BURARI JAPAN

My Ode to Motsuni

2008-09-01T20:09:00.002-10:00

Every so often in life you come across something that really makes you happy. Something that gives you a warm feeling inside and puts a goofy smile on your face the moment you think about it. Say it's name out loud and suddenly the sun comes out, the clouds go away and little blue birds appear and start singing the song Zippedydoodah! For some people this happy thought might be a place, a thing or even a person. In my case it's a Japanese dish made out of pig intestines and other internal organs stewed together. Yes my friends, this is my Ode to Motsuni!

Now, I can't really say I'm an expert on Motsuni since I've only had it a few times. Several times at Akitaya, once at Masuya and once at the Kawagoe Matsuri. Masuya's Motsuni was not the greatest (Sorry Kenjisan). At the Kawagoe Matsuri I ate Motsuni at an outdoor beer garden. This Motsuni had more vegetables than the others I tried. It was also filled with black tripe and other unidentifiable bits of pig innard goodies. I would call this Motsuni a close second to Akitaya's. I didn't take a picture of the Motsuni we had at Kawagoe, but I found the above picture and it looks pretty close, including the styrofoam bowl it came in.

My friend Timmy has a love/hate relationship with Motsuni. He agrees with me wholeheartedly that it is a very tasty dish that goes well with beer and shochu, but it's obvious that this is no fat free dish! Some may even argue that eating stewed pig innards could be bad for you!? The last time we had it at Akitaya, I encouraged Timmy to "drink" all of the leftover oily broth and bits of fat that had collected at the bottom of his bowl. Timmy obliged at the time without hesitation, but now claims I coerced him into doing it. He further claims that this was an attempt to slowly kill him by clogging his arteries with pork fat. No comment.

Sensoji Temple

2008-08-16T06:56:00.004-10:00

I forgot about this video I took at Sensoji Temple in Asakusa. The picture is not that great because I used my regular camera as opposed to a video camera. On our 2007 trip we stopped off at Sensoji to do some shopping at Nakamise Dori and visit the temple.

Harajuku Boy

2008-03-29T17:06:00.001-10:00

I'm sure many of you have heard of Gwen Stefani's song "Harajuku Girls". Well, meet my friend Richard, the real "Harajuku Boy"! Part of our mission to Japan this year was to find a store called Bape in Harajuku Tokyo. For the uninitiated, Harajuku is the fashion mecca of Japan, and my friend Rich was determined to experience it by shopping at a really cool store called Bape! I am told that Bape stands for Bathing Ape but have no clue as to why it is so named. Prior to visiting, all I knew was that Bape was going to have really cool hip-hop and urban street clothes for sale, and that my friend Rich really wanted to go visit.

So you would think that a popular store like Bape would be very easy to find, right? WRONG! They had this place hidden better than Jimmy Hoffa! We walked past this place over and over before Rich finally peeked over the railing and spotted it downstairs. Take a look at this picture and tell me if you could tell that Bape is located down the flight of stairs with the white hand railing. Bape is not the store you see on the street level when you walk by, it is literally hidden downstairs. Now in hindsight this actually makes some sense since the directions we were getting from nearby shop owners always had something to do with "going down". At the time we assumed "going down" meant going down the street, not going down some stairs.

The street level store that was above Bape was the Billionaire Boys Club. According to Rich this is another "hip" store that actually has a connection to Bape. I was really glad that Rich was able to shop at Bape. I myself am actually much too un-hip to truly appreciate what they sell there. Any place that sells camouflaged boxer shorts for $50 bucks a piece is definitely not the kind of place that I usually shop at. If you were to ask me my impression of Bape I would tell you I remember an Ape face, a lot of camouflaged items and everything priced with way too many zeros after it. I guess I'll stick to Sears and Macy's.

The Dog Bar - Masuya

2008-02-24T14:32:00.016-10:00

During our 2006 trip to Tokyo, we would often walk by this Izakaya on our way home from the train station. During the day, a dog would always be sleeping out front of the shop when we passed by. Because we didn't know the actual name of the place, a few of us started referring to it as the "Dog Bar" because of the ever present sleeping dog. Turns out the place is actually called Masuya which has nothing to do with dogs, go figure? Well, for one reason or another we were never able to stop off for food and drinks here, but vowed to visit during our next trip to Japan. In 2007 we kept our promise and finally went for a visit. If you look real good you can see Timmy standing off to the far right of the picture with a beer in hand as usual.

If you haven't already noticed from my previous postings, we like to drink outside. Here we are standing outside Masuya in the crisp night air, good friends enjoying a tasty beverage together while watching the world walk by. Sightseeing and culture aside, this is the reason we enjoy traveling to Japan! In a previous 2006 posting about Akitaya, I mentioned how they stacked table tops on beer crates outside for us. At Masuya, they used these cool blue 55-gallon drums instead.

The food was pretty good, and the sake was even better. Timmy in his usual fashion had quickly made friends with our bald headed waiter named Kenji. Kenji-san took very good care of us, which was probably due to Timmy's good looks and "boyish" charm. We ordered some sake from Kenji and he poured for us like it was free! Now it is pretty common for Japanese restaurants to place your sake glass into a wooden masu and purposely over pour the sake until it overflows from the glass into the masu. It's a sign of hospitality, and that little bit of over pour makes you feel that you are getting your money's worth. Well Kenji-san not only overflowed our glasses, he also overflowed our masu onto the table. Using some quick "bar math" we came to the conclusion that each of us had received the equivalent of three glasses of sake each. If you don't believe me, take a look at the picture above.

Masuya's location afforded us a beautiful view of Tokyo Tower which you can see in the background of this picture. Oh and that shady looking character in the background is Timmy. When I first took this picture I was pretty pleased with myself, having positioned my mug of beer against the night sky with a beautiful full moon and Tokyo Tower behind it. It was only when I looked at this picture the next day that I realized that my beautiful full moon was actually the glowing sign of the Chinese restaurant next door. I guess Kenji-san really did pour us a lot of sake that night!

Yoshinoya - Breakfast of Champions

2008-02-01T23:15:00.000-10:00

I've been wanting to do this post since our 2006 trip to Tokyo and finally got around to it. Welcome to my "ode" to Yoshinoya!

My younger sister once teased me because I liked eating at Yoshinoya when we visited Japan in 2006. "Why would you want to eat there?" she asked when I mentioned having breakfast there a few times. Established in 1899, Yoshinoya is the name of the largest "gyudon" or beef bowl restaurant chain in Japan. Considered "fast food" in Japan, a beef bowl or gyudon is basically a bowl of rice covered with pieces of thinly sliced beef and sometimes onion. The beef and onions are usually kept simmering in their own sauce which allows them to be served quickly when an order is placed, hence the reference to fast food.

There was a Yoshinoya located about a block from our hotel, and we ate there a few times for breakfast. (I understand there are over 1,000 locations alone in Japan.) While they definitely don't serve the same kind of food, I guess my sister puts Yoshinoya in the same category as a McDonalds, which is why she was amused that I would fly all the way to Japan to basically eat at a fast food joint.

In the United Staes you can even buy gyudon in your frozen food section (well, in Hawaii at least). Just pop it in the microwave and you're good to go.

I truly enjoyed having breakfast as Yoshinoya during our trip. I've always been a breakfast guy who prefers something savory as opposed to sweet. No pancakes or fruits for me, give me a plate of salty breakfast meats, eggs and rice and I'm a happy camper! Throw in some miso soup and some pickled vegetables and I'm in heaven! (As a side note, ironically all of us had some type of "pork bowl" as opposed to a beef bowl at the time of our trip. It turns out that Yoshinoya was not serving any beef while we were up there. Apparantly Yoshinoya buys the majority of it's beef from the United States. When Japan banned the import of American beef in 2003 due to mad cow disease, Yoshinoya was forced to stop selling beef bowls. I understand that the ban was lifted in 2005 or 2006, and that Yoshinoya has resumed selling beef bowls but on a very limted basis. Go figure?)

We're Back!

2007-12-10T18:16:00.000-10:00

The boys are back in town! After a one year hiatus, we're finally back in Tokyo again. Our trip actually took place a few months ago in October, but I've basically been too lazy to post anything until now. Here's a picture of us toasting our return at one of our favorite Shiba haunts, Akitaya Yakitori!

Now although I haven't felt much like "blogging" recently, you'll be happy to hear that my friend Dean has picked up the slack with his Bura Bura Blog! So far he's chronicled this past trip up through our visit to the Ghibli Museum. He's really put a lot of time and effort into his blog, so please check it out when you have some time.

