Joseph Mallozzi's Blog, page 252

December 3, 2018: Tokyo Day #3!

Another whirlwind day in Tokyo following yesterday’s Osaka to Nara to Kyoto to Tokyo jaunt.  We now have approximately two and a half days to squeeze in: Harajuku, Omotesando, Roppongi, Naka-Meguro, and Akihabara.  Looks like Odaiba, Toyosu, and Kichijoji will have to wait until next time.

Akemi has been hankering for some vegetables and so, last night, we checked out a vegetarian restaurant.  With predictable results.  It was a resounding “meh” from me.  Akemi overheard a Japanese couple at a nearby table chatting about the difference between vegetarian restaurants in Japan and vegetarian restaurants outside of Japan.  Outside of Japan, they make an effort to include some sort of protein as part of the meal plan.  In Japan, you’re getting your veggies because – hell – that’s why you came for, isn’t it?  And that’s what we got on this night.

But the evening wasn’t a total loss.  We swung by a green tea-themed dessert restaurant in the new Hibiya Midtown complex where I enjoyed a super dense matcha cake and ice cream.

Today, I met up with my old friend Tomomi who has moved back to Tokyo following a stint in Vancouver.  We lunched at a little french restaurant in Ometesando called Lature. The multi-course game-themed meal was as inspired as it was delicious.

Even though lunch included dessert, Tomomi knows me too well and took me to the Dominique Ansel in Omotesando where we sampled a dessert medley including the frozen s’more, the cookie shot, and a couple of cakes.  Akemi was all about the frozen s’more while I had to go with their version of cookies and milk

My food guide on this day – the lovely Tomomi.

For dinner tonight, we took up on hotel concierge on her recommendation and visited Sushi Aoki in the Ginza neighbourhood.  A fantastic and varied array of dishes.

Finally, thanks to a tip from blog regular nantokanaru77, we ended up paying a visit to our old friend Yamasaki-san, formerly of Star Bar, now running things at his own place Bar Goya in Ginza.

Rejoice!  Akemi’s PR card arrived today.  She will apparently be permitted to enjoy adventures in Canada.

As I said – we’re running out of time so we’re going to have to start cramming as much as we can into the remainder of our stay – starting tomorrow with a double lunch at Pizza Seirinkan and the Wagyu Mafia sandwich shop!

December 2, 2018: Nara Day 1!

On our last night in Osaka, we met up for dinner with Akemi’s old university friend, Ayaka, for some long overdue yakitori.  The girls had a great time catching up while I just tried my best to KEEP up.  Fortunately, on the occasions when the conversation went over my head, there was the food to command my focus –

We all did skewers while Ayaka and I had a couple of beers.  The standout plate of the evening, at least as far as I was concerned, was the horumon bowl – sauced offal crowned with an egg yolk.

After dinner, I was in dessert mode.  We took a stroll and ended up at the Miyazaki-inspired Maison de Gigi for some chocolate-dipped waffles and a hazelnut latte.

I was exhausted and went to sleep as soon as we got back to the hotel.  Then, of course, woke up at 1:00 a.m.  But managed to fall back asleep at around 2:00 and stayed asleep. Until 6 a.m.

We took one final walk around Osaka and grabbed several breakfast bites along the way –

Akemi helped herself to some convenience store open.  The floating white clouds (super fluffy fish cakes) are her favorite!

I perused some of the amazing baked goods, among them THE chocolatiest chocolate croissants ever made, but ultimately settled on –

A breakfast bonanza that included the ubiquitous curry pan (deep-fried and stuffed with sweet curry pork), a five-pack of butter caramel cookies, a super Hokkaido creamy cream bun, and the Ruby Kit Kat, presumably made from the rare ruby cacao bean.  Despite its fruity undertone, I quite liked it, possessed as it was of a nice sweet and ever so slight sour balance.

Oh, and lest I forget – we also grabbed the famed Osaka pork bun – Go Go Ichi!  There are always line ups outside these stands and now I know why.  Plump, sweet, delicious!

