I’ll let my amateur photos speak for themselves.

It’s kind of like the July 4th for Americans where everyone (instead of BBQing) eat and drink under the beauty of the flowers.

And that includes having food stalls in parks where people get to enjoy Sakura at night too. It’s called “Yozakura”.

I now understand why people will flock to Japan for the Cherry Blossom season. I was just in awe at how beautiful they were. And within a week and a half, the blossoms are gone taken over by vibrant green leaves. Until next year.

Christmas performance by Takarazuka

A Belated Merry Christmas from Tokyo!! This was my first Christmas in Tokyo since I was a kid and I don’t remember how my family celebrated Christmas in Japan oh so many years ago. So everything I experienced this time round was like it was my first ever Christmas here.

Unlike the States, Christmas isn’t a big celebration for families, but more for couples on dates. There are many shopping areas where beautiful light decorations were put up for love birds to see on their Christmas dates.

"Illumination 2011 - 2012"

Most people in Tokyo don’t put up lights in their apartments, simply because there are not front yards or porches to decorate. So a lot of decorations happen in business areas to draw crowds just like in Hong Kong and Manhattan.

Christmas lights in Tokyo

I’ve never cooked a Christmas dinner, as I’ve been blessed with wonderful families around the States who invited me to their homes for holiday celebrations, so I wasn’t about to start trying to cook a Christmas feast now. Therefore, Marcus Yip’s Aussie Style Christmas Dinner at 148 Hiroo made the most sense.

148 Hiroo Christmas Dinner 2011

This was the menu: Seafood Platter, Prawns, Swimmer Crab & Morton Bay Bugs, Clover studded Honey Glazed ham, Vintage Cheddar Cheese fondue, Green Bean Salad, Oriental Salad, Roast Pork with Crackling served with Barrosa orange sauce, Bush Spiced cured Turkey Served with Gravy & Port stewed Cranberries, Dry rubbed slow cooked Roast Beef served with Whipped Horseradish, Dried Lamb ribs (pinnekjøtt) served with Red whortleberry jam, Baked Whole Snapper with Fresh Garden Herbs, Mashed Potatoes, Mashed Swedes, Baked Potatoes, Brussels Sprouts.

It’s not too hard to find out where you can find Christmas Light Decorations since they’re heavily advertised via flyers. Or a quick search on the internet will show you the main spots. The other two areas I checked out were Shinjuku and Tokyo Dome. My favorite was Shin-Marunouchi area because it reminded me a bit of mid-town in Manhattan (30 Rock to be specific).

Shinjuku Terrace City Illumination 2011-2012

Christmas Lights in Shinuku

Light arches at Tokyo Dome

Christmas light decorations at Tokyo Dome

Christmas light decorations at Tokyo Dome

It was a very different experience for me as Christmas isn’t as big as the New Year’s here in Japan. I didn’t feel too Christmasy except for a few Christmas songs I heard in some department stores or in my office. Now for next year’s Christmas, I think I will break out the pans and try cooking a Christmas dinner. Don’t hold me to it, but the seed has been planted. We’ll see …

Tanzawa Oyama Quasi National Park

I took a break from writing because my mother had come to Tokyo for a 3 week visit. Yes, it’s an excuse, but I’m gonna milk it anyway! She came at a time when the slightly warm night air turned into crisp chills in the mornings. I didn’t like it cuz it slowed down my outdoor activities.

Foliage is beautiful anywhere in the world

That didn’t stop my mother from visiting every single Japanese Garden she can find from brochures available at train stations. One of the many places she wanted to see was Ooyama or Ohyama or Oyama – I saw it spelt 3 different ways 大山 (which literally means Big Mountain) in Kanagawa Prefecture. We were planning to take a special train (that runs just on that day on the Metro) called Momijigo 紅葉号. But a friend had offered to drive us there since he too wanted to see the foliage.

Ooyama Cable Car

After arriving in Isehara (伊勢原), we took the cable car to the top of the mountain where there’s a shrine called Ohyama Afuri Shrine.

Heading to the top of Ooyama on a cable car

But there were what looked like a hundred steps before we got to where the shrine was built!