As for me, I still plan to do some "spot" postings of our trip, but nothing like last year. I'll do my best to write about some items of interest when I can, and leave the tough stuff to Dean.

Good Beer

2007-08-09T22:21:00.000-10:00

Dean has come to my rescue with a guest posting to my blog. Enjoy! Beer is a big part of culture in Japan. I think that having a beer with a meal is more common than Americans having a glass of wine with their meal. When you visit Japan, one notices the proliferation of beer ads throughout the city. In the summer, part of the weather forecast is a measure of how good your beer will taste. Depending on the temperature and humidity, the number of beer steins range from 1 to 4. With the more steins meaning that the beer will taste better that day. What I have come to realize is that this really means that it will be hot humid day.

In either case, I have a few favorite beers that would like to share today.Last year, I came across Sapporo Winter's Tale (Fuyu Monogatari) beer. As you sink down your first gulp, you realize that this is not a chugging beer rather something that should be sipped to enjoy the subtle flavor. It is rather heavy for a Japanese beer. However, a lot lighter than your US micros. http://www.sapporobeer.jp/product/beer/winter.html (5.5% Alcohol)

My favorite beer of choice in Japan is Yebisu Black. Not to be confused with the Black Label Lagers this is a dark beer. More porter than stout, it is very smooth with rich but not overbearing flavor that is perfect for the Japanese social drinking seen. It is clean going down with no after taste or burp factor. Perhaps more notable is the fact that this beer is not as heavy as it seems. This is a relatively light beer for a porter. Nonetheless this is my staple as I look for it everywhere I go. No the rumors are not true this is not available in the states. This beer is a limited distribution in Japan as well. (5.0% Alcohol) Ahh, roasted barley and hops...http://www.sapporobeer.jp/product/beer/yebisu_black.html
Posted by Dean Sakata

Grand Sumo Tournament in Hawaii 2007

2007-06-30T22:33:00.000-10:00

SORRY FOR THE DELAY IN POSTINGS BUT I'VE BEEN BUSY WITH WORK RECENTLY. Picture this . . . two half naked sweaty men, each weighing over 300 pounds, grabbing each other's underwear while doing pelvic thrusts together. Sound like your idea of a good time? Probably not, unless you're watching the Grand Sumo Tournament in Hawaii 2007! The Japan crew attended the Grand Sumo Tournament a few weeks ago, the first time since 1993 that the world's top sumo wrestlers faced off in Honolulu, Hawaii. While there were no Hawaii wrestlers in this tournament, it was still pretty exciting to watch.

For the uninitiated, Sumo wrestling is the national sport of Japan. It involves individual matches between two rikishi or Sumo wrestlers. The wrestlers are dressed in mawashi which look like colorful thongs attached to really big belts. They wrestle each other in a small dirt ring, doing their best to push the other wrestler out of the ring or make them fall down using hand thrusts and throws. One of the more popular foreign Sumo wrestlers right now is Kotooshu from Bulgaria. (That's him in the above picture on the right.) In a relatively short amount of time, Kotooshu has already attained the rank of Ozeki, or "champion" which is the second highest rank in Sumo, just below Yokuzuna.

Usually Sumo tournaments are held for 15 days, with the winner of the tournament being the wrestler with the best winning record overall. Because the Grand Sumo Tournament in Hawaii was held for only two days, it was conducted as two separate nights of "sudden death" elimination matches. Lose your match and you were out, win and you continued on. The two semi-finalists on Saturday night, Asashoryu and Hakuho, each wrestled four matches before finally getting to wrestle each other for the championship. The Grand Tournament ended it's first night with Asashoryu wining the event. In the above picture he is awarded the Mayor's Cup by Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hanneman.

Let the Countdown Begin!

2007-05-27T15:50:00.000-10:00

IT IS OFFICIAL! Start your countdown clocks and set them to T-Minus 4.5 months. On October 14, 2007, we will be returning to the LAND OF SMILES! No my friends we are not traveling to Thailand, we are heading back to TOKYO JAPAN! Most of the original group got together for dinner recently at Chiba-Ken. Missing from the picture are the Oregon bunch (Matt, Brad and Mary) Mark, Mrs. Sakata and Ryan, who was actually there but unfortunately got cut out of the picture. Sorry Ryan!

The herd has thinned this year as only four of us have committed thus far. Quite a bit less than the fourteen of us who went last year. This is mostly because another bigger and longer trip is already being planned for 2008, and not everyone is up to going to Japan three years in a row. I see this as a "glass half full" situation since this really means there will be more sake for me to drink in Tokyo since less people are going!

Let's Give it to Timmy . . . He'll Eat Anything!

2007-05-10T21:24:00.000-10:00

POP QUIZ: What is Timmy doing in the above picture?

A. After digging for days, Timmy is proudly showing off the granddaddy of all boogers!

B. Timmy lost a bet and must now swallow a super sized maggot.

C. Timmy is happily enjoying his dinner in Ginza.

If you answered C, you are correct. What looks like a giant maggot is in fact a raw shrimp with it's "brains" attached. Most people pull the head off their shrimp and just eat the body. A few people will sometimes suck the "brains" from the head as well. However, this is the first time I have seen anyone manage to successfully pull the brains out from the head of a raw shrimp while still keeping it attached to the body. Leave it to Timmy to pull off the impossible. .

This feat of greatness took place during dinner in Ginza and involved one of the biggest raw shrimps I have even seen. Most of the time you think of raw shrimp as the small "ama ebi" you see on sushi. This shrimp was no tiny ama ebi, this sucker was the Godzilla of shellfish. While the above picture does not do it justice, if you look good you can see the shrimp with its head still attached on the sashimi boat.

And now for the money shot! Timmy slurps this monster down in one swallow for the camera. Impressive yet disgusting at the same time. You can see Rae in the background, cringing in terror at this horrific sight! According to Timmy this was the best raw shrimp he had ever eaten. Giant raw shrimp with their brains attached . . . one more reason to visit Japan.

The Legendary Black Eggs of Hakone

2007-04-27T22:37:00.000-10:00

What first might be mistaken for a super-sized black jelly bean is actually an egg. No, this is not a "goth" themed Easter egg blog posting. This my friends is the story of the legendary black eggs of Hakone! Well maybe not legendary, but they certainly are black. Brad or Timmy (Sorry, wasn't sure who) proudly shows off his black egg for the camera before chowing down on this unusual food item.

We happened upon these eggs while touring Owakudani. (Look for my earlier posting about our visit to Owakudani.) These black eggs start off as normal chicken eggs until they are cooked. What gives them their distinctive black color is the sulfuric water that they are boiled in. I am told that the hydrogen sulfide that is present in the sulfur pits react with the iron in the eggs causing them to turn that deep black color. Don't be fooled by the scary exterior though, crack one open and they look and taste just like a hard boiled chicken egg.

Eating one of these eggs is supposed to add seven years to your life. (So does that mean if I eat ten eggs I will live to be over 100?) It's hard to believe that anything cooked in that milky blue-green foul smelling water could be good for your health. It makes you wonder if the people who cook them have any health issues since they must be inhaling these sulphurous fumes all day as they cook the eggs. Now tell me, does that water look healthy to you?

Vending Machines - Beer Anyone?

2007-04-20T18:44:00.000-10:00

Some of you may have already heard about this, others may have not. You can buy beer from vending machines in Japan! For those that require proof of this, please refer to the above picture of Richard standing in front of a vending machine at our hotel. Side by side next to the bottles of water and green tea sit ice cold cans of Asahi beer waiting for purchase. Now granted, you won't find beer for sale at every vending machine in Japan. In fact the amount of vending machines that sell alcoholic beverages in Japan have decreased over the years. However it is still quite a novelty to see these machines scattered around Japan with nothing but an honor system to stop under age teenagers from purchasing them.

Unless you've been to Japan, it's really hard to explain the scope of how pervasive these vending machines have become. According to the Japan Vending Machine Manufacturers Association, there are 5.51 million vending machines in Japan, generating a total of almost 7 trillion Yen or approximately $58 billion dollars each year. That means that there is roughly 1 vending machine for every 23 people in Japan. Most obvious are the cigarettes and drink machines that are scattered just about everywhere you look. However, the Japanese have taken this to another level with vending machines that sell not only beer and other alcoholic beverages, but also fresh eggs, women's underwear and bouquets of flowers just to name an unusual few. The above picture shows one of the more simpler machines that sell subway tickets.

