CJ & KJ's Amazing Asian Adventure

Aptos!

2009-05-28T19:58:00.003-04:00

Well, as they say, all good things must come to an end... But at least our end is a relaxing weekend with Dad in Aptos, CA! Our flights on Wednesday were relatively painless - long but comfortable. We had a very brief layover in Tokyo, our flight from Singapore came in almost on time so we easily made our connection. Fortunately, Tomoko and TomTom would have graciously hosted us if we had missed the connection - Katie and I had already discussed which restaurants we would be revisiting in the not so upsetting situation of being 'stuck' in Tokyo for an extra day or two. Definitely dealing with some jet-lag and a pile of stanky traveling clothes, but otherwise adjusting to life after Asia quite well. Stay tuned for photographic updates to the blog in the coming days!

Singapore

2009-05-26T14:29:00.002-04:00

So, you thought Bali was a whirlwind visit, welcome to Singapore! We arrived Monday evening after an eventful morning of the world's most dangerous transport (actually, come to think of it, I have just been inspired to create a new reality TV series based on our experiences - Crazy Cab Rides International - there have certainly been some doozies). The ride in question was particularly memorable because the driver actually got pulled over for his reckless and speedy travel - of course this is Bali, so he just slipped the cop 100,000 rupiahs and we were on our way (100k rp is about 10 bucks). The Denpasar airport also proved to be the most hassle inducing airport of our travels (I won't go into the details but let's just say we had at least 4 security screenings and they burned incense throughout the entire place). Anyway, enough about the journey to get here and onto our adventures in Singapore... We are staying at Cozy Home - a funky hostel-esque apartment in a very nice complex just outside of the city center. It seems to be brand new, so very shiny and clean! Close to the train, so it has been easy to get around. We explored the City Hall, Boat Quay and Clarke's Quay areas on Monday night. Had some tasty Indian food while sitting right on the riverside, with lots of cheap Tiger beer to wash it down. Also visited a nice brewpub called Brewerks, also right near the river. Today we tried to cram as many tourist attractions into the day as possible - we started by heading down to the Marina area and gazing upon the famous Merlion statue - yes, it is a mythical half-lion, half-merman statue that spews forth copious water into the river. Pretty groovy, but not nearly as big as we thought it would be from all the hype! Apparently it is the symbol of Singapore. We then meandered through the city to Orchard Road, which is the premier shopping district. We got caught in a mammoth rain storm there and had to duck into a mall and seek lunch. Fortunately, things dried off a bit and we hopped on the train and headed to the Singapore Zoo! We visited both the Zoo and the Night Safari. The Zoo was great - they focus on trying to recreate natural habitats as much as possible for the animal. Saw gorgeous white bengal tigers, orangutangs climbing about, zebras, giraffes, pumas, cheetah, lions, flamingos, kumodo dragons - the list goes on... The Night Safari was really the highlight - so unlike any 'zoo' experience elsewhere. The park didn't open until after 7pm, around dusk. We watched a cheezy fire show while waiting for the initial hoards to gain entrance. The exhibits were very similar to those in the zoo, but how different to see them at night! The paths were all dimly lit to enhance the experience. Some of the animals were definitely active and rearin' to go as night fell, and others were laying low and hard to spot. There was a 'Mangrove Walk' which was essentially just a big fruitbat enclosure - the nets were quite low so they divebomb you as you scurry through - spooky! We saw a pair of stunning leopards - they were lounging against the glass viewing area of their enclosure, so they were literally just inches away from us! They teased us with a little foreplay, but then got bored and retired to separate corners. Lots of other assorted animals we weren't familiar with to gaze upon as well. Ended the night at back in Clarke's Quay for some late bites.

BALIcious!