We caught the shinkansen to Nara.  After prepping by watching a slew of Nara-themed youtube videos, I was fully expecting to be swarmed by the famed deer that roam their streets.  Unfortunately, according to Akemi, the deer are confined to a specific park and, sadly, don’t share the roadways with cars and pedestrians.

Along the way, we stopped at the city’s most famed mochi shops where the glutinous rice desserts are made by hand (and wooden mallet), beaten into a sticky, goopy consistency that Akemi is such a fan of.

Eventually we arrived at our destination, the Aota family temple where Akemi’s father was laid to rest.  Akemi’s mother, older sister, and younger brother were in attendance along with about a dozen other close family members.  After a short ceremony presided over by the temple monk, we were preparing to head back to the station and start our long journey back to Tokyo when Akemi’s sister waved me over and handed me a bottle. She informed me it was a final gift from me from Akemi’s father.

I couldn’t believe it.  A bottle of Yamazaki 18, my favorite whisky, incredibly expensive (at $500 dollars a bottle) and almost impossible to find.  I am touched.

December 1, 2018: Osaka Day #1!

We got into Osaka last night and got a room at the hotel where the memorial for Akemi’s father was to take place.  Since it was a last minute reservation, we were left with a choice between smoking room and a room behind the elevator.  We chose the latter and, after dining on a half a 7-11 egg salad sandwich, a giant pork bun, and an ice cream bar, I settled down for another fitful night’s sleep.

I woke up this morning to the news that I had been drafted as the event photographer, tasked with snapping photos of the service and various goings-on.  Akemi told her sister it would be a bad idea.  “Joe not great.  Cuts off arms and legs.”  I looked over and, for a second there, I thought she would try to cover with something along the lines of “Because you are serial killer and have to get rid of bodies!”.  But no.  She just shrugged.  The truth hurts.

At 10:00 a.m. this morning, we headed downstairs to one of the ballroom that had been decorated for the event: flowers, photos, and a looping video remembrance.  We were served okashi and matcha (sweet bean dessert and ceremonial green tea).  Then, I got my camera and started snapping anything and everything.  Ultimately, I didn’t mind as it kept me busy.  I must have taken close to three hundred photos over the course of those three hours, all of mediocre quality.  Akemi, however, armed with her new Pixel Android phone, was blowing me out of the water.  Yet another reason to consider switching from Apple to Google.

The actual memorial was short, lasting all of twenty minutes or so, the first five dedicated to speeches and the last fifteen to the offering of condolences to the immediate family.  The event was capped by a catered meal.

Akemi and I checked out of the hotel, crossed town, and checked into our new hotel.  Tonight, we have dinner with her old friend Ayaka and then, tomorrow, there’s another memorial service for her dad, this time at a temple in Nara after which we head back to Toronto.

Some of the sights we’ve taken in so far…

Don’t mess with Godzilla – Ginza.

Akemi and some random guy.

The seasonal Matcha-Pistachio Latte at Dean & DeLuca is, quite possibly, my favorite latte ever.  And infinitely better than the cheese tea latte I tried while walking around Osaka this afternoon.  I took a sip, wanted to ditch, looked around for the nearest garbage bin and remembered – there are no public garbage bins in Japan.  Rookie mistake.

Star Bar opens its fourth location, this one in the new Hibiya Midtown just steps away from our hotel.  When I get back into Tokyo, I have got to stop by and say hi to Master Kishi-san, Yamasaki-san, and Yoshida-san.

These were a couple of the interesting dessert offerings at this little bakery in Omotesando.  I was intrigued by the Chocolate Ball Bread, assuming they would melt the chocolate, resulting in a Nutella-like offering but no.  The chocolate is served cold.  Odd.

Kooky window displays in Ginza.

Tadaa!  The 1000 preserved roses display at The Imperial Hotel.

Akemi lands on Santa’s naughty list.

That poop is as big as the dog who made it!

Vending machines offering everything from hot coffee to corn soup (also hot!).

Now that is some smoky fish!

In Osaka, we got the Dick Van Dyke Show matrimonial beds.  Akemi settles in for the night.

Really?