At a restaurant near our hotel you were required to pay for your meal before entering by purchasing a ticket from a vending machine. You chose the meal you wanted, put in the appropriate amount of yen, pressed a button and received a ticket. Once inside you gave this ticket to the staff who would then quickly prepare your meal and serve it to you. While at first glance this payment arrangement may seem a little strange, it makes a lot of sense when you think about it. The restaurant reduces their staff by one person since they no longer need a cashier to take payment and you're forced to pay up front so there is no chance of anyone skipping out on the bill. There can also be no argument over what you ordered since you picked it yourself by pressing a button. Only in Japan.

Ramen Ramen

2007-04-13T15:58:00.000-10:00

Nothing tastes better after a night out on the town than a steaming bowl of tasty ramen. Mind you, I’m not talking about that instant cup of noodle stuff that most of us have at home, I’m talking about homemade ramen made from scratch. The firm and chewy noodles, the mouth watering broth and especially the deliciously fatty pieces of "char siu" that no self-respecting bowl of ramen would ever be served without. Chinese in origin, Japanese ramen usually consists of wheat noodles in a pork and/or chicken based broth. Toppings are varied and may include braised pork (char siu or chashu), green onions (negi) and pickled bamboo shoots (menma).

In my opinion, the best way to eat ramen is at a yatai or outdoor food stall. Forget the fancy restaurants, there is something much more authentic about sitting at the tiny counter of one of these outdoor stalls while having a bowl of ramen prepared a few feet away from you by a master. On this night in Tokyo we decided to try this ramen stand near our hotel which was literally located in what seemed to be a garage.

My friend Timmy had tried this place a few nights prior and couldn’t stop raving about it. "Order the one with the kim chee and extra char siu" I was advised. Naturally I complied, and a few minutes later I was happily slurping down ramen noodles with a big smile on my face. Unlike America and other parts of the world, slurping your noodles is actually expected of you when eating any type of noodle dish in Japan. It would be almost considered rude not to slurp. The master worked quickly and efficiently, and in no time had presented us with five bowls of steaming hot ramen for our consumption.

As you have probably read in my earlier postings, during this trip my buddy Timmy made friends all over Tokyo. One night it was "Keoni" at Akitaya Yakitori and tonight it was the ramen master! After complimenting the owner on his delicious ramen several times, he was able to convince him and his wife to pose for this picture.

Aloha Japan

2007-04-06T21:57:00.000-10:00

So I took this picture as we were leaving Japan. If you look at my first posting you will see a similar picture of a moving sidewalk as we first entered Narita Airport. Now, one week later, we were going in the opposite direction back to Hawaii. Our time in Japan had passed so quickly, and I really did not want to leave yet. For all that we had experienced in such a short amount of time, there was still so much left to do and see. The only solution I could come up with to resolve this feeling of regret was to return to Japan as soon as possible. As I write this posting it is less than six months until I return to Japan in October 2007. Aloha Japan . . . for now!

My original intent when I first started this blog was to use it as a means to post pictures and information about my trip to Japan. Although this posting should technically complete this blog, I realize now that I still have much to share about Japan in general. Therefore, I plan to continue this blog with other postings about our trip and general items of interest about Japan.

Zojoji Temple

2007-03-30T21:47:00.000-10:00

Zojoji Temple was also located near our hotel. Literally five minutes away, we walked over to visit and pick up some omomori or good luck amulets to take home before we left Japan. Originally built in 1393 and then moved to it's present location in 1598, Zojoji Temple is the main temple of the Buddhist Jodo sect in the Kanto area of Japan. When Tokugawa Ieyasu moved to Edo (Tokyo) in 1590, Zojoji Temple became the family temple of the Tokugawa family. The Sangedatsumon or main gate that you see in the above picture was originally constructed in 1622. It is the only structure that remains of the original temple compound as all other buildings were destroyed in the air raids of 1945.

The main hall seen behind us is called Daiden (Hondo) and was rebuilt in 1974. This picture really doesn't do the temple justice as we are standing quite far from it in this pose. Enshrined in the main hall is a large Amida Buddha. You can see part of Tokyo Tower in the background to the right.

What was first beautiful to behold ended up making me a little melancholy. Spanning almost the entire length of one side of the temple grounds were hundreds of these little Jizo statues all dressed festively with bonnets and windmills. After inquiring about their significance I found that they represent children who were stillborn or passed away of other causes. Jizo is the Buddhist protector of children, travellers and the dead.

The quiet stroll around the peaceful temple grounds seemed a fitting way to spend our last day in Tokyo. The weather had started to turn a little cooler and the city seemed to have slowed down for the weekend. After a final walk around Zojoji Temple we all headed back to the hotel to begin the arduous task of packing for our return trip to Hawaii.

Tokyo Tower

2007-03-29T20:37:00.000-10:00

It's Sunday, our last day in Japan. Before leaving we decided to check out Tokyo Tower and Zoyoji Temple. Both of these places were a short walk away from our hotel. Here's a picture of us on a pedestrian overpass as we made our way up to Tokyo Tower first. During out trip we had always used Tokyo Tower as a landmark when returning home to our hotel.

Tokyo Tower is a well known Japanese landmark located in the Shiba area of Tokyo. Standing 333 meters tall, it's claim to fame is that it's the tallest self supporting steel tower in the world. It's even taller than the Eiffel Tower in France, which is what this structure was modelled after. It's painted orange and white to meet aviation safety standards I am told and hosts a bevy of television and radio broadcast antennas. First opened in 1958, there is an observation deck that can be reached by elevator for a terrific panoramic view of Tokyo. I understand that on a clear day you can actually see Mount Fuji from here. I took this picture from a different angle that I thought helped to better convey the size of this monster.

As expected, Tokyo Tower had a "healthy" amount of omiyage for purchase including the ever present Hello Kitty! Where ever we went in Japan, including places outside of Tokyo like Hakone, there would always been some type of Hello Kitty item for sale. At Tokyo Tower we came across this giant one towering down on us as we shopped for gifts to take home. I ended up purchasing quite a bit of stuff to take home from here. With less than a day left to our Tokyo trip, this would be one of our last chances to buy gifts for home.

Party in Ginza - Mr Ikki

2007-03-28T21:04:00.000-10:00

After shopping all Saturday in Ameyoko and Akihabara, it was time for a spectacular dinner in Ginza. What's that you ask? Did we really have dinner in Ginza, the most exclusive and expensive shopping and restaurant district in all of Japan? Yes we did my friends, oh yes we did! As usual, Dean and his Mom did a great job in finding us an awesome restaurant that could seat all fourteen of us in a private room. It was a Japanese food fest that night with some no holds bar sake drinking as well.

Tonight we feasted like Kings and Queens! Sashimi, King Crab, Monksfish Liver, you name it, we ate it. We were halfway through this sashimi boat before I remembered to take a picture of it for posterity. We started the night with a few beers and then switched to sake. Not the small sake bottles mind you, but the 1.8 liter bottles! It wasn't long before we had "drunk" the place dry of this particular brand of sake so we switched brands. A few bottles later and they were out of this sake as well. Something about the beer and sake in Japan that make it taste better than anything you'll ever have in the States.

My buddy Kurt decided that tonight in Ginza was the night that he was going to put to use what Taisho from Naruyama had taught us a few days ago. If you recall from an earlier posting, while having chankonabe at Naruyama, Taisho taught us "Ikki" which means to down a drink in one chug or take it as a shot. Well Kurt, or Mr. Ikki as he became known that night, decided to test everyone's tolerance for sake by toasting ikki after ikki until we couldn't ikki no more. (I'm sorry that I don't have a picture of Kurt doing his ikki, but I was too busy holding up my own glass and trying to keep up!) Kurt was a man on a mission, who did not know the meaning of the word failure. Mission accomplished my friend, good job!

So how does one end the perfect meal in Ginza? Why, with more beer of course! After leaving the restaurant we walked down the street a bit to some kind of European style beer hall. Dean knows the name of the place and my memory becomes a little foggy at this point in the game. I do remember that this place happened to serve Yebisu Dark, which is one of Dean's favorite beers, hence the reason for stopping by in the first place. Huge steins of dark beer appeared suddenly as I started to catch my second wind of the evening. As stuffed as I was from our awesome Ginza dinner, I just couldn't help but order some deep fried oysters from the menu here. About an our later as we were all ready to explode from our second meal of the evening, we decided to call it a night. The cool night air and brisk walk to the train station woke everyone up and we all got back to our hotel, safe and content.