2009-05-25T22:05:00.003-04:00

Way too short of a stay on the wonderful island of Bali, Indonesia - only 5 days to enjoy the many varied delights the island has to offer. Our first two nights we stayed in Legian (which is just up the beach from Kuta - worldwide party destination) at the Alam Kulkul Resort. Very nice place right on the beach - wonderful grounds, service and room. The beach was great - wide and flat, super for walking, sunbathing, etc. Watching the surf and surfers was also good fun! Apparently the good waves were breaking a bit south of us in Ulu Watu, so we didn't see a ton of surfers on our stretch of beach. We definitely took advantage of the reknown nightlife of the area. The first night we hit a couple of clubs - kind of spooked me as we were people watching, from our perch on the verandah of the first club, as tons of tourists were posing for pictures in front of the massive 2002 bombing memorial. Not much of a party scene at the first club, so we moved onto M Bar Go - where there was a fun DJ and dancing. They also had a couple of sets where a big troupe of drummers came onstage and supplemented the dance beats - that was really fun to watch/dance to, and really got the party rev'd up. Our second night we hit the infamous club Bounty - pirate ship themed, with a bevy of different rooms and options. We joined the packed dance floor and shook it until 5am when they shut the place down. Fun to watch all the cute young'uns and their dance shenanigans - especially enjoyable because all the surfer boys had their shirts off. Sorry to report, there was not a dance sando in sight - I propose a Rialto field trip to Kuta to introduce the dance sando to the international audience!!! So, after a day and two nights of life in the fast lane, we were ready to head to Ubud and soak up some tranquility. We arranged for a driver and took off after a filling lunch of Indonesian specialties at a local Warung - enjoyed a big bowl of veggies, rice and tempeh with peanut sauce and a chicken curry with rice that had been steamed in banana leaves. We found a nice little homestay bungalow in Ubud - Sania's House Bungalows. Our first room was a bit of a dungeon, but we upgraded for the second two nights into a gorgoeous 'castle' room right next to the pool. Lots of fun with carved wood and stone accents. Ubud was not exactly as we expected (not that we really knew what to expect) - not quite serenity. It is a gorgeous and lush city - with decorations and temples and local flavor everywhere. It is also a huge tourist resort - boutiques, bungalows and restaurants crammed into every available space. Had some great meals there - a lot of upscale restaurants with Indonesian influenced menus. Our most amazing eating experience was at the Ubud suckling pig institution - Warung Ibu Oka (don't tell Sucky Pig!). For 7 bucks we each had huge portions of all sorts of pig bits - skin, belly, blood sausage, leg, loin, etc. All served with rice, awesome pickled chilis and a yummy slaw of coconut, green beans and fried shallots. We went on a short walk through some of the lush rice paddies, but didn't get too much of a chance to explore the beautiful country side. We also indulged in a half day at one of the many local spas - we each had multiple massages and treatments - 4 hours for about $40! Definitely a highlight of the Ubud visit. We will definitely need to revisit Bali at some point, I think we barely scratched the surface...

Happy Birthday Ho Chi Minh!

2009-05-23T07:20:00.002-04:00

After a lovely time in the quaint town of HoiAn, staying at the Phouc An Hotel, we headed down to Ho Chi Minh City. The morning before we left we took a nice tour of a village outside the city with a gentleman named Mr. Trung. He showed us around his fishing and pottery making village - we even got to try our hand at both skills! The biggest fish I caught was about 4 inches long and they threw my lopsided bowl back into the clay pile, but still an interesting foray. Mrs. Trung cooked us a delicious lunch in their home. We flew down to Ho Chi Minh City (or Saigon, which it is still commonly referred to as well) on an absolutely mammoth plane, must have fit at least 300ppl, and it was packed for the quick hour long jaunt! Turns out that it was also Ho Chi Minh's birthday that day (May 19) - kinda random but jolly coincidence. We were only there overnight at the Saigon Mini Hostel 2, but managed to have some of the best food of our Vietnam adventures - all on the street. Had amazing pho for a dollar - packed with noodles, herbs, shrimp, beef, pork, liver and some really damn spicy peppers to garnish. Drank some cheap beers at some very entertaining bars - lots of middle aged men partying and getting lots of attention from young locals of both sexes. On the way home got a succulent banh my with a variety of meats for 60 cents. Had some really lame corn stir-fried with chilis and tiny shrimp. Had an early flight the next morning to journey to Bali! Connected in Kuala Lumpur which was not a particularly friendly airport - lots of hassles during our 5 hr layover and the beers were redonk expensive (especially when we had gotten used to paying 75 cents). All well worth it of course once we stepped off the plane onto the lush island of Bali!!!

