i've moved!

Not literally just yet, but blogs. You can now find me at:

existentialdilemmas.com

playing tour guide in tokyo

Just a few quick highlights of the part of the trip when my cousin was in Tokyo because I am trying desperately to get caught up.

Christmas, as I mentioned, was a Karaoke Christmas. Before that, we also joined my friends for a lovely dinner at an American military place (I cannot remember the name of it for the life of me). It was amazing. And included Diet Coke.

And then, the day after Christmas, we went and saw Les Miserables. Or in Japanese (spelled American style), Ray Meezahrahburu. I'm not going to give you my review of the movie other than to say I enjoyed it thoroughly for what it was, a cinematic interpretation of an operetta written for the stage. What I do want to share is our funny experience trying to get to the movie. 

We had been at my friend's house which is exactly in the wrong place to get to the movie theater in a hurry. Too close to take the train, but a far enough walk that we weren't going to make it. So, we hopped in a cab. Cabs, as you may or may not know, are not really my thing in Japan. I'm getting better, but it's still hard. 

So, I told the cab driver (really, I should say taxi driver because there's nothing "cab driver" like about these drivers) we wanted to go to Roppongi Hills Cinema. Well, really I said "Roppongi Hiruzu Cinema". The taxi drive repeated Roppongi Hiruzu, but didn't understand the "cinema". I knew it was the same word in Japanese, but I doubted myself when he couldn't understand me. And repeated myself multiple times thinking that the next time he'd magically understand what I was saying even though I was saying it exactly the same way as the previous time. 

And then I paused and thought, "How would this be written in Japanese?" and it clicked. So I then said "Roppongi Hiruzu Sheenayma" and the driver, in excitement, says, "Oh, sheenayma!" and all was well in the universe. Have I mentioned lately how much I love Japan. It's not the easiest place to live for a white girl who doesn't speak the language, but it sure is a fun adventure.

On Thursday we went to Meiji Shrine. I've posted a lot about this place before, so I didn't take a lot of photos, but it was nice to visit. We barely made it in time, but it was enough for Tanya to see it. And then we headed down to Shibuya (crazy intersection place). Along the way, we passed this shoe store and Tanya suggest we go inside. Big mistake.

While it was Tanya's idea to go in, I'm the one that was trying on shoes. I couldn't help myself. I figured I wouldn't be able to fit in shoes in Japan as the Japanese are just smaller than Americans in general. But, lo and behold, my feet that happen to be just a little on the small side given my height can fit into the largest Japanese shoe size (at least that can easily be found in a store. And so I walked away with these beauties.

Not only are my own trips/vacations expensive for me, but when others are on vacation with me, they're expensive for me, too. But totally worth it!

Later that night we were wandering around Roppongi and walked by this pet store, which had a number of little monkeys for sale. Let's just say I was tempted...if it hadn't have been for the price tag.

And the requisite trip to Tokyo Tower. We got there at the perfect time. The end of daylight, so Tanya was able to see the city during the day, during sunset, and all lit up. To top it off, it was an amazingly clear day so we were also able to see Mt. Fuji.

And then, after getting home, we decided to make a little visit to Don Quijote, this amazing super store just around the corner from me. This is it's own experience for so many reasons (not the least of which is the food they cell). In fact, I think it could be considered a crash course in Tokyo culture. I've been there many times (they have everything--think Japanese Kmart) and I'm pretty used to the weirdness that is Tokyo, but this one caught even me off guard. And I could not stop laughing. I mean, it was just amazing.

 The following day (I think) we headed out to Shinjuku to meet my friends for dinner at my new favorite restaurant in all of Tokyo, this little gyoza place that is amazing and so cheap. All they do is gyoza (aka pot-stickers or dumplings). Tanya wasn't super happy about the smoking in the restaurant that was happening. Coming from California where you can't smoke anywhere (and where, apparently, there are PSAs encouraging you to tell smokers that they are giving you cancer) it was a bit of an adjustment for her. I don't like it, but clearly I've gotten used to it.

