Random Ramblings

Thank You

2008-11-30T12:45:00.009+09:00

I'm sitting in my living room eating a bowl of cut kiwi and huge Japanese pear (which I've recently grown quite addicted to; unfortunately it appears pear season's pretty much over and the supermarket doesn't stock many now...). Looking out to my lovely view of trees, I'm thinking now's prolly a good time to say thank you for the life, family, friends and job I have.

Yesterday, an acquaintance told me he'd joined the ranks of the unemployed due to the financial crisis. I knew of a few friends a couple months earlier whose job security remains uncertain because of restructuring measures at banks where they work, but yesterday's was the first job loss I learned of amid these uncertain times. I'm guessing he'll do pretty ok for now coz he'll prolly get a generous severance package, but how many more casualties will there be? And will my close ones or I be among the next?

It seems appropriate then that this year, I experienced my first Thanksgiving dinner ever (since my family doesn't celebrate this event). Thanks to cook extraordinaire Xinmei and cooking bible The Joy of Cooking (http://www.thejoykitchen.com/), we had a plump, juicy turkey with a scrumptious sauce, and crisp garlic bread for the dinner.

Our 10-pound fowl's temperature was spot on at 175 degrees!

Chocolate For A Gloomy Afternoon

2008-11-24T17:09:00.004+09:00

It's a rainy, dark and cold Monday afternoon, a public holiday. (Temperature: low of 8 degrees Celsius today and the rest of the week). I'm supposed to be doing Japanese homework and getting started on those past-year JLPT 3 papers but instead, I've spent the past couple of hours baking brownie cookies and filling my flat with the wonderful aroma of chocolate.

I made do with ingredients I already had in the house and so didn't follow the recipe to a T (eg. I used all sweetened dark chocolate instead of a mix of semi-sweet and super dark). They're still a tad too sweet despite cutting down on the amount of sugar to compensate for not using very pure chocolate, but I think they taste alright on the whole.

The recipe makes dozens of cookies, so if I don't develop a tummyache after eating them, I'll

give some to my co-workers tomorrow :o)

Japanese Woes

2008-11-23T21:58:00.003+09:00

I went for a mock Japanese language test today. And it was bl**dy difficult. So difficult to me that I skipped entire sections and guessed the answers to most of the others.

That's not very inspiring considering I'm taking the actual exam in two weekends. The Japanese Language Proficiency Test ranges from levels 4 to 1, with 4 being the easiest. I'm scheduled to take 3 and am scrambling, at this late stage, to finish learning the syllabus for that level (yes, with just two weeks to go, I'm not even at the revision stage!).

In 2010, the arrangers of this international exam plan to change the format and sent out requests to those of us sitting for the different levels this year for volunteers to try out the new style. Seems like there's gonna be five levels to bridge the gap between JLPT 2 and 3, whose gap has apparently been deemed to be too wide. I sat for the new N3 test, which supposedly is harder than the current JLPT 3 and easier than JLPT 2, so it was perhaps not surprising that I had such a hard time.

Now, back to the books.

Here Fishy Fishy

2008-11-17T22:49:00.007+09:00

This must've been one of the best overnight trips I've made since moving to Tokyo -- a fishing trip down at the southern peninsula of Izu filled with a beautiful sunset, a boat trip, a satisfying (and ab yummy) haul of fish, and much laughter as everyone had such a great time.

Suzuki-san, our fisherman guide, is a real man of Mother Nature. He not only organizes fishing trips, but also hiking and camping outings. In fact, NHK even had an *entire* magazine devoted to him with details of his trips and recipes for the great outdoors!

The platter of sashimi was among our catch (I nabbed the big kidai in the picture above! But the smaller fish known as amadai is the really pricy one, we're told.)

Our haul included several plump mackeral, which we got a restaurant to fillet and turn into tender fried morsels (pictured with a pile of shredded spring onion) plus a miso-based stew (not pictured).

Grilling the catch of the day on Saturday.

A persimmon tree we saw at a train station on the way to Izu
A beautiful view of the coast...

...and catching the sunset.

It's getting late and I've to be up horribly early to do pages and pages of Japanese (the exam's just two weeks away! Uuugh...) so I'm gonna sign off now.

Click here for more pictures:

http://picasaweb.google.com/lenabanana/HereFishyFishy?authkey=SnuFh5pNpDs#

And Asher, Harn Hua, Janet, Weiwen and I have been made famous on Suzuki-san's blog! (See Nov. 16 entry) http://nature.i-ra.jp/

Misty Kurofuyama

2008-10-27T22:37:00.009+09:00

Rather unexpectedly, I ended up going with a group of friends to hike up Kurofuyama (Mount Kurofu) yesterday. Kurofuyama is close to the volcanic Mount Asama, which straddles the prefectures of Gunma and Nagano, northwest of Tokyo.

The route was beautiful with varying views -- of romantic, misty mountaintops, orange/yellow leaves, rocky paths and lush greenery in parts. It was already freeeeezing -- about 6 degrees Celsius -- even though we didn't make it to the top. Amazingly, my legs behaved themselves and don't feel much different from any other day besides a slight stiffness....

The route up Mount Kurofu (2,040 m)

A dreamy mountain view

We spy the changing colors of autumn

Up the rocky path

Looking down the valley

A misty view of the mountain

The path (which we didn't take) to head up to the summit

Danny and the volcano shelter

Everyone (bar Ying Loong, who has already trailblazed his way ahead) take 5 along the muddy path.
Tze Wei poses on the way down

The combini (convenience store) along the way sold these kawaii buta man (cute pork buns)!

Supa-Toraiasuron

2008-10-19T13:37:00.018+09:00

Last Monday was the Sports Day holiday in Japan, and in that spirit, a few friends and I took the Shinkansen to a village in Niigata Prefecture to take part in our first ``Spa-Triathlon.'' This is a bit of a misnomer, coz it's nowhere close to the grueling requirements of an actual triathlon. And one of the key factors that convinced me to join was that it didn't involve swimming, which as some of you may be aware, is one of my very weak points.

The event involved running for about 7km through the village and up/down a hill, cycling for 1km round a rice field (which turned out to be waaaaaay more difficult than we expected coz of the mud and uneven terrain), soaking our feet in a warm footbath for 3 minutes (yes, they had a stopwatch going!) and running the last 1km back to our start point.

From left to right:

Top row: Horses at the opening ceremony, the crowd gets ready, a persimmon tree groaning with the weight of its fruit enroute uphill.
Second row: View from near the top of the trail, the long and winding road, cycling in the paddy field
Bottom row: Aunties and uncles cheer us on, at the foot-soaking area, the end at last!

Niigata is well known for its onsens (hot springs) and (presumably) this event would help promote tourism in the area. The village where it took place was Iwamuro, and the place we stayed overnight was Yahiko, a few stations away.

Pictures: Staying at an onsen ryokan almost always involves an elaborate serving of food. Yum! The pictures on the left show the view from our room window, and our pink futons.

Looking out to the Sea of Japan

Somewhere on Mount Yahiko...