Steps leading to the Ohyama Afuri Shrine

I was thrilled to find a 100 yen miso soup stand! The hot hearty soup hit the right spot! I was warm and energized to walk around a bit more.

100 yen miso soup stand

They called it Momijiru (foliage miso soup)

I was really impressed with the architecture. Remember this was built before bulldozers and cranes were available.

Ohyama Afuri Shrine

Ohyama Afuri Shrine 2

The sunlight made it easy to take breathtaking photos.

View of sunset from Ooyama

There was a hiking route from behind the shrine up into the mountain, but the day was short, and we had to turn go back down the stairs around 4pm because it was starting to get dark.

Hike up & down Ooyama

And when we got back to Isehara (the foot of Ooyama), we went for a famous local dish, boar meat with rice cooked in an individual rice pot.

Boat meat rice dinner set

It tasted like bacon and was a bit chewy. But I was really hungry by then that it was actually a very fulfilling meal.

If you want to learn more about Ooyama cable car and its seasonal passes, check it out here:

CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT OOYAMA CABLE CAR

2011 is a year to remember my age!

Nothing prepared me for a one of a kind feast at Ryugin in Roppongi. I thought after dinners in Momofuku Ko and Nobu in Manhattan, nothing can top that. Well, I was blown away by the eleven course meal that was not fusion cuisine. My childhood penpal turned adult friend, Scott and his wife Nori, took me to Ryugin 4 months after my birthday because they missed my party back in June. Scott met the training chef from Ryugin while swimming in his gym and learned about this unique Japanese Kaiseki place.

Personal menu you can take home

Chef Seiji Yamamoto opened Ryugin back in 2003 providing foodies with new ideas based on Japanese cuisine. So there’s no sea urchin cream pasta or lychee chawanmushi … some dishes I’ve come across from other pricey fusion restaurants. Yamamoto, trained in authentic Japanese cuisine mixes ideas within Japanese cuisine. And unlike Momofuku’s owner and chef, David Chang, Yamamoto is open about his menu (which comes in Japanese as well as in English) and allows you to take photos of the food (which is a no no in Momofuku Ko).

Tea pairing - what a fantastic idea!

Let’s start with drinks. Since I don’t drink alcohol much, I never got to join my friends in their wine pairing experiences. They with their different wines, while I was with my tea or Perrier. So imagine how excited I was when I was told by the Ryugin staff that they have tea pairing?! And just like wines (I assume) each tea served had its distinct taste and fragrance. Now how fabulous is that?!

"Sea Urchins" and "Salmon Roe" Shiitake Mushrooms Soup & Eggplant Sushi style

That piece of salmon roe sushi on the right (in the above photo) is not filled with rice, it’s filled with eggplant! And the soup on the left, hm hm hm!!!!

Hot "Turtle Tofu" with soft "Rice Cake" and "Green Onion" oil

No, it’s not really turtle (in the photo above), it’s just called that. And that rice cake (also known as mochi) on the top, the chewiness of it went really well with the broth.

"Watari Blue Crab" with "Matsuake Mushrooms" refined style Fragrance of Mitsuba

Kaiseki is known to bring the beautiful nature into the dishes. It’s now fall, thus the autumn theme. (see the photo above)

Kinryu Tea 金龍茶

Ichiban Dashi Soup: Asajime "Pike Eel" with "Deep Fried Eggplant" broth flavored with Aoyuzu & Miyoga

Today's assortment of sushi Ryugin Style

"Seaperch" Grilled on Charcoal with "Roasted Rice" over the skin

Basically, after the grilled seaperch, I was 80% full, but no, we’re not even half done!

Roka tea 露華

Fried Turnip & "Simmered Abalone" "Kuruma Ebi Prawn" with Hot Starch Sauce

Shion tea 紫音

Kuroge Wagyu Beef Filet in Sukiyaki with Deep Fried Matsuoke Mushrooms refined style & premium poached egg

Charbroiled "Large Wild Eel" from Biwako Lake, Japanese rice and "Shrimp Broth" Red Miso Soup

This (the photo above) alone could’ve been my dinner and I would’ve been delighted. The eel was crunchy and juicy at the same time. But it was the rice with edamame that really impressed me. That rice was the best rice I’ve ever had and the edamame was flavored!

