4/11 Tokyo

I took the train from Kichijoji to Shinjuku to activate my rail pass and secure seats on the trains I will be taking. From Shinjuku I headed to Shimo-Kitazawa which is a cool little neighborhood with lots of small shops and restaurants- a bit like Kichijoji but not as upscale. I had a little time to wander around until Kuniko met up with me to have lunch. I found a cool small mens boutique clothing store…the tricky thing here is that I pretty much don’t fit in 99% of clothes here. I had a blast attempting to communicate with the 2 guys running the shop who spoke very little English- it’s amazing how creative you can get in attempting to communicate. They had some really cool T-shirts with funky designs- I found one I liked, however, Kuniko vetoed it because she felt it was too Yakuza-ish. We agreed on another one that is really cool. We then headed for lunch at this Indonesian curry place. The restaurant is really trippy- lots of bright colors, Buddhist paintings, hanging beads. The cool thing is you can pick the level of spiciness you want your curry.

We headed back to Kichijoji so Kuniko could finish packing and catch her bus to the airport. She boarded her bus and then I headed back to her parent’s house for dinner. Her mom made Japanese style curry with pork and shrimp- really good. I then had the task of packing for my 2 week backpacking trip. My goal was to only carry by medium sized backpack. It proved to be a challenge but I was able to fit my clothes, one extra pair of shoes, and my laptop into the backpack. I went to bed pretty early as I had to wake up at 6 and head to Tokyo station to take the bullet train to Matsuyama.

Hakone/Tokyo

We had a huge breakfast in the Ryokan- eggs, fish, warm tofu, more fish, some very slimy seaweed miso soup and rice:













We then headed to the Pola art museum:

http://www.polamuseum.or.jp/english/nature/01.html

They currently have a large Chagall exhibit which is quite good. They also have a very good collection of both western and Japanese art. The building itself is quite impressive and it is set in a in a beautiful forest.

We drove back to Tokyo and stopped at a Tonkatsu place we went to the last time I was here. http://www.butagumi.com/nishiazabu/index.html. I simply can't emphasize how great this place is. Tonkatsu is breaded fried pork cutlet. This place gets high end pork from all over Japan and Spain and apparently the owner buys directly from the farms so the price is lower. The atmosphere of the restaurant is really good and each of the different things you get (shredded cabbage, (red) miso soup, white rice, tonkatsu sauce, and the actual tonkatsu), is perfect.

In the afternoon and early evening I spent hours trying to secure places to stay while travelling solo.....with a lot of help from Kuniko. Pretty much all the places lonely planet recomended were full so I had to find other places....it took a while.

For dinner we headed to a small Japanese restaurant that has Japanese and western style food. It was great and very reasonably priced. We had salad with umeboshi, cabbage with bacon with lots of garlic, fried little shrimp (you eat the shell and head- actually really good), and lamb shank in a tomato sauce.

Hakone

Today Kuniko’s dad drove us to Hakone to stay at an Onsen (hot spring). On the way we stopped at a gas/service station and he had his oil changed. While we were waiting I used the bathroom- I know you are asking yourself why am I blogging about using a bathroom in a service station.
Every bathroom I have ever used in a gas station, oil change place, service station, etc has always been pretty gnarly. This gas station had a granite floor AND granite floors, a fancy toilet (ie 600 dollar and up toilet seat), and was spotless…amazing.

We went to Odawara and went to the castle there. For 200 yen each (about $1.90) we got dressed up in Samurai (Kuniko dressed like a princess) it was really funny. Odawara is famous for eel (Unagi) and we went to a well known restaurant that is 140 years old to eat it. We started with squid in it’s own intestines (shiokara) which I have never eaten before- it pretty much looks like worms in a slimy sauce. Kuniko loves the stuff and gets it whenever she can when we are out for sushi- until today I haven’t partaken. I pretty much found it to be gross- slimy and pretty fishy- the sauce was pretty good though. Then we had the eel (grilled) on rice…it was SO good- truly amazing.

