Hiking in Oahu

I think Kuniko and I have finally shaken the jet lag. It took a little over a week. Even though we live in "paradise" it's easy to get into the normal rut of working, cooking, shopping, etc...which is pretty much true anywhere. Anyway this weekend we really took advantage of Hawaii. I bought Kuniko hiking boots for her birthday nearly 2 months ago and we haven't used them until this weekend. She wasn't sure if she would really like hiking. This is apparently related to a bad hiking experience at age 10 in Germany which has resulted in her avoiding hiking alltogether. She also is pretty much a city girl at heart. Anyway I woke her up earlier than she is used to on Saturday and we went to Manoa falls to hike. I chose this hike because it is easy and delivers maximum scenery for minimal effort. The hike is actually pretty short and there is a much better trail above the falls. It goes through a bamboo forest which is really cool:


We got about 2 miles in or so and it started to absolutely pour. So we turned around. We headed to Inaba for Soba (buckwheat noodles) as it's on the way home. Then we headed to Waikiki beach. We finally had a sunny day (it's the rainy season and it rained a lot before we headed to Japan). While at the beach I saw in the entertainment paper that the New Shanghai Circus was in town and we decided to check it out. It was at the Hawaii theatre which is a really cool restored old theatre. We grabbed dinner at Du Vin which is a bistro. The food was OK. The caliber of the restaurants here just doesn't compare to large cities in the mainland. Anyway the show was amazing. As good, if not better than Cirque de Solei performances I have seen.

Today Kuniko had to go to a work related tea ceremony so I went back to the beach as it was another warm and sunny day. It was one of those weekends that made both of us happy to be in Hawaii.

1/8/08 last day in Tokyo

This morning we ate a rice porridge that contains very mild fresh herbs that is tradionally eaten after the new years festivities/gluttony. It was very simple and comforting- perfect after all the complex and crazy food we have eaten. The weather was warmer today and sunny so we walked around to get last minute food items and gifts. Most importantly we bought 2 types of umeboshi which are absolutely one of my favorite Japanese things- they are a salted plum- they are very sour and very salty- I love them and have been rationed by Kuniko and can only have 1-2 per day. I bought 5 toe socks which are a big thing here- apparently Matsuzaka wears them and got the other red sox pitchers turned on to them. We then headed for some ramen noodles- we actually went to 2 different places- one called Hope-Ken (the ken means store) we went because of the name and because Kuniko's dad and sister thought we should go there. We didn't finish so we could try another place called grease noodle- basically it's ramen noodles with a tasty grease sauce- the noodles were super fresh and good.

I really had an amazing time here. Kuniko's parents were very gracious hosts and I was fed all kinds of great food. The temples and shrines we went to in both Tokyo and Kyoto were amazing. I look forward to returning.

Hope Ramen noodles

1/7/08 Tsukiji Fish market

We woke up early and went to the Tsukiji fish market today- it is the largest fish market in the world. Early in the morning there is an auction and then the fish is sold by middle men. The photos and videos I took are in the market (middle men). There is lots of action and you really have to pay attention or you could get hit by someone driving or pushing a cart. The sheer volume and variety of fish is incredible. They were processing a lot of it on the spot- including cutting up stuff that is still alive. Some of the fish looked amazing- so much tuna/toro that I would love to eat. Other stuff looked pretty funky.


After the fish market Kuniko had an appointment so I headed off on my own. I went to Ginza which is very high end shopping. The Sony flagship is there which is loaded with large TVs and there current stuff. I didn't find Ginza nearly as interesting as the other neighborhoods Kuniko took me to (it was my idea to check it out, not hers). After that I headed to Roppongi which was even less interesting to me. Lots of westerners are there and it's much dirtier that the rest of the city. I did a long walk to Tokyo tower and went up it (its similar to the Eiffel tower). The view from the observation platform is good and gives you a perspective of just how large and dense this city is.- see below picture.In the evening I went to dinner with Kuniko's parents- sushi. Just as we sat down the sushi chef pulled out a large live fish (2-3 feet long) and proceeded to cut it up and pull off the skin and bones and pull out the liver. The platter below with all white fish is that fish along with it's liver. That is definitely the freshest raw fish I have ever had. It was fitting to have sushi after going to the fish market.

1/6/08 Tokyo

Today we went back to the yukari (hot spring) that we went to last week. The link to the website for it is http://www.shiroyama-gr.co.jp/yukari.