HoiAn, Vietnam

2009-05-17T13:39:00.003-04:00

We took the night train from Hanoi to Hoian. Our first accommodations in the 'soft sleeper berths' were just dandy, but then we randomly got asked if we wanted to upgrade for $10 to a first class private berth, hummm....okay! The coastline - somewhere between Hue and Denang. It was this gorgeous the whole morning! Vietnamese coffee just makes me so happy... Shopping in HoiAn - lots of great shops with beautiful clothes, silks, shoes, bags, etc... This one stands out because the shopkeeper (pictured here - for lack of remembering her real name, we'll call her LoveTheMeatyHandful) threw in free fondling with our purchase. She couldn't keep her hands off our big American boobies and bundas! Notice where her face is nestled in this picture. By the way Billy, she said you are the luckiest boyfriend on earth... PS - Note to all loyal blog followers...we have managed to score a room with a computer and internet access (just a few feet away from our minibar well stocked with $0.66 beers)...moral of the story being that we have the ability to conveniently post pictures!!! Please look through previous posts for exciting new additions!!!

Halong Bay

2009-05-16T05:38:00.003-04:00

Kayaking in Cat Ba National Park. The sundeck and speedo view from our Junk. Oh My Junk! The gorgeous scenery of Halong Bay - it looked like this every direction you turned...1969 islands in the bay! Sucky Pig really enjoyed cruising the bay on the Junk. We have just returned to Hanoi after a 3 day trip to Halong Bay - what absolutely wonderous beauty!!! We spent the first day on a 'junk' boat cruising through the many islands. There are pictures on the Ocean Tours website. Had a gargantuan seafood lunch with lots of fresh steamed shellfish - they served the crabs with the cutest little green quats that were orange inside and super juicy. We also went kayaking arund Cat Ba National Park in the afternoon - really fun and scenic. Had fun swimming too, we jumped off the top of the junk into the bay! Spent the first night on the Junk. The next morning we explored 'Amazing Cave' and then were dropped off at a private island beach resort - we were the only guests there for about 5 hours! Quite the exclusive tour... Had a huge lunch there as well, and then a BBQ dinner on the beach - very fun, lunch was much tastier than dinner. Stayed in a cute bamboo beach bungalow there. Today we cruised back on a different Junk. Before we left for Halong Bay, we had a day and a half to tour about Hanoi. Walked through the various neighborhoods - the French Quarter was particularly fun. Also explored lots of food - suprising I know! Had delicious bun cha (grilled pork with vermicelli noodles and herbs) at a street stall, got charged 2.5 times what the locals did - but did get to watch how they ate it, so that was good! Also had tasty Bahn My Pate (sandwich). Don't worry, we have also been sampling lots of the local beers as well - Halida is the current favorite, and usually only a buck or two! Tonight we are off on the overnight train to Hoi An, we'll be there for a couple of days...

Hanoi

2009-05-12T08:17:00.004-04:00

Lunch at Chim Sao - great ambiance and food! Bun cha! Hard to discern in the picture, but the stools are about 8 inches off the ground... The street markets in Hanoi were amazing...just a glimpse of the fruits and veggies. We saw everything from these images to women carrying full restaurant set-ups on bamboo poles, meat butchery and grinding on stumps in the street and all varieties of prepared foods (including a whole roasted dog - weird to see it puppy face and all). We arrived in Hanoi last night. What a crazy day yesterday - we toured Angkor Wat in the morning for a couple of hours (so stunning, amazing how preserved parts of it are and it really is enormous, saw monkeys playing) then flew to Bankgok from Siem Reap and then on to Hanoi from there! Today we have wandered around the Old Quarter (where we are staying) and through the French Quarter as well. Saw a preserved giant tortise at the temple in the middle of Hoan Kiem Lake. Also wandered through Lenin Park, quite tranquil compared to the craziness of the motorbikes threatening to run you over at every interesection! We are staying at the Hanoi Gecko Hotel. Had a delectable lunch with vermicelli, pork & shimp salad; braised eggplant with pork belly; sauteed pumpkin buds and fried eel covered in sesame seeds.

Cambodia!

