Category: food

Osaka with Gate 1

We woke bright and early in Tokyo, and headed for the train station to ride the bullet train to Osaka.

On October 11, 2019.

Typhoon Hagibis made landfall on the eastern side of Japan – in the Tokyo area – on October 12.

I know it was a pre-planned guided tour, but we got really, really lucky with the timing of everything. (Had we been in Tokyo during the typhoon, we would have been safe and fed in our hotel: we just would not have been able to go do or see anything.)

So the bullet train!! Super fast, super smooth. Comfy, American-sized seats. Clean bathrooms. Would do again.

Made it to Osaka, and had a quick stop at Kuromon market for lunch. Famous for takoyaki, deep-fried balls of dough with octopus. Probably like hushpuppies? But with more octopus? Do not know, did not try.

Instead we ate at Wendy’s first kitchen! A fusion of Wendy’s and … fast food Italian pasta?

On a whim, I asked the husband to look up yarn stores nearby. Jackpot! The google tells me Masuzakiya is now permanently closed? Which is a shame, this place had gorgeous Japanese yarns. Like this beauty, made of linen, flax, and something that translates as “Japan paper.” No idea what I’m going to make with it, even still, but I had to have it! Still waiting for more of this stuff to show on up Ravelry so I can be inspired by others, but, no such luck. One day, this will be the perfect … something.

Next up: Osaka Castle, which is now a history museum. Take the elevator to top and work your way down. Great views of the city from the top of the castle.

Dinner stop was Dotonbori street, probably got some conbini food? More importantly, we stopped in Bic Camera for an umbrella. (In Japan, “camera” means … department store? As far as I can tell?) We had our eye on one umbrella, but after asking a helpful saleslady about what would be best for a typhoon, she redirected us to something a little sturdier.

Spoiler alert: It was not sturdy enough.

Last stop before the hotel was the Umeda Sky Building. Just a 5 minute photo stop, as the light was on its way out.

Our hotel was right next to the Shin-Osaka train station, the Courtyard by Marriott. Nice room in a good location, for our adventures the following day.

Somewhere along the way, it dawned on me that the husband was not jet-lagged. He was not eating enough! Not being an adventurous eater, we had stuck to McDonald’s (chicken nuggets taste the same everywhere, y’all) and conbini food. Which had consisted of very carb-heavy snacks, mostly.

I run on carbs. Give me a western breakfast of bacon and fruit, PLUS a bowl (or two?) of butter-sugar rice and I am good to go until I get some lunch onigiri (ahem, more rice) and gummy candies, followed by dinner onigiri and chocolate.

This is Not Husband Food. From here on out, we made sure McDonald’s or Wendy’s was on the menu. And conbini purchases started including jerky. And cashews. And … fried chicken patties in a paper sleeve? Japan, man. Something for everyone.

Tags conbini, dotonbori, kuromon, osaka, osaka castle, takoyaki

favorite things food knitting travel

Mt. Fuji with Gate 1

One does not go to Japan and skip Mt. Fuji if one has the chance to see Mt. Fuji! And so we booked the optional day tour with Gate 1, and got on the bus early in the morning.

So we went to Mt. Fuji! Fun fact: In October, there is no snow on the mountain. In all the photos I recall seeing, it is a snow-capped beauty! But: not in October. Because, ya know, it’s right after summer? When all the snow has melted? As happens in the summer.

The bus took us as far up the mountain as it could, to station 5. There are 10 stations, but vehicles only go up to the 5th: you take the rest of the path on foot. But only during July and August.

The view from the 5th station? Seriously underwhelming.

If you want to see Mt. Fuji, but do not want to hike it, skip the Mt. Fuji stations. It’s a long drive for minimal payoff.

After driving half-way up the mountain, we headed back down again and ate lunch. I wish I could remember the name of the hotel we ate at, because it was an amazing buffet. It had stations from around the world, and it was awesome. I ate some French thing that involved cheese and poached eggs, I think? The husband loaded up on pizza and german potatoes. Then of course I had miso soup and two bowls of steamed rice. And the dessert spread! Even tried matcha ice cream, which I had been curious about, but not enough to actually buy a whole cone. Tasted like … ice cream? Some people really, really like it though, so don’t be afraid to give it a try.

