding the flight back to Tokyo. The day we arrived the weather was a bit too hot for me to be ver comfortable. We palnned what we would do the next day and then decided to head out for dinner. The place was a nice small restaurant the showcased lamb, venison and innards, all of which were cooked by us on a smaller charcol fired grill. We were stuffed by the time we push away fro the table. Walking seemed like the best option. It took almost an hour but it was a nice walk. We passed streets packed with young folks hanging around and some who looked like they were working. Host and hostess clubs, and bars and clubs. It reminded me alot of Kabuki-cho near Shinjuku.
Since the hotel had a nice deep tub....we took advantage of that for the last time too. Again, we had planned to ge up early. The hotel served breakfast from 6 am till 10. Because we wanted to see alot we made it to breakfast at 7 am. There was a great spread from american style food to japanese. Now that we were sufficiently stuffed, we packed our bags up and checked out of the hotel, leaving our bags at the train station so that we would have easy access for the train trip to the airport.
As it turned out, Sapporo has a connection to both Boston and UMass. The first building we visited was the clock tower. The clock was installed over one hundred twenty years ago has is said to have never missed tolling the hour in all of that ime. The clock was built in Boston by the Howard Clock Company. IT was installed in a building that was used by one of the first agricultrual colleges in Japan. The college had a relationship with UMass Amherst because tehre were a number of faculty who travelled to Sapporo to teach and eventually became administrators at the college. From there we went to the TV tower and saw great views of the city from on high. By this time of the day it was getting cold outside. There was one other place that I wanted to visit...the Sapporo beer factory. We walked to the factory only to find out that it was a shopping mall. We stayeda while to warm up. The actual brewery was not too far away. We hopped in a cab and made it to the real deal.
There was a self guided tor that ended in the tasting room. Hmmm, I had to make the sacrifice and taste some beer. It hit the spot but by this time lunch was calling. We had seen all we wanted to so we made it to the train station to grab a bite to eat. Miso ramen hit the spot. Though we had a few hours, we did decide to get the train to the airport. We got in early so we just bellied up to a sushi bar and get our fill of some more very fresh fish before flying back to Haneda. By the time we landed we were both exhausted but had to force ourselves to stay awake. The train ride back to Yasu's space took close to an hour and a half. The trip, while only three nights was packed full of fun and activity. We slept long and sound.
The last few days here are going to go by fast.
Craig
April - May 2009 - Japan (3 of 4)
Hello again folks, I am still on the move. I think the last time I was writing I stopped because I had to get some packing done. Well, it is done and I have since unpacked and repacked a few times. On Saturday morning we set off for Hokkaido. Mind you Friday night we got about 1.5 hours sleep before we had to head to the train station and on to the airport. Yasu was working until the very weeee hours of the morning and I felt compelled to stay up and make sure that he was packed and ready when we neded to be out the door.
At about 6:30 am we were off the the trainstaion to catch a 6:45 train, we made it witha whole minute to spare...you gotta love the punctuality of the train system. After making two connections we were at Haneda airport, where most of the domestic flights leave from, if I am not mistaken. SO, we get to the airport one hour before the flight is suppoesed to depart. We had t
o get in line for our tickets, get in line or security and get in line to board the flight. Youmay ask yourself, are they crazy to think that it can all happen in less than an hour, Oh YES IT CAN!!!!
What surprised me the most was th security portion of the waitin process. We were in what I consiered to be a long line. It kept moving at a very rapid pace. When I reached the front of the line I saw why. No one was asked to strip down and spread your cheks for the security check. All we had to do was take the medal objects off our person and walk through the thing -a-ma-jig. I was impressed, I was also stopped and asked what I was doing with a long menacing looking flat piece of metal in my carry-on. It turns out I forgot to take out my nail file when I was identifying all of my weapons.. Even with tha snaffu, we made it through security with ease and may I also add, I made it without showing anyone a piece of identification that said I was the person on the reservastion paper I printed out the night before. That was a bit scary.
