Bullet Trains Exposed!

This video (thanks, Michael) gives you an insite not only into the Japanese working-man's discipline and work ethic but also to the amazing world of bullet-train travel from the cockpit.  They have their travel itineraries pin-pointed down to the second!  During my entire trip and through probably 25+ train rides, only one train was not there the second it was supposed to.

Regardless of what anyone says, I believe there is a place for high-speed trains in the US.


Click on the CC on the video screen to turn captions on.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CF1HhJM7EkM&feature=related

Fashion in Japan

Several of my friends asked to show actual pictures of how the girls dress out here.  Seriously though,  it's just a little awkward and creepy snapping pictures of random strangers, especially in a conservative culture.  So I did the only thing I could do.  I had my kids take pictures!  Their assignment was to find anyone fashionable and snap random photos.  Here is the result of our photo shoot.

They love the jackets and poncho's with the flared-out finish at the bottom.

This color of hair is very popular with the black-haired women or Japan.

She was super cute.  This was before the boys understood the importance of focus.

The girl in front had an interesting sock/shoe combo but also check out the leggings on the girl in the back.

Even the kids can rock the cool jackets and check out my homeboy's scarf action!

The girl in the tan jacket is rocking the leggings/skirt/poncho-jacket look that I like out here.

She looks as if I told her to stand like that.  

Don't you hate when you rip your leggings?  Not in Japan!  They do that on purpose!
She's pulling....them....off......

Final Night in Tokyo

All good things must come to an end.  Today marked the end to an amazing vacation, assuming tomorrow's trip to the airport doesn't end up giving me some more material for this blog.  We woke up, ate our buffet breakfast and headed over to the Tokyo Dome to do the local Amusement park with my second cousin Chie and her husband Shohe (I'm off the hook on the spelling of their names since I got it from mom).  With all the good luck we are having, I fully expected to bump into Ichiro Suzuki and the Seattle Mariners (my favorite team) somehow as they are in town to play exhibition games against Japanese teams.

We spent the day going on rides and enjoyed some noodles at lunch.  While the kids were in the log flume ride, my mom and I snuck over to the creperie and scarfed down a dessert crepe and a bubble tea.  I lovvvvve crepes and my love affair with bubble tea is well documented.

They have a really impressive roller coaster at the Tokyo Dome that tears through an enormous Ferris Wheel and in and out of their amusement park, however, the ride is closed apparently due to the earthquake.

We also hit the 3D ride they have there and a big floating umbrella thing which drops you 20 stories or so.

Mattie doing his Ichiro impression

We played a game where you hit a tennis ball that is suspended in the air and got some good pictures of that.

After the rides were over, we headed to the 100 yen store to pickup some souvenirs.  The kids and I cleaned out their candy section.  The last thing I need right now is more sweets since I'm doing a good job of impersonating a sumo wrestler at the time of writing this post!  However, I can't come back empty handed and without the amazing candy from Japan.  Besides, we looked for 8 days for a candy place that had all this stuff.  We weren't able to find the candy that I labeled as the most perfect piece of candy ever made but found some stuff that is similar.

We grabbed dinner and then split up.  Chie and her husband wanted to take me out to a place and get drinks.  As it turned out, this also meant getting more food!  So I took one for the team and ate more :)  I can't turn down good food and especially can't turn down new food that I've never had before.  Here are some photos and descriptions:

This is Umeshu (plum wine) sweetened and kicked with sake.  It was unbelievably good.

Shohe's favorite.  This is Shochu which is sweet potato liquor.
It reminded me of sojoo but a little less floral. 

Okonomiyaki - A Japanese pizza with flour/egg, cabbage and a brown sauce.
Very tasty.  Good drunk comfort food, as well.

I wasn't excited about this dish at first because I thought I heard them say it was fish cakes.  However, it is  Monja, an Osaka dish.  It consists of plum, fish egg, cabbage and Mochi!  More comfort food.  Can't wait to come back and get this again. 

Love foods you get to cook yourself :)

Monja, the finished product

This is how they serve salt and pepper.  Notice that's red pepper and not black!

After saying goodbye, I cabbed it back to the hotel and sat down to blog it out before bed.  Just one more post before I pack up the macbook and call it a night.

