Sayonara

Ah… well, I knew this day would come.  Impermanence.  As I've learned, if you're attached to an experience a sense of loss follows.  I may have felt a little of this today, but after such an amazing trip with my amazing wife, I really feel a lot of gratitude toward Hilary, her family and my family.  You guys have all been incredible.  I would love you all to experience Japan someday, again or for the first time.  I hope my little blog gave you a little insight into our trip, or at least proved to be somewhat entertaining and/or perhaps even sort of educational.  

Much Love

Hilary + Chris

Last Breakfast - "The Morning Set"

In rout to Narita

In the air

Gift Shopping / Synthesizer Heaven / Last Sushi Dinner

Got up and didn't have anything planned for today, so we opted for starting by going to Shibuya and stopping by our favorite French pastry shop for breakfast.  These pastries are so good I just don't think words will properly describe their indulgent quality.  Hilary and I even made a little movie about them.  

After putting on some serious pastry kilos, we decided to walk it off heading over to Ebisu.  We walked around there a bit and stopped by a shopping center top pick up a few gifts for the family.  After that we hopped to the JR train (still using the pass!) to Harajuku to check out a synthesizer store Atsushi told me about.  I spotted it on the 4th floor of a narrow building;  definitely not something that stands out.  Hilary was a good sport and went with me.  The shop was packed wall to wall with vintage synthesizers and modular synthesizers, drum machines, analog EQ's, tape delays, and even an old Korg vocoder.  Kodomo likes.  I wanted it all.  Hilary started playing a Brian Adams song on one of the modular synths.  It sounded something like:  beep beep beep beep beep / beep beep beep beep beep / beep beep beep / beep / beep / beep beep beep beep beep / 

We left the store and headed back to Shibuya to do some final shopping.  We had pretty much gotten everything we could carry, so we sat down and had a little lunch at a Japanese / French cafe at the top of a hill in Shibuya, right by Tokyu Hans.  We ordered a salad with roasted pork and a perfectly cooked hardboiled egg.  The dressing was light and delicious.  

After lunch, we were totally beat and out of things to do, so we went back to our old hotel we stayed at in Shibuya and just chilled in the lobby for a bit using our iPhones to catch up on email and read about the election results.  

Since it was our last night here, we decided to go for sushi at Midori, the spot we went when we first landed.  We ordered all our favorites;  tamago (egg), bin-cho maguro, toro, uni, and negitoro.  For desert, we bought a little mochi on the food floor of the department store.  I'll miss the endless maze of food options here in Tokyo!

We got back to our hotel and decided to watch the next episode of LOST.  

best synth ad ever

shibuya at night

Vintage Vocoder at 5G synth shop

Lunch!

Back Alley Shibuya

Synthesizer Heaven

Last Night Sushi Spulrge

Expensive Strawberry's 

Yuzu Daifuku!

Jiyugaoka / Best Shiatsu Ever / Kodomo Live!

Got up early and while Hilary was getting ready, I decided to walk around the Imperial Palace, right outside our hotel.  I used to walk around that area a lot as a kid and would often bike there with my Mom.  Remember those bike rides mom with our hip bikes with the old lady baskets?!  The moat of the imperial palace spans a pretty large area and the walk is really nice.  

Anna, (my awesome sister) hooked us up with Tatsuya, a shiatsu massage expert, for our wedding present.  We got good vibes from the beginning through our email correspondence back and forth.  A big shout out to Anna for bringing us all together.  She has a way of making magic happen, and that is exactly what followed…  We had setup two consecutive sessions that day starting at 1:30.  Tatsuya's space is located in Jiyugaoka;  a super cool neighborhood with trendy clothing shops and lots of stuff that women like.  Hilary found some chic clothing and and loved area.  We also found some omiage (gifts) for friends and family.  The area reminded us both of Brooklyn.  Tatsuya's space was a little hard to find;  it was actually in more of a residential area so there wasn't any sign.  But we found it thanks to some help from a local couple walking a cute dog named cherry blossom.  Tatsuya greeted us at the door and our vibe about him was confirmed.  Hilary went first, so I just wandered around the area for about an hour.  I ended up photographing a lot of the houses and alleys around since they looked very cool in the afternoon light.  When I came back, Hilary's session had gone a little longer (which I was secretly hoping mine would also be… it was!)  so I went out to photograph some more.  When I came back Hilary was in the super relax zone;  clearly on cloud 9.  She said it was the best shiatsu she's ever had.  After my session, I could definitely say the same.  Tatsuya's intuition and precision worked wonders.    There were some definite tight spots for me,  and in a few small movements, Tatsuya easily worked them out.  I felt great afterwards;  not sleepy, and actually kind of energized.  