Well,the flight left on time and was for themost part uneventful. The last ten minutes of the flight were a little more tense. As y
ou all know I fly often. I am not usually shaken up by a few bumps and noises. However, I have never heard the moans and groans the palne seemed to be making towards the end of that flight. It is hard to describ but it sounded like the back of the plane was goingto break off any second, with me crammed into that tiny seat. It turns out that there were extremely sever winds, causi9n some lights tot he island to actually turn around as a safety precaution. We made it fine in the end. The dasys traveling you might think would be at an end...no such luck!
We had to take another three hour train ride to Hatodate, before we could call
it quits and relax. The two and a half hour wait was bring. We got hungry and decided to eat some ramen. It was fabulous. I had what they called the Hokkaido spcial, it was loaded with sliced roasted pork, seafood, and some veggies with a miso base, Yasu had something similar minus the seafood with a salk taste. No complaints at all. Well, we both started to get abit drowsy after eatin so to be sure we did not miss our train, we opted to go the another train station that was actually the departing stop for our train. We both expected a large station with shops and things to see....wrong. It was a very small station with a kiosk to snacks. I got a beer, yasu some tea. Waiting one more hou
rs and boarded to train. By this time we had ben traveling for about nine hours. With one and a half hours of sleep under our belts, we were tired. I was expecting a train similar to the shinkansen I have riden in the past, a fast comfortable train...wrong again!!!
We were riding on a glorified subway train feeling every bump, track shift and movement of the wind. I was so exhasted though I think I slep one of the three hours we were on the train. Almost there. On
ce we made it to Hakodate we coul either hop on a bus to the hotel ot take a cab. I did not even have to ask Yasu which we would do. We cabbed it and fifteen minutes later we were at the onsen. It only took approximately eleen and ahalf hours door to door. What we walked into was well worth the travel time.
The place was what you would think of as a traditional japanese style hot spring hotel. Wood was every place. The floors, the walls, even the bath tub in our room. We were shown to our room, which was by far much larger than Yasu's space in Tokyo, by a women who would be our assigned attendant for the entire stay. The hot springs were at our disposal the minute we were ready, diner was to be served in our room, as was breakfast the next morning. The was calming, tranquil and relaxing. It took one time a
t all to get in the groove and be pampered. As soon as al of this was explained to us we changed into our yukata and were off to be boiled up before dinner.
On our way to the baths we did not see a person. I though we were the only ones in the onsen. We got the the bath
s, scrubbed our selves clean in the washing area and then proceeded to the first of two hot tubs. The first one we decided to try was the oue outside. Oh, did I mention that it was freezing the day we arrived. Being naked, save a tiny modesty towel, I could not stay out in
the open air for long. We slid into the very steamy mineral water and instantly felt like a wet rag It was soothing, relaxing, and invigorating all at once. After about ten minutes or so standing up out in the cold air actually felt good. We only had about 45 minutes to spend there so we checked out the indoor tub, stayed a while there and headed back to our rom. Just as we got settled, as if we were being watched by BIG BROTHER, our attendant came and wanted to come and set up for dinner. The food was fabulous, six course keiseki meal. We took pictures but they do not do it justice. Stuffed to the gills, we relaxed but did not sleep because we wanted to take a night time dip in the pools.Once again, we went through the cleanin rituals before geting into the tubs. We soaked, chatted, soaked and soaked. When our fingers resembled prunes, we knew it was time to head back to our rom for bed. Again, soon after we returned our attendant came to prepare the rom for sleeping. The dining table was moved to th antroom and the futons were set up for us. It took just seconds for us to both to doze off and sleep a peaceful night. Bright and early we were up. We set the clock for 6 AM.
We had planned to have breakfast at seven, but we did want a morning bath first. Fo the third time, in less than twelve hours we went through the cleaning rituals and soaked before breakfast. When we returned th futons hadbeen removed and he table set for breakfast. Th spread was amaing, I dont know if keiseki is the right word for this style of meal but it was equally as crumptous as diner. Lots of choice, all very tasty, except the cold semi poached egg, that did not work for me. But believe me I did not go hungry. After eating and relaxing with a few more cups of tea guess what we did.......no smart ases, we did not go back to the mineral bats...we took one in our room!!!