Prior to the hot spring we had soba (buckweat noodles). They were really good.

I pulled some pictures off the website:

After the hot spring we took the train to Shinjuku. Part of Lost in Translation was filmed there. It's pretty crazy- lots of bright lights, noise and stimulation. There are video game places, gambling places and lots of entertainment places. This is also the home of lots of host clubs- basically women or men pay a lot of money to hang out with good looking members of the opposite sex and buy expensive drinks- its a very strange concept to me but whatever floats your boat.



From Shinjuki we headed to Kuniko's Aunt and Uncle's house in Fukagawa for Sukiyaki. This is definitely one of my favorites. It is composed of beef (in this case the beer fed/massaged fatty beef that is freaking amazing) cooked on the table in a broth along with tofu, shitake mushrooms, green onions, and a shirataki noodles which are made of Konnyaku starch (high fiber starch from a root). This dish is so good. We stayed at their house because they live close to the Tsukuj fish market.

1/5/08 Kyoto/Tokyo- pig heart on a skew and "gut hot pot"

Today we woke up and had a HUGE Japanese breakfast in the ryokan- multiple kinds of fish, eggs, tofu, rice, miso soup, pickled veggies- it was fantastic. We then headed for the Kyoto train station and checked out the food portion of a department store. They have one floor with prepared food- again it is very high quality and there are so many choices its hard to decide. On another floor they had sake, tea, cakes, other sweets and tons more stuff- all displayed perfectly and there the ratio of sales person to customer was infinitely higher than in the US. We bought some gifts for Kuniko's parents and some lunch for the train ride. I bought a bento box that had a baby octupus like thing and a bunch of other stuff- see video and picture below.



In the evening we went out to dinner with Kuniko's friends and I consumed a large number of items that I wouldn't have dreamed of eating. We started at one restaurant and had this dark green/brownish paste looking stuff on cucumber- I intentionally ate it before finding out what it is- the inside (guts) of a crab- I wasn't fond of it- especially the texture. After that we had sashimi. Then they brought out this little grill and we grilled 3 different items on it- thin slices of the mountain yam- which I didn't mind so much initially- after you chew it turns into a slimy substance in your mouth- not much flavor. We also grilled these little orange disc like things- sea urchin guts flattened out and dried- I would say they were sort of like the crab guts- not so good. Lastly we grilled a small pancake of the little tiny fish which I liked even if I could see their little eyeballs. We then got monk fish liver- I am not much of fan of this stuff. After that we got a salad- which I found out after was thin slices of blowfish skin. I don't mind some skin on fish but a salad containing large amounts of it isn't so great for me. The saving grace to the whole meal was the sake we had. Kuniko's friend is big time into sake and knows all of these great small sake breweries. After this we headed to a whole in the wall restaurant that is known for it's gut hot pot. We started with skewers of pig heart- I wasn't crazy about the taste and texture

Skewered pig heart
After the heart we got a small cucumber salad with ume (salty plum) and then came the gut hot pot- miso soup with pig stomach and colon. Honestly both didn't taste bad. The colon is pretty chewy. The hardest part of the experience is getting over the concept of the food.
Next came skewered pig colon with sauce. They actually don't taste bad- they are very rubbery and chewy- again you have to sort of not think about the fact that these chewy morsels once contained pig shit in them
Yummmy pig colon!

I was very proud of myself for 2 reasons- 1. I tried everything. 2. most importantly I didn't throw up in front of Kuniko's friends. Each of her 3 friends were really cool. One of them used to work for the bullet train (and even learned how to drive them) so I learned all kinds of interesting things like it's a pretty regular event for people to commit suicide by jumping in front of the bullet train and they don't stop the train because they run every 3 minutes. Her other friend produces TV shows and is very flashy in his clothing selection and personality- he was very amusing. The sake conoissoir is pretty laid back. All of them were really friendly.

Kyoto 1/4/08

Today we went to Ginkakuji Temple (silver pavillion) which is a Buddhist Temple build on a mountainside with absolutely beautiful grounds. It has Zen Gardens made with stones arranged in different patterns- see video below. We got there before it became crowded which really added to the serene feeling of the whole place. There are all kinds of very special moss (which is apparently an important part of Japanese Gardens).