Day 8 and 9 - Tokyo

Day 1 in Tokyo - After we returned from the Hot Springs in Izu, we took several trains and subways to the Toshi Center Hotel in Tokyo.  We checked in and headed to my the neighborhood where my mom grew up.  Our tour guide is my mom's cousin, Tamio-San.  First we stopped at a local soba shop and I had my first plate of cold soba.  My mom said she ate noodles at this place as a kid over 50 years ago!  I much prefer the cold soba to the hot noodle soup.  I got some much needed additional slurping practice.  By the time I master this, it'll be time to go back to the states and all that slurping skill will go to waste!

Cold Soba.  Eaten by dipping noodles into the bowl which contains a mixture of the broth, wasabe and onion.
Then you slurp away!

The local Buddhist park my mom used to play in had numerous temples for us to explore.  We got some great pictures of the temples and the huge buddhas housed inside.  I was surprised that the park my mom grew up playing in was a Japanese national treasure now.  Very peaceful place and beautiful.

Really love this archway.  Inside the two pillars are red demon-looking creatures.

My mom said she rang this gong when she was a kid and ran away.  Afraid of the monks, I believe.

Inside one of the temples.

After the park, we walked through her old neighborhood and even knocked on her elementary school friend's front door.  After picking up some desserts in town, we went back on our way to the hotel in Tokyo.  Our obsession for Japanese desserts is a little out of control and after we ate them, we all crashed super hard, including mom, who never seems to sleep.  I managed to stay awake through the sumo wrestling on TV and getting the blog up from the previous day.  Short blog for the first day in Tokyo!

The Japanese make a consistently outstanding flan, which is my favorite dessert.

Day 2 in Tokyo had us up early for breakfast buffet in the hotel and then on our way to the Tsukiji fish market.  The fish market is regarded as the largest fish market in the world and one of the largest wholesale markets of any kind, as well.  I definitely wanted to see what the fuss was all about.  Unfortunately, it was a rainy day and because of issues with tourists, they've been extremely tight on allowing tourists in to see the actual fish auctions were fish sometimes command six figure prices per fish. So we walked around the retail market and admired the various types of seafood on display for sale.  I was able to pick up a top-brand Japanese knife to bring home as a cooking souvenir.

Tsukiji Fish Market Vendor aisle

Alley after Alley of vendors!

A knife vendor sharpening a knife.

Whale blubber.  I regret that I didn't get to try any whale on the trip.
Looks pretty fatty though.   Next time!

One of the oldest knife companies.  I picked one up for myself.
Reminder - do not pack in your carry-on bag!

Egg on a stick.  I'll pass :)

We were able to find Takashimaya in a nearby area to Tsukiji and hit up one of the restaurants inside.  I've been so gluttonous with the Japanese desserts so far so I decided to take a break from picking one up.  Obviously, that was an error in judgment since these desserts are sooooo gooooood.  Still, without a gym in my hotel the last 9 days, I'm can't risk full-on coronary failure with the way I've been eating!

We retire to the hotel for some cleaning of our room, a quick nap and sumo.  We are staying in a ryokan hotel which means traditional japanese style.  We essentially are all 5 sleeping inches from each other on the floor!  It feels a lot like camping :)

We wake up from our nap and headed to Shinjuku for a family dinner with mom's mother's family at Glass Court Super Buffet.  A couple of members of this group actually came to my wedding back in 1998 so that was pretty cool.  It's really nice to see how my mom's family receives her each time we visit new people.  They really love her and treasure her visiting them while she is here.  It's customary to exchange bags of gifts when visits like these happen.  Mom spent many hours planning for the trip but I'm sure she spent a large number of hours was spent carefully coordinating all the American souvenirs that she had to pack.

Thirds of Foie Gras?  Don't mind if I do!

On the way to the restaurant, mom said it was a very nice buffet dinner.  Now I've had a mix of good and average buffets since coming to Japan and eaten at the best buffets in Vegas, the buffet capital of the US, however, my expectations were not that high.  However, this buffet may top even those at the Bellagio and the Wynn in Vegas.  This buffet.... yes Carissa.... had Fois Gras!!!!!  I couldn't believe it when I saw it.  Both of my first two visits to the buffet included getting some Foie Gras in addition to prime rib, squid ink noodles with shrimp, perfectly cooked and spiced tempura fish and much more.  As I sat there feeling enormous, I contemplated getting a third portion of Foie.  Mom is shaking her head disapprovingly at me because Foie is so rich.  But in these gastronomic decision-points, I ask myself, what would Carissa do?  So I headed back up for thirds on the Foie Gras and it was a good decision, indeed!