Again, for the fourth and final time, cleaning rituals. I had turned on the tub water a few minutes before because I knew I wanted to get in that beautiful wooded deep soaking tub. It did not take much to coak Yasu in as well. Both of of could fit in it it was that large. We did not spend too much time in the water because we did hae to check out soon. It was well worth the experience though. We dried off, got dressed, packed up and had another cup of tea before checking out and gettin on to a day of sightseeing. What a fabulous first day in Hokkaido.
It is time dor dinner now, you will hear about the rest of the day soon. Until then...happy trails.
Craig
April - May 2009 - Japan (1 of 4)
Hello folks, I am back on the road again and this time I am back in Japan....surprise surprise. I had an unexpected opportunity I just could not pass up. It is the Golden Week holiday here which is one of the more active travel holidays for many Japanese folks. Yasu and I have made plans to visit Hokkaido, a place neither of us have visited before. From the recent forcasts I discovered taht there is still snow falling in areas close to where I think we will be visiting. I wish I had packed a bit differently now. When I was looking at the local forcasts I was expecting to dress for a warmer than usual spring. I guess we will just have to seek out a few more hot springs to sit our frost bitten butts in.
BRB, need to deal with dinner plans,,,I have to run out to the store....the fridge is too small to keep much food in. Cooking will be another matter....you will hear about it all.
Today I have no plans yet. I am thinking about the options. We leave in two days to head up north to Hokkaido. I may just wander around a neighborhood I have not been in yet. Then come back and cook something for dinner. You will soon find out what I opted to do. Until the next time, I hope youa re all doing well.
Stay healthy
Craig ~ your ever viligent travelerApril - May 2009 - Japan (2 of 4)
Well, I am back home after spending a little of the day in Shibuya again. Nothing special but just a nice relaxing walk around a very active neighborhood. It seemed as if everyone was off from work in tha area but who can tell, this area is always so conjested and active on the slowest time of the morning. The weather was perfect to wander, not too hot not too cold. However, I was able to work up a sweat walking up and down the many hills and staircases.
On my way back home I stopped in the supermarket to decide what to cook for dinner. I am already getting a bit tired of eating out all the time. I would much rather spend some time in the kitchen area to make something. The market had some great stuff to choose from, I wish I knew what it all was!!! I did decide to make a nice compilation of mushrooms and green beans in a garlic sauce along with pork butt with a ginger sauce, and rice. Getting it all cooked is going to be the challenge. I have the longest cooking item on now, the pork. I will let it cook slowly until nice and tender, I prepped all of the veggies and the rice cooker is taking care of itself. I would love to make a nice tart for dessert but....I passed by a bakery that had some awesome looking options....no cooking desserts here for me, there are too many sweets to choose from without the fuss, and besides, there is not an oven here to cook in.
Packing for the trip up north. Be in touch soon.
Craig
July 11, 2008 - Cape Town, SA
Hey folks, looking for me??? Well, I have some updating to get to. I have been on the ground here for three days now and i have not been in touch... I am not neglecting you folks but I have been keeping myself a little busy. Let me turn the clock back a day or so and fill you in........