2009-05-10T12:38:00.003-04:00

The very classy statues that graced the courtyard at our Siem Reap hotel. Amok - classic Khmer dish of fish braised with coconut - yum! The temples were amazing feats of architecture and beauty. Angkor Wat at sunrise! Contemplation... The faces of Bayon temple at Angkor Thom. The jungle overtaking Ta Prohm... Torrential downpour at Angkor Wat - the gods disapproved of this visit... Fierce monkeys at play! We arrived in Siem Reap after many transports on Friday - first a longboat to the ferry on Ko Phi Phi, then a 1.5 hour ferry to Krabi, then a taxi to the town for lunch, a taxi to the airport, a flight to Bangkok, then a flight to Siem Reap and finally our hotel picked us up from the airport! Quite a day, but now we have seen more temples than possibly imaginable while visiting the Angkor Wat area. There is a temple or ruin every direction you look here. The town is completely built around the tourism for the temples. Khmer cuisine so far has been tasty - lots of fresh water fish and herbs. Staying at the Central Boutique Ankgor Hotel, very nice with a delectable pool! Went to see Angkor Wat at sunrise this morning! Quite stunning!

Ko Phi Phi

2009-05-07T08:34:00.005-04:00

Our hangover ferry from Ko Lanta to Ko Phi Phi - the guy in the background chirped and almost splashed Katie...barf-o-rama narrowly avoided! The view from our Beach Hut.The infamous buckets of Sangsom whiskey night, otherwise known as Cinco de Mayo... Full moon over our taxi boat ride Sucky pig suckin' up the view of Ko Phi Phi and it's two bays. Paradise... Snorkelling in Maya Bay. Our hungover ferry ride from Ko Phi Phi to Krabi. So, we have been so busy enjoying paradise here on Ko Phi Phi that we were in danger of abandoning the blog! We took the ferry over from Ko Lanta on Sunday morning. Spent one night at an okay place called Paradise Resort (but I'll admit, it was a bit on the stinky side so we quickly evacuated). Fortunately we found an aboslutely delightful bungalow at the PP Bluesky Resort!!! It is in the front row, right on the beach walkway, with a delightful little garden in front (ridiculously reasonably priced of course). We have been spending our days mostly at the beach, when we aren't getting thai massages or eating/drinking. We had a fun night of debauchery to celebrate Cinco De Mayo. We found a Mexican restaurant in the main town area (a quick jungle hike from our beach) and feasted on nachos, margaritas and green curry! Then it was off for buckets of Samsong wiskey (yes, you read that right - buckets - it is all the rage here). We have also hiked to the viewpoint where you can see both bays and the small island of Ko Phi Phi Lay. Speaking of PP Lay, we took a private longboat tour of that island today for some great views and fun snorkling! So absolutely gorgeous - saw the bay where they filmed the movie "The Beach". Also saw some really fun fishes, etc - our favorite was the giant eel! Alas, I must apologize for the absence of pictures recently, we have certainly been taking plenty but we have not had a convenient access point that we could upload from. Hopefully soon! Tomorrow we have a big travel day as we head back to the mainland, and then fly to Cambodia.

Ko Lanta

2009-05-02T04:31:00.004-04:00

Our TukTuk driver Neng, on our way home from Irie where we saw a Japanese reggae performer - fun scene! Sucky pig loved the view from the beach at Relax Bay. Groovy fishing area just off the beach from where we stayed... Our favorite and most spicy dish of Ko Lanta - minced pork salad with bean thread noodle! Holy hotness! 'Bob' offered us a special for 10 nights, zero dollars to stay on Ko Lanta in the Bob Marley Room. We have been basking on the beach on the Andaman coast in Southwestern Thailand - internet access is a little trickier, and really - why sit at the computer when we could be soaking in the sun and splashing in the tropical waters?? Took the overnight train from Bangkok to Trang on Wednesday night - quite a long journey, about 17 hours! Fortunately there was a disco party car where we could drink cold beers and play cards while the crew of Brit backpackers played DJ. The copious beer did the trick for lulling us to sleep on our stuffy top bunks. From Trang we hopped on a 'mini-bus', aka cramped and heinously hot van for 3 hours down to paradise! Definitely worth the effort as we enjoyed thai massages on the beach during sunset!!! Staying at Relax Bay Resort www.relaxbay.com Very nice, also it is low season so we are practically by ourselves there.... Needless to say we are eating well, lots of delicious local Thai food Tomorrow we hop on an early ferry to Ko Phi Phi - Katie has been there before and it is apparently just breathtakingly gorgeous. It is where they filmed the movie 'The Beach' Hopefully we will soon have some more convenient internet access so that we can upload some of our fabulous photos. I know that Sucky Pig's fan club is going into withdrawl...