We then headed for the Nanzenji Temple which is also a Buddhist temple. It has a very peaceful garden that contains the remains of an emperor. After the temple we went for lunch which is called Yudofu (I believe this translates to warm/hot tofu) which is a completely vegetarian meal that the monks ate. It was really good. It started with a sesame thing that is composed of ground up sesame and it has the consistency of panna cotta also they gave us mountain yam which is something I don't eat- its a ground up vegetable that is super slimy- Kuniko was happy to have to servings of it. After that we were given skewers of grilled tofu with a very interesting and complex green sauce on it that was a little sweet. Then we got hot tofu that is served in a pot of water and kept hot on the table. Overall the quality and flavor of tofu here is vastly superior to what I have had in the US. After that we were given rice, vegetable tempura, and some pickled veggies (which are served with most meals- they pickle all kinds of veggies here- they are really good.

After lunch we headed to Kiyomizudera- pure water temple. It is a temple build on the edge of a hill- the architecture is amazing. See pictures below. This region is famous for Kiyomizu pottery and we bought some sake cups and tea mugs.

Then we headed for the last temple of the day- Sanjusangendo Temple. This is one of those experiences that words or a picture can't do it justice. It is a huge building that contains over a thousand gold statues- most are all lined up symetrically in rows and in front there are statues of Hindu gods and figures. It is one of those sights and experiences that blows you away- it was the perfect way to end our Kyoto sightseeing.

Kyoto 1/3/08

Since I didn't bring my computer I am going to do 3 posts for each day

We took the bullet train today to Kyoto from Tokyo station. The train is really nice- smooth ride very comfortable seats. We saw Mount Fuji on the way. Everywhere you go it seems you get get great food- including the train station- we bought some rice balls and my favorite pork belly (braised in soy sauce) and it came with an egg- which they use extensively in the food here. Unlike train station food in the US- it is really good food here. Rice balls are basically the Japanese version of a sandwich- they are a ball of rice with something inside of it (fish, dried plum, sea urchin guts, tuna, etc) wrapped with a piece of seaweed. It took about 2.5 hours to get to Kyoto and the scenery on the way there was really beautiful- outside of the cities it is pretty mountainous. In Kyoto we stayed in a ryokan which is a traditional Japanese inn. The room is small and has no bed. The floor is composed of tatami mats which is what used to be in the floors in japanese houses (still have them if they have a Japanese room in their modern house). You eat dinner in your room- while wearing a yukata- japanese robe thingy (see below). So basically you sit in your small room on the floor (at a table) and are brought around 7-8 different courses of food. Each time the server gives you food and bows. It was quite the experience. The food was good and quite elaborate. Its a good thing I am more adventurous with food cause there was some pretty wild stuff- I am growing fond of these little dried fish- not sure what they are but its weird looking at their little eyeballs as you eat them. Also you are eating the whole thing- tail, skin, head, guts...I just don't think about it. After you eat they move the table and set up a futon on the floor to sleep on. The website for the ryokan is good- http://www.ikumatsu.com/
Before we ate we went to the Heian Shrine (Shinto). Outside of the temple there were all kinds of food stalls run by the Yakuza (Japanese mafia). The funniest thing is you can spot them easily- they wear the cheesiest outfits- kind of like they watched a rap video and loosely based their outfits on that. Anyway we ate a pancake sort of thing that had cabbage, noodles, bacon and other stuff in it. Then we had these little fish shaped cookie sort of things made with a small waffle iron thing that's in the shape of a fish and they are filled with sweet bean paste- they were really good. The shrine was quite interesting- see picture below

After this we went to the famous Kinkakuji temple- the Golden Pavillion. We timed it just right and the sun was setting and was shining on the temple- very impressive- see below

Shinto Shrine, Hot spring, and more food

Today we went to the Meiji Temple which is a major Shinto shrine in Tokyo. It was absolutely packed with people. This was followed by more amazing food- during the New Year (which is basically a week long) they set up all these food stalls in the temple and on the street nearby. The food was amazing- it's hard to describe the dish I had but it was sort of like a dough ball stuffed with octopus and it had a fancy sauce on it and some mayonnaise- I realize that doesn't sound all that good- but really it was incredible. We then walked around a shopping area that is sort of like 5th avenue in NYC. I bought some gifts for people. One of the cool things here is the customer service everywhere you go is incredible- even in a 7-11 the cashier gives you good service with a smile. Pretty much anywhere it seems they will gift wrap whatever you buy- it's really great since I basically hate wrapping and can't do it.