Thursday 10 July 2008
After getting a good nights sleep on Wednesday night, we hit the ground running. It was time to get a quick and dirty orientation of the city of Cape Town. It is not a hugely expansive city, at least the central part. We went from hill top to sea shore in about 20 minutes. We also spent some time at the waterfront for a great lunch. Yasu had some business to take care of so I was on my own for a few hours which i thoroughly enjoyed. I wandered around St. Georges Mall. It is a street that traffic has been blocked off from. There is anything from African , fish and chips, hawkers, and of course large and small store fronts along the street. I even made my way to an underground shopping area that was, how shall I put it, depressed. I saw and Woolworths and was curious. The department store which has branches all over the city sells your basic stuff. What it had that was a little out of the ordinary was a food store. I was walking back to where I was to meet Yasu and I saw a store front that captured my eye. There were pieces of fabric that had the most amazing brilliant colors and patterns to them. I walked into the store to find three women in the process of stitching, ironing and fitting customers in traditional African clothes. There were some very stunning pieces on display. I tried on a few but because i did not have alot of time, I told the woman I would probably return some time next week. After regrouping with yasu and Godfrey we went to the waterfront for lunch, the deli we went to was good enough. I had a salad with a twist. It was a mixed green salad topped with superbly fried chicken livers. The description said it was inspired by a similar dish from Sylvia’s in NYC. I have not been there in a while so i can not say if that is the case but I was very happy with my choice. The livers were nicely spiced and cooked perfectly. The waterfront area seems to be one humongous indoor mall. We walked around a bit, I exchanged some money and then we left to see more sights. We ended up on the top of Signal mountain. From there we could see the whole of Cape Town. The city is surrounded my large mountains a distance from the water with housing and businesses carved into what looks like a basin. The weather was not cooperating so I did not get good pictures at that time but i am going to make an effort to get back there before I leave to get some pictures. I think a night visit would be best. I just hope I can manage to get the adjustments on my camera to work so the pics look half way decent and not like some blind child took them. We headed home after getting some food and alcohol supplies and Nando’s Chicken take away for dinner. Believe it or not, I have not done any cooking yet. I might actually get away with being a true tourist for the whole time I am here.
Friday 11, July 2008
Still trying to get adjusted to the time here. We did not get up and about until 1000. Yasu again had a little bit of business to take care of so I told him to drop me in the neighborhood he was headed in and i would catch up with him in an hour and a half or so. I had to find an internet cafe to mail out the first installment which you all have received by now. I hope there were no problem opening the attachment. I will try to avoid attachments going forward, as much for my benefit as yours. It took me an hour and three internet cafes to get that first message out. The first two places i visited just did not have compatible software for me to send the Word document. Not such a simple task I found. Anyway, I did finally get the message out. Once all of the process type work was done we were all ready to eat, again. We went to Camps Bay, a sea shore beach area that reminded me of Hampton beach in New Hampshire. Small but with a nice warming feeling, nice restaurants and a great view of the ocean. We arrived just prior to the crowds. We found a parking space and as we began to walk towards the restaurant, the ever present “meter maid” asked how long we would be. We guesstimated a few hours for lunch. She told us it would be 10 rand. (that is just over a dollar) We all looked at each otehr and once out of her ear shot we commented that we did not think that she was an official parking monitor. It looked like she just added a yellow strip to her jacket and started to stake her claim along the beach front area. What is interesting around the city is that there are people whose job it is to monitor parking and collect fees. I supposed it is a way to get people employeed. Anyway, we had a nice lunch and indeed we did take a few hours. We are really in no hurry to get “there.” Wherever there may be. We ended up back at the apartment to hang out for a while. A quick nap and some planning for the next day out of the way we went out to dinner. Yasu and I opted for Japanese food this time. We went to one of his favorite places where he is still notorious...I have not found out the whole story behind that one yet. But I will. I am not promising to pass all along the juicy details...unless they are REALLY juicy. We called ahead for reservations but there was absolutely no need. Being winter here the places are just not as full as they might be. We were seated in a room maybe 20ft. X 20 ft. We were the only people in there space. It was a great space, just very empty. And there was an echo. And a bit of a chill. The later was sorted out by a small space heater being brought to us, much like a portable fireplace just for us. We also had a waitress who I there had no other customers. I could feel her hovering on the other side of the room. She was nice enough. The food was great. From sashimi, to an unusual seaweed salad, broiled fish and them some sushi. When the chef / owner noticed yasu, he came over for a nice little chat and after they got reacquainted, he sent over some of the best otoro ( fatty tuna) I have had. It just melted in your mouth. We completed the meal with red bean ice cream and left stuffed and buzzed...Did I forget to mention the bottle of wine and a nice bit of hot sake, just to keep us warm of course, you know, medicinal purposes. I think we were there for three hours. The time flew by. As it turned out having our own space made for a special time for us. We got back to the apartment and had plans to go out to a few bars and or clubs but....we sat on the couch and before we knew what hit us, we had a blanket wrapped around us and that was all she wrote. The next morning was to bring our first visit to wine country.