After dinner we wandered around Shinjuku and did some shopping. We found ourselves in what we thought was a regular department store, but come to find out it was the regular department store's "special styles" store. To say it was interesting would be a total understatement. Unfortunately, I got busted for taking this photo, so I didn't get any other ones. But, I think this one is pretty awesome.

The departments in this store? You can check them out here. Worth the visit.


And then, as we continued walking, we saw these. I've seen pictures of them before, but it was my first time seeing them life. Tokyo is a weird place. Basically, you can rent these and sit in the chair (see the chair?) and then...I don't know what. And I haven't researched it further because I'm not sure I want to know what.

On Friday, we headed out to Yokohama (a little farther actually) to visit our grandparents' home when they lived here in the '70s. It was pretty awesome to see it. It was clearly abandoned, so we did a little exploring. Apparently, it has changed quite a bit, according to my aunt, but it was still cool to see their house.

And because we were already out that way, we took the opportunity to visit Chinatown in Yokohama. One of the biggest in the world and definitely the cleanest.

There were a number of very cool temples there. And tons of food, but neither of us was hungry and we had dinner plans.

 On Saturday, we headed out to Asakusa to go to the Edo museum. Which turned out to be closed. New Year's is a serious thing around these parts and things close down for the entire week. But it wasn't a total loss. We got to see the temple (which I had yet to visit) and experience Tokyo at it's holiday finest (i.e. crowds of people everywhere.

We also wandered through part of Ueno Park--another first for me--and saw this woman feeding the birds. We might have both started singing tuppence a bag.

And Saturday night we went to a fancy dinner for Tanya's 25th birthday and it was so good and so fun (minus the taxi experience getting there...I've never had a Tokyo taxi driver flat out refuse me service, but that's what happened. But I was stubborn and won and so we got the angriest ride I've ever had in my life. If there had been any other option.

Sunday was T's last day in Tokyo (and it was only part of a day). We went to the Sony Center (which was pretty cool) and then wandered around Matsuya for a bit. I had no idea there was a food hall in the basement. Kind of a painful discovery.

We got Tanya a piece of cake, since she hadn't had actual cake on her birthday, and she shoved it in her face before we had to Tokyo Station to get her on the Narita Express to the airport.

The End

Coming up...a job offer, apartment hunting, and a mochitsuki.

a karaoke christmas

A while back (sometime in November) a few of us who were going to be in Tokyo for Christmas were discussing plans and one of my friends suggested that we get a group together for a little karaoke. I was all for it. Then, it turned out, the end of year party (aka Bōnenkai) at my work also included a karaoke portion. And thus Christmas of 2012 will forever live in my memory as my Karaoke Christmas. And here's the evidence:

This may or may not be my new boss.

Just a little Jingle Bell Rock.

And proof that I am a team player! Oh, how I do love singing a little Wilson Phillips. 

And then on Christmas itself. I need to get some other photos from friends, but here's one of T and me singing...I can't remember what. But it was good.

This is more what karaoke typically looks like here in Tokyo...nice and poorly lit. :)

While perhaps not your most traditional Christmas (there was a lovely Christmas buffet dinner at a U.S. military something or other and it did include lots of American favorites including my beloved DC, as well), it was seriously so fun. I loved having my cousin here and being able to spend it with her and my favorite people in Tokyo.

christmas eve in hkg

On Monday, we headed out to Lantau Island to take the Ngong Ping 360 to see the Tian Tan Buddha. It was quite a trek out there and we got a late start, but it was totally worth it. The views from the gondola alone were worth it, but the buddha was pretty cool, too.

After we got back to the bottom of the gondola, I made Tanya go into the outlets with me where I found this gem on super sale.

And then we had a late lunch at what was by far the nicest Pizza Hut I'd ever been to. I know. Pizza Hut? But really, it was awesome.

Before heading back to Hong Kong Island, we "needed" to go to the jade market (we'd missed it the night before) in Kowloon, so that's what we did. It was quite an experience. I got some awesome jade jewelry for super cheap (no idea why I don't have photos of it) but I also got harassed and pulled, literally, by a few of the merchants. It was not my favorite thing ever, but it was totally worth it.