-196 Degree Celsius "Candy Grape" and +99 Degree Celsius "Grape Jam"

Grape on the right explodes into powder then topped with hot "jam"

Roppongi Pudding

Mattcha 抹茶

By the end of the night, all my taste buds were delighted by the explosion of flavors and senses (hot and cold). Not a meal you will forget, especially now that it’s been blogged into eternity!

CLICK HERE IF YOU WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT RYUGIN

Nothing beats sunlight streaming into the store!

I met Rika Nagai, the owner of Organic Beauty Station, through a friend. When I finally made my first visit to her little piece of heaven in the middle of Kagurazaka (people will think I’m being paid off by the Association Kagurazaka Shopping Street for writing yet another blog about Kagurazaka – but I’m not. I’m writing because I want to share what I believe to be awesome events, places and food. And that cannot be bought *smug look*) I noticed how bright and spacious her store was.

Spacious private room where you can have your own music played

She said when she created this space on the second floor of a 3 story building, she wanted a place where people can completely rejuvenate. She didn’t want a place just for facials. She also consults people on nutrition. I think most of the men complaining about their mid section growing should just stop drinking. But I’m sure Rika has other more qualified suggestions on top of that.

Spacious private room with space to hang your clothes

You get to choose the music you want played in your room and because the products used on your skin’s organic, Rika explained to me that you won’t feel the immediate difference like you’d normally do when using commercial products. And while my skin was being pampered by an organic mask I got a neck and head massage which is always very helpful in loosening up those tightened muscles.

If you read Japanese, check out Rika’s website:

CLICK HERE TO GO TO ORGANIC BEAUTY STATION WEBSITE

And on Mondays when the store is closed, Rika  has a yoga teacher use her store space to give yoga lessons. Nothing picks up your mood better than a bright sunlight yoga studio! For the hard core yogis, you can request private lessons too!

Consulting area that can be turned into a yoga studio

Rika is also involved in teaching children about growing their own food organically. Here’s her blog and somewhere in there, she’s uploaded photos of the kids she’s worked with and the food they grew. She the kids develop a whole new appreciation for the food they eat when they get to watch their plants grow.

CLICK HERE FOR RIKA\’S BLOG

Casa Grande (Hearst's formal name for the twin-towered building, or main house)

When money isn’t a question, people can go all out into building their dream homes. And in most cases, what they call second homes … it’s a castle. As a child, I’ve always been spooked by fairy tales about witches locking up princesses up in the high towers (yup Rapunzel comes to mind) so even if I had money, this is not what I would build.

Cottage

However, it was great fun spending a good hour just touring the assembly room, the refectory, billiard room and the theater. Yeah, you actually have to buy more admission tickets to tour the rest of the castle. It’s that huge.

Evenings began in this huge living room

Hearst and his architect Julia Morgan named it the Refectory, the term for a monastery dining hall.

Guests could play both billiards and pool in this impressive game room, which is also decorated with gaming themes.

But what stayed with me the most was that William Randolph Hearst hired Julia Morgan as his architect to build this dream home of his in San Simeon. Morgan was the first woman who graduated from UC Berkeley’s Civil Engineering program and also the first woman to be accepted by the Ecole de Beaux in Paris, a classically-themed architecture school (after being denied twice because there were no female students before.)

Whatever the weather, the view from the top of the hill was splendid

Neptune Pool - Outdoor swimming pool

Roman Pool - indoor pool

Too bad the weather wasn’t the nicest. Chilly and drizzly. Regardless, walking around the castle was pure joy because flowers were blooming. All sorts of flowers were planted in the gardens, which made me think if I had studied botany or something like that, may be I couldn’t landed a job taking care of beautiful gardens like the ones here.

Colorful flowers such as bougainvillea, tulips, hyacinths, gladiolus, lilies, dahlias, asters, geraniums, lantana, petunias, pansies, sweet peas, hollyhocks, marigolds and carnations were some of the many varieties grown.