We had a great conversation and Tatsuya wanted to take us to his favorite cafe called "Soda Bar".  It was around the corner, so we went and ordered a few of his favorite dishes:  Butta-Shoga-Yaki (Thinly sliced pork cooked in a ginger sauce)  and a quiche.  The pork dish was so good that we ordered another.  In Japanese they call ordering another (or seconds) "okawari".  I asked the chef if she could tell me what was in the sauce and she wrote out the recipe for me!  The secret is grated apples in the sauce.  We thought the meal was over, but then the surprise came.  A platter of homemade cookies, cakes, and pastries with a lovely message etched out in chocolate saying "Congratulations Hilary and Chris.  Welcome To Japan!"  It was so kind of him to do all that and all the deserts were amazing.  The was even a set of cookies that resembled the islands making up Japan.  I had a cappuccino with mine and it was excellent.  By far the best one I've had in Japan.  Perfectly foamed milk integrated with a smooth and mild espresso.  

It was getting late and I was scheduled to play a show that night at 8pm, so we headed back to the hotel to pick up my gear (mac book!) and meet up with my friend Atsushi in Shibuya (he plays guitar) and together head over to the club.  We were running a little late, so we opted to take a cab from the hotel to Shibuya.  

We got to the venue and I started setting up and doing a sound check with Hiro and Atsushi.  Hiro brought his iPad attached to a keyboard. (he was using an iPad app for his synth!)  We did a little warm up rehearsal, and it was sounding pretty good, so after a little beer break we started.  My good old time and family friend Marisa Yamano came out and brought a friend with her.  It was so great to see her again and re-connect after all these years. (1999 I think!) Tatsuya also came out which was incredibly kind of him.  Hilary (my awesome wife) showed her awesomeness in awesome ways.  She filmed the show and took some killer pics and talked to all my friends there and a strange girl who kept inviting Hilary to a party the next day but didn't know the address.  They all thought she was awesome too.  The show went great;  Atsushi rocked out on the guitar and played some nice slow tones along with my tracks.  He also played some of the melody lines of the songs which sounded nice on guitar.  Hiro played some cool pad parts on his iPad synth.  We played a little over an hour.  The vibe was just right;  low lighting in an intimate and cool space and a killer sound system.  After the show we hung out and just talked for a while over some nice cold beers.  It was really the perfect ending to an amazing trip.

It was pretty late when we got back to the hotel.  From our bed we could see the Tokyo skyline twinkling and the orange glow of Tokyo Tower.  We were still pretty energized from the show, so to wind down we ate some instant ramen (which is awesome by the way) while watching the first episode of LOST.  

Imperial Moat

Jiyugaoka Neigborhood 1

Jiyugaoka Neigborhood 2

Jiyugaoka Neigborhood 3

Kodomo Likes Wires

Hanging with Tatsuya!

Kodomo Plays Live in Shibuya!

Kyoto Departure / Return to Tokyo

Feeling a little sad today about leaving Kyoto, but we certainly don't feel like we missed out on anything.  Our fantasy plan is to live here three months out of the year.  I'm fine with living in that fantasy.  

After a quick breakfast at the station, we hopped on the Shinkansen and headed back to Tokyo.  Not before picking up a little bento for the trip of course!  Perfectly grilled salmon over rice seasoned with seaweed and bonito, a hijiki salad, japanese omelet, and a sausage link.  Yep, they put sausages in bentos too!  Of course, all the portions are very small.  