Wikipedia extract of Iwamuro:
Iwamuro (岩室村, Iwamuro-mura) is a village located in Nishikanbara ward, Niigata, Japan. As of 2005, the district had an estimated population of 9,917. The total area was 36.11 km². Iwamuro lies at the foot of Yahiko Mountain, and is famous for onsen. People have been coming to the area since the Edo period to bathe in the waters that make it famous. Currently there are more than 30 onsens throughout the district. They range in price from cheap (500 yen) to expensive (+20,000 yen).
Iwamuro means 'stone' and 'room' in kanji. Farming throughout the area is predominantly rice growing although there are several dairy and pig-rearing farms.

And of Yahiko:
Yahiko (弥彦村, Yahiko-mura) is a village in Nishikanbara District, Niigata, Japan.
It is the only village left in its district after the two towns from the same district merged into the city of Tsubame on March 20, 2006. Yahiko lies on the south side of Mt. Yahiko. As of April 1, 2005, the village has an estimated population of 8,518. The total area is 25.22 km².

Pictures: Some toothless fish being dried out in Yahiko, a red Torii gate, and a stroll thru forested areas with some really skinny trees.

(PS: For those interested, the title of this entry is ``Spa-Triathlon'' written in Japanese romaji. PPS: You can't really tell from the picture, but my poor running shoes were falling apart, going flap-flap-flap as I ran the course, and I had to chuck 'em at the end of the trip.)

Slender Fingers

2008-08-20T23:37:00.003+09:00

Whatever will they think of next?

Utter Convolution

2008-08-20T22:32:00.003+09:00

Hesitation is a virtue in Japanese, my teacher says.

The Japanese language, for those who don't know, exists via the motto, `Why say in five words what you can accomplish in 50?' Additional words are thrown in to make a sentence convoluted with the understanding that makes it less direct and therefore extra polite (eg. use of the prefix `O').

It took me the longest time to understand that the supermarket salesperson was asking if I wanted chopsticks each time I bought a bento (lunch box). Chopsticks = `hashi' but it's called o-hashi when you're asking for a pair at a restaurant, or when a sales person is offering you one. Instead of asking, `Chopsticks?,' the salesperson typically said something along the lines of, `O-customer, would you be requiring o-chopsticks/is it OK to have o-chopsticks?'

Basically, the Japanese language doesn't allow anything to be said directly coz it's considered rude.

And this is just the standard operating mode for regular Japanese. Let's not even go into the extra-polite terms used in more formal situations or with people you don't know, and the special Japanese words reserved for serious business interaction.

The Japanese mind is so well trained from a young age, my teacher says, that it automatically knows not to pay too much attention to the start of a sentence because based on the language structure, the most pertinent information is buried at the end.

For example, you tell a friend that you'll meet at 3pm at the entrance of the Conrad Hotel and that you'll be taking a cab to the venue.

The key point from this is that you're meeting your friend, meaning you'd form the sentence in Japanese starting with the main theme -- the meeting -- and keep adding details in front till that main thought is eventually pushed to the end of the sentence.

meet
friend meet
Conrad Hotel entrance friend meet
by cab Conrad Hotel entrance friend meet
tomorrow 3pm by cab Conrad Hotel entrance friend meet

Well, that's my rather convoluted segue into something I want to share with you from today. ;o)

For the first time, I sat in on a meeting that my Japanese-speaking colleagues had with an executive from a company and witnessed firsthand how long and tiring it must be for them to work in the language day in and out.

I'd made a simple request -- would you be able to do XX? -- which my co-worker translated. I waited while she said multiple sentences in a polite tone and the executive nodded and made uh-huh-ish sounds to indicate he understood. At the end of her two-minute ``speech,'' the executive replied, ``dekimasen'' (not doable).

Grrrrrrrrrrrr....!

Square Peg in a Round Hole

2008-08-14T23:44:00.007+09:00

Fancy a square-shaped watermelon?

Seems this unrounded fruit's been around since the 1980s, the brainchild of a space-conscious Japanese, but I only saw it recently at the fruit cafe in the basement of my office building.

Here's a link to an old BBC article if you're interested:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/1390088.stm

And from the Mail:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-398894/Square-melons-way.html

The Japanese seem obsessed about pretty packaging even for something as basic as fruit. In just about any supermarket, especially the fancier ones of course, you can find garden-variety apples and melons, as well as a gourmet selection with equally exclusive price tags. Here's a selection:

I was most flabbergasted by the 30,000 yen (about US$280) price tag for 35 cherries... Apparently there are people out there willing to pay about US$8 per morsel!

Summery Sounds

2008-08-10T18:32:00.010+09:00

The Verve playing Bittersweet Symphony

I attended the Summer Sonic music festival yesterday, the same one I wrote about last year with acts like the Goo Goo Dolls and Puffy Ami Yumi. Can hardly believe it's my second one in a row! Yesterday was really enjoyable... mebbe this will be my marker for each year that I end up staying in Tokyo.

The Tokyo Police Club, which actually hails from Ontario. I'm guessing they didn't allow pictures during their show coz right after I took this, a bouncer came by to tell me no pix allowed and I subsequently saw him escorting/dragging a woman to one side and getting more bouncers to talk to her.

The crowd waiting for The Verve to come on

In case you're interested, here's a very brief, bad recording on my mobile phone of part of Bittersweet Symphony

I thought The Sex Pistols were AWESOME, despite only knowing Anarchy from their song list and finding Johnny Rotten's anti-establishment antics such as sniffing his armpits absolutely disgusting. He came on in that striped nightgown/jailbird-like outfit and looked as if he shouldn't be out of the house at his age, but he worked the crowd better than any of the other acts I saw yesterday. Rotten spat a lot (although thankfully not at the sanitation-obsessed Japanese audience) and also called ``Georgie'' Bush a stupid idiot or some other equally unflattering term for the deaths of U.S. soldiers in Iraq.

The Troubadours. Fun English rock group.

OneRepublic was awful live. I entered the Marine stage just in time to catch a terrible rendition of Rihanna's Umbrella, followed by a lame joke about how in case the audience didn't know, that wasn't their own song, but one from... Britney Spears. They even sounded pretty bad on the next and second-last song they played, the hugely popular Apologize. Thankfully the last song, whose title escapes me at this point, was not too bad and they ended on an OK note.

Me on the beach near the Beach stage. Wish I'd got more of a tan!

Couldn't resist taking a shot of the rather devilish-looking ingredients that went into the Bakudan (``bomb'') snack being sold at one of the stalls on the beach. The rectangular blob with the slitty eyes at the bottom, between the round pellets (fried tempura batter) and mushroom is supposed to be konnyaku, a firm jelly-like ingredient made from a root vegetable. The description in English gave me the giggles -- ``Devil's tongue jelly.''

Step Up to an Oasis

2008-08-10T17:59:00.004+09:00

I'm so excited -- have just discovered a roof garden right behind my house!

I have a view of the Koishikawa Korakuen, a historical Edo-style garden located just behind my apartment block, from my window. That was pretty much the selling point for my flat, but embarrassingly enough, I've yet to visit the garden more than a year after moving in. Just half an hour ago, I was walking back from a neighborhood nearby and decided for a change to take quieter back lane leading to the back door to my block which is just off the path to the garden. There I found a long flight of steps to the roof garden. I got ravaged by mozzies but it was totally worth it. Sitting on the stone seats, looking at the tree tops of the Koishikawa Korakuen, it feels almost like you're in a secret garden of your own amid the hustle and bustle of this city with its skyscrapers. I'll be back soon.