Next up was the best part of the day: Lake Ashi and Mt. Hakone. If you want beautiful views of Mt. Fuji, then Lake Ashi is the way to go. Well, Lake Ashi and hope for clear weather? Which we had, but I understand it’s pretty hit or miss.

There was some snafu that day, where some of the group was late to the bus at one point, which meant we didn’t get to the lake cruise on time, which meant we missed our original cable car time slot, which meant we didn’t get as much time at the top of the mountain as we would have liked. That’s the downside of guided tours, you can be at the mercy of the other tourists.

But it was gorgeous!! A quick ride on the lake took us to the cable car station (with a zoo?? I think we passed signs for a zoo?), where we rode up to the top of the mountain. It was incredibly windy, but breathtakingly beautiful. There was a small shrine at the very top, but we didn’t hike up to it because we didn’t have time. We needed to get back in line for the next cable car back down the mountain to get to the bus in time.

Oh, and here are some gems from the gift shop while we were waiting for our cruise:

Then it was back on the bus for the drive back to our hotel. I had started a hat at the commencement of our trip, and finished it on the bus:

Hats. It’s what I do. Love how this one matches my glasses and perfectly contrasts the purple hair!

Then it was back to the hotel, dinner from Lawson, and the husband promptly crashed again. I thought it odd that jet lag was hitting him so hard this many days later, I’m usually the jetlaggy one. But, eh, I supposed it was his turn.

Tags gate 1, Japan, lake ashi, mt fuji, mt hakone

favorite things food knitting nerdly shopping technogeeky travel

Tokyo on Our Own

The hotels in Japan all seem to come with Pajamas! Yukata, I suppose, but these are like extra long, button-up sleep shirts with 3/4 length sleeves. (Maybe they are full-length sleeves on a non-monkey armed person? Unsure.)

I of course had to try them out! And also there are slippers! They fit size 8 lady feet! They do not fit size 13 man feet.

Also: bidets. I had to work up the courage to try it, but, you guys? I think they are really on to something. They don’t understand how to sell a ticket online because they have been perfecting the bathroom experience.

Also: the hair dryer was incredibly underwhelming. I thought I had come to the land of my hair people (I have twice as much hair as your average human … and each strand is twice as thick … drying my hair is exhausting …) and so I was super excited about the hair dryer sitch. Alas, hotel hair dryers in Japan leave just as much to be desired as the ones in the US.

Breakfast at the Tokyo Prince Hotel? Awesome spread. Western food! Eastern food! Something for everyone at the buffet. So I did what any Asianish-American lady would do: served myself up a bowl of piping hot steamed rice, snagged some butter from the Western toast station, and added some sugar (meant for coffee, I’m sure) from our table. Breakfast butter-sugar rice! (Ok, so probably that has an actual name? I just know it as ‘how I like to eat rice at breakfast.’) Also I loaded up on bacon and fresh fruit. (Tip: fruit is really expensive in Japan. If you have a hotel breakfast buffet, take advantage!)

Y’all, I ate butter-sugar rice every morning we had a breakfast buffet. So good. Also a complete abomination? But so good.

Probably we stopped in the hotel basement Lawson (I LOVED that the hotel had its own Lawson!!) for some bottled water and snacks.

Before we headed out, we swapped out the husband’s sim card for a Japanese one. We had ordered it beforehand and had it shipped to us, just to make things easier. So we had internet and maps and access to google translate everywhere we went! Pretty awesome! And a world of difference from our 5th anniversary trip to Italy where we rented a blackberry so we’d have access to email. EMAIL. No internet. JUST OUR EMAIL. 10 years ago. The world is such a different place, in just 10 years!

Our hotel was a bit of a walk (15 minutes?) to the Hamamatsucho train station, but we had our maps, the weather was perfect, so off we went!

At the station, we struggled with the ticket machine for a bit. From his research, the husband knew we wanted Suica cards, and that we’d start out with $20 on them and add more as we needed it. The menus weren’t super intuitive, but we eventually figured it out and got our cards. (We later learned from another couple on our trip that you can order Suica cards ahead of time and have them shipped to you in the US. Probably for a nice up-charge, but, no fighting with machines!)

