p & i lost in japan

so we are finally back in SF! sorry about the lack of postings. We know some of you have been checking and checking. We were tired and limited internet time.........

Say Hi! to Penton, the mascot of Tokyo Bay Sheraton. This guy was so cute and cuddly and short. All the little kids swarmed him as he came through the front doors.

So this was our checkout day.... P feels it was the coolest hotel we stayed at on this trip for their awesome customer service, pool, and public bath facilities. Families enroute to Tokyo Disneyland totally should stay here!

This is the view from inside the hotel elevators. Yes... that is a mini golf course you see here....

These are all interior photos of the hotel.......

LUNCH AT IKISPARI FOOD COURT

Takoyaki from Gindako. Addicts we are and eat we shall!

This is a fried croquet (left) and fried fishcake sandwiched between two slices of lotus wrapped in nori. Yummy fried stuff!

P's burger craving kicked in. This was a substitute for Kua Aina Burgers (a super yummy burger chain from Hawaii). Kua Aina was at least 2x the price. In any case, P wanted a Japanese burger. Too much bread and not enough meat! Very moist and flavorful.

HOTEL AZUMA

This is the ryokan we stayed at for our first weekend. P's high opinion of ryokans amounted to this comment "just a place to stay, people weren't too friendly, extremely small, our queen-size bed is ultimately bigger than the room". It was a great deal for $120 we got 2 rooms for 2 nights.

Our rooms! P's not quite awake..... we're pretty sure he coulda kicked the wall down if that was his style... respect and you will be respected!

This is the hallway right outside P's room. This is the handwashing after your business/ brushing your teeth in the morning/ filling your water bottle,playtypus bag/ washing your face common sink. For what it was worth we did not get sick from drinking this water. In fact, this water tasted a lot sweeter than water we got from Tokyo Bay Sheraton (their water was earthy, minerally, highly clorinated, and had a 'thick' texture..... we didnt get sick from that either).

Awesome! We were on the 3rd floor and P's room was right next to it...

Jen, this is the women's ressstroom..... the sink you see here has a small nozzle on the bottom (this took a good minute or two to figure out). This is the first urinal I sees in women's restrooms and not her last. (Googling it would probably give you a better answer to that question that just popped into your head). The toilet seats were delightfully lined with thin pink terry cloth until you decide to sit on them. The 3 possiblities that came to mind were: wow they keep this place really clean and keep rinsing the toilet seats, but maybe they need to take the cloth off; that's a strong water swirl to get this cloth thing so wet; women who are staying in this place like peeing on the seat (an amazing feat no matter how one pictures this). Needless to say, bathroom rituals henceforth became lengthier and more elaborate.

P's fav! NOT! They encouraged sorting your own trash. For a very legitimate and forgotten reason, we wanted to note that P ended up carrying all our tidbits of trash whereever we went (trash cans were hard to come by and I's prowless in regards to trash carrying was zilch, so in random pix one can see trash hanging out from all kinds of pockets). Thanks dude!

This is the lounge....... no comment.

Pamphlets for patrons to use and put back.... clever idea, with the whole being nice to the environment thing going on.

Vending machines really are everywhere. This one was in the entrance way (where you stowed your shoes, shoes are NOT allowed to be worn in the ryokan, lovely plastic cushiony slippers were provided. we didnt find out just how cushiony those were with the foot fungus phobias swirling around at least one of our minds..... which leads to another logical yet stupid belief....) oh the pix on the right is a automatic tea and hot water dispenser. really cool!

The kitchen and laundromat combo. Very very convienent .... too bad we spent 4 hours of our lives doing laundry somewhere else. Honor system entails here........ u usee u washee. We did neither....

This is where I finds out later that caution means nothing aka. the logical stupid belief was created and enacted here only to be dispelled when I told P about it. Since slippers weren't kosher in their bathrooms, I devised a very smart way of not getting foot fugus related germs and such. She would promptly wipe her foot dry first, while balancing on one leg, put on a sock, hop out the wet floor part, and proceed with the other foot, all the while avoiding the very unfriendly looking germfilled bath mat (this was THE common sense thing to do at the time). Two showers later and finally thinking she was soooo smart I told P about this elaborate bath ritual. Guess what he said to I?! "You woulda gotten foot fungus from the shower, dummy!". Yes our relationship pretty much revolves around I doing/saying/thinking something stupid and P laughing his head off while explaining to her why it really was stupid.

the microwave/fridge combo. the sign has all kinds of handwritten notes by patrons (if management was just a little
English-savy they woulda taken it down ages ago). So in not so many words, this is the magical food disappearing box. We didn't find out how great it worked. In this case being gullible was being smart.