Thoughts of Natsu

2008-08-10T01:53:00.007+09:00

Summer's descended upon Tokyo without me noticing when it actually kicked in. All of a sudden, the rains and miserable gray skies were gone and in their place the fiery sun and a rush of humidity. The days and nights in the past three weeks or so have been unbearably hot and sweaty (yes, even worse than in Singapore) and I've been taking the opportunity to wear sleeveless tees wherever I go. One particular recent morning, it was so bad literally beads of sweat formed on my upper arm as I stood in the bathroom after showering, trying to apply makeup to my already perspiration-coated face before going to work.

It's given me an incentive to be on time for work at 8 a.m. As a wise man once said, there is never a full train in Tokyo. If I take the subway comfortably before 8, it's crowded but with breathing room. If I catch it just before 8 or after, I'll be smack in the middle of the super-rush hour with people pushing into the carriage even if all the space they see is good for just one foot. That means a mass of bodies plastered against me, or more specifically, a buncha disgustingly sweaty, sticky bodies and a very stuffy ride to work.

Yet there's something about summer that I simply love. The sunny days feel carefree and there's a lightness in my heart as I head in to work even on days that I know will be extra busy and stressful. Everything just feels right with the world when there is sunlight.

I marked summer with the purchase of Ushi-chan (ushi = cow, while chan is a term of endearment), my new piggy (err... bovine?) bank. Ushiro-chan was sitting with three of her equally colorfully painted cousins on a shelf in FrancFranc, a homeware shop just across from a bar we were having drinks one Friday night and I just had to take her home. I even took the opportunity to re-decorate my house a little with matching bright pink cushions, which fit my rather carefree mood perfectly.

Summer 2008 in Tokyo will be officially over at the end of this month, and with it, a part of me goes, until the next sunny cycle returns.

Up on the Hills....

2008-06-01T23:50:00.007+09:00

The great thing about living in Tokyo is you've the option of visiting a world far removed from the crowded malls and subway stations simply by hopping on a train (or into a car) for a couple of hours. A few friends and I went up to Minakami in Gunma prefecture, north of Tokyo, last Sunday. For one glorious day, we took a ski lift up the slopes and saw greenery mixed with ice; ate some tasty soba with maitake mushroom, the region's specialty; visited a strange onsen with a long indoor pathway lined with what seems to be a pile of dusty ``treasures'' from some's massive attic (old stuffed toys, creaky furniture, and just plain, ol' junk) and whose outdoor onsen/bath area featured gushing streams alongside an obese, maniacal-looking rabbit plus bears in cages (that's one of the reasons I'm not going back), and caught sight of a car with all things Hello Kitty (curtains, stuffed toy, you name it), just to name a few highlights.

Left to right, top row: people enjoying a foot bath in Minakami town center, the small strip of shops in town, my bowl of slurpalicious soba with maitake mushroom.
second row: up the ski slopes, my friends at the top of the slope, me and Linnette with our feet in rubber boots on the ski lift (the ski lift service very kindly provided boots for use, presumably coz it had been raining heavily and the ground was a mix of mud and slushy ice...)
third row: a section of Takakawa onsen, Curious George hangs out with a statue of a deity along the hallway of dusty treasures at the onsen, our yummy dinner of grilled, fresh river fish.

Two of my friends on the ski lift heading up the mountain.

It was a rainy/misty day on the mountain top.

A deity at a shrine on the mountain top gets offered a massive bottle of sake.

One of the multiple outdoor baths at the onsen.

Along the Same Humorous Lines

2008-05-23T01:07:00.003+09:00

The sometimes rather random use of the English language in Japan simply puts a smile on my face. Thought I'd share these with you:

My colleague says he's kept the can of ``Deeppresso'' coffee for more than a year coz he found it so hilarious. Clearly the folks at Georgia were attempting to creatively describe their product by combining ``expresso'' and ``deep'' to mean, errr, deep expresso as in very thick, rich coffee? Or is there a chance you'll fall into a depression by drinking this espresso??

I'm not sure why Morinaga decided to name a simple bar of milk chocolate ``Yell.'' There's nothing particularly outstanding about it (besides the name), though I think it tastes better than Cadbury's milk chocolate (yes, even the ones made in Australia and the U.K.).

I took this picture of the packaging for a pair of tights months ago and forgot about it until now. The promise of my feet turning ``remarkably attractive'' had me hooked!

In case the wording isn't clear, it reads:
``The stockings have chic and sharp line. You, charming, must make your feet more remarkably attractive...''

Only in Japan

2008-05-17T23:18:00.003+09:00

I saw this rather amusing poster in a subway station the other day, and though I was already late for an appointment, I felt compelled to retrace my steps, fish out my camera, and take a shot. The sentence in English in the yellow bar reads ``Please refrain from putting on makeup in the trains.''

Believe it or not, there are women who are able to crimp their eyelashes and apply a full coat of war paint on a moving train -- even without sitting down. One woman who was squished against the door of the crowded carriage I was in one morning did just that. Such is the emphasis placed on external grooming that when you see a woman checking out her appearance on the streets, it's not unusual to find the ``compact'' mirror she whips out from her handbag as big as six inches wide.

But back to my first point about makeup application on the train. While I find that might be a tad inelegant, I don't think it's offensive enough to warrant a public plea for consideration. I'm certainly not offended. Any thoughts?

Incidentally, that appointment I was late for was with the acupuncturist! The pain in my wrist hasn't gone away, so upon a colleague's recommendation, I decided to check out the place he went to when he sustained some aches and pains from martial arts. Thankfully, that first experience with the needles didn't totally freak me out, but I was kinda surprised to find that acupuncture can (and in my case, did) involve the use of electricity. After the acupuncturist inserted the fine needles in the injured area, he attached metal clips to two of them that were wired to an ``Ohm Pulser'' that sent pulses of electricity to the area for five minutes. It wasn't really painful, but was kinda weird to feel the beats going through the area.

Finally, here's a shot of a plant I bought in the first couple of months of moving into my apartment. The plant's amazing survived my black fingers and outgrown the little container it came in, so I finally got round to repotting it a couple of weekends ago.

It's still alive, thereby planting the rather ambitious and optimistic thought in me that, when I do eventually own a place, I'd like it to have a little space where I can grow some shrubs/flowers/trees.

A Hot Soak

2008-05-11T21:12:00.001+09:00

Just got back from an overnight stay at Yokoya Onsen in Nagano prefecture. There's something about onsens that I just love -- the hot water melting away your aches, the au naturel feel of the place, and, for the case of outdoor pools, the rather magical sensation as you feel the wind/rain/snow falling on you while you soak in the hot water.

(Above: a little statue of (I'm guessing) a deity sitting on a rock on the path to Yokoya Onsen)

It was a sort of birthday celebration for a colleague and a chance to get out of Tokyo -- just what I need, what with the deluge of company earnings being reported around this time. Bummer, it rained all day and so we couldn't take a hike around the area, but I did get to look out to the great, green outdoors and look at a little waterfall while I soaked in one of the outdoor pools.

