Portland Trip

I recently took my first trip down to Portland in ages to visit my friend Emily. We had a great time! Even though I lived in Seattle for the first 21 years of my life, I realized recently that I never visited Portland except to pass through on I-5. This marks my first official trip to Portland, and Emily made sure that I got to see the best of it even though my trip down was both last minute and very brief.

I headed down from Seattle in the late morning, and the drive was lovely and uneventful. It rained straight through until I was south of Kelso, but I enjoyed the trip regardless. It's amazing how quickly a 3 hour car trip passes with good music! The drive to her apartment was fantastic - the houses in her neighborhood were beautiful Northwest Craftsman style homes similar to those we have in the nicer parts of Seattle.

I arrived in the early afternoon, and we spent the better part of the afternoon wandering through small shops and galleries. I love that Portland still has a lot of independent stores, since so many of those in Seattle have been torn down as sacrifices to large development projects. We went for dinner at the Deschuttes Brewery, and popped into Powell's while we waited for our table to be called. It was my very first time in the shop, and I was astounded! It was a really fantastic experience, and we came back immediately after dinner and beer. I learned an important lesson, though - don't shop for books after a few beers! I purchased quite a few books but did manage to restrain myself with the knowledge that whatever I purchased would have to be packed and moved to my condo.

My first impressions of Portland were very positive, and when we made it to our ladies only Valentine's Day brunch the next morning this was reinforced. Not only were there lovely, friendly people everywhere we went, but the breakfast itself was also delicious. Afterwards, we wandered more shops and cafes and enjoyed the sunshine that was finally breaking through. All in all, I can't wait to come back to Portland - it's definitely a lovely place to live and worth many more weekend trips!

Japan Trip Finale!

I've also been getting asked by a lot of people to get off my ass and finish posting about the Japan trip, Kyoto leg!

So yeah, I'll get on that this week and back date it. I promise! Really...

Los Angeles

Laura asked me to post about my epic trip up the west coast. Over about three weeks, I'll be taking a train and various cars from San Diego to Seattle, then a plane back down. Much of this will be spent working (boring!), but it's the closest I've gotten to a vacation in a while, so the vacation-ey parts should be fun!

Highlights so far:

I took the Amtrak up on Monday. This is not in itself unusual or terribly exciting. However, the trip was. About five minutes after I board the train in Oceanside, there is an announcement that we'll be sitting there for, oh, ever. Turns out some pedestrian was "on the tracks" (the noncommittal way of saying that the person committed suicide) and was hit by the train in front of ours. (I later found out that someone I know was on that train. Small world.) We had to wait for the cops and coroner to come do their thing. It was the longest two-hour train ride ever. Had it been daytime, it would've been really pretty, at least -- the tracks go along the ocean much of the way -- but darkness means we were pretty much just hanging out inside a long, isolated cylindrical tube forever, with occasional breaks of moving between long pauses.

I ended up sitting next to a 19-year-old who'd just finished his first year of undergrad at UCSD. He asked if I was a first year (which was cute) and then, upon finding out that I'm in grad school, grilled me about that for quite a while (which was fine, imparting wisdom and all that). Seemed like a nice kid. And it gave me something to do on the train -- my original nap idea went out the window when we kept getting delayed. I was tired by the time I actually got to LA, but at least I made it! And the delayed train was an adventure, I guess. Just not an exciting one.

Wednesday night, we partook in a practice that I termed "very LA." My friend Abby knows of a truck of Korean BBQ tacos and burritos (yes really) that stops at different places around the city every night. The only way to find it is to follow their Twitter feed or the listing on their website. This involved randomly showing up at a streetcorner where, lo and behold, the truck (and a line of people) was waiting. It was actually pretty fun. The truck couldn't start, so we were shooed to the other side of the street (I'm not sure why, but heard something about how they can't operate within 200 feet of another restaurant) while they tried to jump it using a couple different cars. The sedan didn't work, but the Honda Element got it going...and then it stalled out. After that, the line was moved back across the street and they opened for business. One nummy tofu burritto (and a giggle at a Maserati with a parking ticket) later and we were loaded up on food to take back home.

Next: driving up the coast, part one.

Random Notes

I have unfortunately hit my bandwidth cap for the month on Flickr, so the remaining pics from Kyoto will have to wait a few days.

In the meantime I wanted to post a few random notes and observations.