Ameyoko - The Land of Dried Scallops

2007-03-26T20:18:00.000-10:00

Saturday morning and it was off to the Ameyoko shopping district in Ueno. This was the first rainy day of our trip. Up until this point we had been blessed with truly outstanding weather so we really couldn't complain about one day of rain. Here's a picture of Timmy and Rae standing to the right of the Ameyoko sign. We caught the train here again and proceeded to do some shopping for omiyage or gifts to bring home to friend and families. While Ameyoko offered a variety of items for sale, we were here to look for cuttlefish and dried scallops.

One of the things that Ameyoko is known for are the stalls that sell dried seafood products such as cuttlefish and scallops. If it came out of the ocean and could be salted and dried, there was a good chance you would find it here for sale. You can see Dean in the above picture haggling with the stall owner's wife for a better price on our purchases. In hindsight we should have bought a lot more than we did. Given as omiyage when we returned to Hawaii, all of us have shared stories of how our friends and families devoured these tasty gifts and immediately demanded more. Unfortunately we underestimated how much everyone who enjoy these treats, especially the dried scallops and clams. When we go back to Japan in October 2007, Ameyoko is definitely on the agenda.

I call this picture "Ameyoko in the Springtime". Actually I really call it "My Friend Richard Standing out in the Rain"! Richard tells me that he does not like umbrellas and prefers to wear a jacket to keep out the rain. The funny thing is the jacket he wore that day in Ameyoko wasn't waterproof, but instead seemed to be made of a sponge-like fabric that could absorb and retain twice it's original mass in rain water. On this dark and rainy day, my soggy friend also chose to wear his ultra bright cornea burning white shoes, which didn't stay white for long. But did any of this get my friend Richard down? Not on your life! On this day Richard refused to be beaten by the bad weather, and instead chose to defy it head on by standing out in the rain by himself, with no umbrella and wearing a sponge-like jacket . . . Bravo Rich Dogg, you go boy!

Akihabara

2007-03-25T15:15:00.000-10:00

A trip to Tokyo Japan just wouldn't be complete without visiting Akihabara, the electronics capital of Japan. We got back Thursday night from our overnight trip to Hakone. Nadine and I were really pooped out and decided to call it an early night. Friday was a free day with an optional trip to Nikko for anyone who wanted to go. Dean, his Mom, Mark and Ryan opted for the Nikko excursion. The rest of us split up with Matt, Mary and Brad going off on their own and the rest of us heading over to Akihabara for some shopping. We would be "Dean-less" today for the first time on our trip. But by this point we had all become pretty comfortable with using the train system, and we were confident that we would make it to our destination and back. Besides, Akihabara was only a few stops away from Hamamatsucho using the Yamanote line.

After a short ride to Akihabara Station we exited the train to the surprising sight of a middle age gentlemen dressed up in a blue maids outfit dancing and singing in the middle of the street. "Maid Boy" really seemed to be enjoying himself and was oblivious to all until "Grandpa" showed up. Seen here in the fluorescent green jacket and maroon pants, Grandpa suddenly jumps in from nowhere and proceeds to get his boogie on with Maid Boy. The two guys didn't seem to know each other and Maid Boy even seemed a little perturbed that Grandpa was stealing the show with his "motorcycle dance". Now I'm sure this type of thing is quite common in Akihabara but it was a first for me. I tried to get Richard and Timmy to join in but they declined for some strange reason.

No one was more surprised than I was when we happened upon Timmy's long lost twin brother in Akihabara. Apparently they were separated at birth with Timmy moving to Hawaii and his twin brother Jimmy being sent to Japan to live with relatives. It's eerie how identical they look standing next to each other. Jimmy works in security and is married with two lovely children. His oldest son Zaboga is fifteen and is into motorcycle racing and his youngest son Robocon is seven and enjoys playing soccer. Timmy and Jimmy exchanged phone numbers and promised to keep in touch.

No trip to Akihabara would be complete without a stop at Yodobashi-Akiba. If you can read Japanese, here's a link to their website. http://www.yodobashi-akiba.com/ Yodobashi-Akiba is an Electronics Superstore with "Super" being the key word. The building is made up of eight humongous floors filled with every electronic device known to man. Located to the East of Akihabara Station, Yodobashi dominates the skyline as the districts only real skyscraper. So with miles and miles of every conceivable electronic gadget available for purchase, what cutting edge piece of technology do you think my buddy Richard bought at this mega store? Answer = a camera case.

Owakudani Hot Springs

2007-03-06T20:53:00.000-10:00

We took the above picture at Owakudani Hot Springs. We stopped here on our way back to Tokyo from Hakone to do some sightseeing. This is bar none my favorite picture of the entire trip. Usually Dean would take our group pictures which meant he was often left out of them. In this instance we were able to get a passerby to take it, which means all fourteen of us are in it, and I must say that we LOOK GOOD! The weather gods were even smiling on us that day, blessing us with clear blue skies and not a cloud in sight! All this meant for picture perfect views of Mount Fuji in the distance. I'm told that there are people in Japan who have never seen Mount Fuji this clearly because of the normally cloudy weather. Being able to see snow on the top of Mount Fuji is also a rarity that we were lucky to experience as well.

Time to backtrack a little. In order to get to Owakudani to take that awesome picture above, we needed to first ride the Ropeway. These cable cars were awesome, and seemed to be made almost entirely of clear glass. This allowed for a spectacular 360 degree view of the surrounding area as we quickly ascended the mountainside. The thing I remember most about the ride up was how quiet it was. Because the cable cars were literally pulled up by cable as opposed to a gas motor, there was virtually no sound but the wind as we rose higher and higher. It was actually kind of scary now that I think about it.

After reaching the top you exit the Ropeway and walk down a flight of stairs to a lower area. As you can see from the above picture, the Ropeway is not the only way to reach Owakudani. Tour buses and a few private cars can be seen in the background as we stopped to take this picture. Nadine and I decided not to venture any further than this and stayed near the Ropeway station since Nadine was still feeling a little under the weather. The rest of the travelers pressed onward to see all of what Owakudani Hot Springs had to offer.

Now because Nadine and I stayed back at the Ropeway station, I technically did not see much of Owkudani Hot Springs. As far as I could tell, Owakudani Hot Spings is basically a lot of white toxic smoke wisping out from the hillside and filling the air with the the smell of rotten eggs. Oh, and there was also the pool of white chalky water that had white toxic smoke wisping out and filling the air with the smell of rotten eggs. But all that didn't matter, because the views of Mount Fuji and and the surrounding area made the visit entirely worthwhile. Here's a picture of Brad and Mary with the aforementioned white smoke wisping in the background.

Nanpuso Hotel - Part II

2007-02-28T21:05:00.000-10:00

Dinner at the Nanpuso Hotel was spectacular! Obviously at this point on our trip we had already eaten our fair share of delicious Japanese food including sushi, yakitori and soba, but tonight was going to be something special! Tonight we were going to be feasting on more traditional Japanese fare, sampling a little bit of almost everything you could think of. Fresh sashimi, shrimp and vegetable tempura, charcoal broiled whole fish and our own personal little seafood hot pot just to name a few. As usual, all of the food was presented beautifully and they even served us a little plum wine to wash everything down.

Being the very important person that he is, Dean's name was put up in LIGHTS to let everyone know to stay clear of his personal private banquet room! They even spelled his name correctly in English! Here's a picture of Dean, his Mom and Matt in front of our banquet room before dinner.

All of us sat on the floor, with our food served to us on our own individual black lacquered trays. Looking at the above picture I still find it hard to believe that we were all lucky enough to be sitting together and enjoying this wonderful meal in Japan. Some of you may have noticed that Dean, Mark and Ryan are all dressed in regular clothes while the rest of us are in Japanese yukata. The reason for this is tied in to my comment from an earlier posting where I mentioned that thirteen of us instead of fourteen went up to the Nanpuso Hotel from Yumoto station. Again, I'll address this in a future posting.

As with almost every meal we had in Japan, Timmy and I ordered some sake with dinner. We then decided that this excellent meal deserved a toast to mark the occasion, hence the above picture. What made this toast even more meaningful was the fact that there was a picture of some cranes hanging in the background! There is a long entertaining story involving our onsen stay, cranes and our pal Richard. It's such a funny story (at least to me and Timmy) that it deserves it's own posting, which I plan to do some time in the near future.