Here are some pictures of the four colleagues I went with, and the tea and cakes we had in a cafe near the Chino train station. The cafe specializes in food items that include kanten, a sort of underwater-grass jelly that's very much like agar-agar. The funky-looking toilets in the top right-hand corner are in the Chino Cultural Center/library, a surprisingly modern and beautiful structure connected to the train station (I wasn't expecting Chino to be so ``advanced''). Pictured in the middle is the cafe in the cultural center, where we had lunch before taking the train back to Tokyo.

This is the tree-lined path leading to the onsen. To get there, take the ``Azusa'' train leaving from the Chuo Limited Express platform in Shinjuku JR station to Chino station (in the direction of final stop Matsumoto). The journey should take 2 or 2.5 hours, depending on whether the express or super express is available. For this trip, there were only three times available either way -- 8, 8:30, 9 am from Shinjuku, and for the returning leg, the latest train leaves Chino at 1:26pm. To get to the onsen from Chino station, there's a bus (must check schedules with hotel) that takes 20-30 minutes to get to the general area of the hotel, and from there, the hotel'll pick you up for about a 10-minute ride; or you can take a cab like we did. journey should cost 4,000+ yen one way, but you'll get charged 1,000 yen less as the cabbies are reimbursed that amount by the hotel.

Butt Ugly

2008-04-13T21:19:00.002+09:00

I've been wearing this butt-ugly guard around my left wrist since Tuesday. The doctor diagnosed it as tendonitis. I have no idea how I hurt the wrist and can only imagine the condition was exacerbated by my being chained to the PC keyboard for work.

This doctor has no heart -- when I told him I couldn't rest my wrist as he instructed, because of my job, the decent thing for him to do would have been to give me a few days off, right??? But noooooooo... instead he said, ``Oh, you can still use your fingers to type! Here's a sturdy wrist brace for you!'' Urgh.

So here I am, US$250 poorer and typing uncomfortably with my ``protected'' wrist. The doctor also said I have to:

1. take pills four times a day;

2. apply a cream;

3. soak the wrist in hot water twice a day.

Apparently I should start to feel improvement within a week, and possibly recover within two weeks (though the condition may return). Fingers crossed!

A Rainy Outing

2008-04-13T20:46:00.009+09:00

Rainy days in Tokyo have become dangerous for me. The last time it happened, I bought a pair of soft leather boots. The glorious sunshine from yesterday didn't last and today, it turned miserably cold and rainy. Today is also the day I broke a personal promise made a couple of months ago not to shop frivolously before my Spain holiday in June. Eek.

Killing time after lunch near Roppongi Hills, a prime development whose stores generally don't sell any item of clothing for less than US$150, a friend and I wandered into a shop we hadn't seen before and, to our surprise, found a constant stream of items that we not only liked but could afford.

(I loved the polka dots and couldn't decide whether I wanted them in a dress or blouse, so I bought both.)

More than an hour later, we emerged from the shop -- she with a leather handbag, belt, a bangle, earrings and a sleeveless T-shirt; me with a blouse, a dress, a pair of shoes, an ``ah lian''-inspired ring, and a pair of earrings.

(The beautiful gold leather flats that caught my eye the moment I stepped into the store.)

(My bronze-colored leather earrings and chunky black Strawberry ring with diamantes and a gold-plated stalk)

Argh.

Remind me never to leave the house again when it rains.

(P.S. The picture at the top of this posting is the design of the store's pretty ``Flowery Feeling'' paperbag.)

Sakura Iro

2008-04-07T22:59:00.005+09:00

It really is quite magical -- having lunch in the park with pale pink petals falling gently all around you... I was in Kyoto overnight Saturday with a colleague to catch the peak of the cherry blossom season and we bought a bento each on Sunday to hang out in the Kyoto Botannical Gardens and soak in the sights and the atmosphere. It's no wonder Japanese and visitors alike have really taken to the white/off white/pale pink/pink blossoms. Somehow, watching something as pretty as sakura just puts you in a good mood.

I felt happy sitting there watching everyone people-watch, relaxing and taking pictures. We also checked out other spots famed for cherry blossoms, including Tetsu Gakku no Michi (Philosophers' Walk)and the Kiyomizu Temple.

A few of my favorite blossoms....

For me, needless to say, any trip wouldn't be complete without a few good meals, a nice cuppa
and a few laughs.
Top row, left to right: ``Ha Ha Apartments,'' which I passed by while strolling through the neighborhood where Ryokan Ishihara (tel: 075-221-5612) is located. This ryokan (Japanese inn) where I stayed is a six-minute walk from the Karasuma Oike subway station. Next Heian Shrine, and a meal of yudofu on Saturday -- Kyoto is famous for this light dish, which comprises freshly made tofu heated in a small clay pot of water and eaten with a soy or sesame sauce. My meal included other tofu items -- including yuba (a soft version of tow kee), rice topped with yuba bits and a tasty, slightly starchy broth, and lotus root and bamboo shoot tempura (surprisingly yummy).
Second row: Chon-In Temple, tulips so brightly colored they look almost fake in the botannical gardens, and Traction Cafe, a laid-back book cafe in the neighborhood of Ryokan Ishihara that played bossa nova and served a beautifully arranged brownie with fruit pieces.
Last row: Maiko-sans in the Gion district, the entrance of Ryokan Ishihara, and more tulips in the botannical gardens.

A shop along Philosophers' Walk..... and me in the botannical gardens.

What the World Needs Is Another Mall

2008-03-16T20:51:00.005+09:00

Yet another mall has sprung up to encourage people to spend money they may not have, to buy things they probably don't need, to impress people they may not even like (my slight amendment to a quotable quote -- does anyone know who said this?).

Right next to the subway close to my house is the new ``Meets Port'' building, part of the Tokyo Dome project that already comprises a mall, hotel, amusement park and, of course, the Dome, home to the Giants baseball team that's also used as a concert hall (incidentally, this was where I caught Celine Dion warbling...). There's some sort of an event hall, a Starbucks, 7-Eleven, bakery and a few restaurants in this new building based on what I can make out from my very limited Japanese.

Human beings can be highly adaptable to their surroundings: When construction began, I was grouchy -- I hate crowds and am not looking forward to the increased mass of Tokyoites and tourists who'll be descending upon my neighborhood.

As time passed, I began accepting the inevitable -- the mall's gonna be built whether I like it or not, right? After all, didn't a wise man say we should accept the things we can't change?

And now that it's the day before the opening, crazy as it sounds, I'm actually looking forward to it -- the 7-Eleven'll be the first combini (convenience store) in my immediate neighborhood, and the bakery the first within five minutes' walk. See, it doesn't take much to keep me happy ;o) I'll be watching the squillions of tourists pass by as I sip a latte (tall, non fat) at Starbucks' prime, sidewalk location.

See the little circle next to the tree? That's the Starbucks logo, and the top spot where I'll be drinking my latte from tomorrow.

My Heart Went On....

2008-03-09T21:37:00.005+09:00

I was back in Singapore last month and got chided by two friends for not updating this blog, so I've resolved to make greater effort to keep y'all up to date on where I've been and what I've seen, starting with my first concert for 2008: Celine Dion.

I'm not a huge fan of Dion, though I think she has an amazing voice and a few really nice ballads. What impresses me is her ability to entertain.