After a minute of rest, I headed up for dessert and devoured a few desserts and pastries including some bananas dipped in the chocolate fondue fountain and a kiwi-lime cheescake slice.  But in spite of how much I ate, the king of the buffet this evening wasn't me.  It was Brandon.  The kid had three plates of nigiri sushi which he eats without any soy sauce or wasabe.  He also ate plates of other stuff too and tried various things off my plate including a bite of Foie.  His palate has matured 25+ years before mine did that lucky kid!  For dessert, he made two trips and then after debating with me if he needed/wanted more, he decided he wanted a bowl of fresh fruit, too.  Hopefully this means he's going to go through a little growth spurt because I don't know where else the weight is going!

After some tender goodbyes and some joint next-day-planning with some family members, we headed home to pass out immediately.  Tomorrow, a Japanese amusement park!

Day 7 - Izu Hot Springs

Dedicated to all my friends with Asian parents :)

Day 7 – Izu Hot Springs

One thing that I really wanted to do in Japan is bath in the hot springs.  The volcanic activity in Japan makes for some really stellar hot spring resorts.  Mom researched on her own and found a 4.5 star resort called Accueil Sanshiro which is a 30 minute cab ride from Izu, situated on the coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean.

Our Izu cab driver was so great.  Cab drivers are a great example of a cultural difference between our country and Japan.  The cabs are typically in shiny condition and the interiors are super clean.  I even spotted some feather dusters in the trunk which he clearly uses to clean his cab each day.  His outfit was a tie, white collar shirt and sweater-vest with dress slacks.   Oh and let’s not forget the impressive white  gloves. He wore this uniform each day.... to drive a cab!  He ran around our different car doors to open/shut them for us.  Oh, I forgot that the previous day, our cab driver took us to the Golden Temple and dropped us off.  My mom asked if he would wait an hour for us and he said “Hai”.  We left without paying and my mom said, he told us to pay him when we came back.  That’s really trusting!  J  Pretty cool.  Keep in mind, there is no tipping in Japan, either.

The trip to the resort involved numerous tunnels which had been dug straight through entire mountains.  I suspect the Japanese have become very efficient at tunnel building.  I imagine that many years ago, the steep mountainsides completely blocked villages off from one another, especially in the winter.  Now, they burrow straight through and everyone is connected.  Halfway there, as we drive on the coastal hillside, the driver points out Mt Fuji on the right.  Michael asked to stop the car and got this shot:

This was actually on the bullet train

On the way to the Hot Springs

As we roll up to the hot spring resort, we notice some beautiful coastline on the way there.  The hostel is situated overlooking a very beautiful cove with a large island creating a gulf of protection.  The seas were very rough on the day of our arrival as you can see in these pictures:

The hotel is very pretty inside and the attendants provide us the typical Japanese service we’ve grown accustomed to.  They take our bags and introduce us to a short, older Japanese woman dressed in a kimono.  My mom explained that she was going to take care of us and explain everything about the resort.

We opened the doors to our top-floor room and walk inside and WOW…. The room has an incredible view and is a traditional Japanese setup.  The balcony has a hot spring single person bath overlooking the Pacific Ocean.  Oh and of course the bathroom has a high-tech bidet in it. 

This thing has more control on it than a space shuttle cockpit!

Traditional Japanese ryokan.  At night, they swap the dining table for floor mattresses.

The shower room. 

View from the balcony

Continuously flowing hot spring bath on the balcony.

Our host sits down in the Asian kneeling position at the coffee table and goes over everything.  She records our dinnertime request, what beer we want, schedules a massage for me and books an hour in their private karaoke room for us J  After that, we are free to settle in and explore the hotel.

Our first stop is the hot spring spa.  We inspect everything and decide we want to head back to the room to get ready to experience it immediately!  Mattie is fussing because he’s grown somewhat shy about getting butt-naked in front of people.  I make it clear that he needs to trust me and stop carrying on about how he’s going to hate it J Can you guess who probably loved the hot spring spa more than anyone else?  So we head back to our rooms and put on our kimono’s, which apparently are all anyone wears around the resort once you check in.

