Tag Archive | Japan

Snoopy Museum Tokyo – Machida, Japan

Dec17

We always come to check out the Snoopy Museum when we’re in Tokyo. We came two years ago and they were under renovation so we were excited to come back to check it out! We were hoping it would mean a bigger gift shop but shucks, it wasn’t! If anything, I felt like the gift shop was smaller and had less to offer this time around. Boo. If you like Peanuts and can make it out to Kawagoe, I would highly suggest the Snoopy Village there. SO MUCH stuff.

Not much else to post on today, just check out the pictures below!

We’ve only come during Christmas time so I haven’t ever experienced the museum in non-Christmas mode. I really enjoy Christmas so I am okay to keep seeing it in this way!

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IPPUDO – Gotanda-Higashiguchi, Japan

Dec15

Chan has never been to an Ichiran, can you believe it? I don’t know why I brought that up when this post is about Ippudo. I like Ippudo but don’t necessarily come to Ippudo when I visit Japan. This location was located really close to our hotel and I really wanted some ramen and chahan so off we went. How was it? Much better than I remembered! This was also Chan’s first time trying Ippudo and he liked it a lot! In fact, this was the first out of two visits during this trip.

Free sides! Pickled spicy mustard cabbage, bean sprouts, gari and whole garlic cloves! They offer garlic graters to put freshly grated garlic into your ramen. Oh so good!

Gyoza (10 pcs) | ¥470

Chan’s Noodles!

My noodles! I only got half an egg…humph!

Chahan

This is super random but I really enjoy Chinese fried rice made by Japanese ramen shops. Is that random? I super enjoy this version of fried rice, it has a good wok hei flavor and a good amount of MSG. Not many places in Hawaii makes this…or makes it well. Sorry, I must have been hungry and didn’t get a picture of all the menu prices!

The service here is enthusiastic, they get you in and out quickly (which works great for all the business people). I think their broth is deep in flavor and I like that they offer up many different bowls with a variation of toppings. English menu available on their ipads! I would return (and did return).

Spam Musubi Rating:

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Mixed Plate Friday (Japan)

Dec12

Saiboku

Saiboku was such a cute town with its pork restaurants and grocery stores! Unfortunately we did not get to try any of the pork products during this trip, we just did a quick walkthrough before heading to a shrine and then off to Kawagoe. I would definitely like to return to try out their products!

Sayama Cha Cola

Chan’s friend got this for us. They were told that this area was known for the sayama cha cola (green tea mixed with cola). I’m not usually a big fan of green tea so I wasn’t too sure about this. Well let me just say, I tried it a few days later in the hotel room and freaking loved it. It wasn’t too sweet and had just the right amount of carbonation. I liked it a lot, Chan didn’t love it as much as me which meant I could have the rest of his bottle. A win is a win.

Time to buy some cloting. LOL, not as much funny Engrish signs this time around.

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Shunkashuto – Kawagoe, Japan

Dec10

Chan and I were hanging with his friends and made an impromptu trip out to Kawagoe! Totally unexpected and so awesome because there is a Snoopy Village there! We started off with a warm and nourishing udon meal on this rainy day (the only rainy day of our trip) at Shunkashuto. I think the restaurant is geared towards tourists but it doesn’t matter, it was still so good.

Kakuni (Boiled Pork) | ¥800

Yummy kakuni for the table to share. What can I say? Broke-da-mout tender, fall apart in your mouth kine. Delicious!

Sweet Potato Tempura | ¥420

Yum! So glad they ordered both side dishes because I wanted to get a full set that included these sides but didn’t…and they ordered them as sides anyway. Isn’t life great? LOLOL.

Shrimp Tempura Noodles | ¥1550
classic udon noodle dish topped with deep fried shrimp tempura

I was excited to eat some shrimp tempura with “tick” udon noodles but soon regretted my choice after my fellow dining companions got their meals. Not that my dish was bad, not at all, it’s just that theirs was better!!!

Kakiage Noodles | ¥1380
ukiuki is happy or a delightful noodle dish with kakiage shrimp and veggie fritter
kakiage is deep fried shrimp and veggie fritter, which uses a variety of ingredients, such as shrimp, onions, sweet potatoes, carrots and japanese parsley.

The other three including Chan got the kakiage set and damn, take a look at that kakiage. The kakiage we get here in Hawaii looks so sad compared to this. If I knew this is how their kakiage was made, I would have definitely gotten this. Chan let me have a taste and it was so good! Big chunks of vegetables and shrimp – fried light and crispy. Dang. I enjoyed this restaurant a lot!

Spam Musubi Rating:

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Hong Kong Hanten 0410 – Shin Okubo, Japan

Dec8

A visit to Japan is not complete without a visit to Korea Town for some bomb black bean noodles. LOL, I think we had this for our first sit down meal. Hong Kong Hanten 0410 is a restaurant owned by Paik (Baek) Jong Won, he’s one of the judges for the Culinary Class Wars! Excited for the new season starting soon. Anyway, as I mentioned in my last post – this is probably my most favorite jjajangmyeon ever.

Tangsuyuk (Half Size) | ¥980

The half size is perfect to complement our noodle dishes. I think we got the full size last time and it was too much. Gotta have the sweet and sour sauce on the side for dipping – the pork is fried up perfectly crisp.

Gogi Jjamppong | ¥1180

Chan’s jjamppong, his favorite. He got the beef one and it was good. Look at how red the soup is. I tried some of the soup, tasted good!

Jaengban Jajang | ¥2100

KABOOM. Okay, this dish is to serve 2 people. I don’t care. I almost chickened out of ordering it but Chan told me just to go for it. I don’t know why this dish has to be made as 2 servings. Anyway, this is more of a stir-fried version with so much good veggies and seafood. Ahhh…just salivating as I think of this dish. It was super good yet again. Why don’t we have this here in Hawaii?? Gotta wait for my next trip to Japan or Korea to eat this again.