The woman really works for her money. Her stage was four sided, there were huge projector screens, multiple dancers and a couple of guest performers -- Peabo Bryson and a Japanese singer called Ito whose last name I missed.

She charmed the audience by using a few Japanese phrases, sang a little ditty in the language, and cooed on about how much she loves the people and food. And, outrageously, perhaps this being Japan, she started the concert less than half an hour after it was scheduled to, which is about as punctual as you can get for any pop/rock performance (and which explains why my friend and I missed at least the first song!)

Within the first half hour, she had three costume changes.

She danced and did like a million air punches. At one point, she walked along a moving floor on one side of the stage, and when she sang the rather sad ballad, All By Myself, there were pictures of massive flames beneath the projection of her -- a tad cheesy, but highly entertaining.

There were strange bits too: At one point, she launched into the clapping and foot stomping for We Will Rock You, and proceeded to show pictures of Freddie Mercury as a tribute and sang The Show Must Go On. My friend says she (like other powerful women singers such as Barbra Streisand) have a huge gay following, so perhaps it wasn't that weird after all and she was merely courting the pink dollar.

The bad thing, to me, was she sang the songs that got great airplay in the first half, and closed the concert with two or three fast-paced, non-hit material titles.

She saved her smash hit for the solo-song encore. For those interested, that's the very bad, short clip I took with my cell phone of My Heart Will Go On.

The concert was rather short at 1.5 hours, but she made it value for money for the fans who paid top dollar to be right in front. At the end of the show, she got off the stage and shook hands with some of them.

Am I sold on her? You bet.

Autumn Colors

2007-12-06T22:46:00.000+09:00

A couple of weekends ago, I went on my first outing with a buncha Singaporeans working in Tokyo, who I met through a Singapore-Japan association here. We spent a day on Mount Takao, about an hour by train west of Tokyo. The crowds were massive as it was a perfect day and it was a popular spot to catch the leaves in autumn colors. Strangely, despite the nippy weather, most trees still had leaves that were a deep shade of green. Apparently when the summer is hotter than usual, and it turns cold quickly, as is the case this year in Tokyo, the leaves may just fall off without having changed colors. Still, I got a few beautiful shots that day.

In case you're wondering about the Hello Kitty (aka Kitty-chan), I couldn't resist a shot of this popcorn-dispensing machine at the tourist center at the foot of the hill. The shot next to this, with the two large ice-cream cones, was taken at a pit stop along the trail.

I Fell in Love!

2007-11-11T21:42:00.000+09:00

After weeks of searching, I finally found the one I was looking for.

It was a gloomy, rainy day yesterday, but my spirits were considerably lifted after I found *the* boots that were just perfect for me.

I'd been looking for a low-heeled pair in soft, black leather with no success, despite checking out department stores and just about every standalone outlet I came across.

(Left: Only in Japan will stores give you a plastic bag to protect your paper bag from the rain...)

And then there it was, waiting patiently next to a brown pair among dozens of court shoes, in a multi-label store called Estnation (go figure) in Roppongi Hills. I almost went right past it as its heel was a tad lower than what I was looking for, but my feet brought me back to that shelf again and I decided to try it on.

I walked around the shoe department, placed it on reservation and left, expecting possibly to go back later in the week after thinking carefully about whether I reeeeeally liked it. Instead, I returned within two hours, and today, the day after -- the litmus test as to whether something was a good buy -- am still pleased as punch that I did!

(Left: My new boots pose with a plant in my apartment.)

Bored Games?

2007-11-04T17:39:00.000+09:00

My first board-game session in a looooong time....

Board games sometimes have a bad rep of being boring and geeky, but it was pretty fun last Sunday afternoon when my colleague took me along to an informal board-gaming group gathering. Basically it's a bunch of guys (plus one girlfriend, one wife and a few kids that particular afternoon) sitting around spending the afternoon playing board games. They were mostly ones I'd never heard of.
The first game I played was Zombies, where up to six players draw cards to form a path that leads to the escape helicopter. Along the way, they must kill zombies, outsmart rivals, accumulate ammo and try to prevent themselves from being killed.

The tile with the multiple traslucent figurines is the helicopter where we (represented by blue, green, red, black, yellow and mustard-colored figurines) raced toward.

This second game takes us back to the postal system in olden (German?) times. Four players try to form routes across groups of towns/cities as quickly as possible while accumulating points.

Pictured: My colleague Walter's very skilled gaming hands.

Bombay/Mumbai

2007-11-04T15:49:00.000+09:00

Somewhere over the Japanese-Korean skies....

Here's a shot I got on my way back from my first ever trip to Mumbai. I was there for work and didn't get to see much outside of the hotel, the office, and the path from the hotel to the office, but what I saw was enough to both shock and make me want to return to check out more of India. Media are always reporting about how fast India is developing, how much potential that market has, and how designer goods and luxury items such as yachts are rapidly increasing in demand. Well, this is prolly the one clearest time that media have well and truly fooled me.

The airport was not as big as I expected, was gray, and frankly a bit depressing (and this apparently is the new and improved version post-renovation...).

A muggy Saturday morning on Marine Drive.

The main street near my office.

The roads even within the city center were dirty and in poor condition. I expected my office to be in the prime area, with at least some spanking skyscrapers; instead it was in a building that's like the People's Park Complex in Singapore, only 20 years older and 10 times as dirty. Yet I'm told this is the prime area. (Pic: Mumbai's teeny taxis)

The majestic Taj hotel

Meanwhile tourists like me sit in hotels eating 1,000 rupee meals, while even in this wealthier part of town, the adults looked poor and the kids were dirty and snotty-nosed. Call me naive, but I was really shocked. That's the extent media fooled me. (Pic: People in front of the Gateway of India)

Despite the dust and dirt, and falling sick, it felt good to be in Mumbai, particularly on the Saturday afternoon when I did a bit of a walk around town before catching the flight back to Tokyo. The city, with its mix of old and new, wealth and poverty, fascinated me. The streets felt alive. There was the buzz of traffic and people. All around, it felt like 10 things were happening at the same time and there was no way I could absorb it all. I kept wondering where I should look, tune my ears, how to sharpen my senses so I wouldn't miss anything.

I have to return.
Clockwise from top left: Gateway of India, a woman near the gateway, teenagers at the pier watch the world go by, some guys try to sell really big balloons to tourists outside the Taj hotel

Return to the Mainland

2007-09-12T21:50:00.000+09:00

Beijing's night skyline's got a lot brighter since I was last there three yearsago. Many more skyscrapers have sprouted , each with its name in neon lights. On Jianguomenwai Avenue alone, there's a new Twins Mall, home to the opulent Lan Club restaurant/bar (http://lanbeijing.com/index1.php. Be warned, the contents can take a while to load), and a towering Capitaland building, to say the least. Even the Xiu Shui Jie (Silk Street) Market's become, disappointingly, a sanitized mall with shops like City Plaza in Singapore, rather than stalls squeezed along narrow lanes.
Pictured above: My blurry shot of the Xiu Shui mall.