We stopped in Chinriu to stop at a famous umeboshi store. Umeboshi are preserved salted plums- they are salty and sour and I absolutely love them and for some strange reason have the ability to distinquish between OK ones and very good ones. They are made with an herb called perilla which I also really like. Anyway this store had all things ume and perilla and I was like a kid in a candy shop and spent like 75 bucks on a variety of umeboshi and perilla products to bring back to Boston with me. Kuniko’s sister shares my love of ume and also loves this store.

We drove bit further to Hakone and stopped for a coffee at Fujiya hotel- very beautiful hotel….coffee was like 8 bucks a cup.

We then arrived at our Ryokan/Onsen (traditional Japanese inn/hot spring) which has 14 rooms and is on beautiful grounds with stunning gardens. There is an outdoor hot tub that overlooks the grounds and also in indoor one. The water is supposed to have various healing properties. In a Ryokan you eat dinner in your room- they bring you in course after coarse of food and you sit on the floor and eat it at a small table. The food was ridiculously good. We started with appetizers that included sesame tofu, baby octopus, sea urchin on tofu skin, a strange looking mussel, shrimp and a piece of sushi- fish unknown to me. Next we had clam soup. This was followed by a ridiculous amount of sashimi that was killer. Next came some seawead, bamboo shoots and cod eggs. Next we got some fried fish that was unbelievably good- probably my favorite course. Next came octopus in with a mustard sauce. Then we got smoked fish. At the end came white rice and miso soup. The whole thing was incredible- both in quantity and quality. Ryokan website: http://www.kansuiro.co.jp/eng/

4/8/08 Tokyo

Today we went to Kuniko’s favorite Soba restaurant which was also her Grandfather’s favorite. Soba is a type of noodle made of buckwheat. Up until now I always liked Soba but didn’t love it- today’s Soba changed all that for me. Like with most food its often the subtle things that make the difference. The texture of these soba noodles were different from other one’s I have had. We had different flavored ones today also- perilla and cherry blossom.

Then we headed to Kuniko’s university- Wasada as she had to meet with her advisors regarding her dissertation. Then we headed to see her holistic doctor called seitai which is extremely difficult to describe- it combines mind body medicine, movement, manual treatment and energy work.

From the seitai we went to Kuniko’s aunt and uncle’s house for dinner. Her uncle made okonomiyaki which is a Kansai speciality- he is from Nara. His recipe includes a lot of mountain yam (yamaimo) which is one of the few Japanese foods that I have a strong aversion to- it is very very slimy. Kuniko forewarned her aunt that I don’t like it, but her aunt thought that maybe because it was cooked I wouldn’t mind it. Under normal circumstances I would have just eaten it, however, Kuniko clearly stated that I should tell whether I liked it or not because if I said I liked it then I would get it every time we visit. Kuniko prefaced this with in any other Japanese household I am not to say I don’t like something. Her Aunt had a backup piece of salmon for me which she cooked perfectly.


Her Uncle drove us back to Kichijoji and on the on ramp to the highway they were conducting on the spot breathalizer testing which is something they do every spring. In Japan they recently instituted a policy in that fines the driver and the passengers a huge amount (something like 2000 USD per passenger) if in a car with someone who is driving under the influence. Her uncle passed with no problem.

Japan..Raw Horse....mmmm good!

I arrived in Japan yesterday and took the bus to Kuniko's parents house (2 hours from the airport). One of the many things I like about Japan is the language is niceto hear and they use very pleasant female voices as recordings (on the bus, subway, etc). Ahh I am so happy to be back in Japan!

Kuniko's mom prepared a fantastic meal- Kurobuta pork hot pot with a miso based soup in the hot pot. I can't emphasize enough how freaking good the Kurobuta pork is- it is so flavorful and tender- nothing like the pork you get in US supermarkets- ie dry and flavorless. Kuniko's dad also went out and bought some excellent sake that went perfectly with the meal.