Saturday 12 July 2008
Not wanting to just wander aimlessly around the mountains of South Africa, we did some planning last night. Because there were some places we thought would be must sees, we thought it prudent to make reservations when possible. I was up bright and early at 0800. I had my list of places to call and get the scoop. I think I struck out 100%. Every place I called either was closed the day, had a wedding going on so tastings were a no go, lunch was not served until late in July....the list of excuses went on and on, I wonder how they knew we might be stopping by. Conspiracy theorist here. I made a couple of cold calls and I think that was the best thing I could have done, other than just roaming around, which we ended up doing and had a kick ass day. We pulled out of the drive thirty minutes late, it was 1030. We estimated a 45 minutes drive. It took all of 5 minutes before we were on the N2 highway making our way to the Stellenbosch region for a day of drinking and eating.....is ther a pattern here that you folks are noticing....if you are picking it up, just ignore the implications........ Cloudless sky’s, moderate temperature, good music and great company....we were moving along the roadways. Within minutes i noticed something that was out of the ordinary. The countryside bordering the highways began to be cluttered. I was not sure what it was at first but then it struck me. There were “shanty towns” sprawled arcoss the countryside for what seemed like miles at a time. Many of the structures resembled steel containers that had been cut in half. Above about half of them were electrical lines which resembled the infrastructure of a circus’ big tent. Wires cascading down to each of the units to provide some semblence of basic infrastructure needs. Yasu noticed me looking closely at the structures and commented that they are all illegal. Blacks living there to be in close proximity to the city and jobs he informed me. I tried to reason, probably my mistake, that if they aer illegal, how can they have power supplied to them....not computing....From the highway though it was a depressing sight. For literally miles on end I saw these structures that housed people. I would call it a desparate circumstance but i have not been here long enough to make that claim. After about 20 minutes I saw nothing but pure countryside, mountains, some snow capped, others whose peaks were covered in clouds. Thirty minutes later we were seeing vineyards. Our exit of the highway was fast approaching, our taste buds beginning to bloom, and pockets beginning to cry because they knew they would go home with many fewer Rands that they were stuffed with at that time. For those of you who have been wine tasting before you know that even though you are not drinking alot of wine, hmmmm....maybe I should rephrase that because I know some of you and that is exactly what you would be doing. Typicall you taste a wine to get a sense of it complexities, nuances, potentail for aging, resale value, Shelf appeal, and snobbery...oops, did I say that. Yasu and I both prefer red wine so that is primarily what we were interested in tasting. Our first stop turned out to be the best of all. (We were able to stumble through five vineyards). Not to get into alot of details about all of the wines that we tasted but we ended up purchasing a few bottles of a port that had an unbelievable finish. Not too sweet but a perfect balance of tannins, sugar, and fruity body while not being overly haughty....how was that description, should I become a writer for a wine magazine? I may have to hide that bottle once I get home...... We made a few more stops and tasted but did not purchase. We did, however, obtain a substantial buzz quotient. It was time for lunch....and soon. We asked a few of the tasting professionals and one place was a constant. We chose that location, Guardian Peak, for our lunch. We arrived before what was to be a full house and got the last non-reserved table in the house. They specialized in pairing their meals with their wines and they did not disappoint. From the beginning offering, a sauvignon blanc, to the end with a pecan cheese cake, we had a fabulous meal. Can we make it home? I was in better shape than Yasu so I started driving after lunch.......I had no near misses but I just do not like driving on the opposite side of the road. In a pinch I will do it but as a practice, I will let Yasu be the chauffeur this week. We stopped at one more winery on the way home but ther was not much interest on our part at that point. We were wined out. Enough for the day. We did dedicate ourselves to making another trip before we leave. The ride back was uneventful with the exception being two locations where traffic was stopped or severely slowed by the presence of baboons in the roadway. All in all....a great day but a long one. I am tiring now, we have not decided on dinner and it is approaching 2100.