If I ever swing by San Simeon again, I’d love to take other tours to see the rest of the castle. But for now, this visit has already sent my mind soaring through the sky day dreaming about my dream palace. One thing for sure, is that in my ultimate castle, you’ll have washlets and heated floors!

There were many white marble statue copies of famous European pieces

Welcome to Weed, California!

I wasn’t sure about the idea of a road trip. I’m used to zipping around the world on a plane (and even that, I complain it takes too long). I hate sitting in one spot for more than 30 minutes. (Yes, watching a movie isn’t easy for me). But after this trip, I realized how much of my country I would never see if I continued with my narrow way of traveling. I would never have found Weed.

Weed Chamber of Commerce

On Interstate 5, a couple of hours north of San Francisco lies a small town named Weed. And you’d have to visit the tiny museum partly sustained by donations left in a water bottle by the door, to know the history of weed is like any other town out west. It was a lumber town that provided raw materials to build homes back east and also paper for the rest of the country.

Former Weed City Jail

It's so old, I don't even know what this is called

This is how people headed out to the west

This tiny Weed City Jail is now a museum with items donated by the locals. And if you get to meet the curator, Harold Orcutt, you must ask him to give you a tour. A great story teller with a hint of modern humor, he would have made a great history teacher. He said there was a young lady who admired the jail bars in the museum and he piped, “Not sure what she was high on, but she was bouncing off the walls and said, ‘they don’t make them like this anymore,’ and I asked her how she knew and she said, ‘cuz they close them doors on ya and you can’t see a thing!’”

Weed Jail Cells

About an hour or two north of Weed is Ashland, Oregon, population of about 200,000. And boy was I lucky to get the best summer weather those few days. The sky was clear dotted with a few puffs of white clouds and I was able to see how the landscape changed from desert-ish to lush green mountains. At one point on Interstate 5, the highest point was more than 3000 feet above sea level.

Along I-5: Lush greens against blue sky

America's First Elizabethan Theatre

Ashland is a beautiful town about an hour across the of California/Oregon border. It’s  famous for its annual Oregon Shakespeare Festival with lots of small theaters. I didn’t have time to watch a play, but I’d certainly hope to return one day and enjoy an outdoor performance in Lithia Park that was designed by John McLaren who’s achievements include the Golden Gate Park in San Francisco.

Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland

The lady at the Visitors’ Center told me I happened upon one of the most gorgeous days in summer.  I’d hate to think what this town is like in the winter, but if I were to take another trip along the west coast, I’d be up for it, but with better planning!

Leaving you with an awesome photo (if I may say so myself) – the Weed Bakery.

Weed Bakery! Doh!

So here’s my recap of what I did and saw on my weeklong drive up the Pacific Coast Highway 1 from L.A. and then Interstate 5 to get to Seattle. And in no particular order, I thought I’d share with you the 2 great places I ate at in Portland and Seattle. Unfortunately anything in between big cities were you regular McDonald’s, Denny’s and KFCs which caused me to be constipated within a day!

This IS the place to stop by in Portland, OR

Pok Pok’s the name of this joint and I found out about it through the food network show “Diners Drive-ins and Dives”. And since then, I’ve been wanting to go there and try the food!!

CLICK HERE TO WATCH GUY FIERI DROPPING BY POK POK

Eggplant Salad

Chicken Curry Noodle

Crispy pork belly with Chinese Gailan & Rice

Just as I suspected, it was REALLY good. Especially the chicken curry noodle. The chicken has been cooked in that curry forever, so the meat fell off the bones. Plus it was a gloomy chilly day, a hot noodle soup can hit the right spot for ya on a road trip!

The other place worth mentioning that I went to is Paseo in Seattle, WA.

Paseo is ALWAYS this crowded AND there's no signage either

And boy that cuban sandwich filled me up! The mouthwatering tender pulled pork with a special sauce, crisp lettuce and cooked onions. Together with the corn on the cob, I was energized for a day worth of walking around town!