We spend most of the day walking around Kichijoji (where Kuniko's parents live). It is a very cool neighborhood with lots of great shops and restaurants. There is also a great park with a pond. I got rip in jeans so I needed to find a new pair- which proved to be a challenging task- given that I am just a little bigger than most Japanese men. We did find a par in Uniqlo http://www.uniqlo.com/jp/ which is kind of like the Gap but much better and much bigger. They just opened the first US store in NYC. The jeans needed to be shortened and they had them finished in 45 minutes which was really amazing to me given how big and crowded the store was.

We had a killer lunch at a Japanese pasta place. Its this really small place down a narrow street and they make the pasta in the front of the restaurant. Its a funny thing but this Japanese-made Italian food was way better than what you find in most American Italian restaurants (North End excluded). The Japanese just don't mess around or half ass anything- which is one of the reasons it's such a pleasure to travel and eat here. Our lunch cost 16 bucks for both of us- everyone talks about how expensive it is here which isn't always true.

There are lots of places you can get shiatsu or a foot massage and we found one that was pretty cheap- 60 minutes for around 45 dollars (don't have to tip here). I have never paid that little in the US.

During our New Year's trip here we didn't have time to go for horse meat which I was keen on trying to we went last night. It is so good.

We got 3 different cuts sliced like sashimi- raw. It is very tender and has a subtle flavor. You put a little fresh ginger on it and dip it in a thick sweet soy sauce...so good.

We also got baked eggplant, clams and cabbage, these little fish that were grilled, gobo (burdock) tempura- first time I have had it this way- it was fantastic. Burdock is a fibrous root used extensively in Japanese cooking and I happen to really like- it is kind of crunchy and strangely satisfying to eat. Then we had horse sushi and finished with miso soup and shared some Sakura (cherry blossom) ice cream- so good. All of this plus a couple of beers was like 80 bucks.

Last day in Hong Kong

I took the bus to Stanley which is on Hong Island but its on the opposite side of where the city is. It is a wealthy area that isn’t as developed and populated as the city. There are beaches there and it sort of reminded me a little bit like Sausalito. I road on the top of a double-decker bus to get there. It was actually a pretty cool ride. The road was very narrow and winding and its definitely different being that high up in a vehicle. There is a market in Stanley- the Stanley market which sells clothes, knick-knacks etc. I don’t find most of the stuff for sale here very compelling (with the exception of all the veggies, raw meat, etc found in the food markets). So I explored Stanley and the walked around. The view of the ocean and surrounding small islands is stunning.

I headed back to Hong Kong and then took the tram up to the Peak. They build a funicular tram a long time ago up the side of a mountain to the top of a mountain overlooking Hong Kong. It was since been updated a couple of times and is quite fast and provides for fantastic views on the way up. I walked around the top which has hiking trails, shopping plazas, restaurants, etc. Side note- there are pretty much shopping plazas and malls everywhere here. Clearly there is a ton of money here and people come from all over the world to shop here. The sheer volume of high end stores is dizzying- and they say that Americans are consumerists. I would have to say that Hong Kong is much more consumeristic (I don’t think that’s a word) than the US.

Anyway the hiking and views from the top of the Peak are wonderful.

I then headed to the tailors to pick up my finished clothes. The whole process of having these clothes made was really interesting. They take a bunch of measurements of you and take pictures of you (to get a sense of your posture I believe) and you pick out what you want- ie shirts, pants, suits, etc and you pick the fabric. You can pick the style of collar and cuff. Then you go back the next day and they have you try on a rough version of the pants and jacket to check the fit. In my case they had to completely redo the shirt because of the height of the collar was incorrect. Then you go back and try everything on again and they make more adjustments as needed and then they make everything you want based on those measurements. I have actually never had a suit or jacket properly fit me in my whole life- basically because of the size of my shoulders. Usually I end up getting stuff tailored off the rack and it still never fits right. Anyway the suit these guys made for me fits absolutely perfect. The beauty is they keep your measurements so you can order more stuff later (they will mail you fabric samples). A custom made shirt cost about $60 bucks- in the US it would be $150 and up. So I am now ready to start my new job with my properly fitting stylish clothes.