Stay tuned for more.
Cheers,
Craig
July 10, 2008
Hey folks, looking for me??? Well, I have some updating to get to. I have been on the ground here for three days now and i have not been in touch... I am not neglecting you folks but I have been keeping myself a little busy. Let me turn the clock back a day or so and fill you in........
Thursday 10 July 2008
After getting a good nights sleep on Wednesday night, we hit the ground running. It was time to get a quick and dirty orientation of the city of Cape Town. It is not a hugely expansive city, at least the central part. We went from hill top to sea shore in about 20 minutes. We also spent some time at the waterfront for a great lunch. Yasu had some business to take care of so I was on my own for a few hours which i thoroughly enjoyed. I wandered around St. Georges Mall. It is a street that traffic has been blocked off from. There is anything from African , fish and chips, hawkers, and of course large and small store fronts along the street. I even made my way to an underground shopping area that was, how shall I put it, depressed. I saw and Woolworths and was curious. The department store which has branches all over the city sells your basic stuff. What it had that was a little out of the ordinary was a food store. I was walking back to where I was to meet Yasu and I saw a store front that captured my eye. There were pieces of fabric that had the most amazing brilliant colors and patterns to them. I walked into the store to find three women in the process of stitching, ironing and fitting customers in traditional African clothes. There were some very stunning pieces on display. I tried on a few but because i did not have alot of time, I told the woman I would probably return some time next week. After regrouping with yasu and Godfrey we went to the waterfront for lunch, the deli we went to was good enough. I had a salad with a twist. It was a mixed green salad topped with superbly fried chicken livers. The description said it was inspired by a similar dish from Sylvia’s in NYC. I have not been there in a while so i can not say if that is the case but I was very happy with my choice. The livers were nicely spiced and cooked perfectly. The waterfront area seems to be one humongous indoor mall. We walked around a bit, I exchanged some money and then we left to see more sights. We ended up on the top of Signal mountain. From there we could see the whole of Cape Town. The city is surrounded my large mountains a distance from the water with housing and businesses carved into what looks like a basin. The weather was not cooperating so I did not get good pictures at that time but i am going to make an effort to get back there before I leave to get some pictures. I think a night visit would be best. I just hope I can manage to get the adjustments on my camera to work so the pics look half way decent and not like some blind child took them. We headed home after getting some food and alcohol supplies and Nando’s Chicken take away for dinner. Believe it or not, I have not done any cooking yet. I might actually get away with being a true tourist for the whole time I am here.
Friday 11, July 2008
Still trying to get adjusted to the time here. We did not get up and about until 1000. Yasu again had a little bit of business to take care of so I told him to drop me in the neighborhood he was headed in and i would catch up with him in an hour and a half or so. I had to find an internet cafe to mail out the first installment which you all have received by now. I hope there were no problem opening the attachment. I will try to avoid attachments going forward, as much for my benefit as yours. It took me an hour and three internet cafes to get that first message out. The first two places i visited just did not have compatible software for me to send the Word document. Not such a simple task I found. Anyway, I did finally get the message out. Once all of the process type work was done we were all ready to eat, again. We went to Camps Bay, a sea shore beach area that reminded me of Hampton beach in New Hampshire. Small but with a nice warming feeling, nice restaurants and a great view of the ocean. We arrived just prior to the crowds. We found a parking space and as we began to walk towards the restaurant, the ever present “meter maid” asked how long we would be. We guesstimated a few hours for lunch. She told us it would be 10 rand. (that is just over a dollar) We all looked at each otehr and once out of her ear shot we commented that we did not think that she was an official parking monitor. It looked like she just added a yellow strip to her jacket and started to stake her claim along the beach front area. What is interesting around the city is that there are people whose job it is to monitor parking and collect fees. I supposed it is a way to get people employeed. Anyway, we had a