Trains

1) Japanese trains are wonderful. They are fast and quiet. Even the subways are on time! There are displays on all the platforms stating the current time and the arrival time for the next line, which is absolutely ingenious. They also have comfy cushioned seats.

2) Japanese trains are clean. Even the stations are clean. They don't smell like armpits and urine. I wish I could say the same for the 1-9 in NYC.

3) Japanese trains are made for tiny people! I can reach the hand rails and use the handles which makes me really happy.

Bicycles

1) In Tokyo we saw quite a lot of bicycles, but mostly pedestrians (probably due to how excellent the trains and train coverage are).

2) In Kyoto there are bicycles and bicyclists everywhere (probably due to how sparse the train coverage is). 

3) Boys and girls talk on their cellphones while they pedal, women hold parasols or umbrellas, men have their briefcases in the basket and women have kids mounted on their handlebars in child seats (some women transport another kid behind the seat, too!). Also, women ride bikes in miniskirts, high heels, sandals, and all sorts of getups that I would never imagine bicycling in.

Japan 2009: Travel Day - Toyko to Kyoto

We got up early today to get ready to check out. Steve and Mary tossed their clothes back into the dryer (the previous night's attempt at doing laundry backfired when the dryer barely worked and the clothes stayed soaked) as they hadn't come close to drying in our air conditioned room. We packed and headed downstairs for our last lovely free Japanese style breakfast. I don't have any of the salads on the plate here (I ate some of the mystery root salad the first day but decided later it tasted sorta fishy - oops!) I've got rice, miso soup, plain yogurt with fruit, hard boiled egg, rolls, black coffee and some orange juice.

After we ate, we went back up to the room, grabbed our stuff and checked out. We made our way through the station/pedestrian underpass on our way to the JR platform. We needed to take the train for a few stops to Tokyo Station to catch the bullet train. Steve insisted on being manly and helping us carry our luggage, but after a while the stairs got ridiculous - Steve and Mary would collapse the handles on their rolling suitcases to carry them up half a flight of stairs, turn a corner and have to carry them back down half a flight. They'd roll farther and find a full flight up. It was comical, but I also felt bad being the only one with a bag instead of a suitcase. We got to the terminal quite early so we relaxed in the lounge and attracted some stares from commuters. 

Eventually it was nearly time for our train to arrive, so we grabbed some snacks and headed up to the platform. The previous train was just heading out, and ours arrived right after. We got to watch the crew "turn around" the train (literally and figuratively). The cleaning crew worked fast to pick up discarded garbage, dust the seats, replace the head cloths, and turn all the seats to face forward. Eventually it was time to board. We were at the very back of the train, which was mostly empty. It was also very spacious. I had so much room that it was almost a hassle to reach my tray!

Mary and Steve let me have the window seat because I'm a huge dork and I love watching the world out train and plane windows. It didn't take long to get through Tokyo and into the outskirts, and then the countryside. The vegetation here really is amazing. The trees grow so densely! The rice fields are nice looking too. It was really fun to zip through looking at small towns and rural areas. I even saw the sea for a while. It was really one of the nicer train trips I've taken. In the US, the only train I took was from Rochester NY to NYC, and that was terrible - no AC, nothing to look at but the ass end of upstate NY, and nothing to do (no book, no cell phone, no DS). In Europe a lot of the train rides were pretty too, but it was a solid mix of pretty and industrial. There was a bit of that on this trip, but not too much.

We reached Kyoto pretty quickly, and hopped off the train. We took the subway a few stops, and from there it was a few blocks to our hotel. We were pretty tired so we relaxed until the restaurant downstairs opened, and grabbed dinner ("Italian" food - note to travelers, do not order risotto in Japan). After dinner, we walked to the arcade and took in a bit of Kyoto after dark, including the Geisha district near the river. More on all this to follow!

Japan 2009: Tokyo Day 3: Kaiseki

We headed back from Akihabara pretty early to get ready for our fancy dinner at Hanasanshou, a 1 Michelin Star restaurant at the neighboring hotel (they actually have two of them in the hotel, which is still surprising to me even though Tokyo boasts more restaurants with ratings than any other city in the world). Mary chose this one because they offer the traditional Japanese kaiseki meal, an elaborate procession of small portions of dishes.