So how do you end the perfect day at the onsen? Why, with a little snort of Johnny Walker Blue of course. A few of us who came up from Hawaii for this trip decided to buy a bottle of Johnny Walker Blue at the airport duty free shop before we left Hawaii. Most of us had never tried Johnny Walker Blue before, and we thought that it might be fun to bring the bottle along to the onsen for a little night cap.

Nanpuso Hotel - Part I

2007-02-11T18:15:00.000-10:00

After arriving at Yumoto Station it was a short drive to the Nanpuso Hotel, our ultimate destination in Hakone. Yumoto Station seemed to be located at the mouth of the valley with the hot spring resorts and hotels located further up along the inner valley hillside. There were several ways for us to get to our hotel. Thanks to Dean once again, we lucked out and scored an inexpensive bus ride up for all thirteen of us. But wait you say, didn't we have fourteen people in our group? Why yes we did . . . more on this later.

The Nanpuso Hotel is a large facility, with both Japanese and American style rooms. Of course we all opted for the Japanese style room which you see above. Our room was basically one big tatami mat covered floor, with a small low table in the middle. Near the window there was a table with two chairs positioned in a way to give you a great view of the mountain and river. This one room serves as both living and sleeping area. Later in the evening hotel staff will come by to put away the table and lay out futon and pillows for sleeping. We checked into our rooms and then decided to have a soak in the hot springs before dinner.

Here's a picture of the men's outdoor bath. I got it from the hotel's website because obviously I couldn't bring a camera into the bath when we went for a dip. There were a bunch of different "pools" available for the men. The outdoor one shown above, and a few larger ones indoors. The women have their own separate set of baths that are secluded from the mens. As with most onsen in Japan, you will be expected to bathe fully naked, with the exception of a small vanity towel that you can use to try and cover yourself. All of the guys enjoyed a nice soak in the outdoor bath and then headed back upstairs for dinner.

Here's a shot of Rae and Mary in the women's changing area before they entered the women's bath. You put your clothes and personal items into the pink baskets before heading to the bathing area. I guess the women were a little more daring and took a few pictures before taking a bath.

On the Road Again - Odawara

2007-02-09T07:39:00.000-10:00

We began the morning of our fourth day in Japan by checking out of the Shiba Park Hotel for an overnight stay in Hakone. Thankfully we were able to leave our luggage with the front desk and take just an overnight bag with us on our hot springs adventure. We walked down to Hamamatsucho Station and first took the JR Keihin Tohoku Line to Shimbashi Station. Before transferring trains at Shimbashi, most of us bought bento box lunches for the train ride to Odawara. Eating a delicious bento on a leisurely train ride while watching the beautiful landscape roll by . . . another one of those things that needed to be done because we saw it on Soko ga Shiritai. Richard was the most daring of our group and purchased a beef tongue bento. The daring part of his purchase was the fact that this bento box came with it's own self heating apparatus strapped to the bottom of the box. The heater worked fine, and suffice it to say we were all very impressed, and a little frightened by Richard's lunch.

At Shimbashi station we transferred to the JR Tokaido Line and took a train to Odawara which is a city in Kanagawa prefecture. Our main objective in Odawara was Odawara Castle which you can see behind us in this group picture. The castle is a short walk from the station.

Odawara Castle was the stronghold of various daimyo through out Japanese history. From 1495 onward, five generations of the late Hojo clan held the castle. What made the castle significant was it's very strong defenses. Situated on a hill it was surrounded by moats with water on the low side and dry ditches on the hill side. Banks, walls and cliffs located all around the castle enabled it's defenders to repel attacks by the great warriors Takeda Shingen and Uesugi Kenshin. Eventually Toyotomi Hideyoshi took the castle in 1590 and awarded the holdings of the Hojo to Tokugawa Ieyasu, who in turn installed the Okubo Clan at Odawara. The original castle was eventually destroyed during the Meiji period with the current replica being built in 1960.

After touring Odawara castle we walked back to Odawara station. On our way back we decided to stop for lunch at a Soba restaurant along the way. As with many other times on this trip, we were very lucky that they were able to seat all fourteen of us together in a semi-private section of the restaurant.

Soba can be served both hot and cold, with a variety of different sauces and side dishes. Most of our group opted for cold soba with some type of side dish like shrimp tempura. I was very close to ordering this myself until I saw something on the menu I had always wanted to try, soba with duck sauce or Kamo Seiro. In this dish the noodles are served separately and then dipped into a rich duck sauce. The soba noodles were excellent of course, something I was beginning to take for granted in Japan where even the food from the convenience store was always delicious. The duck sauce was even better! Served warm, this very rich broth was extremely tasty with pieces of tender duck meat and negi floating around.

After an extremely satisfying lunch and some "beard papa" for dessert at the station (a popular Japanese pastry) it was off to Yumoto station and the hot springs of Hakone. Here's a picture of us at Odawara station before leaving for Hakone.

Memories of Manju and Mawashi

2007-02-03T16:44:00.000-10:00

There are two fond memories that stand out from our dinner at Naruyama. The first is the birthday surprise we gave our friend Rae. Prior to leaving Hawaii, a few of us planned to do something nice for Rae during our Japan trip to celebrate her birthday. The original idea was to surprise her with a birthday cake after dinner at Naruyama. Surprise, surprise, cakes turned out to be hard to come by in the area of Tokyo that Naruyama was located in. So Dean, our always prepared guide and friend, managed to come up with a platter of manju as a last minute replacement. Rae seemed genuinely touched by our gesture and happily posed for this picture with her "birthday manju".

After making a wish and blowing out her candle (a match) Rae happily served up her birthday manju to all of us. It was a nice way to end the evening on our third official day in Japan!

The second memory was "fond" for another reason. It involves a deep dark secret that was never supposed to leave Japan. Blood oaths were made and vows were taken by all of us to never reveal what we saw that faithful night at Naruyama. "What happens in Japan, stays in Japan" we all agreed, promising to never speak again of what took place. Ignoring the anonymous death threats and numerous warnings from close friends and family, I have decided to post these pictures for your enjoyment. I do so at the risk of receiving severe bodily harm from the above nameless person who happens to be an expert martial artist. In an attempt to keep this person's identity a secret, I have gone to great lengths to "mask" his face, thus preventing anyone from realizing who he truly is.

The story is too painful to relive so I will spare everyone the details. Suffice it to say that the nameless person is wearing the mawashi that Taisho (Naruyama) actually wrestled in. A mawashi is the belt/g-string that sumo wrestlers or rikishi wear during their wrestling matches. It is not a very modest garment and is basically composed of a think fabric belt attached to a "thong" bikini. Our nameless friend was lucky enough to be wearing black boxer shorts which helped to "fill in the gaps" if you know what I mean. Taisho shared with me that he has never washed his mawashi . . . I wonder if our nameless friend knew that as well?

Naruyama - Taisho's Chankonabe

2007-01-28T09:35:00.000-10:00

After finishing our tour of the Edo-Tokyo Museum, we headed over to "Nauryama" for a wonderful chankonabe dinner. The above picture is of our group standing in front of the Naruyama restaurant with it's namesake and owner Naruyama, a retired "Rikishi" or sumo wrestler. This is my second favorite group picture from our Japan trip. If for some reason you weren't quite able to pick out Naruyama in this picture, he would be the large fellow wearing the white apron and galoshes doing the sumo pose in front of us.

Chankonabe is a Japanese hot pot dish or stew that is usually prepared at your table. It is filled with a variety of different items that are simmered in a prepared broth. We tried the shio (salt) and kim chee chankonabe and both were excellent. Both nabes included chicken, pork, tofu, carrots, green onions and a whole bunch of other stuff I can't remember. The grand finale was the addition of udon noodles to the cooked down broth after all of the original items were eaten. Chankonabe's claim to fame is that it's the "caloric staple" of sumo wrestlers who eat vast quantities of the stuff as regular meals to keep up their weight and stamina. In the sumo world, chanko is usually prepared by a junior wrestler and often has a reputation of containing whatever is available to the cook. The Japanese consider chanko a nutritious food that it actually quite healthy if eaten in moderation. Of course, Rikishi do not eat in moderation, hence their massive size and girth. It is my understanding that a lunch of chankonabe is usually followed by a long nap.

Dinner at Naruyama was excellent. Besides the chankonabe we were treated to all sorts of other delicious dishes along with some tasty sake that went down a little too easy. There was a noticeable pattern that was beginning to take shape on this trip of always having great tasting food accompanied by delicious sake! Taisho (what we referred to Naruyama as) taught us a new word that night. On one of his visits to our table to check up on things, we asked him to have a drink with us. He gladly obliged and toasted us with the phrase "kanpai-ikki". Most of us were already aware that "kanpai" or "kampai" was the Japanese equivalent of "cheers" in English. What Taisho taught us was that by adding "ikki" after your toast it meant to down your drink as a shot! Ikki would end up being a very dangerous word while having dinner in Ginza on another night out. More on that to follow in a future post.