LUNCH @ RAMEN SHOP

this is our server/cashier person. Vending machines are awesome if you can fully appreciate them. What happens is you put in money, select the item you would like to devour, a printed ticket is dispensed, your change klinks its way down the chute and into your ready-waiting hands, then you give the said ticket to the chef/cook guy.

P's miso corn topped ramen. This joint specialized in spicy ramen so he got the mild. Mild was enough for him.

I's veggie topped spicy miso ramen. yummy firey goodness.

THINGS WE SAW ALONG THE WAY

SNACK

This is agemanju.... again, yes! Our first ones were in Nikko, but these had waaaay more flavors. Honestly these were not as crunchy as the other ones, but has more yummy savory-ish fillings. We got green tea, sesame, pumpkin, and regular (red bean paste).

This is Murasaki imo (a type of Japanese sweet potato). You can't tell but the the icecream is actually a rich lavender color. It had an interesting slight sweet potato flavor. It's almost as if you were tasting the smell of potato in ice cream form. The pix in the middle is other stuff they were offering: sweet potato stuffed apples and baked sweet potato. One of P's fav was chunks of deep fried sweet potatos coated in a melty simple syrup of brown sugar (P's exact words, I thinks good things are rubbing off on him)

The most amazing lipgloss in the world! If you know I, u know she has perpetually dry lips. This chapstick-like concoction totally cured it and smelled like peach candy!!!

Irene this is for you! discount dental equipment for everyone!

this is the first manhole of many I decides is too awesome not to take a pix of. Needless to say P kept an eye out for manholes to satisfy her manhole fetish.

we ventured out of Tokyo on thursday to chill out at Nikko. chill out wasn't exactly what we did. two transfers and two hours later we were starving in Nikko. yes, every morning we wake up starving... i don't know why!

anywaz, we were smack in the middle of rush hour, not surprising since we wake up super early here. it's fun to be packed like sardines! people push you around and you get to push back! P hated it! i liked the pushing! heheheh

NIKKO JR STATION

SNACK

this is an agemanju stand outside of the JR Nikko station. Agemanju is basically battered fried manju.

we had never heard of it until we saw it. but it was super yummy! this one was fried all the way through the bready part until the azuki filling.

we were super hungry so we got two buns at a local convience store. the one on the left is a 'pizza maan' (pizza bun) and the one on the right is a regular niku man (meat bun). the pizza maan tasted like "chef boyrdee filling but not too bad" quoted from P. the niku maan was okay nothing to write home about.

THINGS ALONG THE WAY
we sorta decided that we would walk from JR Nikko station to the Nikko temples. apparently everyone was going to Nikko along with us and the crowded buses "bothered" P. it took about half an hour or so of walking and a whole lot more minutes since I was snap-happy with the camera......

Japan's stimulus plan at work......

japanese firestation with trucks...

these were the sweetest strawberries in the world! they were so good we couldn't stop! and gobbled up the whole container near the best water in the world!

authentic Japanese bug!

this is the Shinkyo Sacred Bridge. we found it kinda funny that one would need to pay for when there was a perfectly good road to walk on right next to it. sorry pix came out junk. the sun was in the way. supposedly people come here to take wedding pix so there are willing guinea pigs!

LUNCH

this is P's 'enya steak'. we stopped off at some Japanese dinner/lodge looking thing along the way and this was our meal. P's steak was kinda cool. the steak was served on a bed of onions and shaved garlic all on top of a sizzling plate. we were curious as to why they had served his steak sauce cold along with his salad. we figured it was to cool plate as it got to the table. the sauce was good .... sorta like an onion-grated daikon jus.

these are the part of the yakitori set. the one on the right consists of skin, shio chicken meat w/ fat, cartilage, and liver. P loved the cartilage. the chicken liver wasn't too 'livery' until it cool down. the plate on the right has thigh meat, meatballs, wing, gizzard, and tuna cheek (we had to try it!). highlights were definitely the meatballs (soft and moist) and gizzard (crispy, slightly chewy). the tuna cheel was a fishy disappointment.