So we found the right train, hopped on board, and a few stops later we were in Akihabara. Nerd capital of the world, so, yeah, of course that’s where we started.

First stop was the Mandarake Complex, 8 floors of anime collectibles. Each floor was small, but crowded with … so much. Some of it I recognized, some of it I didn’t. Totoro, that fried egg with a butt, vintage video games, comics, just all completely unnecessary but oh-so-fun stuff! We stopped at a wall of capsule vending machines and found the perfect souvenir. Seriously, this little guy still goes with me everywhere I go.

Next up was Yodobashi Camera. So spacious! Floors and floors of department store goods, not just cameras. Also books, stationery, beauty products, refrigerators, phones, watches … if you want it, they have it.

Lunch at McDonald’s, nothing to write home about there …

And an owl cafe! Not sure why it’s called a ‘cafe’ (they do have a vending machine for drinks?) but they delivered on the owl front!

We rounded out Akihabara with a stop at Don Quijote. If Yodobashi Camera is spacious and classy, Don Quijote is … brash and cluttered? But you have to stop in, it’s like nothing else. The aisles are mazes, the store is floor after floor stacked on top of each other, you never know what you’ll find. It is claustrophobic, but also amazing! Snacks, toiletries, clothes, halloween costumes, toys, they got it!

We snagged some adorable toothbrush covers, they are open-mouthed cats that eat your toothbrush head when it’s packed away in your bag. But also, they eat the bottom of your toothbrush and stand it straight up on the hotel bathroom counter to dry. They are adorable and genius.

My fitbit history tells me that took us over 10 thousand steps, so we likely called it a day and headed back to the hotel to meet our tour group and for our Gate 1 welcome dinner!

We tried everything! Even liked some of it!

Tags akihabara, gate 1 travel, suica, tokyo, tokyo prince hotel

favorite things food life travel

Getting to Japan

October the 6th dawned bright and early, after we got on our first leg of the flight to Houston. Very quick hop.

At the Houston airport, we got some yen at a terrible exchange rate. Got breakfast … I seem to recall the first one didn’t work out … we may have eaten two breakfasts? Just pulled up the google maps of the IAH international terminal: Custom Burgers took a really long time and gave us random breakfast sandwiches we didn’t order. So then we headed to Pappasito’s Cantina for breakfast tacos … which I think we quite enjoyed. Google rates Custom Burgers at 1.9 stars vs. Pappasito’s at 4 stars. Checks out.

At any rate, back to the trip: we had premium economy seats! Premium economy on United, so, eh, but the husband wasn’t completely sardined in. The seats were arranged in a 3/3/3 configuration, so we picked D and E in the middle: an aisle and a middle seat. With no one to climb over us, because seat F is also an aisle. (These are important things to consider when on a 12 hour flight.)

Plane food was mediocre. (Seriously, United: other airlines give their premium economy guests the business class food. Just saying.) We arrived in one piece! Yay!

Made it through the checkpoints in our bleary eyed state, found our luggage, then on to find our driver.

Ok, so weird thing about Japan: you don’t book tickets for things on the internet. Like, there’s no e-commerce. Most technologically advanced country in the world, and there’s no e-commerce.

So to get transportation from the airport to our hotel, first I looked at the Airport Limousine Bus, as it came highly recommended by the dad. Their website is … well, not super helpful. They do list some hotels on their site, but apparently not all of them. I asked b2 to take a look at the Japanese version of the site and he confirmed, he did not see my hotel on the list. (Which they TOTALLY cover, I saw their bus at our hotel later. So *shakes fist*.)

Ok, so that was a bust. I then tried to google private car transport in Tokyo and … didn’t really find what I was looking for. I happened upon a message on Trip Advisor recommending this place. Where you enter your ‘massage’ in their contact form.

So … I filled in the form. Expecting a quote? I guess? Got an email back with a confirmation. Also a quote. But a confirmation? And … I never gave them any money. But they promised a driver who would be holding up a sign with my name on it.