Bangkok

2009-04-27T00:05:00.001-04:00

We arrived in Bangkok last night! Staying at the Lamphu house.. http://www.lamphuhouse.com More reports to come after our explorations today. Had some delicious curry and lots of cold beer last night Our night on the town clubbing in the Pat Pong district of Bangkok at Spicy Bar. YUM!!! Our first meal in Bangkok - Thai curry!

Tokyo Finale

2009-04-26T12:19:00.003-04:00

We managed to get out a bit on the early side on a gorgeously sunny and warm day. Dropped a few things off at the post office to make their slow return to the USA and then headed to the Azabu Jyuban area. Lots of shops and restaurants - Tom and Tomoko used to live in the neighborhood, so we stopped at one of their favorite Ramen shops for lunch. We all had a different flavor of ramen, and also a few dumplings - all very distinct in flavors and ingredients, and all so delicious! We stuffed ourselves silly...

Happy noodle slurping faces!

We walked over to the Roppongi Hills area - a fairly new and massive complex, full of shopping, business, housing - all very chic. We went to the top of one of the towers where there was an observation deck. Gorgeous views of the city. Above is the Tokyo Tower...

MOUNT FUJI!!!!!!!!!!

Lovely seating around the sky deck for gazing at the city, and on lucky clear days like ours the breathtaking and sacred Fuji-san.

For dinner, we found a great little shabu-shabu restaurant right in Tom and Tomoko's neighborhood. Such a fun experience, another unique cuisine to devour!

A display of most of the condiments available for our meal...

The premise of shabu-shabu is that you have a simmering pot of broth in the middle of the table, and then you are served a variety of meats and vegetables to dip and cook in the broth. Above is the Japanese beef - holy marbling!

They also served a chicken forcemeat that you slid off of these scoops into little meatball shapes. We also had a bevy of vegetables - enoki mushrooms, carrots, garlic chives, cabbages and tofu. There were an amazing number of courses. After cooking all the meats and veggies, we had noodles to cook in the broth, and then rice with egg. And then some funky pumpkin flan type dessert.

The gang on our last night together!!! Tomorrow it is off for Bangkok!!!

Visit to Keiko and Jo's House

2009-04-25T11:57:00.000-04:00

Saturday was a fairly miserable pouring rain kind of day. Just downpoured all day long without respite. So, our motivation to leave the house was minimal... However, we had dinner plans to join Keiko and Jo at their apt in the Shinmaruko area, not far from where Tom and Tomoko live. They prepared quite the amazing feast!!! Keiko and Jo had prepared their traditional Japanese room, complete with tatami mats, as our dining area - low tables, candles, and their lovely fish tank as atmosphere! Dinner was fabulous!!! Lots of little dishes to start - edamame, tamago (omelet), spinach with miso, and a mix of walnuts with tiny fishes - a little sweet and salty.

Jo, Tomoko, Tom, Katie and Keiko at the dinner party.

Fun Time Friday Tokyo

2009-04-24T03:43:00.000-04:00

Today's main agenda - a visit to Kappabashi-dori. This is the restaurant supply shopping district in Tokyo. Block after block of ceramic shops, cooking utensils, uniforms, furniture, knives and of course plastic food! I felt like a kid in a candy store...

We had lunch at an onomiyaki restaurant nearby. It had a great old and authentic atmosphere. The basic premise of the style of food they serve in this kind of restaurant is that you order a set of ingredients (for instance pork belly, cabbage, leeks, ginger) and they bring it to you in a bowl with some eggy batter in the bottom. You mix it all together and then griddle it right at your table. The pancakes get glazed with a thick sauce and then sprinkled with dry seaweed flakes. Delicious and fun!

On to our next meal....

We at a restaurant called Gonpachi. It was apparently Quentin Tarantino's inspiration for the restaurant scene in Kill Bill. It was definitely very fun and hip. The food was mostly grilled skewers - everything from stuffed shitakes to bacon wrapped tomatoes and duck with wasabi. We finished the meal off with these gorgeous grilled mackerel.

We had a super great time - 3 hours of eating, drinking and fun dining companions!

Next stop on our Friday night on the town - that's right, you guessed it - KARAOKE!!!