authetic Japanese ladybug that begged to be photgraphed!

this is the best water in the world! we only took one pix of it since we were too busy emptying our yucky water from the hotel and filling our water bottles with this good stuff. we probably didn't tell you that the water at Tokyo Bay Sheraton was super chlorinated, had a strong earthy aftertaste, and no it didn't give us diarrehea cha cha. this is a water fountain right by Rinnoji temple. we washed our strawberries here and they instantly vanished.... we swear they did! heheheh the water here was sweet and super cold. according to P, Nikko has the best water. needless to say we drank lots of temple water and washed our hands a lot (in case you didn't know, virtually all japanese temple will have some type of hand washing/drinkable water well thing right by their entrance).

TEMPLE
the following pix will not be label since neither of us knows kanji and frankly we went to so many they all blended into one BIG walking expedition......

sad to say that we actually lost some of our pix since I was snap-happy and used up our good 1G chip. the other one decided that we weren't good enough to use it and shat on us as were were almost done with all the temples. by the time we figured it out all the pix had gone to pix heaven. we did what anyone would do..... we sat down and did a mass delete of I's useless pix (or so P thought they were). we still had the rest of the night....

SHINJUKU AT NIGHT

can you guess what this shop sold?

yes Jen, this is for you.... P only let I go into one love hotel to take this most coveted love hotel vending machine pix. the pix on the right shows ammenities that could be purchased if the need should materialize.

we believe these establishments are purely innocent in all their business dealings........ but, everyone has a price....

PACHINKO BABY! we didn't attempt since we can't read the instructions and don't have that kinda money to waste....

gourmet fruit stand

SNACK

we got gianourmous dorayaki from a street vendor (will be refered to as yatai from now on). cream on top and azuki bean on the bottom. as usual, P liked the azuki bean and I liked the cream.

DINNER

I's tonkotsu ramen with kimchee. this was from a ramen yatai. all they offered was tonkotsu ramen with different toppings. totally yummy.

P's chasiu with extra negi (green onions).

these were the condiments at the table. raw chopped garlic, pickled chili stuff, and ginger. the pickled chili stuff totally made the ramen. it was full of flavor with just a touch of spice. P loaded his bowl with at least two tablespoonfuls.... which means it's pretty mild

these are pix from the Yokohama Ramen Museum........

this is the view of the museum from the inside. the 'museum' itself is 3 stories. what you see is the 'store fronts' of various ramen places. they are all regarded as the best of japan hailing from different regions. we got tasting bowl from three different places.....

this is shoyu ramen from Harukiya of Tokyo. the broth was light with distinct seafood taste (probably from dried anchovies or bonito used to make the dashi) , noodles were thick and semi-firm, and the chasiu was alright (a little dry, nothing to write home about...hehehe). overall it was a good bowl of ramen.

this is tonkotsu ramen from Komurasaki of Kumamoto. the tonkotsu broth was medium rich and garlicky. the noodles were thin, smooth, slippery, and chewy (very slurpable). the 'cha siu' was actually pork belly that was melt in your mouth yummy. overall this was OUR FAVORITE!

these are the ramen we got from Ryushanhai of Yamagata, who are known for their miso ramen. there was a line out the door the whole time we were in the museum. we actually waited for about 15 minutes for this one. the one on the right is the shoyu ramen they offered. the broth was rich but too fishy. the noodles were thick, udon-like with a firm mouth feel. the 'chasiu' was again pork belly but not as thin and melty as the previous one.

the second one is their miso ramen. the miso broth was a rich and tonkotsu-like. the red in the middle was a garlic chili paste. same noodles and pork as the shoyu ramen.

this blogging thing is sorta behind schedule..... heheh right now we've already left sheraton grande and are at a ryokan (japanese inn) in asakusa. i'll write about it when i post the pix for it..... back to the sheraton....

