I hope everyone had a great year! Here's to an even better one!
It was time to depart Osaka and head off to Tokyo. It was around 3:00 p.m. by the time we left (late because I went to do my nails, I'll post about that later), a lot later than the last time we used the shinkansen. We made it over there with time to spare, so we picked up some bentos for the ride and waited.
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I ate one of these in the meantime, which was pretty tasty. As I was eating it, though, there was a big group of Europeans that were just staring at me. Like, they seriously had a staring problem. I don't know what was up with them, so we moved where they couldn't see us. Weirdos.
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I didn't get one of these special bento the last time I rode the Shinkansen, so I was excited to have one this time. They were pretty big, and they only cost like $6.00!
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| Kevin's bento |
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| Bacon wrapped filet mignon |
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| Cabbage rolls in a broth |
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| Hamburger steak in demi glace |
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The view from the room wasn't anything like the view we had the last time, but we did get to look down on Shibuya. The room itself was really small, smaller than Swissotel. It was a bit drab, but it served its purpose. Next time, though, we will definitely splurge on the last hotel we stayed at.
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This hotel, though, did have a really awesome elevator with a glass window. It was slightly terrifying, even for someone who isn't afraid of heights (like me).
But it was exhilarating!
Last year we saw that Hogwarts castle was being built, and come to find out that The Wizarding World of Harry Potter (henceforth referred to as HP) opened in July in Japan! So of course me and Kevin were definitely excited to go there, especially Kevin. We decided to go on a Monday because weekdays are not as crowded. That's the theory, anyway. That theory was proven wrong.
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Spotted Woody Woodpecker and his woman:
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There were face painting stations along the street for people who wanted to get into the Halloween Spirit:
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And lots and lots of people in costume!
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| Personal favorite. |
So anyway, we get in, and we head to the HP area, which is inside the park and not a separate park itself. I walk in, and we are immediately stopped. Turns out, you have to go change your tickets in a machine for HP, and because there were so many people, you had to wait. So we get to the machines, and we scanned our tickets. It then told you what time you would be able to get into the park: 8:00pm. Are you kidding me? It was 12:30 p.m.! And the park closes at 9:00 p.m.! Forget that!
We sat down in the garden, dejected. We paid $64.00 for nothing, basically. There was no way were going to wait seven-and-a-half hours for only one hour of entertainment. Since we had already done the park on a previous day, we didn't want to stand in any more lines for any rides. We figured, might as well blow some money in the gift shop. And so we did.
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I ended up buying a robe, scarf and wand for myself. Ravenclaw, and Luna Lovegood's wand, thank you very much. Keivn got Sirius's wand, and we got some mugs and other things. At least we were able to buy HP merchandise, but I am still pretty bummed that we didn't get to experience the park itself. I really wanted to try some butterbeer. The disgusting part is, my friends went the very next day, and there was no line at all. They didn't have to wait at all, just walked on in. Turns out that on Monday's at USJ, they have "special events." I guess that would explain all the costumes and face painting and stuff. Wish I had known that in advance. I guess, until next time, I will just have to dream of butterbeer.
Some people would say that spending an entire day in the hotel room is a waste of time. Normally I would agree, but I'm hungover so turn off the light and shut up, my head is pounding.
Truth be told I wasn't feeling sick, but I was definitely feeling exhausted after the previous night. I think Kevin was a bit more nauseated, though. I had the foresight the night before to purchase some water and onigiri before heading to the hotel, but I had just grabbed whatever two onigiri was left on the shelf. I dug into my mystery rice balls, excited to find out what was in the middle. But I was sorely disappointed (and slightly nauseated) to find that it was tuna mayo. Normally that would have been okay with me, but not when you are hungover. I ate the rice around the filling and called it a day.
Later, though, we got very hungry, but neither of us wanted to put on clothes and go outside. So we ordered ridiculously expensive room service instead.
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The food was actually pretty damn good, but we opted for our vending machine drinks because who wants to pay $10.00 for a glass of juice?
When evening rolled around, we got ready and headed to the airport to pick up our friend Todd who would be joining us for the rest of the trip. He arrived around 6:00 p.m., but he was nowhere to be seen for a while. Turns out he got held up at customs because of a passenger in front of him, who was having problems of some sort. We headed back to the station and met up with our friends for a yakiniku dinner.