After this we met up with Kuniko's dad and went to a hot spring. All over Japan they have hot springs as it is very geothermically active. According to her dad the water at this hot spring is the best in Tokyo in terms of mineral content which supposedly has all kinds of health benefits. This had to be one of the most relaxing things I have ever done. There were like 5-6 different hot baths inside and outside. The water is dark in color because it contains minerals and other stuff- it is basically very old seawater that has been heated up by molten lava (or something like that). They also had what her dad called a cold sauna (isn't that an oxymoron?). Basically what it is is a walk in refrigerator. After going in various hot and cold pools we then had a massage- shiatsu. It's hard to capture the whole experience with words- it was all around one of the best things we have done so far.

We got home and had more unbelievable food cooked by Kuniko's mom (who has taken classes in Japanese cooking and only uses the best ingredients and organic vegetables). I am praying that my pants still fit me after all the food we are being fed. Her mom made a duck hot pot (which is sort of like a soup with lots of veggies, duck and easily the best tofu I have ever had. We also had a raw egg (which apparently all eggs in Japan are safe to eat raw) in a bowl and you put the veggies and duck in the raw egg and then eat it- it's actually not bad (the raw egg part, that is). We also had sashimi and more mochi. Pretty much everything her mom makes is incredible. Also, Kuniko's dad bought some very expensive and tasty sake to go with the great food. Tomorrow we take the bullet train to Kyoto.



Shinto priest
Fish on a stick- I have never seen such a thing.
Kuniko's mom seems to always be cooking:

$700 toilet seats, New Years Dinner

Yesterday we walked around Kuniko's parent's neighborhood. The roads are small and buildings are quite compact. We checked out an electronics store which is sort of like a Best Buy on steroids. It was 5 floors and was absolutely packed with stuff. In addition there are tons of bright signs and people yelling into microphones pushing sale items. I was pretty fascinated by the floor that had home appliances, including 500-700 dollar toilet seats which pretty much everyone seems to have- they even had one at a restaurant we went to. I am not even sure of all the features they have. They have integrated bidets (which you can't even see- basically you press a button and a small door opens up and the bidet comes out). The seats are heated and also when you sit on it some sort of very quit exhaust fan comes on. I am sure they do all kinds of other stuff too- but I am afraid to start pushing buttons- everything is in Japanese. You can also buy a $700 dollar rice cooker that uses some fancy technology to produce great rice. The refridgerators are really neat- they are much smaller than ours and have lots of different compartments for different foods. Pretty much most of the appliances are smaller as people's housing is generally much smaller- the use of space is very intelligent here.

We saw a restaurant that specializes in blowfish- these are the fish that have an organ that contains a very strong poison that will pretty much kill you instantly. Kuniko assures me that no one dies anymore from them- I guess each restaurant is licensed and the sushi chef is specially trained. Not only is the (supposedly nil) chance of dying when eating this it is super expensive- starting at $150 per person. I declined the offer to get this...I need to save something for the next trip. Below are the blowfish in the window.


New years food. Where do I start? First of all Kuniko's mom spent 2 days preparing food for New Years. She was up until 2am on the 31st - cooking. The food started in the morning- I can't even remember all of the stuff. We had a very traditional soup that contains mochi (pounded rice) and veggies that was great. Each of the dish has a meaning/symbol about going into the new year. After our walk we had dinner with Kuniko's aunt and uncle and 2 cousins. Again there was a ridiculous amount of amazing food- sashimi (including toro), duck , veggies, monkfish hot pot (broth made with monkfish liver), sushi rolls, and for desert we had sea sparrow's nest with melon balls. This is definately worth explaining. Sea swallow's nest (per Wikipedia) is the most expensive animal product consumed by humans- and (per me) once of the weirdest. It is a chinese delicacy and naturally (supposedly) has all kinds of health benefits which probably won't interest you as much as what this stuff really is- basically these birds get seaweed from the ocean and make their nest on the edge of tall cliffs WITH THEIR SALIVA! I think maybe they eat this stuff and regurgitate it with their saliva to make their nests. Then someone who has the luck of having a career of climbing old bamboo ladders on the edge of a cliff in a third world country risks their life to obtain this delicacy- on occasion folks do fall and die. As for the taste of this winning combination of bird saliva and seaweed- it's pretty much without flavor. The best way I could describe it is it's sort of like a gelatinous noodle- it's not unpleasant to eat so long as you don't focus on the fact that you are eating bird spit.


Below is a picture of Kuniko's mom on the right with her sister (who is wearing a Kimono).