Spam Musubi Rating:

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Mixed Plate Friday (Japan)

Dec5

Do you peep what I peep on a walk through Shin-Okubo in Japan?

Funny yeah?? I don’t know who this belongs to but it was fun to see a bit of home in Japan like this.

Every time I saw this company’s signage, I had to take a picture and send it to my friends to tell them this was their communication style. I never even looked up what they do lol.

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HNL -> NRT – ANA Flight

Dec3

Yes, we splurged for Business Class. If you don’t care to see what Business Class has to offer, please move along. It is pricey but I think can be very worth it for long legs of travel. The ability to lie flat and sleep is priceless.

Amuse
Purple Yam Nicoise Salad
Spam & Caramelized Maui Onion Crostini

Purple Yam Nicoise Salad

Sounds better than it tastes, which is bland

Spam & Caramelized Maui Onion Crostini

So yeah, I’m pretty sure I was eating “raw” spam here. I mean I ate it but…it was basically raw spam. I know it’s not really raw but you know what I mean! It wasn’t too bad lol.

Japanese Cuisine – Washoku

Shusai (Main Dish)
Simmered Sea Bream in Soy-based Sauce | Steamed Rice

The fish was seasoned and cooked well! I enjoyed this!

Miso Soup

Zensai (A Selection of Morsels)
Japanese Omelet, Simmered Runner Bean in Syrup, Grilled Squid with Dried Fish Roe, Deep-fried Fishcake

I enjoyed this zensai very much so, not sure what runner bean is but now I’m curious. Very nice appetizer!

Kobachi (Tasty Tidbits)
Steamed Chicken with Flavored Soy Sauce

Eh, it’s fine.

ANA Original ~Kaoru Fukuoka~ Tonkotsu Style Ramen
a mild tonkotsu style soup paired with thin noodles that complement the soup perfectly. toppings like red pickled ginger and flavored oil are available. please enjoy with your preferred seasoning.

If they offer up a noodle, I gotta try it! Very happy I tried this. Too bad I didn’t get it when we came home too. The flight home felt so much shorter so I didn’t have enough room in my tummy for it.

Noodle Pull!

Yum!

Sandwich Set
Warm Basil Cream Chicken Sandwich | Yogurt with Passion Fruit Jelly

The sandwich was just whatever but the yogurt, oh the yogurt was so good. Felt like the plain yogurt was a thicker texture and the passion fruit jelly was wonderful. I’m going to try to make my own at home.

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ANA Lounge – Honolulu, HI

Dec1

ANOTHER TRIP MEANS ANOTHER LOUNGE VISIT. Was so excited to go to ANA Lounge. We had seen videos of this lounge and I got all excited that we would be able to board the plane straight from the lounge. Didn’t happen. The opportunity is there but I think it only works for the first flight of the day, no such luck for the second flight. It’s a very nice lounge and offers some good food! Check it out.

Udon!

They have the noodles at the bar ready to scoop into your bowl, you can choose either hot broth or cold broth. These are the only toppings, no protein. It was okay, nothing special.

Curry! (Hawaiian Style)

I guess I should have known that since it was Hawaiian it wouldn’t be good, it wasn’t that good. I prefer Japanese style curry! I wouldn’t get this again.

Acai Bowl, Fresh Fruit, Ham and Egg Sando

The acai bowls are all rock solid frozen, forreal. It barely defrosted as I was eating my food so I couldn’t even enjoy it because I didn’t want to lose a tooth. The sandwich is very good! How come sandwiches always taste better when I don’t make it? Serious question.

Apple Juice

I don’t know what it is about travel, but I only drink apple juice when I am traveling. I enjoy it on the plane and during the trip too. Do I drink apple juice when I’m home? No. Don’t ask me why.

The orange honu ready for us to board!

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Off to Japan…

Nov7

As you read this, I should be on my way to Japan. Another chance to make beautiful memories with Chan in one of our favorite places to travel. Our fear this trip is if the local Japanese people will hate us since we are foreigners and some foreigners are not doing us any favors with their bad behavior in Japan!

As always, feel free to follow me on instagram. I will be posting stories daily of our adventures! So excited for this trip, I am super burnt out from work and just life in general so I need this breather. Short blog vacay, see you folks soon!

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Tenfusa – Toyosu, Japan

Jun3

Ah yes, my super belated Japan posts continue. Well, there’s actually not much more to share so it will probably be in bits and pieces. This is one of our last outings of the Japan trip before coming home. Tenfusa is located in the Toyosu Market, Chan’s friend Daisuke was nice enough to pick us up early in the morning to bring us to this restaurant. Thank God he did, all the menus are in Japanese. There was a line for the Daiwa Sushi next door but this restaurant seemed to be filled with locals (maybe fishermen).

Appetizer Menu (Well I consider it the appetizer menu!)

Maguro | ¥900

Scallop Sashimi | ¥850

Shirasu | ¥400

Whale Meat (Raw) | ¥700

This is my first time trying whale. This may be the last time I am trying whale. Look at the color! It looks like raw beef. It tastes kind of like raw beef too. I didn’t enjoy the taste. Glad I tried so I can say I tried it but I am good in the future.

Tempura Teishoku

Tendon

Chan and I had the Tendon. Gosh, I was so like…full from this trip already. And we got choke appetizers. By the time the main entrees came, I was already stuffed. But the tempura was super good. Perfectly cooked seafood. The pieces of fish were so tender and fried light and crispy. I was very happy to have tried Tenfusa!

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