There are Indian tailors all over Hong Kong (since it used to be British) and let me tell you these guys are aggressive. You are lucky if you make it one block without one coming up to you and trying to pull you into his shop. It pretty much forces you to completely ignore them as they are talking to you which initially feels really rude but quickly becomes normal behavior to avoid them. There are also people who come up to you to try to sell you fake Rolexes and such. Needless to say I completely ignored them as well.

I dropped of my new clothes and headed back to watch the laser show again (it was cloudy last night and it was really clear tonite- I am glad I did check it out again because I could see the lasers much better. I then headed back to Hong Kong to go to a specific restaurant I noticed while walking around a couple of days ago-

While amidst the vegetables, raw meat and fish while exploring the Graham street market a few days ago I noticed a little hole in the wall Cantonese BBQ place with a newspaper article about food network’s Anthony Bourdaine which included this little place. For those of you who don’t know he travels around the world and eats ethnic food and has a TV show and book about it. He raved about the roast suckling pig so I opted for this. The “cook” or guy who cuts up the meat with a cleaver didn’t speak a lick of English so this lady (cashier?) helped out- I asked for the roast suckling pig which she didn’t understand and I said baby pig- which she did and then she told the chef and he picked it up and then she proceeded to touch it with her fingernail to indicate that’s what it was- I prayed that my piece wouldn’t include the part she touched (she was outside smoking before hand). I sit down on my plastic stool at a plastic table facing a whole bunch of dead carcasses of pigs, baby pigs, ducks, etc. It is a very strange feeling to eat something while staring at the carcass of the same thing…it’s a little creepy but I got over it- especially when I bit in to the crispy, fatty, meaty piece of pork. We Americans need to start utilizing the skin of the pig in our food- it’s quite good- crispy fatty goodness.

Lantau, Buddha, and heinous bathrooms

Yesterday I headed to Lantau island to check out the huge Buddha that is on top of the mountain. I took the subway to a gondola that takes you up the mountain. The gondola ride itself is absolutely spectacular- check out the video below:



They have build this sort of village/theme parkish kind of thing on the top of this mountain where the huge Buddha is. They even have this multimedia cartoon movie about the Buddha- its kind of weird but is well done.


There is some spectacular hiking there and I did a short walk to the "path to wisdom" which is a walk to a place where there are these wooden columns with the heart sutra (a Buddhist scripture) carved into them- see picture below. In the little village they had a place where you can get a foot massage- given that I have been walking at least 4-5 miles every day my feet were killing me so I thought it would be a good idea. It was kind of strange. They started it by having me soak my feet in some water that looked like black tea or something. Then this lady rolled up my pants and started to jam her fingers into my knee which was quite unpleasant. She did the massage very rapidly it wasn't very relaxing but at least it was cheap.

I took the gondola back down and headed back to Kowloon and grabbed some food. I had this fantastic duck and pork with rice and veggies- it was killer and also very cheap. I then made a very crucial mistake- I went to the bathroom after eating. The bathroom was absolutely disgusting and filthy- no exaggeration I nearly threw up my food. Many of the bathrooms here have been unpleasant experiences- I can't wait to get to Japan where the bathrooms are clean and the service is a million times better than here.I then headed to the waterfront promenade facing Hong Kong to watch the evening light/laser show that is put on every night. The Kowloon waterfront is really well done with a large promenade and walking area that includes a tribute to Hong Kong movie stars with bronze stars embedded in the ground with names of famous actors and such. The view of Hong Kong at night is absolutely stunning from this area. At 8 PM every single night they put on a light/laser show over the harbor and buildings on both sides have lights that also flash. After watching the show I boarded the Star ferry which takes you between Kowloon and Hong Kong. It is really cheap and provides a great view of both Hong Kong and Kowloon. I then headed to Wan Chai which I hadn’t explored yet. It has lots of bars and restaurants, including lots of host bars which seem like a very strange thing to me. As I understand it they employee attractive females who are supposed to entertain you and drink with you and I think the drinks are really expensive. They are quite popular in Asia and Hawaii. I just don’t get it. Anyway they were super aggressive in trying to get me into these places- literally grabbing me to try to pull me in- I couldn’t get out of there soon enough.