Didn't get much by way of fun, unfortunately, as I was there for work, but I did make it to Lan for dinner. Love it or hate it, you're gonna remember the place. It's loud, it's ostentatious, it's dramatic, it's creative, it's sleek, it's crass.... The mish mash of a decor in this cavernous, Philippe Starck-design restaurant-bar will keep you talking about it -- picture a stuffed rhinoceros head, plush seats, a glass cabinet full of Indian spices, another with mock, elaborately decorated cakes, chandeliers made of toy figurines, a bar counter flanked by white, outstretched arms, and paintings on the ceiling.... The wait staff told me no pictures were allowed in the restaurant, so I took a couple of shots while in the bathroom.

Actually, the decor distracted from the mostly Sichuanese food which was pretty good. I enjoyed the shredded chicken with a spicy, numbing (ma la) peanut-flavored sauce in a capsicum. The onion rings that accompanied the pork ribs contained real onion strips (I didn't try the ribs, but was told they were yummy). The highlight of the meal was undoubtedly the beggar's chicken baked in a mud mask (pictured). The chicken was fall-off-the-bone tender and stuffed with a delicious mix of glutinous rice, mushroom and red dates, not unlike the taste of bak chang. Skip the desserts -- Lan is really a Chinese restaurant that doesn't know how to do a good cake.

See http://www.concierge.com/bestof/hotlist/2007/tables/lanclub/ for a brief review. Expect to pay 500 yuan (US$60+/S$100 or so) or more for food plus alcohol.

Address: Twin Towers B-12, Jianguomenwai Avenue. Beijing

Tel: 86-10-5109-6012

TO GET THERE: Take the subway to Yong Anli, get out on the opposite side to Xiu Shui market, and head for the Twins mall. Or ask the cabbie to take you to the Shuang Zi Zuo Da Sha (Twin Towers Building).

On my last night, I squeezes in a foot massage at Oriental Taipan (Dong Fang Da Ban) a little further down the street. The place feels like a bustling, modern spa, and is great value for money -- for 138 yuan, you get drinks, including freshly squeezed fruit juices, and snacks like dumplings. It's apparently free flowing, so not surprisingly, my therapist points out, many customers who go there stuff themselves silly.

My therapist was from Guangdong and I had a great time chatting with him as fellow southern Chinese (or sort of, at least for my ancestors).

TO GET THERE: There're half a dozen branches around Beijing, but to get to the one on Jianguomenwai Avenue, take the subway to Yong Anli and get out on the side of Xiu Shui market. Walk in the direction away from the traffic (ie with the buildings on your right) till you see Citic Building. Turn right, and you should see a TGIFriday's. Turn right on the little lane just after TGIF and you'll see Oriental Taipan. It's not hard to find.

Or ask the cabbie to take you to the Guo Ji Ju Le Bu (International Club). The TGIF is across the street.

I thought the foot reflexology session was great and wanted to give the therapist a little tea money. However, the lady at the counter said Taipan doesn't accept tips, and if I really liked the therapist, I could ``note his number'' and ask for him the next time I visited.

I didn't get his number.

Call me naive, but that little incident got me very disturbed about how impersonal our society's become.

I wish I'd asked for his name.

The ``Lass'' Turns 32

2007-08-23T01:15:00.000+09:00

Sitting here, waiting for my hair to dry, and pondering the state of the world (mine). I've just turned 32, and I guess the closest I can get to describing my state of mind right now is..... pretty content.

Despite what the T-shirt says (one of several prezzies my closest pals in Singapore sent me in a care package), I don't feel wise, or old (though someone called me a ``lass'' today and that was kinda amusing to me coz I sure don't feel *that* young either). But I've moved to a new city, am gaining new experiences, and meeting new people, while family and friends I've known for more than 10 years remain close at heart and remind me where I came from... So I guess, as LG says, Life's Good, huh? ;o)

The lovely Maki organized a li'l birthday dinner for me, at Cha Cha Hana in Shinjuku. It's located on a pretty, stone street lined with skinny bamboo, near the Golden Gai bar area.

The food was pretty good, and prices very reasonable. The five of us got stuffed to the gills (no pun intended) on a platter of sashimi, red snapper ocha zuke (rice with a bonito-base soup poured over it), tsukune (minced chicken and cartilage molded into a small patty or ``sausage'' and grilled), tofu with minced crab, spring rolls with cheese and fish, and more, followed by desserts. We also had a bottle of white, a half bottle of Moet et Chandon rose, and a li'l bottle of sake for about 7,000 yen each. At current exchange rates, that's about US$60 or S$95.

TO GET THERE: Take the Marunouchi subway line to Shinjuku. Head toward the east exit, and take the exit for Lumine Est. At the traffic light facing Sakura dori (Kabukicho), cross the street, turn right. You'll soon pass a Mr Donut on your left. Keep walking until you see a pebbled pedestrian path lined with bamboo on your left, then turn left onto the path. Keep walking and in less than 5 minutes, you should see the restaurant on your right.

http://travel.nytimes.com/2007/06/17/travel/17tokyo.html?pagewanted=1 includes a description of Golden Gai, and Cha Cha Hana on the last page. To get directly to the blurb on the restaurant, click http://travel.nytimes.com/travel/guides/asia/japan/tokyo/restaurant-detail.html?vid=1154678896100&inline=nyt-classifier

Wing Gar and Naoki by candle (and rose) light.

Everyone peers into the little kaleidoscope that Maki bought me. Megumi's at the bottom right.

Some of our yummy grub.Clockwise from top left: yuba (beancurd skin) wrapped round tofu, tsukune to be dipped in egg, spring rolls with fish and cheese, the most awesome karaage (fried chicken) and potato mochi (dumplings) with minced chicken sauce. And then....

.... dessert! Easily the best part of the meal for me, as always. On the left is goma ice (sesame ice cream). The picture on the right shows a not-so-appetizing looking matcha (green tea) creme brulee that was actually pretty damn awesome, plus mochi (rice dumplings) coated in soy powder to be dipped in a brown sugar sauce. *Burp*

Mean-Smelling Beans

2007-08-18T17:33:00.000+09:00

Natto, the fermented, sticky and slimy soy beans that are a part of the Japanese diet, can inspire intense feelings of love and dislike. It's one of those things like chou dou fu (smelly beancurd) that you either like or don't.

Me, I'm not crazy about it. I can't understand how anyone can fall in love with a clump of these pungent beans that, when you try to separate them, form elasticized "strings" not unlike an ultra-sticky wad of chewing gum that's being removed from underneath your shoe. A couple of friends argue that, "You just gotta get used to it, man, and then it's great!" But that sounds like sheer torture -- to have to make myself "get used"to something in hopes that I'll like it eventually...

Anyway, there's this little place in a neighborhood two stops away from Shinjuku station that specializes in natto, and we checked it out the other day. The place has about four little tables and a bar counter, and is run by a smiley, elderly couple who offers sets in small, regular and large at very affordable prices. For about 300 yen (small), 400 yen (regular) and 500 yen (large) -- actual price depends on your choice of topping for the rice -- you get miso soup, pickles, a bowl of rice topped with minced chicken or kimchi or sticky, grated wild yam or other selections, and, of course, the natto, thoughtfully served in a separate bowl. Pictured: my minced chicken set.

The restaurant is Nebariya. Address: Hatagaya 2-48-2. Tel: +81-3-5358-8257.