The PR Card Saga continues.  As I mentioned in a previous blog post, it arrived in the mail just hours after we left Toronto.  Ivon picked it up for us and sent it UPS.  It was due to arrive on Thursday.  Then, it missed a scheduled transfer in Kentucky, delaying it by a day.  Then, it missed a scheduled transfer in Anchorage, delaying it by about another day.  Last I heard, it’s supposed to arrive at our hotel on Monday.

I leave you with a little something from the pillow menu.  What’ve you got a hankering for?

November 30, 2018: Tokyo Day #2!

Last night, we had our first sushi dinner at Sushi Taichi, a little sushiya (But aren’t they all?) tucked away in a little side street in Ginza.  A lot of fun little appetizers, a lot of fantastic nigiri, and two carafes of sake later and we were ready for bed – if not for the fact that it was only 8:00 p.m.  As always, I try to hold out until 10:00 p.m. before turning in for the night at whiich point I was OUT.  Until about 1:00 a.m. when I was once again wide awake.  I popped a melatonin and ended up sleeping in to 6:30 a.m.  Akemi, unfortunately, hasn’t adjusted as well so, while I was snoozing away those late night hours, she was up, working on her instagram game.

Some eight hours later, we are on the shinkansen headed to Osaka and she is about to crash.  The plan was to take the early bullet train EARLY tomorrow morning but a switch up in the Saturday schedule necessitated our leaving Tokyo a day early.  Which is fine by me.  An extra hour of sleep may not seem like much, but it makes a world of difference if that hour is between 5 and 6 am.

Since we were up at 7 am this morning, we went back to the only place you can really visit that early: the fish market!  Although we do aim to check out the new one in Toyosu, Tsukiji is within walking distance and home to some pretty delicious breakfast offerings including the infamous Guts Bowl, aka stewed offal on rice.

Earlier today, we had lunch at one of my favourites, Butagumi, THE place for tonkatsu – and the most delicious pork appetizer called Sanmi Pork.  As the woman behind the counter was tallying up our bill at the end of the meal, she noted: “One Sanmi Pork.  No, TWO Sanmi Porks!”   “Actually,”Akemi corrected her, “THREE Sanmi Porks.”  She was mightily impressed.  Next time I’m back, I plan on breaking my record!

Before heading over to Nishi-Azabu, we killed an hour in Roppongi Hills and swung by the TV Asahi studio that airs such shows as Crayon Shinchan, Doraemon, and my new favorite Japanese Drama Sakanoue Animal Clinic Story!

While there, Akemi and I did a little walk-thru of the mini-museum.

Two days in Osaka, then back to Tokyo for the big finish.

Meanwhile, on the home front…

November 29, 2018: Tokyo Day #1

 

Highlights from last night’s dinner: sea urchin jelly, tai sashimi, and grilled chicken butts.

One of the things I loved about traveling to Japan from the west coast was the almost perfect transition between time zones.  We’d fly in for around 8:00 p.m., have a late dinner, then be in bed by 10 p.m., sleep through the night, and wake up at 7:00 a.m. ready to go.  Those extra three hours of added east coast time, however, make for a less than smooth sleep segue.  I managed to fall asleep at a little before 10:00 p.m., woke up at 1:00 a.m. and had to take a melatonin pill, then slept through the night and woke up at a still dark 5:00 a.m.  Akemi’s slept more fitfully and I expect her to probably take an afternoon nap while she’s getting her head massage today.

Anyway, the nice thing about being up so early is that it really allows you to pack in the day.  After getting some work out of the way, we headed to Tsukiji, former home of the famed fish market, but still foodie central for early risers.

Today’s breakfast was comprised of: crab guts with sake, uni bun, sea urchin aburi, negitoro bowl, ikura and uni bowl, and grilled wagyu A5 sirloin.

Sadly, none of the dessert places were open as it was too early, so we headed back to the hotel to decompress, then headed to Omotesdando for our afternoon outing.