According to Dean and Mrs. Sakata, Naruyama had (or has) a father who was also a Rikishi that wrestled under the name Naruyama as well. This was Mrs. Sakata's favorite sumo wrestler when she was a young girl. In fact, the elder Naruyama made it to the rank of Yokozuna which is the highest rank in sumo wrestling. I must say that the younger Naruyama wasn't quite as big as you would expect a sumo wrestler to be. In fact based on the comparison between the two of them in this picture, I would put my money on Dean in a real fight. No offense or disrespect intended to Naruyama, especially since I would like to go back to his restaurant one day to enjoy his delicious chankonabe again.

Edo-Tokyo Museum

2007-01-19T22:18:00.000-10:00

After touring the Sumo Museum it was a short walk to the Edo-Tokyo Museum. Now this was a museum! Dean and his Mom had visited the museum on a prior trip to Japan and spent over four hours viewing the exhibits. When he offered it as an option for our Japan trip we all leaped at the chance to visit. The Edo-Tokyo Museum was founded on March 28,1993. The building tries to imitate a Japanese style elevated-floor warehouse. At its highest point, the building is over 62 meters. The museum grounds covers about 30,000 square meters and is more than twice the size of the field area inside the Tokyo Dome stadium. http://www.edo-tokyo-museum.or.jp/english/

Upon entering the exhibit area you are greeted by a replica of the old Nihonbashi Bridge. You cross this bridge to reach the permanent Edo exhibit. Nihonbashi Bridge was the doorway from Edo (current day Tokyo) to such places as Kyoto (to the west) and Nikko (to the north). The original Nohonbashi Bridge had a length of 51 meters and a width of 8 meters. The replica at the Edo-Tokyo Museum is of the same width as the original but of half the length.

Crossing the bridge was an awesome way to start our tour of the museum. What made the bridge even more significant was the fact that we had just walked over the modern day Nihonbashi Bridge the day before after touring the Imperial Palace outer grounds. (See picture below)

Most of the pictures I took at the museum came out very dark. This was because we were not allowed to take flash pictures inside the museum. We weren't quite sure if this was a restriction for the entire museum but to play it safe we all left our flashes off. So to supplement my personal pictures in this posting I have included pictures from the official Edo-Tokyo Museum website.

One of the neat things about the museum was the miniature models of different areas of significance in old Edo. The picture above is of a 1/30 scale representation of the the west side of the Ryogoku bridge. In old Edo it featured a large open area, originally designed as a firebreak. This soon became one of the most popular spots in the city, where numerous spectacle houses and street performances could be viewed. These models were extremely detailed down to the miniature people who were all appropriately garbed as well.

Although most of the exhibits in the museum were built to a reduced scale size, a few were actually built on a 1 to 1 scale of the actual building or monument including this one of the Nakamuraza Playhouse.

The above picture is of the entryway into the Nakamuraza Playhouse where Kabuki Theater was often performed. Above the roof is a banner proclaiming the permission to operate as given by the bakufu. (The government) Beautiful signboards above the door give the names of the plays showing as well as the names of the actors who were to appear.

Now I know that this posting was supposed to be about the Edo-"TOKYO" Museum and you've probably noticed that I haven't shown any pictures or mentioned anything about the Tokyo part of it. While I thought the Tokyo displays were great as well, I am a really big fan of old Japan, and the Edo displays really captured my interest and imagination. I'll leave the Tokyo part for another time and finish with this picture of Rei and Mrs. Sakata standing on a map of the Edo/Tokyo area.

Sumo Museum at the Ryogoku Kokugikan

2007-01-14T12:05:00.000-10:00

Just like yesterday, today was a whirlwind of sightseeing from morning to night. After touring Sensoji Temple we had lunch in the Asakusa area and then proceeded by train to the Sumo Museum at Ryogoku Kokugikan. Ryogoku is an area of Tokyo where the Kokugikan (sumo stadium) is located and the surrounding area is full of sumo stables and chankonabe restaurants.

Until the beginning of the 20th century, sumo tournaments were held outdoors at shrines and temples. In 1909, the first permanent sumo hall was built in the Ryogoku area, where outdoor sumo events had been held for a long time prior. The current Kokugikan is the fourth permanent sumo stadium built in Tokyo. It has been in use since 1985 and is located next to Ryogoku Station.

Unfortunately we were unable to take pictures inside the museum so we had to be content with a few snapshots taken outside. One of the highlights of the museum was the pictures of all the prior Yokuzuna that were hung on the walls. Mrs. Sakata pointed out to us the Yokuzuna "Naruyama", who was her favorite as a child. What was neat about this was the fact that we had reservations to eat at "Naruyama" that night which is a chankonabe restaurant nearby. This restaurant is run by the son of the original Naruyama who was also a sumo wrestler that wrestled under the same name.

Now the question of the day is, in the picture above, where is the right hand of the middle sumo wrestler and why does the sumo wrestler on the far left look so upset?

As we approached the Kokugikan we were greeted by the sight of this huge tower called the Yagura-daiko or "tower drum". During sumo tournaments a huge drum that is mounted on top of the tall yagura (tower) is beaten loudly when the matches are about to begin.

I am told that the original yagura was over 50 feet high and was constructed of enormous cedar logs. The tower needed to be this high so that the sound of the drum would reflect off the surface of the nearby Sumida River and be heard all over the city. The current yagura seems to be made of more modern materials and comes equipped with an elevator.

The yagura-daiko is played twice a day during the tournament. The "yose-daiko" (coming drum set) is played early in the morning to gather people and the "hane-daiko" (leaving drum set) is played at the end of each day's matches to invite the audience to come back again the next day. http://www.sumo.or.jp/eng/museum/index.html

Sensoji Temple - "Bad JuJu"

2007-01-14T11:11:00.000-10:00

After entering Sensoji Temple, some of us (not me) decided to try their luck at having their fortune told. We all approached this wall of drawers and a few of us proceeded to try and get lucky.

After donating 100 yen you shake up a rectangular box until a chopstick size piece of wood falls out. Each of these wooden sticks has a Japanese character on it that matches one of about a hundred little drawers with matching characters. You pull open the matching drawer and retrieve a slip of paper with your fortune on it. Sounds simple enough right?

Unfortunately these fortunes didn't pull any punches and a few of our group pulled some really bad fortunes. I found out after we left Japan that if you don't like your fortune you can neutralize it by simply tying it to a nearby wooden fence within the temple. None of us knew that at the time so nobody got rid of their bad fortunes. I haven't told the guys yet because I know they'll be bummed out to hear it.

Asakusa - Sensoji Temple

2007-01-13T21:30:00.000-10:00

We got off the boat and entered Asakusa. We would save touring the city for another time. Today our intent was to visit Sensoji Temple and do some shopping for "omiyage" at Nakamise Dori. We took a quick picture before we left the dock area with the famous black and gold Asahi Beer building in the background.

Kaminarimon Gate greets us at the entrance to Sensoji Temple. It is the main gate to Sensoji Temple and was originally built in 942, and rebuilt in 1635. Kaminarimon Gate was subsequently destroyed by fire several times over the years. The existing gate dates from 1950 when it was rebuilt after 95 years. The two deities on either side of the gate are Fujin, the god of wind, and Raijin, the god of thunder.

It's hard not to notice the humongous red lantern hanging in the entrance to the temple grounds. The kanji letters written on the lantern says "Kaminari-mon." I believe "Kaminari" means thunder and "mon" means gate in Japanese

After passing though Kaminarimon Gate you enter Nakamise Dori. Nakamise is a vibrant shopping lane that extends for about 250 meters to Sensoji Temple. There are approximately 90 shops that line both sides of the lane selling everything from handmade rice crackers to Hello Kitty key chains. (Once again, the old and the new side by side again - See my prior comments from my Hamarikyu posting) For those of you looking for Japanese souvenirs to take home, this is the place!