TO GET THERE: At Shinjuku station, hop on the Keio Shin subway line in the direction of Hashimoto, and alight two stops later at Hatagaya. Take the exit for Hatagaya 2-chome, turn left when you come out on the ground level, and walk straight till you see a pedestrian street on your left with lots of shops. Turn left onto that street and walk past sundry shops and different eateries till you see Nebariya on your right. It's within a five-minute walk from the station.

See http://www.asahi.com/english/Herald-asahi/TKY200702100127.html for an interesting read on natto and Nebariya.

To prep the natto for eating, poke your chopsticks through and stir it vidorously until it's really sticky and forms a lump. Then pour it on top of your rice, mix it, and chow down!

My friend was really happy with this meal. I actually found the natto pretty ok, too, but truth be told, I'd still prefer to eat my set without it. ;o>

What about you?

Wild Sounds

2007-08-18T17:29:00.000+09:00

My first summer in Tokyo is turning out to be really hot and sticky, with some days even warmer and more humid than in Singapore. Such weather, though a little too hot, was perfect for the outdoor portion of the Summer Sonic music festival that took place last weekend in Chiba, spread over six halls at the Makuhari Messe convention center (http://www.m-messe.co.jp/index_e.html), the Chiba Marines baseball team stadium a 15-minute walk away, and the beach nearby.

A lot of it was rock/pop, with acts including OK Go, Klaxons, Modest Mouse, Travis, Interpol, Gwen Stefani, Goo Goo Dolls, Puffy Ami Yumi and Japanese singer Kimura Kaera. Some pix of the stuff I caught:

Goo Goo Dolls on the Marine stage

More Goo Goo Dolls

Japanese starlet Kimura Kaera (second from left)

Crap picture, but here're Puffy Ami Yumi

The bar on the beach...

... and some skating action next to it.

Clockwise from top left: the gateway to the Beach stage, food stalls on site, girls shaking their booty on an outdoor bar stage, a scary-looking outfit performing outside the main Marine stage.

All in all a grrrrrrrreaaat Saturday!

A Wee Bit of Nostalgia

2007-08-09T01:13:00.000+09:00

Thinking fondly of family and friends as I type this because.... it's Singapore's National Day!

I'll be at work and Japanese class, but will see if I can catch a bit of the parade Web cast. For those who need, or want, to watch the recording, click:
http://www.ndp.org.sg/multimedia/webcast/

Over the weekend, I was reminded of home, because I don't recall ever seeing fireworks anywhere else other than in Singapore. I took the Chuo-Sobu line to Koiwa station Saturday and walked about half an hour toward the Edogawa river to catch a massive fireworks display. Apparently, the Tokyo-ites are really big on fireworks during the summer, and there's usually a display every other weekend or so. Nothing like those sessions that we have in Singapore from time to time... uh-uh. The one I went to was 1.5 HOURS long and attended by hoards of people.

Many among the crowd walking toward the river were dressed in yukata, cotton kimono for the summer, that's often worn to fireworks displays and other events taking place during the season. (A yukata is also often worn after bathing, if you're staying in a Japanese-style inn.)

When my friend and I finally reached the site, we saw a looooong path lined with people, and a slope in front of us with yet more people. Curious to see what lay on the other side, we climbed up. There, straight ahead, were the masses sitting on ground mats and enjoying the display. Lengthwise, the river (and people) stretched for miles -- think of the length of Boat Quay + Clarke Quay several times over, and you'll get a crowd that can fill tens of stadiums.

Until you catch the fireworks at the National Day parade, here're some pix I took that night along the Edogawa river. Enjoy!

Typhoon Bunny and A Few Strange Monikers

2007-08-06T14:08:00.000+09:00

Typhoon Usagi (Japanese for ``rabbit'') weakened to a tropical storm after injuring at least 18 people, and passed northern Japan over the weekend before moving out to sea. No real impact on Tokyo city, fortunately.

Left: My stuffed rabbit crossed the seas with me to Tokyo!

On an entirely separate note, the often strange names for shops in Tokyo never fail to put a smile on my face. During a lunch break over the weekend, I snapped a few choice shots of shops around my work place. Check these out:

Clockwise from top left: Garb Restaurant, clothing store Deuxieme Classe (``second class'' in French), Tomorrowland (upmarket-looking togs for both men and women), Hitman & Co. (not sure what it sells).

And then I walked a little further down the street and this bag from Jack Spade made me giggle.... Don't you think it looks like one of those massive nylon carriers that, ummm, villagers moving into the cities use to stuff their belongings??
For a better picture of the the Canal Street Coal Bag (US$85 on line), check out the Web site at: http://www.jackspade.com/shop/home.php?cat=248

I just had to buy a little something to cheer myself up as was working Saturday and Sunday. So I popped into Minipla, which sells the most colorful and cheery (but sometimes totally useless) stuff. From crocs shoes to makeup to Suzy's Zoo stationery to Sesame Street snacks to party crockery with prints of fruit, you name it....

This is one of the more useful items I found: the Thumb Thing helps keep your book open with one hand so you can read while slurping your ramen, nibbling on sushi, chowing down a tempura don, etc.
Comes in S, M, L, XL to suit all thumb sizes too!

Hooray for Haru

2007-07-29T20:29:00.000+09:00

Summer time in Tokyo sees mini street festivals with many lanterns and food stalls and drum beats and folks in yukata dancing, kinda like a prettier, less chaotic pasar malam with song and dance thrown in.

This weekend was filled with food again (surprise, surprise). We had dinner at this restaurant in Hiroo, called Haru, that pairs wine with meals. My Sauvignon Blanc-Semillon went really well with the bouillabaise (see picture on left: this is a most unusual bouillabaise, as it has waaaay more seafood than soup, but it sure was oiishi desu). Maki and Doug liked their wines too. Strangely, and rather inappropriately, the restaurant was playing instrumental versions of Disney tunes like Beauty & the Beast, and old sentimentals like Chicago's Hard to Say I'm Sorry. The restaurant was next to a li'l park that had a mini festival going on and that was kinda fun and blocked out the elevator music.

TO GET THERE: Take the Ebisu line to Hiroo, get out at Exit 2, turn right and walk till you get to another major street, turn right, pass a building, pass a little park, and then you'll see a Korean restaurant at the corner. There's a flight of stairs right next to it that takes you to Haru on the second floor.

Address: Barbizon 22, 2/F, 5-8-11 Hiroo, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 150-0012

Tel: 03-5789-3737

And, if you read Japanese, click: http://www.abeam.jp/haru/

Drinks were at this ``secret'' restaurant-bar called ikra (like ``ikura,'' or those round, orange fish eggs), located in an apartment building in Ebisu. The food menu (Italian) didn't look particularly impressive, but the setting was great -- it's got dark wood furniture, giving it a comfortable, warm feel, plus these huge branches with leaves in massive vases that looked almost like the place had planted trees indoors. My camera battery was flat and so I didn't take any pictures, but you'll see what I mean at http://www.ikra.jp/.

TO GET THERE: Take the Hibiya line to Ebisu and get out at the West exit, or hop on the JR train. Turn left at the street in front of the subway exit and immediately keep to the right side of the street. Turn right at the third small street and you'll soon see an apartment building on your right. Punch 201 into the intercom,wait for the apartment entrance to open, and then take the lift to the second floor.