I decided to roll with it. Worst-case scenario, there’d be no one there and we’d just get a taxi once we got there. No biggie.

The day before we left, I got another email with our driver’s name. Seemed like it might actually work!

Sure enough, once we were headed out of the airport with our bags, we indeed passed “a low fence where people are waiting. Our drivers & guides wait there also, with the passenger’s name on a board.” Ms. Kisugi was there, in her white gloves and sensible pumps, with my name on a board. And so we followed her to a car.

I had a brief panic that this was some kind of scam, that she’d charge us twice as much once we arrived.

But, nope, we arrived at the hotel, paid her with a credit card, and it was even a few yen cheaper than we were quoted.

So, yes: in Japan, you totally book things via email, and then pay for it later.

Checking in at the Tokyo Prince Hotel was a bit of an adventure. In Japan, people are very polite. But also: there is no customization. No “the customer is always right” philosophy. Our guided tour started at that hotel, and I tried to add on an early arrival through Gate 1, something they usually do. But … not so for this trip. So, eh, I booked my own room through hotels.com, and figured when I checked in, I’d get them to put us in the same room that we’d be in for the guided tour portion.

Not so. They would have none of that. But they did offer to transfer our bags to our new room for us while we were out and about sight-seeing. And so we took that option.

And then, they took us to our room with our bags! Which was a highly confusing affair.

First confusion: Our room had a main door, then a little vestibule? with a door to the bathroom and also a door to the bedroom. I know shoes inside in Asia is a huge no-no, and so I thought perhaps this was where the shoes needed to be removed? But also, the vestibule was tiny, not meant for two Americans and a Japanese lady, so as I paused to ask if I needed to take my shoes off, I really slowed down our progress. Some back and forth later: no, no I did not need to remove my shoes. So I continued into the room, she brought our bags in and explained the tv remote (there’s a language button! To switch all the shows into English? It’s magical!)

Second confusion: the tipping. I tried to tip. She was … embarrassed? Refused the tip. So I apologized, kept the money, she left, and we had the evening to ourselves!

Dinner was from Lawson’s in the basement. Yes, a convenience store. But don’t knock it till you try it! Conbini’s are all the rage, and their food is actually really good. Seriously. You are gonna hear a lot about conbinis.

Surely I forced the husband to stay up till 7 or 8 pm? That’s the typical travel-fight we have: I can sleep on the plane, he never can, we make it to the hotel and I force him to stay up till bed time. He’s always glad the next day, but man, that first night is pretty rough for us, not gonna lie.

Tags airport limousine bus, conbini, iah, lawson, tokyo, tokyo prince hotel, united airlines

food

The low fodmap life

I didn’t choose the low fodmap life, it chose me.

For as long as I can remember, my digestion has been a little … special? Random mild pains, bloating (like debilitating … so much pain ya can’t sit up straight), nausea, vomiting … and we’ll leave the unladylike bits out because my dad’s the only one who reads my blog and he doesn’t wanna hear it.

And that was just life. Stress made it worse. Even good stress, like going on a fun trip! But sometimes, it would just flare up for seemingly no reason.

I learned that I can go 3 days without eating and still function well (going to work, hanging out with friends, walking around Rome all day), as long as I sleep 9-11 hours a night. Not a super common experience, but one I could power through when needed.

Went to all kinds of doctors, had all kinds of tests. The verdict: I’m super humanly healthy! There’s nothing wrong me! Diagnosis: IBS. Which means: gastrointestinal distress with no discernible reason.

A few years ago, I started up with a new PCP and as she was going over my history, I mentioned IBS. And she asked if I’d tried the low fodmap diet, and gave me a handout.

I read the handout. It. was. nonsense. The list of foods to avoid? Seemingly random. But I decided to give it a go. What could it hurt?

A few weeks later, wondering if it was working, I expressed my doubts to the husband. And he observed: you don’t complain after dinner every single night anymore. And he was right! It was our nightly ritual to have dinner, and then for him to ask me if I wanted to: go to the store! go for a walk! go … anywhere! And my answer was always: give me 20 minutes, I need my stomach to settle. Because there were mild pings an pangs, and a 2% chance I needed to be real close to a bathroom. (Sorry, Dad.)