nice lunch and indeed we did take a few hours. We are really in no hurry to get “there.” Wherever there may be. We ended up back at the apartment to hang out for a while. A quick nap and some planning for the next day out of the way we went out to dinner. Yasu and I opted for Japanese food this time. We went to one of his favorite places where he is still notorious...I have not found out the whole story behind that one yet. But I will. I am not promising to pass all along the juicy details...unless they are REALLY juicy. We called ahead for reservations but there was absolutely no need. Being winter here the places are just not as full as they might be. We were seated in a room maybe 20ft. X 20 ft. We were the only people in there space. It was a great space, just very empty. And there was an echo. And a bit of a chill. The later was sorted out by a small space heater being brought to us, much like a portable fireplace just for us. We also had a waitress who I there had no other customers. I could feel her hovering on the other side of the room. She was nice enough. The food was great. From sashimi, to an unusual seaweed salad, broiled fish and them some sushi. When the chef / owner noticed yasu, he came over for a nice little chat and after they got reacquainted, he sent over some of the best otoro ( fatty tuna) I have had. It just melted in your mouth. We completed the meal with red bean ice cream and left stuffed and buzzed...Did I forget to mention the bottle of wine and a nice bit of hot sake, just to keep us warm of course, you know, medicinal purposes. I think we were there for three hours. The time flew by. As it turned out having our own space made for a special time for us. We got back to the apartment and had plans to go out to a few bars and or clubs but....we sat on the couch and before we knew what hit us, we had a blanket wrapped around us and that was all she wrote. The next morning was to bring our first visit to wine country.
Saturday 12 July 2008
Not wanting to just wander aimlessly around the mountains of South Africa, we did some planning last night. Because there were some places we thought would be must sees, we thought it prudent to make reservations when possible. I was up bright and early at 0800. I had my list of places to call and get the scoop. I think I struck out 100%. Every place I called either was closed the day, had a wedding going on so tastings were a no go, lunch was not served until late in July....the list of excuses went on and on, I wonder how they knew we might be stopping by. Conspiracy theorist here. I made a couple of cold calls and I think that was the best thing I could have done, other than just roaming around, which we ended up doing and had a kick ass day. We pulled out of the drive thirty minutes late, it was 1030. We estimated a 45 minutes drive. It took all of 5 minutes before we were on the N2 highway making our way to the Stellenbosch region for a day of drinking and eating.....is ther a pattern here that you folks are noticing....if you are picking it up, just ignore the implications........ Cloudless sky’s, moderate temperature, good music and great company....we were moving along the roadways. Within minutes i noticed something that was out of the ordinary. The countryside bordering the highways began to be cluttered. I was not sure what it was at first but then it struck me. There were “shanty towns” sprawled arcoss the countryside for what seemed like miles at a time. Many of the structures resembled steel containers that had been cut in half. Above about half of them were electrical lines which resembled the infrastructure of a circus’ big tent. Wires cascading down to each of the units to provide some semblence of basic infrastructure needs. Yasu noticed me looking closely at the structures and commented that they are all illegal. Blacks living there to be in close proximity to the city and jobs he informed me. I tried to reason, probably my mistake, that if they aer illegal, how can they have power supplied to them....not computing....From the highway though it was a depressing sight. For literally miles on end I saw these structures that housed people. I would call it a desparate circumstance but i have not been here long enough to make that claim. After about 20 minutes I saw nothing but pure countryside, mountains, some snow capped, others whose peaks were covered in clouds. Thirty minutes later we were seeing vineyards. Our exit of the highway was fast approaching, our taste buds beginning to bloom, and pockets beginning to cry because they knew they would go home with many fewer Rands that they were stuffed with at that time. For those of you who have been wine tasting before you know that even though you are not drinking alot of wine, hmmmm....maybe I should rephrase that because I know some of you and that is exactly what you would be doing. Typicall