Nakamise was originally formed around 1685 when the 12 subsidiary temples belonging to the Senso-ji Temple that lined both sides of the street were permitted to put out souvenir stalls in front of local houses in exchange for a promise by local residents to keep the area clean. It began to be called Nakamise (“inner shopping street”) because it is located between the shops of Kannondo-mae and the Asakusa-Hirokoji path. http://www.asakusa-nakamise.jp/e-index.html

After passing through Nakamise Dori we reached Sensoji Temple. Here's a picture of all of us before we actually enter the temple. In this courtyard area there were several items of interest. The first was the huge incense burner.

Apparently the smoke from the burning incense is supposed to help purify and heal you. People use their hands to try and focus the smoke on any part of their body that they would like good health. Here you see Richard and Matt doing their best to direct the smoke toward themselves. Whenever I look at this picture I imagine that Richard is preparing to grab the sides of the incense burner with his bare forearms like David Carradine as Kwai Chang Caine in the television show Kung Fu! Check out David Carradine on IMDB through this link. http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001016/

Another purification ritual at most temples involve washing your hands and mouth before entering. Here you see most of us partaking in the this ritual before entering the temple.

We finally enter Sensoji Temple and make an offering. Sensoji is Tokyo's oldest and most popular temple. According to legend, in 628 two brothers fishing in the nearby Sumida River netted a tiny golden statue of Kannon, the Buddhist goddess of mercy and happiness. The chief of their village recognized the sanctity of the statue and enshrined it by remaking his own house into a small temple so that the villagers could worship the Kannon. The blessings of the Kannon gradually received a high reputation throughout Japan, and people near and far flocked to Asakusa to venerate the statue. I understand that the statue is still housed here but is never shown to the public. Sensoji Temple burned down during a 1945 bombing raid and the present structure was rebuilt with donations by the Japanese people.

The Sumida River

2007-01-13T20:40:00.000-10:00

Hamarikyu was a perfect way to start the day. After touring the park is was time to leave for Asakusa, and once again Dean had a surprise for us. Instead of heading for the train station he led us toward the far end of the park where a boat ride awaited us. Hamarikyu's unique location allows for boats to dock there and we were now fortunate enough to be able to board one that would take us to Asakusa via the Sumida river. Here's a picture of us leaving Hamarikyu in the background.

The boat was big and airy, with very few people joining us for the ride. The first thing we noticed when we boarded was how low the ceiling was. The boat was a double decker model with glass ceilings, and pretty much everyone sat on the upper deck for the view. Matt, the tallest guy in our group had to literally walk around in a crouched position to fit, and his head still grazed the roof.

Since there weren't a lot of people on board we could sit where ever we wanted. Our group spread out on both sides of the boat and started our tour of the Sumida river.

According to Dean there are 12 unique bridges on the Sumida river. This one caught my eye as we passed under it. I did some research and found out that this is the Chuo-ohashi Bridge, a modern suspension bridge that really stood out amongst the other bridges we saw. As we passed under these bridges it became startling clear why the ceiling on the boat was so low. These bridges are so close to the water that our boat barely fit each time we passed under one. Luckily no one loss their head, and before you knew it we had arrived at our destination, Asaskusa.

Hamarikyu - We Begin our 3rd Day in Japan

2007-01-06T18:06:00.000-10:00

Day 3 - Our original plan was to take the Toei Subway Mita line to Otemachi Station and tour Asakusa. However, Dean had a surprise prepared for us instead. We walked a little less than a mile from our hotel to Hamarikyu Gardens which is a beautiful park located at the mouth of the Sumida river.

Touring the garden was a nice change of pace from our prior days activities. The garden seemed to have a calming effect on all of us as we wandered leisurely amongst the beautiful greenery. My friend Kurt exclaimed that he could spend all day there, relaxing and taking in the beauty of the garden.

The history of Hamarikyu Gardens go back to the 17th century when it was originally a mansion and hunting ground for the Tokugawa Shogunate. It later became a detached palace of the Emperor after the Meiji Restoration. In 1945 the ownership of the garden was passed on to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and has been open to the public ever since. I am told that the word "rikyu" in Hamarikyu means "detached palace" and is of Meiji origin.

The above picture really captured the essence of what Tokyo often felt like as we traveled the city. The new and the old, side by side. When you were in the park facing a certain direction, all you saw was this picturesque Japanese garden that looked ancient and unchanged. Look behind you and you were surrounded by the towering skyscrapers of Tokyo. Respect for the old while moving forward with the new. When you think of Japan do you imagine a city of neon signs, commuter trains and black suited business men or do you think of a place of ancient shrines, centuries old traditions and women who still wear Kimono around the city?

Another group picture before we leave the park. I didn't see a weight restriction posted for the bridge, but this picture sure makes you wonder if they should have one.

Big Echo - So Endth the Second Day!

2007-01-06T17:28:00.000-10:00

After all that sake, yakitori and beer, you would think it would be time to call it a day, especially when you consider that we had all been up since 4:00 in the morning. But we were on a roll, and as soon as someone mentioned karaoke it was off to Big Echo to sing the night away.

Realizing that karaoke began in Japan, Big Echo should not have been a surprise to me. Still, it was a bit of a shock to see a 10-story karaoke building in the middle of downtown Shiba. Even in Hawaii where karaoke places are very prevalent, there is nothing even close to Big Echo. We checked in, got a room and proceeded to get our "song" on!

I wasn't sure what to expect, but thankfully there were quite a few American songs with English subtitling. Pitchers of beer helped to break the ice and before you knew it there was a backlog of songs waiting to be sung.

Dean and his Mom even joined in the fun and sang a duet together. Now that I think about it, I believe it was Mrs. Sakata's idea to sing karaoke in the first place. It was a terrific finish to a wonderful evening. So endth the second day! (01.24.2007 - I have been since corrected by Mrs. Sakata that it was Miles who suggested Karaoke.)

Akitaya Yakitori - Our "Soko ga" Moment

2006-12-31T06:46:00.000-10:00

Hands down, our evening at Akitaya was my favorite time of the entire trip to Japan. With all due respect to the hot springs, castles and great food we would still encounter during our travels, eating yakitori and drinking beer at Akitaya was our "Soko ga" moment.

So before I go on and on about my awesome time at Akitaya, let me explain about "Soko ga" which is short for Soko ga Shiritai. This is actually the name of a Japanese television show that was popular in the early nineties. Reporters would travel around Japan trying different restaurants, sightseeing and looking for unusual things of interest. This is really an oversimplified explanation of the show but you get the picture.

Anyway, KIKU (http://www.kikutv.com/), a local television station in Hawaii has continued to show reruns of Soko ga Shiritai for years now, even though the series has long since ended. What was always the most fun for my friends and I to watch was when the reporters would find some hole in the wall bar or restaurant that would serve cheap and tasty food with good beer and/or sake. The visiting reporters would inevitably make friends with the regulars at the bar and end up drinking and eating the night away with their new friends. It became a dream of ours to one day visit Japan and experience this as our Soko ga moment. Akitaya Yakitori was that moment.

Akitaya is a very popular yakitori place just a short walk from the Meishu Sake Center in Shiba. Salary men crowd the place after work to enjoy some tasty and inexpensive yakitori and beer before going home. Our plan was to have a few drinks at the Meishu Center and then continue on to Akitaya for some food and good times. As you will see in the upcoming pictures, we were certainly not disappointed.

Part of the Soko ga moment for us was drinking outside on the sidewalk outside Akitaya. You would always see this on Soko ga Shiritai and it always looks like so much fun. At Akitaya, makeshift tables made of wood and stacked plastic beer crates line the sidewalk fronting the establishment. Crowds of people huddle around plates of delicious food while happily drinking beer and shochu.

A good bar is the same no matter where in the world you go. Good food, good beer and good people. Just like the Soko ga Shiritai television show, we met some fun people at Akitaya and became friends immediately. Here's a picture of Timmy (on the left) and his new Japanese friend. We could not remember his real name so Timmy ended up giving him the Hawaiian name "Keoni" for the rest of the night. These two guys became good friends very quickly. Alcohol is a powerful drug . . . heh heh!

Here's a shot of us before the fun begins. As you can see we are literally standing on the sidewalk and actually overflowing on to the street.

Here we are after a few beers. You can see Timmy's new friend Keoni on the far right making the Hawaii "shaka" sign around Richard.

Side Note: A Japanese show very similar to Soko ga Shiritai is called Next Stop Discovery. Although the episodes that KIKU broadcasts in Hawaii are a few years old, it is my understanding that the series is still running in Japan. Here is a link to their website, sorry but it's all in Japanese http://www.ntv.co.jp/burari/.

