Japan: 2015

Christmas Eve, 2014, I woke up like a child on Christmas morning. It had been almost 3 months since Steve and I had seen each other, and we had been counting down his trip to Japan since the day I left America!

Waiting for him at the airport, I was approached by a TV Crew...who interviewed me about why I was there and who I was waiting for. So when Steve finally came out of the gate, I let him know he was on candid camera ;-). They interviewed him and let us know we would be on the show on some Monday in the month of January. Unfortunately, I wasn't at home a single Monday evening in January, so I didn't get to see our big debut....BUMMMERRRRR.

That night we started with the first meal that has come to be the first for all my visitors, delicious soba noodles with pork, scallion, and raw egg. It's quick and easy, being just steps away from my apartment.

Being able to spend Christmas with my love in Japan, made my whole adventure all the more memorable. We had an AWESOME day, and were so thankful to be able to spend it together. Christmas Morning we slept in, skyped with my family, and made eggs n' bacon for breakfast =). In the afternoon we made our way into Osaka, where we first visited Osaka-jo. To make Christmas even more special, I planned for us to go to Umeda Sky Building for the sunset. We rushed from the Castle to get there in time, and actually ended up being early enough to have a beer before going out for the fabulous view...woohoo! You can see by the two pictures below, although it was cold, it was a beautiful night for a view of the city. This picture of the two of us is one (of many) of my favorites from our trip.

Outside the ground floor of the sky building, a German Christmas and Lights Festival was being held. We got dinner at the festival (sub-par...CLE does German food way better, sorry JPN) and saw the Christmas tree of lights! On our journey home, we went to two other Osaka light-ups, one with the theme of snow-men =). Needless to say, although it's never fun to be away from your family on Christmas, I think it's safe to say we had a pretty rock solid holiday. <3

Day two we went to Osaka Aquarium. I know I know...an aquarium? You're in Japan and you went to an Aquarium? Those are everywhere! Yes, we went to an aquarium. We had never been to one together, and it had been years since either of us had been to one at all. The architecture of the building was really neat, and it truly had an impressive amount of things to see. We had a great time. Plus it was on the water which was pretty cool too. We went to the aquarium during the day, after getting pork ramen for lunch, and then for dinner we went out with my team from work, plus some. I was happy Steve could meet some of the people he hears me talk about, and experience having some conversation with the locals ;-). Steve got a taste of my daily life of communication and some delicious Japanese food. I can't believe it and I kick myself for doing it...but I didn't take a single photo of the group =(. But, below are some pics of the aquarium, and Steve lovin' on some fish :-).

trains for days....

KOBE. Day three was a day from heaven and a day from hell. To be honest, we spent most of our time on trains or being lost (hell), but the times when we finally made it to the few places we wanted to go, it was amazing (heaven).
We first tried to get Kobe beef for lunch, but since we went to the wrong station and got lost, we didn't make it in time for lunch and the restaurant was closed for mid-afternoon. So, the first successful place we finally found was the Awaji Earthquake Memorial Museum. This pretty much blew my mind--there was a "simulator" that was a giant room with a 3-D screen and surround sound, where they simulated on screen what it was like that day when the earthquake happened. If you don't remember or haven't heard of this event- look up "Great Hanshin" Earthquake, or Kobe Earthquake online. Or, reference this site : Great Hanshin Earthquake. It was on January 17th, 1995.

After the museum, we went back to the Kobe Beef Restaurant for dinner. Prices are obviously higher for dinner, and portion sizes too....but we decided go big or go home. We certainly weren't ready to go home ;-).
We felt a little out of place at first at such a high-class looking place, but didn't mind at all and quickly became more comfortable as the chef cooked the beef directly in front of us. I will never in my life forget that Kobe Beef at that restaurant named Wakkoqu. The softest, most mouth watering beef, each bite just melting in your mouth.

Ok seriously I'm dreaming of this dinner now. Just remember, if you ever go to Japan and go to Kobe....WAKKOQU. After dinner, to walk off our delicious meal, we walked down to the port to get a nice night view of the harbor.

The day after our Kobe Heaven and Hell experience, we decided it was a good idea to take it easy and do things around my apartment. We went to a couple of my favorite stores, and to a small shrine up the street. We also had to get ready for our adventure to Tokyo, for the Countdown to 2015!!