It didn't take us too long to get ready since we were all wearing rather simple travel-friendly outfits (except for poor Steve, who had to iron his fancy dress shirt). I practiced walking in my grown up shoes while Mary put on her make-up, and we headed out early to make sure we weren't late - but the hotel was literally two doors down! We had a little trouble locating the elevator and figuring out what floor the restaurant was on but once we found the elevator we were on our way! It had a little peekaboo window, and we were able to see out over a good portion of Tokyo as we rose up to the 26th floor (or so, I can't remember exactly). I've never been in such a nice hotel lobby before - it was so spacious and echoey that it reminded me of the cathedrals in Rome. I was pleased to have quiet shoes.

We were the first diners of the night and we were seated at a small table by the window. We looked over the menus, and Steve and Mary both ordered the kaiseki menu. I opted for the vegetable tempura for an appetizer and an eggplant dish for an entre. Steve wussed out and ordered a beer, while Mary and I both selected a different sake (she picked light and sweet, I picked heavy and dry). It wound up being the first time in my life that I actually enjoyed sake. 

Hopefully Mary will post something about the meal later. She took pictures of each dish (they were absolutely beautiful - each dish had specially chosen plates and bowls and was decorated with all sorts of beautiful flowers and fanciful presentation. The appetizer was like a wildlife scene, I think that was my favorite.

Their menu was :

Starter: Dressed prawn, yam potato, broad bean and shell with soft roe

Appetizer: gizzard shad sushi, caramelized sweet fish, dressed stem of taro with pickled plum paste, boiled bamboo shoot, dressed cowpea with sesame dressing

Clear Soup: Clam, bamboo shoot and mugwort dumpling

Sashimi: Flatfish, fatty tuna and giant clam

Grilled Dish: Eggplant with sweet miso

Simmered Dish: Eggplant and octopus

Side Dish: Sushi - shell and bonito

Steamed Dish: Burdock root, bamboo shoot and mushroom with mugwort skin

Marinated Dish: Fat cod

Last Dish: Thin wheat noodles

Dessert: Seasonal fruits (cherries and some sort of Japanese apricot)

My tempura was really tasty - the batter was a bit spicy. I picked at it for several of their courses. I'm pretty sure it's rude to eat with your fingers in such a fancy restaurant, but it was impossible to pull apart the tempura with just chopsticks. The eggplant with sweet miso was also really, really good. The sauce had a really strong flavor that I couldn't place, but Steve agreed that it had a smoky quality that was reminiscent of barbeque sauce.

By the end of the night we were all out of booze, and the last 2 courses came with tea - first a really earthy jasmine tea, then a clear green tea. All in all it was really an experience. I had a great time observing the meal and got some tasty food myself! Plus, I now know for certain that I don't dislike all sake. On the way back to the hotel we stopped at a few drugstores in an attempt to find something topical for Mary's bug bite, but struck out.

Japan 2009: Tokyo Day 3: Asakusa & Akihibara

Today was a bit of a “taking it easy” day. Mary and Steve headed back to Tsukiji to get sushi for breakfast, and I stayed at the hotel to rest my feet and not intrude on carnivore time. I realized after they left that I could’ve just wandered around for a bit on my own and gotten some rice balls or sweet cakes from the booths we passed by on the way out on our first day. But I enjoyed giving my feet a rest, and I met a nice older Japanese lady (she was 86) from California at breakfast in the hotel lobby. She said good morning to me, which was surprising enough, but when I smiled and said good morning back, she struck up conversation. She was surprised that I was eating rice for breakfast, and chatted about her bi-anual trips to Tokyo. She asked me what I thought of Tokyo “It’s a clean city isn’t it? Do you like?” and how I liked traveling in Japan. I told her everything was much cleaner and nicer than it was in NYC. She was really very nice and candid - I love how chatty old people can be, even with total strangers. Eventually she excused herself and I headed back up to the room to catch up on my email and read a bit of news.

Asakusa Temple and Market
Mary and Steve returned from the market full of sushi and bearing gifts - savory apple rolls, YUM! We gathered up our stuff and headed out to the train station to catch the subway to Asakusa, a temple and bazaar-style shopping district. This

 part of Tokyo really does feel more relaxed than the others we visited, but the walk from the subway to the bazaar and temple was short and I didn't get to see much of the actual area. The market itself was awesome - very colorful with a lot of market stalls selling various snacks and trinkets. The freshly made dango was so good! Our progress through the market was slowed thanks to a TV crew progressing through the market with a panda statue or plushie, talking to the different vendors and filming quick bits in their stalls. We tried getting ahead of them and they caught up. We tried letting them get ahead and they lingered. In the end we gave up and just tried to ignore the crowd following them and clumping up in the marketplace.