This was No.2 on the menu add US$1 for the corn!

It’s a pity during most of the road trip there weren’t more places like these. The food’s not expensive, yet extremely delicious, I can’t imagine how they won’t do well even if it’s in the middle of a desert. People have to eat, no?

I did enjoy the changing landscapes as I headed north from L.A. through the Bay Area to Portland and then finally to Seattle. But food was hardly good in between the big cities. Mostly fast food joints that just helped clog up my digestive system. My consolation prize are these beautiful photos I took along the way, to remind me how much there is to see while traveling on the ground instead of zipping over them on a plane.

Big Sur, California

Weed, California

My next blog will be about the places I found accidentally as I drove along the highway. Stay tuned!

Koenji Awaodori Crowd Shot

CLICK HERE TO WATCH A SHORT CLIP OF KOENJI AWAODORI 1

I made it a point to go to all the summer events Tokyo had to offer and yes, it’s the most touristy thing to do, but why not?! I’ve learned so much about the history of Tokyo from just going to the Edo Tokyo Museum and about the changes in structures by going to Edo-Tokyo Open-air Architectural Museum. What better way than to go to all the festivals and learn about the different cultures from different parts of Japan? I know I’ve learned more in these weekend visits than in any of my history classes (just don’t tell my high school history teacher that!)

Edo-Tokyo Museum

http://www.edo-tokyo-museum.or.jp/english/

Edo-Tokyo Open-air Architectural Museum

http://www.tatemonoen.jp/english/index.html

Koenji Awaodori Drummers

CLICK HERE TO WATCH ANOTHER SHORT CLIP OF AWAODORI 2

I still haven’t found a Taiko class to learn Japanese Taiko yet, partly because I’ve been so busy going to all these great festivals during the weekends and also making new friends! But I think with the fall stepping in and these summer gatherings ending, I’ll have more time to find other interests to indulge in.

I heard the foliage is beautiful in Tokyo, although I’ve seen some of the most beautiful ones back home in New England, I can’t wait to be thrilled by the bright colors of fall!

Koenji Awaodori 2011 ends

Suntory Hall Charity Concert

I was treated to a wonderful evening Tuesday when I was invited to attend a charity concert at Suntory Hall in Tokyo. 18 Japan’s most famous classical singers and Suginami Children’s Choir came together with NHK Symphony to perform and raise money for the children who were left behind by March 11th’s tsunami.

I was experiencing mixed emotions while listening to songs from Puccini’s Turandot and Dvořák’s Rusalka, I was so moved by the beautiful voices, and yet so saddened for the reason of this concert. I was also envious of the artists who were able to use music to touch people and get them to donate money for the children’s education. Yup, as you can imagine, I was quite tired by the end of the night after riding a roller coaster of emotions in 2 hours.

I was especially touched by the children’s voices. Something about the innocence in their voices remind you of better and happier days. And I’m sure it’s not lost to them that they’re singing for other children just like them.

The concert ended in a very unique way. All the singers took donation boxes and lined outside the concert hall in the main lobby so that people can donate cash right there and then. I don’t know of any artist who’d be willing to do that without fearing all the fans crushing them, not to mention all 18 of them. Although at first, people were crowded around the artists, people eventually lined up to meet the opera singers and to donate money.

The night made me miss my mom all the more. She loves classical music and used to bring me to all the operas my uncle (her little brother) sang in. I wish she was here in Tokyo to share these good moments of life.

Then the very next day, I found out on Facebook that one of my friend’s dad died suddenly just a few weeks ago and another friend’s (my age) been battling brain cancer. For some reason, it hit me like a ton of bricks (or it could just be hormones). I was just dumb founded to be reminded (not that I didn’t know) that death and sickness are all around us. And since I don’t know how to end this blog without dragging my readers into depression, I’m going to share with you my friends blogs written with such courage and eloquence.

CLICK HERE FOR DOUG MERLINO\’S EULOGY FOR HIS FATHER

CLICK HERE FOR CHRIS VAN BEBBER\’S BLOG ABOUT HIS FIGHT AGAINST BRAIN CANCER