Breakfast

this sushi place is in Tsukiji fish market and specializes in tuna. they had the best toro we've ever eaten (has anyone noticed that almost everything we put in our mouths were the "best ever"?)

the chopsticks were actually wood wood!

this is their tokusen omakase nigiri- we shared this along with some other things

this one is baby sea eels. they're tiny

uni and ikura- gotta have some faves, the ikura was slightly sweeter than the stuff in the states and not fishy at all

nama-hamu maguro (proscuitto and tuna)- this was very unique. you didn't need shoyu at all. the slight saltiness of the proscuitto played tug-of-war with the tuna creating this perfect balance

aburi toro-basashi (seared horse meat)- not gross at all. the meat was slightly seared taking away some of the rawness. it was a little acidic (either yuzu, lemon, or just horse meat taste.... we couldn't tell) and more reminiscent of chewy raw beef, just a little more fatty and rich

shako (mantis shrimp)- this was really interesting..... tasted like a GOD or whoever took crab, lobster, and shrimp and just magically smashed it together. texture like slightly blanched crab meat and cooked lobster (not possible, we know) and the freshness of raw shrimp.

shimesabe (marinated saba) and hotate- need we say more....... YUM!

• we also had fresh crab innards, but i can't find the pix...... phantom pix.... anywaz, the crab guts were like cooked crab guts but way way fresher.... you know the fresh seafood taste

TSUKIJI FISH MARKET

amazingly some people were kinda mean about the people taking pix of their stuff. we got yelled at from this guy that had a shaved bonito stall. we didnt wonder why the other bonito stall two over was totally busy and not his. apparently people are really cool if you buy something from them and then there are others that welcome any type of free publicity...... so we bring you pix of the good people stalls.... in a way we kinda paid for our pictures..... yes we ate a lot...... and then some!

the owner of this stall was the nicest. she was giving out maguro chunks with shoyu and chopped wasabi (it tasted like toro, but P says it's not!) it was so good. we were too busy eating to take a pix of the freebies

live abalone- Bruce these you didnt have to touch to know they were alive. they were literally spinning on top of each other

Jen, an pan man in the flesh!


mochi stand- we couldn't resist!

Miso-sakura mochi! sounds weird but sweet bean paste with savory miso works...... really well, maybe too well....

unagi stand

P's fave! unagi..... the one on the left is the innards and the right one is regular unagi..... nope no fishiness at all

fugu stall........ yes, that's puffer fish...... we have to say it wasn't what we thought it would be.... pretty bland for the most part..... more of a texture thing. this guy sold it precut and packaged all nice.

so raw sliced fugu on top, skin in the middle, the red is a grated chili daikon sauce, chives, and ponzu sauce

IMPERIAL PALACE EAST GARDEN

SNACK

RANDOM STUFF


you can kinda see the wait meter next to the light. so the meter goes down as it gets closer to your turn to walk. kinda cool

on this day we learned to squat.........

it's saturday and we are doing laundry here at the Sheraton Grande Tokyo Bay. so far we've spent 1100 yen on one load of laundry. japanese dryers super suck. anywaz, we are pretty pooped. so far we've spent at least 11 hours if not more walking around a day. word of advice if you plan on walking a lot in japan bring a reserved pair of shoes or slippers. they totally work if your feet are tired......

MITAKA STATION

TAMAGAWA JOSUI

GHIBLI MUSEUM
the museum was totally awesome! and 100% catered to children. everything was interactive. there was this cool spiral stairwell that led from the 1st floor to the 3rd floor in the middle of the main room. a gallery that consisted of how their anime movies were made from sketches to pen-ed sketches to character development to story mode to inked in to painted to color tones to film. if you like Miyazaki's movies this is a must see. The roof is where the famous robot statue was. everyone gets to see a short film that's exclusive to the museum. we saw a short one of Mei, from Totoro. even though the museum was kinda small it was really fun. we sat down and people watched for a little while. kids went crazy and moms just let them it was soooooo cool. unfortunately we couldn't take any pix inside.

GROCERY STORE BY MITAKA JR STATION





tell me that's not the yummyest looking piece of meat ever!!!!

SNACK

so this lady puts in a normal looking cup of ice cream (in a plastic container) and mashes it out in this cool machine that makes instant soft serve

we got sakura ice cream........ this was enroute from Ghibli Museum by Tamagawa Josui. it was nothing we ever tasted! super light ice cream. if ice cream, italian ice, and sorbet had a baby had a threesome this would be their kid

TAKASHIMAYA DEPARTMENT STORE FOOD FLOOR
this place was awesome. one thing we learned was that japanese people are anti-picture-taking-of-anything-unless-you-buy-something-from-them. we sampled a lot of stuff here......


guess what he's drinking......

this is mango cider vinegar that was mixed in with perrier.....