Tel: 03-5704-8852 (the address on the biz card is written in Japanese, so I can't figure it out).

I didn't, as planned, revise any Japanese at all. Uuuugh.

Took a few more food shots with my the camera on my Samsung phone at Haru. Here's the perfectly medium-rare steak with yuzu sauce the Maki had.

Here's the lamb that Doug had, yummy but I think the lamb must've been a bit on the tubby side, coz there was a way-too-generous amount of fat even in the center of the cut.

And, as is often the case, the best part of the meal was dessert. Here's a soft crepe with cream and orange sauce. Definitely oiishi!

Jam-Packed Weekend

2007-07-23T21:32:00.000+09:00

Ahhhh... what a glorious, glorious weekend. Experienced my first baseball game, visited Kamakura, a town an hour away by train from Tokyo with the feel of Kyoto, searched for the burial ground of Japanese film director Ozu Yasujiro and hung out with colleagues and their friends visiting from Hong Kong and New York.

The two people I spent the most time with over the weekend -- Maki, my colleague, and Sean, her friend visiting from New York, who's an illustrator. (Check out his Web site at http://www.wider-than-pictures.com/). We were on a train on the Sobu line to Kamakura.

The huge Buddha statue, Japan's second largest (after the one in Nara). It's bronze and hollow, and visitors can go see the inside, but it was closed for the day by the time we made our way there.

Some shots at the Engakuji Temple grounds, where we were trying to find Ozu's grave. The funky-looking tree with the pink streak apparently has medicinal properties, and its bark's been stripped for that purpose.

Here's Ozu's grave. He never married and isn't buried with his family, making his tombstone stand out somewhat as the inscription doesn't include the word ``family.'' That's the Chinese/Kanji character for ``nothing'' on his tombstone. Ozu was clearly well-loved -- those beer cans look new and the lilies are fresh.

After all that walking, we stopped for a very late lunch at a tiny Japanese diner with 3 tables and a 4-inch TV screening sumo matches. There was a man of about 70 sitting next to us with an ``Angels'' cap who'd downed three bottles of sake and a big one of beer, and who gave a running commentary of the matches in Japanese the whole time we were in there. That's the ``NO SMORKING'' sign in the eatery!

Sunday was take-it-easy day. We met for lunch at Cafe Creperie Le Bretagne in Kagurazaka, where they serve the most awesome crepes, both sweet and savory (those three in the pix were the ones we had, each with a runny egg. mmm...mmmm!) There's an outlet in Omotesando too, but it's bigger, noisier and more touristy, while this is has mebbe 10 tables indoors and is cozy.

See http://www.le-bretagne.com/e/top.html

TO GET THERE: Take the subway to Kagurazaka station on the Tozai line. When you're on the street level, keep to the right side of the street and head up the slope (you should be on Kagurazaka Dori). Keep walking until you see a shrine on the left side of the street. That's when you'll see a small lane on your right that's home to Cafe Bretagne. The cafe usually has a standing blackboard of the day's specials where the lane meets the main street, so you shouldn't miss it.

Maki had this book with a list of longstanding restaurants and cafes, which recommended Kiitos Cafe in the neighborhood. It's like being in someone's home from the 60s or so (except with a few more tables), with sepia-toned table lamps and piles and piles of old books. There's a selection of specialty coffees, teas, and cakes. We had a (flourless) chocolate cake and an apple butter cake, both of which were pretty good.

TO GET THERE: Walk further up the slope from Cafe Creperie Le Bretagne and you'll hit Okubo Dori. Turn left on to Okubo Dori, pass Ushigome-Kagurazaka station (Toei Oedo line) and walk for about 5 minutes till you see a 7-Eleven at a corner on your right. Turn right at that corner and you'll soon see a sign for Kiitos Cafe on the right side. Take the stairs to the cafe on the second floor, and enjoy!

Along the way to Cafe Kiitos, you'll pass by a Mos Burger Classic. I've never seen any other Mos Burger outlet like this in Tokyo. It's a bit like a casual restaurant and prices are steeper. A sandwich costs 900 yen, or about S$11-12.

My first baseball game, an all-stars match at Tokyo Dome, the homeground of the Giants team. The atmosphere was great, with cute mascots who danced at half time along with some pop singer and backup dancers. The Most Valuable Player award was won by Ramirez from the, errmmm,Yakult Swallows.

There's a bunch of young women who run up and down the aisles with a keg of beer on their backs, ready to serve up icy cool Ebisu or Asahi. There's food and soft drinks too.

Here's me among the crowds, a picture of the ticket stub, and of the street in front of Tokyo Dome, Sotobori Dori.

Seeing Red

2007-07-22T21:34:00.000+09:00

Did you know that tall buildings have blinking red lights so planes don't crash into 'em at night? I didn't until a friend told me about it this weekend, and now everywhere I go, all I see are flashing red lights....

The Loves of My Life

2007-07-16T20:09:00.000+09:00

Today being a sunshiney day in Tokyo post-Man-Yi, I thought about my three darlings in sunny Singapore: Sam, Isabelle and Zoe, my sister Sharon's kids.

Isabelle will be two in two months and loves green, leafy veggies. She also likes to shake her head vigorously and say ``mai!'' or ``no'' in Hokkien to all things. Zoe loves to laugh, drools a lot, and is already almost the same size as her big sister even though she's just seven months old!

And then there's big brother Sam. He's six and in love with the boxing game in Nintendo's Wii Sports. He also likes drawing, Lightning McQueen in Cars, and Thomas the Tank Engine (which he's outgrowing).

Typhoon and the Lump Formerly Known as Bun

2007-07-16T00:48:00.000+09:00

So, today being the day I set fire to my kitchen grill and typhoon Man-Yi roared through Tokyo, I decided it'd be suitably auspicious to kick off my blog. It's Ocean Day tomorrow. I've no idea what it signifies, but it and numberous others combine to give Japan an above-average rate for public holidays in Asia. I looooove it! It's a compensation of sorts for the sometimes ridiculously long hours we put in on a regular work day....

I began today trying to warm up a little bun on my kitchen grill. Thing is, I forgot for about two minutes that the flames from the grill get really big even on the lowest setting, and the next thing I knew, I smelt something bad and saw a black lump in flames.

Fortunately I didn't set off the sprinkler, but it wasn't fun having to clear the lump and wipe up the wet kitchen area after putting out the fire.

I bought the first living additions to my flat a couple of days ago -- two teeny pots of plants.

This is the clock I got from Chatuchak market in Bangkok last month to help me be on time for appointments. It's wooden, and I love the piggy painted by the stall owner herself. Problem is the tick-tocking's so loud it's driving me up the wall -- I can hear it even with the TV on loud -- and I may just have to smash it.

Partly coz of the fire, I was late anyway in meeting my friend Naoki for lunch in the Nakameguro/Daikanyama area (nice residential/niche shopping neighborhood). Here's the place where we a had pasta. I think it's called Cafe Michaelangelo.

The Egyptian embassy's also in the neighborhood (oops, haven't quite worked out how to rotate the pix).

We took a walk through to Ebisu, and I couldn't resist a shot of this guy trimming a cute poodle's fur at a pet groomer's.