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| Lots of Korean banchan |
So I had no idea what we were going to eat because my friends just did all of the ordering. Plate after plate of meat came out and it was just a feast. Then this stuff came out. They call it "hormone" in Japan, and it's made up of things like cartilige, heart, intestines, poop shoot, good stuff like that. I am personally a fan of eating organs (and weird shit in general), so I was all over this idea, especially because I had always wanted to try heart.
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| That's the heart, on the left |
My favorite was the intestines. It had a good texture and good flavor. Truth be told, everything was good. Everything had a very different texture, good textures. The heart was the firmest meat of them all, which I suppose makes sense. lol
Then, the real good stuff came out.
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| DAT MARBLING. |
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When I bit into it, my teeth just sank right through it. It just melted away in my mouth. No where else have I ever eaten a piece of meat where my teeth just went right through. It was that tender. Kevin apparently had a religious experience eating it.
After dinner we met up with some friends from the night before, and it was clear that we were all hurting. I think we're getting too old for this stuff. lol
We decided to take it easy today after a long first day in Japan. We wandered around Ebisubashi-suji, Dotonbori, Loft, and Don Quixote, where I got a crap ton of nail art things.
There was also this really neat wall art that I just had to get an artsy fartsy picture with. I made Kevin stand across the street and get the best pic. lol
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Then I popped over to Angelic Pretty, which wasn't entirely exciting, and the staff wasn't all that nice. I didn't buy anything.
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We popped into a cafe next to Angelic Pretty and decided to take a rest. My feet were killing me by then (but damn did they look good in my platforms lol).
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| I think I have a problem. |
Afterwards, we headed to Ame-mura, which is a short walk from Shinsaibashi. It's noted as a hip place, with lots of clothing places, and lots of fashion. I loved seeing all the people in that area dressed in the many different clothing genres. Lots of gyaru, even a few lolitas (my faaavorite). The lamp posts in Ame-mura look like people holding balls of light, which are really cool. They're all painted differently by different artists, and at the base of the pole is a small placard showing who painted it.
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| I managed to take a picture of the most boring one in Ame-mura. |
Then, I found an Eggs 'n Things! For those of you that don't know, Japan has a mega love affair with Hawaii. It's not unusual to find Hawaii-themed things in Japan. For example, we found a restaurant in Ame-mura that was Royal Hawaiian themed. It was pink, just like the hotel, had a surf board outside, and the staff was dressed in straw hats and aloha shirts. I wanted to take a picture, but there was a not-so-nice looking foreign shop staff standing outside.
Anyway, Eggs 'n Things is located in Waikiki and is favorite of both tourists and locals sine 1974. So much so, that they have opened in Japan! As far as I know, there is one in Osaka, and one in Tokyo (which I also came across this trip). The line here was extremely long, just like in Hawaii. I have personally never eaten there (I hate lines), but I hear it's pretty good. It was just a fun feel of home seeing this restaurant.
During my research with Google maps, I found that there was a Putumayo and an Angelic Pretty in Ame-mura. I had always wanted to go to those stores and was super excited! I popped into Putumayo first, and saw a really soft, cute parka with kitty ears, but I decided not to buy it. The shop staff was adorable, and she let me take a picture of her. :3
Then I popped over to Angelic Pretty, which wasn't entirely exciting, and the staff wasn't all that nice. I didn't buy anything.
We popped into a cafe next to Angelic Pretty and decided to take a rest. My feet were killing me by then (but damn did they look good in my platforms lol).
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| Caramel Latte |
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| Iced strawberry mocha latte |
This restaurant, Cafe & Bar 23, had free WiFi, which was really nice. I also ordered an omurice because it occurred to me that I had never had one in Japan before. Check out this beauty!
It was pretty damn delicious and I ate that whole thing myself. Big fan of demi glace. Mmm...We tried to go back again, but the day we chose the cafe was closed. :( Looked like it was a pretty hip joint at night, too!
We headed back to the hotel to rest up for the evening. Whenever I'm with Tricia, I know that the night will be long and full of alcohol and fun!
I might have one too many "neru" in there but I think I got it right. It's like banana. So much room for error, wanna put more "nas."
ANYway.