you taste a wine to get a sense of it complexities, nuances, potentail for aging, resale value, Shelf appeal, and snobbery...oops, did I say that. Yasu and I both prefer red wine so that is primarily what we were interested in tasting. Our first stop turned out to be the best of all. (We were able to stumble through five vineyards). Not to get into alot of details about all of the wines that we tasted but we ended up purchasing a few bottles of a port that had an unbelievable finish. Not too sweet but a perfect balance of tannins, sugar, and fruity body while not being overly haughty....how was that description, should I become a writer for a wine magazine? I may have to hide that bottle once I get home...... We made a few more stops and tasted but did not purchase. We did, however, obtain a substantial buzz quotient. It was time for lunch....and soon. We asked a few of the tasting professionals and one place was a constant. We chose that location, Guardian Peak, for our lunch. We arrived before what was to be a full house and got the last non-reserved table in the house. They specialized in pairing their meals with their wines and they did not disappoint. From the beginning offering, a sauvignon blanc, to the end with a pecan cheese cake, we had a fabulous meal. Can we make it home? I was in better shape than Yasu so I started driving after lunch.......I had no near misses but I just do not like driving on the opposite side of the road. In a pinch I will do it but as a practice, I will let Yasu be the chauffeur this week. We stopped at one more winery on the way home but ther was not much interest on our part at that point. We were wined out. Enough for the day. We did dedicate ourselves to making another trip before we leave. The ride back was uneventful with the exception being two locations where traffic was stopped or severely slowed by the presence of baboons in the roadway. All in all....a great day but a long one. I am tiring now, we have not decided on dinner and it is approaching 2100.
Stay tuned for more.
Cheers,
Craig
July 13, 2008 - Cape Town, SA
December 1, 2006 - Travel Update 13 - Back in the Good Ole USA
Hey Folks, I did not think it would be hard to get back home but I was certainly mistaken!!!!!!!!!
I left bangkok over 24 hours ago. My ticket said it would take me to Boston. Little did I know that mother nature had something to say about it all and she did not agree with my plans. Before I get to the details i should get to a bit about how i got to the airport and on my plane.
I did go out on my last night for dinner and after that a massage. I ended up back in my hotel at around 11 pm.....Early from my perspective. Well, the wake up call that I left for 3 am worked.... To a degree. The phone rang and i got up to smswer it. What i did not do is stay up. I Promptly went back to bed as if I had hours to sleep and ponder the worlds' issues. Something woke me in the middle of the night and I realized I should be someplace other than in my bed. I wa supposed to be at th airport. My flight was at 630 and it was 445 when I finally got my ass out of bed. I was packed and dressed in 10 minutes, minus my phone charger, and out he door. I expected to whizz through the hotel check out because of the hour........Oh NO!!! Mr. Murphy had other plans. I was in the lobby for 10 minutes waiting for someone to show their face. Finaly I got out of the hotel and into a cab..A cab that I thought was on the meter. The cabbie initially asked if he could charge me a flat fee. I responded by opening the door and attempting to leave, he got pissed and turned on the meter. I knew at that point how much it would cost to get to the airport. He wanted to chard me 40 percent more. I am not that stupid. I told him no and if he persisted I would get out of the cab. He turned on the meter.
After a long ride to the airport I made it on time to get my flight. I had no waiting which worked for me. During the flight I slept, ate, drank, slept, and drank sme more. This lasted for the duration of the 12 hour flight. I was still tired when I landed. B y the time I made it to Tokyo I was already tired. Then when we set off for the next leg it go more complicated. No one could sleep and no one was even aware tha they needed to sleep.
I finally got asome rest and was able to allow rest for others. I slept about half way to Chicago and then I began to hear bad news. most if not all flights wer being postponed or cancelled. Mie was one of the th lucky few that was cancalled early on. I had to wait until the next day to get home. So...that explains why I am not in a hotel waitning for the judgement to be handed down.
My flight was rescheduled until tomorrow at 7 am. I am hopefull that I will get out of here. I am ready to get back home. More later....time is passing very fast.
Craig
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