So I stuck with it. I found my triggers: wheat, garlic and onions. And I found out that if I don’t eat wheat, I can eat dairy. Not like, all the dairy I want; but a whole DQ Buster Bar? Only a bit of discomfort that is negated by lactaid. But … I don’t always take the lactaid and come out just fine. Just need 20 minutes to let my stomach settle, but only like a 0.1% chance of needing to be real close to a bathroom.

Are all my digestion issues gone? Nope. But the days of bloating that build and build and build and bring complete misery? That hasn’t happened since I got on the low fodmap train. Immediate stomach-emptying nausea that can hit when stress and anxiety ramp up? Seriously tamped down. I feel my gut clench up and I expect the unbearable nausea, but it’s down to a very dull roar.

So, I’m a believer. It’s a lot of work to eat a low wheat, onion, garlic diet. It’s so much meal planning, so. much. food. prep. (Yay for the instant pot!) And all my digestion woes aren’t fixed. But: I can live a life without the anxiety that I need to be close to a bathroom at all times. And: ice cream is back on the menu!

food

Akaemi’s World Famous Pinto Beans (Instant Pot)

Post author By akaemi
Post date March 22, 2020
1 Comment on Akaemi’s World Famous Pinto Beans (Instant Pot)

Ok, so …. not world famous. Just Josh’s favorite pinto beans he has ever eaten in his entire life that he really wants the world to know about!

These directions are for the instant pot, but could be adapted to stove top or crockpot. The secret here is the spices! And bacon. Also: I don’t eat garlic or onions. This recipe would probably be better with 1 tsp each of garlic and onion powders.

Recipe:

1 lb dry pinto beans
4 slices of bacon, chopped into pieces
1 Tbsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp oregano
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1-2 bullion cubes
8 cups water

Directions: Dump everything into the instant pot. Set for 45-50 minutes high pressure, and let natural release. Natural release takes for ev er, probably 45 minutes?. Also, takes awhile for it all to get up to pressure, so allow for 20-30 minutes there, too. All in all, it usually takes 1 1/2 to 2 hours, so plan accordingly.

Serve with corn bread (start this after the pressure cooking finishes, while it’s natural releasing … you got time), cheese cut into cubes (seriously, this is better than shredded cheese, you get “gloops” of cheese <- Josh’s word, he’s a writer, so it’s legit), and home made french fries.

Enjoy!

favorite things food

Li’l Pinchers

Ever since I jumped on the instant pot bandwagon, I’ve been in need of an easier way to handle the blazingly hot inner pot.

Enter the mini silicone pinch mitts!

I had just decided I needed some of these guys, when Christmas happened to roll around. And the in-laws did a saran wrap ball as part of the holiday festivities. After all the goodies (and not-so-goodies? disposable underwear surely wasn’t on anyone’s wish list …), we traded amongst each other to get the things we really had our eyes on.

Luckily for me, the husband ended up getting one of ‘my’ little pinchers (and what’s ours is … mine …) and the 16-year-old niece was keen to trade away her pincher for cash and chocolate.

So I have a matching set! I can grab the instant pot without ending up with soggy potholders! (Yay for silicone!) And these adorable guys work pretty well for flat cookie sheets and pizza pans.

If you are now also smitten by the need to own your very own adorable li’l pinchers, these guys are made by Daiso. Which I have JUST LEARNED has stores in the US. In TEXAS, even, guys. Time to go do some shopping for adorable-ized household products …

favorite things food texas

Sheet Caking

I sheet caked last weekend, but it sounds like another sheet caking weekend is in the cards!

The Texas sheet cake is my go-to cake, as I always seem to have the ingredients for it on hand. I have a half-size jelly roll pan that I acquired at some point in college. (Probably my mom gave it to me? Because only sad single people need half-size jelly roll pans? 😛 Seriously, though, its also the perfect size for couples who, uh, something something no grand babies.)

Anyway, all that to say that I usually cut this recipe in half, because half is the perfect amount for 1 or 2 people. And this recipe lends itself nicely to that.