Meishu Sake Center

2006-12-30T22:15:00.000-10:00

We're still on Day 2. Having just finished touring the outer grounds of the Imperial Palace, we had lunch nearby and did some quick sightseeing. Then it was back to the hotel to bathe and get ready for some sake at the Meishu Sake Center.

Located down a little side street, the Meishu Sake Center is a place where you can try all different types of sake for a very reasonable price. Normally you can try three very full cups of sake for less than $5.00 American. On this night fourteen of us walked in right off the street and probably scared the owner half to death. However, the staff was more than accommodating and proceeded to bring out the good stuff for us to try.

Some of us (including myself) really enjoy drinking sake. Visiting the Meishu Center was one of the things I had looked forward to on this trip. They had a ton of different sake to try and we decided to go with the very best they had. (See the above picture) The green bottle on the far right was supposed to be one of their best. It was a sake that was created and dedicated to the birth of the new male heir to the throne earlier that year. It was excellent! It was so good that we bought their last two bottles to take home with us.

Sigh! Good sake with good friends in Japan . . . it doesn't get any better than that. And again, the best part of this was that we could drink to our heart's content because we would be walking home instead of driving. Well . . . maybe not walking but staggering for sure!

"Shi Shi" Boy

2006-12-30T21:01:00.000-10:00

I had to include some pictures of the Pissing Boy or "Shi Shi" Boy as I liked to call him. Here's Rei and Kurt having a little too much fun if you ask me. Our hotel was was very near the Hamamatsucho train station. This was extremely convenient for us as the Hamamatsucho station was part of the Yamanote line which gave us quick and easy access to places like Akihabara and Ueno. Located at the end very end of the platform at Hamamatsucho was the Shi Shi boy. (For those of you from Hawaii you know that shi shi refers to urinating or pissing.)

The Japanese Pissing Boy was patterned after a famous statue in Brussels called the Manneken Pis. Literally translated as "Pissing Boy", the statue is only 60cm high and on any given day may be wearing one of his 600 costumes. (See above picture)

The Japanese Pissing Boy is also dressed in different costumes. During our visit in November 2006, he was wearing a firefighters uniform. Everyone took a turn standing in front of the statue to take a picture.

Outside the Imperial Palace

2006-12-29T15:04:00.000-10:00

After touring Tsukiji and having the freshest sushi I have ever had in my life for breakfast, it was off to the Imperial Palace via Tokyo station. Here we are all trying to squeeze together for a picture in front of the Tokyo Station sign. This side of the station is made of brick and faces the Imperial Palace. It dates back to the original 1914 opening of the station.

Checking out the outer Imperial Palace grounds was fun. Everything was immaculately landscaped and you could really feel the history in the bridges and moat walls that dominated the area.

Look real close at the above picture and you can see guards standing motionless in the two white guard houses. The actual palace buildings and inner gardens are not open to the public with the exception of January 2nd (New Years Greeting) and December 23rd (Emperor's Birthday).

Tsukiji Fish Market

2006-12-29T14:22:00.001-10:00

Tsukiji Fish Market is the largest wholesale fish market in Japan, probably the world. It goes through something like 2,000 tons of seafood everyday it's open. Anything that is even potentially edible from the ocean can be found here. Most people, including ourselves, came to see the tuna or maguro for sale. Incredibly large maguro, some over 500 lbs, are auctioned off every morning. The Japanese are known for their love of quality items and their willingness to pay top dollar. With that in mind it should be no surprise that the most expensive maguro ever sold at Tsukiji was something like $175,000 American for a 202-kilogram fish. Miles and Kurt pose in front of a huge maguro.

http://www.tsukiji-market.or.jp/youkoso/welcome.htm

One of the first things Nadine and I noticed about Tsukiji before even looking at the fish, was that this is a working fish market. There are very few, if any, considerations made for tourists. Trucks, cars and propane powered "put-put" carts zoom almost recklessly amid narrow aisles and roadways. Fourteen people trying to traverse these small fish stalls was just asking for trouble. There were a few close calls amongst our group but luckily no one got hurt. However, my wife was so upset over how dangerous it was that she vows never to return to Tsukiji again.

I had to include a picture of the Styrofoam mountain I saw while leaving Tsukiji. Almost all of the seafood at Tsukiji is kept and transported in Styrofoam containers of all shape and sizes. As the day goes on, used containers are all thrown into this huge mountain. When we left Tsukiji it was still early and the mound had already grown this large. One can only imagine what this looks like at the end of the day. My understanding is that all of this is melted down at the end of the day. Anyway, it makes for an interesting picture.

Day 2 - Off to Tsukiji Fish Market

2006-12-29T14:14:00.000-10:00

We started our first official full day in Japan by getting up very early in the morning. We planned to take the subway to Tsukiji Fish Market to watch the Tuna auctions at 5:00 am. We walked a few blocks to Daimon subway station and proceeded to take our first subway ride in Japan.

Nadine and Rei waiting for the subway at Daimon station.

Shiba Park Hotel and Dinner

2006-12-29T13:37:00.000-10:00

Our home away from home was the Shiba Park Hotel in Shiba. http://www.shibaparkhotel.com/en/ Here's a picture of Richard doing his fake smile for the camera. I really liked the Shiba Park Hotel. It was not a luxury hotel by no means, but the location was excellent and the staff was very nice and accommodating. Most of them spoke English as well, which made things a lot easier. The first order of business after checking in was to find a place for dinner. The Shiba Park Hotel is located just off a main street with plenty of interesting side streets and alleys. There was an abundance of eating places both big and small to choose from.

Not wanting to overdo things on the first night we ended up having dinner at an Izakaya close by. An Izakaya is a bar that serves different appetizers as opposed to complete meals. A round of Japanese beer was followed by sushi, oysters, chicken wings, steak and other delicious items. Several rounds of beer later and it was time to call it a night. One of the great things about Japan was that we never had to worry about drinking too much and then having to drive home. Our hotel was always a short walk or train ride away from where ever we were. The guy in the picture above holding the beer and smiling for the camera is our fearless leader Dean. Dean masterfully planned and executed the entire Japan trip! All of us would have been lost without his Japanese speaking and reading skills and owe him a huge debt of gratitude for everything that he did.

Richard and Timmy enjoying their first beer in Japan!

Narita Airport

2006-12-29T10:37:00.000-10:00

We arrived at Narita airport via Japan Airlines (JAL). I must say that everything I heard about JAL's excellent food and service were all true. Eating Japanese style food on the plane ride over helped to get us all in the mood. We were already starting to experience the difference in cultures during the plane ride as all of the flight attendants changed from their blazers into aprons while serving us our food and drink. Prior to arrival a flight attendant walked around with a large JAL picture frame asking us if we would like a picture taken. (My wife Nadine and I obliged - see picture above.) With the exception of the travel time (about nine hours) the plane ride was quite pleasurable.

Narita airport was huge and a little intimidating. You know the airport is big when it takes the plane about fifteen minutes to taxi from the runway to the terminal. We arrived in the early evening and the weather was cloudy but not rainy. Once we got off the plane it was a mad rush to Customs and Immigration. Luckily none of us had any trouble getting through. Luggage was next and again we were lucky that all of our stuff made it to Japan safely.

After retrieving all of our luggage it was off to our hotel via Limousine Bus. http://www.limousinebus.co.jp/e/index.html It turns out that the Limousine Bus is just a regular bus but it was still the best way for us to get to our hotel. This was the first time I had rode a bus that had a standard transmission as opposed to automatic. It was impressive to see the Japanese driver smoothly navigate this huge "standard" bus through Tokyo. The ride was about an hour and a half. There was some unexpected traffic but our bus driver expertly took us through some side streets and back roads to keep us on time.

Welcome to Japan 2006

2006-12-29T10:05:00.000-10:00

About two years ago a group of friends in Hawaii came up with the idea of traveling to Japan together. We dreamed of sushi, sake and experiencing the "Soko ga" life. (More about "Soko ga" later.)

Since this plan originated late one night at our favorite bar over large quantities of alcohol, many of our friends doomed it to failure. No wives or families were consulted for approval and no thought was given to the cost of the trip. To make things even more challenging, our travel group that started out as a few friends soon exploded to fourteen people with three flying in from Oregon.

Two years later, eleven of us from Hawaii (three friends from Oregon arrived earlier) walked happily through the arrival gates of Narita airport into Tokyo Japan. So began the trip of a lifetime.

I decided to create this blog as a picture diary of our trip to Japan in November 2006. My goal is to eventually post pictures and comments for all of the activities we experienced during our trip in chronological order - Malcolm