Most of the booths were a bit touristy, so I didn't buy anything, though some of the ukiyo-e prints were really pretty. I did however pick up some sweet treats to bring home, yum yum! Steve and Mary lured me to Asakusa with the promise of a cake making machine, and sure enough the tale was true! The amazing machine is a conveyor belt of small heated molds that are filled first with a small amount of cake batter, then sweet bean filling, then more cake batter, pressed and cooked, turned out, and wrapped individually. It was glorious! I liked watching the cake machine. I would've taken a short video but the lady was looking at me funny as it was, I guess grown people are not normally so enthralled by the cake machine. Further on in the marketplace was another kiosk selling handmade cakes, and I watched that process for a while as well. It involved long handled molds filled in the same manner as the machine cakes, and cooked briefly on both sides.

We finally made it through the marketplace and were rewarded with a really pretty temple. We went inside, and I got a (good) fortune! It reads: 

No. 93 GOOD FORTUNE

If there is no water in pond, so many fish will die in it.

Throwing them into the water, they will get refreshed again.

As there is a barrier against your wish, good fortune does not seem to be smiling on you yet.

Be patient, if you have trouble and eventually everything will be alright.

*Your wish will come true. *The sick person will take time in getting well. *The lost article will not be found. *The person you are waiting for will come late. *Building a new house and removal are not always good. *It is good to make a trip. *Both marriage and employment are good.

Akihabara

We made a short visit to Akiba on the way back to the hotel for our fancy dinner. It's completely insane. There are shops everywhere selling electronics, computer parts, even wires and cables. We browsed an electronics megastore (seriously MEGA) - entire aisles full of mouses, keyboards, laptop cases, etc. The selection was incredible compared to what you find in a store in the US. We went up to the camera section and I found the perfect camera to replace my aging Nikon. It has a fantastic interface, a nice big screen and even takes HD video. Unfortunately it's only available in Japan and we couldn't find any English menu settings. Damn you, Sony! I'll have to track one down once I get home, since a quick search seems to have shown that it's being sold in the UK. After browsing the shinies, we headed up a few more floors to the toys and the rows and rows of capsule machines! These are common in the US at the doors of grocery stores, but only a few at a time and usually selling candies, stickers, or temporary tattoos. 

These capsule machines sold charms and keychains and little toys from anime and video games. I found a couple different Naruto ones, but failed at getting the Pakkun coin purse (it was SO CUTE). I probably should've tried harder to get Shikamaru (and Urahara from the machine I found outside later) but I didn't want to get duplicates, or more stupid ones (damn you Hidan, why couldn't you be SHARK FACE). Anyway, my best win was definitely getting 3 Fullmetal Alchemist figurines - Roy Mustang, Ed and Al! I kind of regret not getting a couple Phoenix Wright ones, but I was out of 100 yen coins so I stopped. I have learned something (not at all surprising) about myself, though - my love of slot machines as a cheap gamble definitely extends to blind boxes and capsule machines. The funniest machine of all was the Obama "Yes We Can" figurines. I got a pink one, and Mary got a green one. There were about 10 colors, and 1 was an Obama in a suit. The actual figures section was pretty massive, but I managed to leave without buying anything, and we headed back down to the street to explore the smaller shops.

In addition to the electronics shops in Akiba, there are also endless anime, manga, and video game shops. It's basically been transformed into the hobbyist heaven, with all sorts of quirky and fetish shops. Walking around here reminded me that I'm more normal than I realize. Being short on time, we just poked our heads into a couple of well lit ones. I could've spent days here were I able to actually read Japanese, but since I was mostly poking around for a limited range of manga related merchandise, my browsing was pretty quick. I'd also managed to get most of the best capsule charms already (except Shikamaru and Urahara, damnit...), and of all the manga and anime I consume there was little merchandise on display. Yet there was STILL crap out for Neon Genesis Evangelion. Seriously! That shit is so old, I will never understand why people continue to buy stuff from it. Then again, I love my Vash the Stampede bust! I popped into a few more stores and mostly managed to avoid the scary porn sections, but didn't find anything I absolutely had to buy. We decided to head back to the hotel a little early to get ready for our fancy dinner.