Yasaka-jinja

Two days before the New Year we took our packed bags, and saw a shrine and temple in KYOTO before taking the bullet train to Tokyo. The shrine was Yasaka-jinja, which I've shown in previous blogs, and we also went to Kennin-ji. The main temple of Kennin-ji was unfortunately closed due to it being so close to the new year, but we were still able to walk around the complex, see the outsides of the HUGE structures, and get some good photos.

Kennin-ji

Before taking the bullet train, we went to a famous ramen shop that I had been to once before...Ichiran. Little did we know that this small shop would become Steve's favorite place on Earth ;-). This pork ramen really is the best...you order however you like it (how much onion? how much spiciness? how oily do you like your Ramen? want egg? want mushroom? How about noodle tenderness?). Seriously the best ramen ever. After this. we took the bullet train to Tokyo, and were able to find our hotel, only after passing it once and with the help of a kind local who spoke English, and walked us in the opposite direction from where he needed to go. Just another example of how kind and accommodating people are! We didn't want to wander too far, so we found a recommended yakitori shop just up the street, which I of course managed to take NO photos of. It was full of locals, and the waiter didn't speak English, but we pointed at the pictures on the menu, and ended up with some amazing chicken for dinner!

TOKYO. My master plan had us waking up at 3:30 am the next day, so we could leave the hotel and walk down to the Tsukiji Market Tuna Auction, early enough to receive a vest, which is only given to the first 60 visiting people each day (and serves as your "ticket" to be able to get into the auction) to see the last Auction of the year! Those of you who know me well know I enjoy planning much in advance, and don't enjoy when the details of my plan get destroyed by unforeseen factors. In the hotel, I went to the website to confirm our route one last time, only to find a notice posted and dated December 19th, 2015 (well after I had already finalized this plan). For the first time, Tsukiji Market Tuna Auction would NOT be open to the public for the last Auction of the year. Every year prior too, ok. This year, nope. Plan. Crushed. Less than 6 hours before wake-up time.

Needless to say, we didn't HATE sleeping in more, and we still woke up plenty early (6 or 7) to get to the market early, after the auction. We didn't see the huge tuna fish we hoped, but we still saw a lot of awesome street foods, and an area jam packed with people, slurping noodles and eating the freshest of sushi, all before 8am.

We spent an hour or so walking amongst thousands of other people, up and down the streets of the market. We finally chose a restaurant to have our sushi breakfast, and let me tell you...Tsukiji Market never fails. It will always be the best sushi I've ever eaten in my life. <3.

After Tsukiji, we took a train to meet one of my co-workers, Ito-san, who would show us around Yokohama China Town and Harbor area. We ate some DELICIOUS dumpling type food, steamed meat buns, a (Thai) pineapple beer and other Chinese foods. We went to the Temple in China-town which was pretty cool to see. The color that is used in Chinese Temples makes them simply gorgeous, especially on a sunny day! Lucky for us, the weather was great.

After China town, we walked to Yokohama Harbor and Port, which is a beautiful view both day and night! Yokohama is an old fishing village which in the 1800's became a port for foreign trade with Japan. We started at one end, and took a ferry to the other end of the harbor. We walked past an old westernized factory that has turned into a shopping center, and to a skyscraper known as Queen's Tower, to see the sunset and night view.

We got to Queen's Tower at the perfect time, and the weather was clear enough that we could see Mt.Fuji in the distance, amongst the clouds! I was super happy Steve got to see this, and trust me when I say it was a much more beautiful sight, and much easier to see, in person than what this zoomed in picture portrays!

A view (to the left) from the top of the tower of the bay. After leaving the tower we walked to Osenbashi Pier, which is the main international pier of Yokohama Port.

To finish our day, we wandered back to China-Town where we met Ito-san's wife for dinner, at one of their favorite restaurants in China town! This is some real authentic Chinese food! Orrrrrr maybe Japanese-Chinese food. Either way, completely different than American-Chinese, and absolutely delicious!