It was amazing! Turns out that Tom is a 'Gold Member' of the club in Shibuya that we went to (Shidax), so we got a room on the VIP level, and we didn't have to wait in the line...

Humm.....just where is Katie's other hand?

The experience was vastly different than the karaoke experience in the states...we had our own cushy room (with at least some sound proofing), there was a phone to order up round after round of drinks and a song book that was about 4 inches thick! We really rocked out, in fact they called several times to let us know that our time was up, but we kept asking to extend it!

Tokyo - On Our Own!

2009-04-23T22:47:00.000-04:00

Today, Katie and I attacked the city like Gaijin Godzillas. It was a gorgeous day in Tokyo - sunny and warm. Perfect for a stroll through Kitanomaru Koen gardens, near where we were yesterday at the Imperial Palace. We successfully navigated the Tokyo subway systems and ambled through the streets. Sucky pig strikes again! This time at Yasukuni-jinja, or the Shrine for Establishing Peace in the Empire.

The shrine had some amazing steel Torii, stunning in fact. The shrine also had a nice display of flower arrangements, and the first western-style bronze statue in Japan (of an important warrior who inspired the shrine - of course I can't remember his name).

Thanks to Lonely Planet, we found a 'value' sushi restaurant for dinner in the Ginza area (again, we managed to navigate our way through the subway system to get there, with one quick 'oops, that WAS our stop'). At Hina Sushi, we had ALL YOU CAN EAT SUSHI, and even better, it was paired with ALL YOU CAN DRINK!!!! Super bonus...

We went to town ordering rounds and rounds of delicious fish! We had some sashimi to start, and then loaded up on everything from toro to suzuki, salmon, cod roe, shad and all sorts of white fish. They had a few spring specials as well. We took good advantage of the open bar and washed it all down with copious beers!

We strolled through the active Ginza shopping district after dinner to try and work off some of our sushi indulgence....quite the flashy and bustling area!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KATIE!!!!

2009-04-22T20:47:00.001-04:00

Happy Birthday Katie

and

Happy Earth Day too!! We started our day hopping on the train to the Hibiya station in central Tokyo. Nice that the trains warned us to be careful of the crushing power of their doors.

We ambled around the moat surrounding the Imperial Palace - home to the Japanese emperor. Sucky pig makes his Tokyo debut, just inside the Imperial Palace garden.

The garden was gorgeous - azaleas in full bloom everywhere we turned. Alas the iris garden we had come to see was not quite blooming...

Just a smattering of the gorgeous garden and flower pictures from our stroll through the palace gardens. The bamboo shoots we have seen in every local produce market - fun to see them growing.

We enjoyed our serenity in the park most of the afternoon, and then headed back to Tomoko's apt to get ready for the big night out.

We went to one of Tom and Tomoko's favorite restaurants - Rainbow Roll Sushi

Definitely a fun place for the bday celebration! The restaurant was very hip - lots of different levels of dining areas, all with a very open layout.

This was the signature Rainbow Roll. I think there was some of everything inside!

A couple more examples of the amazing sushi rolls we enjoyed at dinner! We also had some yummy fried bamboo shoot, and a funky Italian flavored grain salad.

Keiko, Jo and Katie with happy post-meal faces!

The finale - sparklers in the birthday dessert!

Tokyo Tuesday

2009-04-21T20:57:00.003-04:00

Tomoko whisked us off to the Ginza area of Tokyo today. Ginza is full of posh shopping areas, lots of restaurants and businesses. We wandered the streets window shopping, all the while looking for an elusive ramen shop that Tomoko and Tom had visited previously. It was definitely worth the hunt - very nice hip atmosphere, reasonable prices and delicious soup! The restaurant conveniently provided full coverage bibs to prevent accidents resulting from excessive noodle slurpage. Good thing too - they were splatter central by the end of the meal!

This is an example of the Ginza area...

Mr & Mrs Sugiyama took us to Mr S's favorite Yakitori (chicken skewer) restaurant for dinner. Keiko and Jo joined as well. The meal was fantastic! The chicken was served skewer by skewer in courses, very nicely paced and I was very impressed by the variety of chicken parts that were represented - started with gizzards, barely cooked breast, glazed livers, quail eggs, thighs with japanese leeks, pope's nose (or parson's nose, as I learned it is called in Australia), wings (seen above - butterflied open, quite the ingenious preparation), a yummy forcemeat and finally skin bits. A bit of salad, pickles and rice soup to balance things out. Oh yeah, and quite a few Yebisu beers.