We arrived in Tokyo in the afternoon with some time to spare so we decided to walk to Roppongi, about a 35 minute walk from the Hanzomon Hotel.  We walked toward Akasaka Mitsuke (which Hilary hears as "Saka Saka Jin Jin") and eventually I recognized where we were;  Hie Shrine (Sun Shrine), near my old hood.  We walked through Akasaka, past the US Embassy compound which looked so distant and so familiar, and headed towards Roppongi.  We were getting pretty hungry, so we decided to go to dinner on the early side.  We actually needed a break from Japanese food so where to go?  I remembered an old family favorite.. MOTI!  An Indian restaurant chain that dominates the neighborhood.  We ordered a chicken sag curry and a chicken tikka masala, a mango lassi, and some nan.  It was as rich and yummy as I remembered.  Walking past all the places I used to go to so often but haven't been to in so long got me feeling a little nostalgic.  It felt the same, but different.

After eating, we decided to walk off the meal by trekking back to the hotel.  It had started to rain a little, so we opted for relaxing in the hotel and watching odd Japanese game food shows.      

Shinkansen from Kyoto

Empty Station

Rainy Tokyo Traffic From Our Window

Roppoingi

Moti!

Nara / Return of Yakitori

Woke up today and headed over to Kyoto station to eat at one of the many bakery options.  Got myself an ice coffee, croissant, and a little blueberry danish!  Hilary stayed in the hotel to rest up a bit.  After breakfast we decided to go to Nara, the old old (Kyoto is the old capital, Nara gets two old's) of Japan, about an hour away by train.  We've gotten great millage out of these JR passes;  they pretty much let us on all the JR trains here throughout the country.  

We took "Rapid" train to Nara and after getting a little oriented with the directions, we headed up the long path to Nara Koen (Nara Park)  As with before, there are no shortage of cute restaurants and snack shops along the way.  On the way to the park, we checked out a few of the temples;  one of them was next to the second largest pagoda in Japan, dating back to 728.  

The entrance to the park was marked by a large red tori gate which we passed through.  The area is surrounded by tall trees with thick trunks and deer roaming about.  A few of the deer looked like they were engaged in some kind of dispute and were butting each others heads.  They had an audience including both humans and other deer onlookers.  We walked up the path a little more toward a shrine where Hilary got her fortune.  The way it works is you pick one out of three boxes containing sticks.  You then shake that box, and take out one of the sticks which has a number on the bottom.  You hand the number to the priest and she gives you a paper telling you your fortune.  It wasn't what she expected, but hey, is it ever?!  

We walked a little more, and were getting pretty hungry at that point, so headed back to the town and stopped by a little sandwich shop.  We ordered an egg and cheese sandwich and two smoothies.  It took a long while for the food to come, but it was so worth it.  The bread was so fresh, and perfectly pressed like a panini.  I got a kiwi apple smoothie and Hilary got an avocado banana smoothie.  Oishii desu!

We made our way back to Kyoto and Hilary checked out some clothing shops while I rode the escalator up and down taking geometrically interesting photos.  On the way back to the hotel, we passed by a live theater performance of what I think was a kabuki play.  There were three Japanese dancers moving in unison wearing demonic masks, moving to drums, chanting and a flute.  Very cool indeed.

After relaxing at the hotel for a bit, we headed out to find that amazing Yakitori spot we ate at last time around.  We had a little mix up with the train getting their and were worried they wouldn't hold our reservation.  Fortunately when we got there, they were happily waiting for us.  We pretty much repeated the menu we had before;  the delicious salad with the ume (plum) dressing, grilled vegetables (lotus with sea urchin, eggplant, shishito peppers, and scallion), and yakitori (grilled chicken on skewers or a coal fire.  The perfect food to go with sake!

Second Oldest Pagoda in Japan 

Nara Tea House

Lantern Lane

Deer Chasing!

Tori Gate Into Forest

Kyoto City Sunset

Kyoto Station

Manning The JR

Sayonara Yufuin / Old School Train / Back To Kyoto!