There’s no flouring involved! Just a little spray buttering!

And then … you boil the ingredients on the stove, so that’s a little weird.

But the cake is baked in 22 minutes! 5 minutes before the cake comes out, start the frosting. Which you also boil on the stove, but you’re a pro at that now.

As soon as the cake comes out, pour the frosting on it.

Wait 5 minutes. And then enjoy. 🙂

Happy sheet caking, everyone!

favorite things food travel

Eating Las Vegas!

Hash House Scramble. Yup, that’s a tiny tree.

Vegas is well known as a foodie paradise, but it is also a fast-foodie paradise. For those of us who aren’t quite foodies.

First up, Smash Burger. Now, I know there are Smash Burgers in San Antonio, but they are … less than impressive. If you’re gonna try Smash Burger, try one in Vegas. Even the kids smash is good, which can be hard to do with a kid-sized burger. Many restaurants end up with too much bread and too little meat when they down-size their burger. Ask me how I know. Oh: get the peanut butter shake. If you, uh, like peanut butter. And shakes.

Next up, In-N-Out Burger. The Vegas establishments aren’t as good as the California ones, but if you’ve only ever eaten a Utah In-N-Out Burger and you got two bites into it before chucking it in the trash, then give it another try. In Vegas, I mean. Not Utah. (Shudder.)

Ok, here’s a place an actual foodie might like: Hash House a go go. It’s not cheap, but the portions are huge! Waffles and French toast are both ah-may-zing.

And last up, what would life be without dessert? Carlos Bakery, at the Venetian. Though he’s famous for the Lobster Tails (which are delicious), my favorites are the Chocolate Strawberry Mousse Tower or the Dark Chocolate Mousse. You’re welcome.

Bon Apetit!

food nerdly travel

farewell tour: renaissance festival

Post author By akaemi
Post date September 26, 2012
No Comments on farewell tour: renaissance festival

The Maryland Renaissance Festival is always a much anticipated event in our household, so we were delighted when the BFF and her gang invited us to go with them this year. The parents were up for the adventure, even if they didn’t quite know what they were getting into.

We met the 495 on-ramp at a dead stop, so after a few minutes, we decided to try a different route. The husband asked Siri for a non-495 way to the festival, and soon we were on our way – through – the dreaded city.

We took some wrong turns in the city, but the husband managed to find a route that got us to the festival. We were still nice and early, so we got half-decent parking, and we got to enjoy a few hours at the faire before it got too crowded.

We met up with the BFF and her 2 and a half boys (husband+baby+about-to-be-a-baby), and got started on the festivities. And by ‘festivities’, I mean food! Because that’s what the ren fest is all about! Turkey legs and sausage on a stick and fried stuff and cheesecake on a stick and more fried stuff and ice cream cannolis and some more fried stuff!

And then we got busy with the shopping festivities! There is so much stuff to buy! From chain mail bikinis to hand-carved wooden goblets, and wooden swords to blown glass ornaments, there’s a little bit of something for everyone.

And of course, through the whole time, there is always the costume watching! Some costumes are impressive, some are confusing, and a few even have something to do with the renaissance. There seemed to be an influx of ladies with weird baby-hands in their overflowing bosoms, I’m not quite sure what that’s all about. Who wants to think about suffocating babies?

We watched some shows – a comedic, 30 minute version of Henry the V, and the parents watched the first 2 acts of a Midsummer Night’s Dream. The BFF and crew tried a go at the sword swallowing show, but didn’t stick around long. Which is about what I did the first time I watched the sword-swallowing show. It’s not for the faint of heart – it sounds cool in theory, but it’s mostly just disturbing to actually watch.

After the festival, we hurried to Leesburg to shop at the Virginia store downtown. The parents wanted some Virginia-y souvenirs, and that’s the perfect place to find them.

After a day of eating junk, we topped it all off with a stop at Windy City Red Hots for dinner. It’s a small place, but luckily it was pretty empty when we stopped by, so we were able to snag one of their 2 tables. And we got hot dogs! Not just any hot dogs, they definitely have a superior dog. And it comes with a pickle! What could be better than that?