Tomoko, Katie, CJ, Keiko - midmeal before the yakitori coma set in.....

Monday in Tokyo

2009-04-20T20:28:00.000-04:00

Our day had a fairly mellow start, but of course the first activity was lunch! Went to a local noodle shop in Tomoko's neighborhood. Enjoyed some delightful fried eel with chili and eggplant over rice. Super succulent... We spent the afternoon trolloping through some of Tomoko's favorite shopping districts. Relaxing and fun. We stopped at a place called the Rude Boy Cafe for afternoon beers and snacks, it had a nice reggae mixed with cantina vibe. Seemed like a good night for dinner at home - so I tried to recreate a pasta dish that Tomoko has been fantasizing about for the last 8 1/2 years! Tomoko played sous chef, Tom was the wine steward and Katie was clean-up wizard...really quite a perfect evening of friends, food and fun.

For some reason, we got into a discussion on natto - which Katie became quite curious about. Tomoko pulled some out of the fridge, stirred it into a mucilaginous concoction, and gave it a try - verdict: not bad! tastes like coffee......????

Tokyo - Day 2

2009-04-19T20:55:00.005-04:00

Sunday was definitely a day of eating! Tom and Tomoko took us to their favorite gyoza restaurant. There was quite a long wait to get a table, but very worth it! We indulged in piles of gyozas - fried and steamed, bean sprouts with meat sauce, pickled cabbage, cucumbers with miso dressing, chicken broth and rice. Oh, and a few ice cold beers.

After lunch we wandered around the Harujuko area - here are a few of the infamous, but dwindling Harujuku Girls. Next stop was a lovely stroll through the Meiji Temple, which was right in the same area.

Tokyo street performers - the Rockabilly Boys.Katie finally got to experience the real Tokyo she was expecting - gazillions of people everywhere and a neon light extravaganza! This shot is in the Shibuya area of Tokyo.For dinner, Keiko and Joe took us to one of their favorite local noodle houses in their neighborhood of Shin-Maruko. It is in the Kawasaki prefecture, just across the river - so not actually in Tokyo proper. Dinner was fabulous - another authentic Japanese experience, with low tables (no chairs). We enjoyed pickled eggplant, some gorgeous Aji sashimi (they fried the head and fish bones after we ate the raw slices), cold soba noodles, tempura and tonkatsu (breaded, fried pork cutlets - a nice tender selection from the pork belly! You know I was in heaven!).

Tokyo - Tom and Tomoko's Anniversary Party in Yokohama

2009-04-18T20:37:00.000-04:00

We actually arrived in Tokyo on Tom and Tomoko's 5 year wedding anniversary! The next day they hosted a party in Yokohama, where Tomoko and Keiko grew up, for their close friends and family. The party was at a very groovy converted warehouse, on the balcony of a jazz club. Absolutely amazing view of Yokohama bay, and a lovely ambience for the party.

We managed to fill the Donkey with lots of Japanese candies - treats for the party guests! Tom and Tomoko were absolutely thrilled with the suprise! Katie and I were just glad that we didn't arouse too much suspiscion at the airport...

View from the balcony by day... View by night....so pretty! Yokohama is celebrating 150 years of the port being open, so there were many festivities going on around the bay. There was a wild performance of classical music accompanied by giant mechanical spiders shooting water from cranes. Hard to describe...

Katie, Mrs Sugiyama and the donkeyTomoko couldn't bear to smash the donkey, she instantly fell in love with it! So we gave it a bit of abdominal surgery and removed the candy by hand... The happy couple!

Tokyo - The Travel

2009-04-17T20:01:00.001-04:00

We headed out for the airport early in the morning, with our trusty Donkey pinata as our mascot!

Sweetness! Upgraded to 'premium economy' due to overbooked flight - almost as nice as business class, and on the bulkhead too! We couldn't have been happier with our seats...

The flight was fine, long but plenty of movies to watch and plenty of room for stretching!

And so it begins...

2009-04-16T01:59:00.003-04:00

Katie and I have convened in Santa Cruz as the commencement of our adventure. We took a ride on the Giant Dipper to Christen the thrills of our travels!!!