Soba lunch was very good – and interesting.  Akemi ordered this six day old fish (I think it’s cured for six days) which she assumed I would positively hate.  But I didn’t, much to her disappointment no doubt.  Still, I knew she was looking forward to this particular dish (a New Year’s Eve tradition in her family) so I gave her half of mine.

After lunch, we walked Omotesando. checked out Kiddyland, at a matcha donut, had some chocolate, macarons, and a hot chocolate from La Maison du Chocolat, then headed over to ZAAC for head massages.  One hour later, I was super sleepy and ready for bed.

But no rest for the wicked.  Or hungry!  We’re off to Sushi Taichi for dinner tonight!

Oh, hey, forgot to mention it but Akemi’s new PR card finally arrived.  I received a text from Ivon after touching down in Japan informing me that – appropriately enough – the card arrived on the day we left.  It’s been UPS’d and should arrive Friday, meaning Akemi won’t have to take the alternate route home: a 25 hour connection-studded flight to Buffalo followed up by a two hour car ride back to Toronto.

Meanwhile back on the home front…

These two appear to be behaving themselves.  So far, so good…

Tomorrow = More breakfast mayhem!  Butagumi!  The Mori Art Museum!  Tokyo Midtown!  And mystery dinner!

November 28, 2019: Tokyo ni Touchau!

This way to Tokyo!

A quick blog entry since it’s 8:20 p.m. Tokyo time (but 6:20 a.m. Toronto time) and I feel like I’m back in my college party days – late night exhausted and giddy but, in this case, alcohol-free.  

Our 13 hours flight was uneventful outside of the truly awful in-flight meal.  I honestly don’t understand why they have to be so bad.  In all fairness, I’ve had some mediocre meals while flying but this one was a true cut below.  An assortment of bites alternately dry, bitter, flavourless, and just plain weird.

WHAT did I just put in my mouth?

We usually fly into Narita Airport which is a 90 minute bus ride to the hotel but, this time, we flew into Haneda and got there in less than a third the time.  We checked in, were greeted by some familiar faces, then grabbed a quick dinner at one of the hotel restaurants (The one where we always grab a quick dinner after flying in.  It’s a tradition!) before heading out for a quick walkabout.

What I love about visiting Tokyo this time of years is how all-out the city goes with its Christmas decorations.  It honestly out-Christmas’s every North American city I’ve ever visited.  All the more impressive when one considers the Japanese don’t really celebrate Christmas.  But, boy, do they do it right!

Tomorrow, it’s soba, head spa, sushi and many many desserts!

November 27, 2018: Japan-bound!

Last night, for the first time in longer than I can remember, I had a full uninterrupted night’s sleep.  I didn’t sleep angled awkwardly like a magician’s assistant in a sword box.  I didn’t wake up with a sore back.  I never once woke up in a panic because a dog was about to be sick or have an accident.

And I hated it!

NOT a fan of this dogless existence.

On the bright side, I woke up to the following text from our dog sitter this morning

“Morning Joe!

Lulu & Suji did very well overnight, they went right to bed after settling in and slept throughout the night. We went out this morning and both girls peed and pooped outside! After Suji peed (she peed right after Lulu peed) her bladder was quite small so I didn’t express her manually. They ate breakfast like champs!”

Peed and pooped!  Outside!!!  WE don’t even command that kind of respect from our dogs.

Anyway, Akemi and I are off to Japan today, our first trip in two years.  We look forward to checking out the familiar sights, hitting some familiar places (Butagumi, Pizza Seirinkan, Hattendo, the Mori Art Museum) and new spots (Wagyu Mafia sandwich shop!).  

I have also loaded up on digital books for the flight.  Figure I can get 2-3 read enroute which should put be well within my 365 titles target range –

While away, I’ll be missing out on the final week of the fantasy football regular season.  I’ll do my best to track my players and make the appropriate line-up changes despite the time zone difference.  Still, my Snow Monkeys have made the playoffs in both leagues.  Now it’s just a matter of wrapping up those first round byes!

Other than that, good to go.  Just cleared out my carrying case and, on Akemi’s insistence, tossed out a few items I no longer use including this charging cable I still feel could be of use –

But there’s no point arguing with Akemi.