Ah… well, we had to leave this morning and were feeling a little sad about that.  The people who worked there were all so nice and we had such a great time.  We again had a wonderful Japanese breakfast (which I was quickly getting used to) and had a few hours before our train left so walked into town for a bit.  Then we headed back to pack up and head out to the train station.  We received a warm Iowa goodbye from all the staff who waved to us all the way town the road.  When we got to the station, we still had an hour to spare so Hilary picked up a few gifts for some friends;  more culinary treats.  

I had a suspicion that we could get on an earlier train, and luckily that was the case.  The train from Yufuin to Oita was really nice;  it looked like something from the early 20th century with nice wood floors, plaid curtains, and circular ceiling lighting.  The path there was narrow and went through the mountains.  We changed trains in Oita to Kokura (to an express train) and from Kokura we caught an earlier train than we expected to Shin Osaka. (a shinkansen)  From Shin Osaka we finally made it back to Kyoto.  We got off at Kyoto station;  a super modern station we a ton of people and restaurants.  We decided since our hotel was so close to the station, we'd just come back here for tasty and inexpensive (yasu-ku-te oishii) light dinner.  We found a sushi spot at the top of the eating floor in Kyoto station.  There was about a 20 minute wait, so we thought we had a good shot at having a good meal there.  When it came our turn, we sat down and had a few pieces before deciding to leave… it was ok… and we were pretty spoiled from the last sushi extravaganza, so I opted for some good ramen in "ramen row"; a long lane of about 20 ramen shops, each serving their own special concoction of broth simmering in a cauldron for over 12 hours.  

Hilary headed back to our hotel, which was quite small.  Probably the size of a walk in closet!  Its a tight squeeze, but we're pretty exhausted so its not a problem!

Sayonara Yufuin Staff!

Last Yufuin Breakfast

Late night ramen!

Kyoto Station 1

Kyoto Station 2

Farm Architecture / Internet Withdraw / Under Siege

Again… woke up on a beautiful morning and headed to breakfast.  It was similar to the one yesterday, but each item was different.  We were very impressed by the variety of foods they serve you here.  The servers are extremely knowledgable about the food and I could talk with them about it forever.  Hilary gave me a look that signaled it was time to stop talking and start eating.  

After breakfast we had initially decided to check out Beppu, the other hot spring town, but thought since we didn't want to be on a bus we'd rather just repeat the day we had before, minus a few shops… I also stopped to call my mom cause it is her Birthday!  HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!  I am so glad you found your passport.  

We headed to town and walked around a bit again, and then found a path leading towards various farms along the way.  Thats when a new photo obsession came over me;  farm shed panels.  I don't know why, but I was really drawn to the architecture of these, and so I started photographing them.  The walk along the way was another beautiful one, passing several kaki (persimmon) trees.  We still had some time, so we went back to the town to walk around more.  

We headed back to the hotel to sit in the onsen for a while.  It was still pretty early (around 5PM) and I realized that I was experiencing serious internet withdraw.  I hadn't checked my email in three days and I had no access to the internet.  (None was provided at our hotel)  Hence the lack of posting the last five or so days.  I guess it is a good thing, but we were both feeling pretty anxious about who won the election!

Dinner:  Tai (Sea Bream) shabu shabu along with all the yummy side dishes and some new ones.  The Tai was cut up into sashimi thin pieces which you would quickly cook in just a few seconds by lifting it in the hot pot for just a few seconds.  From there it goes into one of two sauces:  a creamy sesame sauce (not milk based) or a ponzu sauce (yuzu + soy sauce)  and from there into my mouth.  I preferred the sesame sauce and Hilary liked the ponzu better.  We discovered if you added a little yuzu kosho (yuzu hot chili pepper paste) on top of the rare cooked fish, and then dipped it into the ponzu sauce, it was extra good, like a bonus round!  We finished with a yogurt sorbet;  light and delicious.  

I headed into the onsen for one last onsen hurrah and then back to the room where we watched "Under Siege" (or just "Siege?") Great movie, and I highly recommend you see it.  We were both surprised how good it was.  

Wandering walk around the area

Shed Studies

Dinner - Tai Shabu-Shabu