It wasn't a bit difficult for Steve and I to pass out as soon as we arrived to our hostel after our busy day of walking. It was JUST big enough for the two of us to sleep in, and the decorations on the walls and ceiling are actually made from pink duct tape. Hey- it did the trick for the night!

The next day we woke up and made our way back into the heart of Tokyo, and went up and into Tokyo Tower <3.

Standing on the glass floor...Steve was totally nervous for this, but I'm so glad we got this pic, it's one of my favorites =). Our exciting time at Tokyo Tower was unfortunately followed by a frustrating two hours of being lost trying to find our hotel. I thought when I booked us within a quarter mile from Shibuya station we'd be safe for navigation, but the entire area outside the station was of course under construction. We finally came across a Starbucks so we could get on wifi, and eventually made it to the hotel. After that not-so-fun adventure, we were certainly not exactly in the mood to wander too far for dinner. Lucky for us, just up the street from our hotel, and right past Shibuya's famous 5-way cross walk (Shibuya scramble!!), we stumbled upon an ICHIRAN. It was fate. Definitely put us in a better mood, and ready to start our New Years Eve Celebration in Tokyo!

For whatever reason, we decided to start our NYE drinking at a Spanish bar. After awhile we moved onto what we didn't at the time realize would be only our second, and final destination for the night. We fell upon a British Pub, which was apparently where ALL the foreigners went for NYE. It was actually pretty awesome getting to talk to a ton of different people from all over the world!

Amongst those many people, we met two dudes from Italy who were awesome. This guy is from Italy, and works for PPG!!! How weird, and what a small paint world.... haha! Also, the bear travels with him!

Just a couple minutes before midnight, we went outside of the bar to see the screen and countdown at the Shibuya crossing, where these girls in the pic below asked if they could take a picture with us.ha! What American celebrities we had become!

Luckily, we were able to make it back to our hotel with no problems, complete with an avocado pizza, which while eating were convinced it was the most delicious thing ever. Oh Americans and their love for pizza after drinking ;-).

New Years Day, we did the traditional thing to do in Japan on New Years, and went to a temple! Sooooo many people at Sensoji, but we eventually made it to the temple, tossed a coin over the heads so many people in front of us, and made our wish for goodluck for the New Year!

The night of New Years Day we actually flew back to Osaka, to SNOW in Neyagawa!! It was the most snow I'd seen in Neyagawa, and it was gone by the next morning. It was clear that it had just recently fallen, as some people's bikes were outside of shops, grocery stores, and restaurants, completely covered and some knocked over.

Steve's last few days in Japan were pretty low key. We did some shopping around Neyagawa, and went to see Tsutenkaku, Dotonbori, and Shitennoji Temple in Osaka.

Shitennoji Temple

A cemetery in the Tennoji area

The interior of a temple in the Tennoji area

Tsutenkaku on our way in

Unfortunately we visited Tennoji too late in the day to enter the complex, but could still get some good pics of the exterior, and some surrounding temples.

Tsutenkaku on our way out

A restaurant near Tsutenkaku

Dotonbori!

The timing we got to Tsutenkaku was perfect because we could see the tower just before sunset on our way in, and the tower and surrounding area all lit up on our way out. We also went to a part of Dotonbori I hadn't ever seen, which was great because I've seen the area online a number of times, but was never able to find it!

Horyu-ji's 5 story pagoda

One of the last days, wee visited Horyu-ji Temple in Nara. Although I was a little upset we didn't wake up in time to see two temples and go into Central Nara to feed the deer that roam the parks and streets, I was really happy we got to see this temple. Horyu-ji was founded in 607, and although the original likely burned down, it remains as the oldest wooden building in the world, and its 5-story pagoda is the oldest in Japan. The multiple buildings on this complex also hold a variety of extremely old statues, architecture pieces, and national treasures. We couldn't take pictures, but I think some of the statues I saw are literally the oldest physical things I've seen in my life! Pretty cool.

Horyuji-temple Main Gate

Saying goodbye at the airport wasn't any easier this time, but it was nice knowing that the next time we'd be together, we wouldn't have to say another goodbye. I am so happy Steve had a chance to come see me in Japan, and I hope it is just the start of our worldly adventures together =).

As usual, I'll leave a few random pictures of other things that have been going on!