I picked up some fun candies in Japan, the kind that require you to make them. There are tons of videos on YouTube that show you how to make them (my personal favorite being RRCherrypie). There's something really relaxing about watching their videos, and also something really nice about the sound of the little plastic spoon scraping the container.
I tried out this candy first as it seemed the most simple. Judging by the package, this candy is grape soda flavored. When you open it up, there are packets, a plastic container, and a spoon.
You snap off (or cut off) the triangle in the top left, and that becomes your measuring cup. Into the large round part, you pour the packet labeled "1" and add one measuring cup thingie of water. On the right, you pour in these candy bits that kind of look like crushed lollipops. That is for dipping later on.
But then, the fun part! Stirring! Nothing terribly exciting happens. The mixture is kind of off white in color and gloopy. But after that is mixed, the fun part happens! You add in the packet labeled 2, and then magical things begin to happen!
The mixture starts to turn purple and become fluffy and a bit stickier. It's really neat! Stir it for about 30 seconds, and it is ready to it. Just dip it into your candy bits and enjoy!
It tasted grapey, and the candy bits taste just like hard candy, not really any particular flavor. It was pretty yummy!
I think Kevin and I have caught the Japan bug. I heard about people who end up going back over and over again, and I can totally understand why. We decided that this was going to be our last hurrah, as we are going to have to go on to new phases of life, and I will probably have to pop out a kid or two before my eggs dry up. Priorities, and all that.
We flew into HNL and had to wait three hours for our flight to leave from Japan. For some reason, our gate was waaaay in the international terminal. I had no idea it even existed because I had never been there before. There are all kinds of duty free stores, restaurants, even live music. It was really nice, I was impressed. However, it was all open air, and it was extremely humid. We sat and waited until we found out that our gate changed, to where we normally depart out of. Where it is enclosed and air conditioned. So we sat in the heat and humidity for two hours for nothing.
I recall the flight being 10 hours last time, but this time it was eight hours. Hey, I'm not complaining. This time I was prepared. I got myself an inflatable pillow for lumbar support, brought my sleep mask, and things to freshen up with. As usual, I didn't sleep much going. But at least I was a little bit more comfortable.
There's not much to report about the flight there except for the food, which was teriyaki chicken. The flight back to Hawaii was much better, but we'll get to that later!
We flew into HNL and had to wait three hours for our flight to leave from Japan. For some reason, our gate was waaaay in the international terminal. I had no idea it even existed because I had never been there before. There are all kinds of duty free stores, restaurants, even live music. It was really nice, I was impressed. However, it was all open air, and it was extremely humid. We sat and waited until we found out that our gate changed, to where we normally depart out of. Where it is enclosed and air conditioned. So we sat in the heat and humidity for two hours for nothing.
I recall the flight being 10 hours last time, but this time it was eight hours. Hey, I'm not complaining. This time I was prepared. I got myself an inflatable pillow for lumbar support, brought my sleep mask, and things to freshen up with. As usual, I didn't sleep much going. But at least I was a little bit more comfortable.
There's not much to report about the flight there except for the food, which was teriyaki chicken. The flight back to Hawaii was much better, but we'll get to that later!
This time it was light when we landed, and I got to see some of the islands of Japan from the plane!
After we landed we knew where to go for customs and then for our JR passes. We thought we were pro now, but we still couldn't figure out the ticket machine. I knew we wanted the rapid train because it was faster, but couldn't find it on the machine. So we hit the assist button, and this happened!
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| Sorry for the Instagram filter. lol |
I was thrilled when I saw this. I had dreamed of seeing this at some point in my life, and my dream came true. Yes I know, I'm special.
We stayed at the Swissotel again this time because it was just that good last time. When we got to the hotel, for some strange reason they wanted me to email my booking to them. So I said okay, and realized I didn't know the email. So we had to go back down and get it from them. But I thought it was so weird that they asked for that since they didn't ask for it the last time. I tried really hard to stay up as late as I could to get adjusted to the time, but ended up passing out at 10:30 p.m. and waking up at 5:00 a.m anyway. At least I was able to chat with friends back home that early in the morning, until Kevin woke up an hour later.
I was just glad to be in Japan again. It was really surreal, it didn't feel like I was really there until the second day. Kind of like a dream. A good one.
