Let the Countdown Begin!

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!

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. .

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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

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?

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

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.