On our way back to the subway, we walked through another market. I did get photos of that.

And we finished the evening off with a little more high-end window shopping. I was tempted to actually shop, but then I did the math comparing the price of a purse with a plane ticket and realized it wasn't worth it to me...right now. Even if it was Christmas Eve.

It was really fun to wander around the mall and feel like I was having a true Christmas Eve experience (at least in the style of my family). I even got a little dose of the Nutcracker during a mall performance.

We finished it off with a Christmas Eve meal (no Chinese food, though). One of my favorite moments of the evening was when the restaurant wouldn't seat us at a table because we didn't have reservations so we had to sit at the bar. I'm used to Asia and the necessity of reservations, but for Tanya, this was new and she truly believed we were on the receiving end of a xenophobic's discrimination. I assured her several times that such was not the case, but we still joke about it. Such a perfect end to a great long weekend!

sunday in hkg

Central

We spent Sunday morning exploring and doing a little shopping (mostly of the window variety). 

As previously mentioned, Asia apparently LOVES Christmas. It was quite interesting to see just how serious they are about their decorations. 

I did buy some new shoes. They're no Louboutin's, but I loved them and I needed them...poor planning on my part for walking up Victoria Peak left me a little blistered.

One of the most interesting parts of Sunday morning was a brief stop in Statue Square (I didn't get any photos, apparently.) The guidebook I had (yes, I do use guidebooks) mentioned that on Sundays, Filipino women gather here to meet with each other. And it was totally accurate! So interesting to see other places and how foreigners live in them. And I have an entirely new empathy for such cultural cohesiveness. 

During lunch, I pulled out the map and book to plan the rest of our day and  Monday. Tanya was feeling too much pressure to make decisions because we didn't have a plan. ;)

Kowloon

Tanya had done some great pre-trip planning and found a couple of restaurants for us to go to. So, I made reservations at one of them for Sunday evening. Because it was across the bay, we boarded a ferry and headed over a little early to want around and experience the area.

Well, Kowloon is a totally different experience from Central. I haven't been to mainland China, but I imagine this is like China-light. Super crowded, but maybe a little nicer? Seriously, after the lovely streets of Central and the enjoyable strolls and window shopping, this was like enter a shark tank. It was INSANE.

Can you feel how crowded and claustrophobic it was?

That said, it was still super fun and interesting and we saw some fascinating things as we wandered around and did a little shopping.

Like this pink and purple camouflage sweat suit.

And this window display. Sorry if this offends anyone, but seriously, Tanya and I joked about this for the rest of her trip here. I wonder how many times we do things like this in America because we don't understand. Although, I suppose we're pretty multicultural, so maybe we don't? (Wishful thinking?)

We like to refer to him as green, beatnik Jesus.

Wall of bears, anyone? 

It turns out this means something in Japanese (and it has nothing to do with clothes, but neither do lots of American store names). It's an extinct freshwater killifish. 

So, after we wandered and window shopped and people watched for a bit, it was time for dinner. As mentioned, Tanya found this restaurant. It's called Hutong (be warned, the site plays music upon opening) and was a recommendation in a NY Times article, both for the food and the view. It did not disappoint on either count.

Beautiful Hong Kong Island as seen from Kowloon. The photos do not do it justice!

I felt like I had to order the crispy duck. We were almost in China, after all. And it was amazing! 

After dinner we wandered around a bit more and hit up Temple Street Night Market. I didn't get any photos, because I was too busy haggling (and still being swindled) over the price of some souvenirs. I did get some great bowls, but...I payed about $5 more than I should have. Which wouldn't be so bad if what I had paid hadn't been $10. Painful. But a fun story.

And then we head back to our island, enjoying some incredible views of the city as we went.

The buildings are always lit up, I understand, but this time of year they were lit up for Christmas. And while I know it's mainly a commercial thing here, it still made me feel a little more Christmasy!

Loved the reflections in the water (even if the photo is a bit blurry). 

And thus ends day two in HKG. So much more to come of my cute cousin's first trip to Asia!