The spa is really spectacular.  Besides the beautiful view of the Pacific and the nearby Island, it is very clean and unlike most spa’s I’ve been in, smells ok.  They have an indoor hot spring bath and an outdoor one, too.  The water trickles into both baths from what appears to be an underground spring.  Given the fact that the water is continuously coming in, I have confidence that this isn’t a normal chlorinated spa bath!  From what my mom and the cab driver told us, the water in these springs have a high level of healthy mineral content which is supposed to be very good for your skin. 

Indoor and Outdoor Hot Springs

Scrubbing stations

Outdoor Hot Spring Bath

We all strip down out of our  kimono’s and proceed to wash ourselves down.  I took my time scrubbing since mom couldn’t emphasize enough how important it is to enter hot spring baths ONLY after cleaning every inch of your body.  Even still, I noticed that the other people that rolled in after us not only scrubbed for like 20 minutes, but they took pleasure in helping each other out by spraying each other’s backs!  Kind of funny to see since American men are fairly uptight things like helping one another shower.

By the time we get in, Mattie has gotten over his shyness and is just focused on enjoying the hot spring bath.  It’s pretty hot though so we bail after about 15 minutes shared between the indoor and outdoor baths.  Very relaxing!

We head back to the room to rest and watch sumo while we wait for our 5:30 dinnertime.  The old Japanese woman comes back around 5:15 and starts preparing our meal.  Not only is she loading up our table with delicious looking Japanese food items, she’s got little cooking stations setup, too!  After she is done, I grabbed a couple photos and a video.  This includes a video of her cooking live abalone at the table.  Warning, this video is not for the squeamish, for any vegetarians or people who are uptight J  For the rest of you, it’s a must-see.

We've got raw lobster, raw clam, raw prawns, raw tuna and pieces of raw squid.  Love the decoration and the use of the lobster shell.

Brandon is the king of raw food eating.  The boy has already passed his old man in terms of what he’s unafraid to eat.  I wasn’t always the most adventurous eater but I believe I hold my own nowadays. He ate everything we put in front of him including raw prawns, raw lobster, abalone, raw clam (it was super crunch and tough) and a variety of other raw foods.  I had never had raw lobster before.  

I honestly don't know what half this stuff was, but it was all delicious.  On the far lower right is an asian warm custard in a bowl.  All of this was a meal in itself but there is also the lobster tray and the lobster miso soup and the abalone!

The spread.

Miso soup with lobster added for flavor and a Sapporo.

This seafood must have been killed minutes before this meal as eating raw shellfish is a slightly risky proposition otherwise.  The irony does not escape me that there is a sign at the hot spring bath asking people not to harm the bugs that live near the outdoor bath and to remove them from the water with a net yet they have no problem cooking live foods for my gastronomic enjoyment J 

After dinner, I head to my massage.  It’s “ok”.  Being massaged through three layers of clothing isn’t my idea of relaxing, which is how she did it.  She did manage to identify the two or three big knots in my back and worked them out for me.  

I headed back to the room to collect the family for karaoke.  We rocked the mic for an hour and everyone took a couple of turns, even Michael.  Mattie and I did a couple of Usher songs and yes, Dustin, Bon Jovi made an appearance, obviously.

Mattie showing off his sumo stomp after dinner.

Our host preparing the fresh abalone

Brandon about to try a raw prawn.  Brave kid!

Mattie aka "White Usher"

Givin it all I got!

The next morning, we did brunch in the resort dining room.  I had low expectations because a) it is a buffet and b) the buffet brunch in the last hotel wasn’t that great.  However, this is a 4.5 star resort and I was blown away.  The food was very exotic, different than the night before and super fresh.

After we eat, we finish our packing and proceed to clean out the gift shop J  My mom used some sort of facial peel scrub the night before in the women’s spa (the men’s spa didn’t have it) and was raving about it.  I have to say, it must be good because it appeared to completely rejuvenate her face.  The spa visit was a great day because mom hasn’t been sleeping much and needed a day to relax and recover. 

Next stop…..  Tokyo!