Alright!  Off to prep for that 13 hour flight.  Moving forward, the posting times may be a little erratic on this blog, but I’ll be keeping you updating on all of the Japanly happenings.  Stay tuned!

November 26, 2018: Almost Japan-bound!

Well, our final day has come and gone and still no sign of the card.  I phoned up the government “help center” today, little realizing that “help” is a misnomer and no actual help is given.  But the 35 minute wait on hold to talk to someone certainly offered up a ton of anticipatory fun!

And so tonight we drop off the dogs and tomorrow we are off.  We’ll leave Ivon with the mail key in the hopes that the new card finds its way to us and was not, in fact, lost by the bureaucrats in charge (in much the same way they lost the previous application).  As a last resort, we may have to fly into Buffalo and do the two hours drive to Toronto.

It will be a bittersweet return to Japan.  While it will be nice to be back after almost two years, it will also be a sad occasion as we’ll be visiting Osaka to attend the memorial for Akemi’s father who passed away in October.  He was always big-hearted and generous with me whenever I came to town and I am saddened we won’t have the pleasure of his company on this and future visits.  In my last conversation with him a little over a month ago, I vowed to take good care of his daughter, and I’m going to do my damndest to fulfill that promise.

Lulu knows the routine!

Alright.  Time to pack up the dogs and get them our dog-sitter.  

I miss ’em already!

November 25, 2018: Suji Sunday!

Uh oh.  Suji and Lulu are giving me their “You’re not going away, are you?” looks.  It’s like they can sense our approaching departure.  Suji has been even clingier of late, creeping up and settling down by my chest at night, insistent on cuddling.  Even Lulu, who’s usually pretty cool, has taken up residence beside him on the couch when I work.  

The plan is to take them out for no less than three walks tomorrow and really tire them out before dropping them off, late tomorrow night, at our dog sitter’s place.  Tonight is our last night with them for 10 days!  In the two years since we adopted Suji, we haven’t been away from her for more than one!

Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

We’re double-checking our long list of instructions for their care.  Highlights include feeding instructions (Suji eats fast so she can snack on a dental chew while waiting for Lulu to finish up), walk etiquette (they get a treat every time they do their business AND every time they cross a street AND at the conclusion of their outing), and meds and supplements (rimadyl, gabapentin, diethystilbestrol, Ester-C, D-Mannose, cranberry extract, CBD oil).

Hopefully they behave themselves.  Suji can be a bit cranky, especially around other dogs while Lulu is generally pretty chill.  However, both can be unpredictable poop machines.

November 24, 2018: Confounding, Infuriating, and Disheartening

Well, Friday came and went and still no sign of that new PR card.  I contacted the Citizenship Canada for help and, not surprisingly, received little in the way or either assistance or direction.  They’re consistent.  I’ll give them that!  I guess it all comes down to Monday.  Depending on how this all pans out, I plan to go public with our experience in a big way.  The details of what they’ve put us through are alternately confounding,  infuriating, and disheartening.

Oh, hey, speaking of gross bureaucratic ineptness and general heartlessness, last night I attended the private screening of Robert C. Cooper’s Unspeakable, an eight part miniseries detailing the tainted blood scandal of the 1980’s and the Canadian Red Cross’s tragic mishandling of the situation.

So, I spent today doing the rewrite on Episode 3 of the series I’m presently showrunning, implementing most of the input of the show’s creator, RT.  Didn’t receive any notes from the prod co but I choose to believe that’s a reflection of the sheer brilliance of my first draft.    

My reward for a job well done: hot chocolate and chocolates from Soma Chocolates.  Swing by if you’re in town.  Akemi and I practically live there so chances are good you’ll run into us.

Hey, who wants to Skype chat with the Dark Matter gang?  Anthony Lemke (aka THREE, aka Marcus Boone) has organized an auction in support of a charity near and dear to his heart.  The details:

Dark Matter chat with as many cast as can fit!

And there’s also this exclusive chat with actor Ennis Esmer (aka Wexler, aka Rick Dotcom).  The Details:

Exclusive Skype with Ennis Esmer