A Safe Return

Some people have more artistic skills than others...

Our wandering visitors made it back safely!  After one successful trip out of town, we decide to go with them to another city we haven't been to before - Yokohama.  I feel like we must go to the Cup Noodles Museum, because I love them.  While there we even get to make up our own soup.  We start by decorating the cups, then picking out the ingredients to go inside.  It was worth going just to see how they package the cup so it won't get damaged while you wander around the rest of the day.  I forgot to take a picture of that!

Can I just get one of everything??

The finishing touches on my tom yum soup!

Later we eat a snack in the Noodles Bazaar, which is (kind of, sort of) set up like an Asian market.  The different soups are available at different booths, and you have to use a vending machine to get your ticket to pay & place your order.  It's kind of like the Disney version of an Asian market.  The noodles dishes are really good, though!  They're the fresh versions of the Cup Noodle soups.  So instead of freeze dried mushrooms and shrimp, you get real, fresh mushrooms, large shrimp and fresh cilantro.  I'm excited to see they have the fresh version of my current favorite, tom yum.  I have to eat two bowls, it's so good. 

One of several beautiful gates in Chinatown, along with some beautiful women!

Yokohama is known for having the largest Chinatown in Asia.  I think they're referring to the number of shops/restaurants, because it's only about 300 square meters, and doesn't actually have a lot of Chinese people living there currently.  You definitely won't go hungry - there are hundreds of Chinese restaurants here.  They don't even try to differentiate themselves; sometimes they're showing the same menu out front.  It's still fun to browse the shops and people watch for a couple of hours.

Just like in New Zealand, Japan has some decorative sewer grates, too!

Do we do this in the US?

Hey - is this all you can drink?

We finish the day at the Kirin brewery museum.  When we arrive I get the impression we're supposed to have reservations (in the US you just go in!) but they are able to take everyone but me - I'm starting to feel a little sick, so I just rest.  At the end they enjoy their free samples, and I'm able to drink some of the non-alcoholic sodas they produce.  We even get take home gifts - cans of alcohol free beer.  (Okay, I must be truthful - they are still sitting in our refrigerator, unopened.)   

The cheerleaders are in the background.

We are getting tired of having our picture taken.

Shirley ends up getting sick too, so we slow down a bit, but still find things to do.  Steve takes them on some walking tours, and we go out for a baseball game.  It's our first one.  We have good seats - but missed out on being in the middle of all the action. Right field is the place to be! The fans put our tomahawk chop to shame - chanting, singing, clapping, giant flag waving - there's even a band out there. My favorite part is after the Swallows score - everyone (except us, the uneducated) raises little umbrellas and waves them around to the beat of their song. They even have cheerleaders! And they don't have just beer - there's a guy carrying a tray to make mixed drinks at your seat. The only thing they're missing is peanuts. But the Tokyo Swallows beat the evil Tokyo Giants! (kind of like the Mets taking on the big, bad Yankees) And it's only a 15 minute walk from our apartment.

They so need to do this at US baseball games!

I must get a little umbrella!!

Yakitori (and sake?) on the tour!

We also send them out on the Sunamachi Walking Food Tour from Tokyo Foodrink.  We did the tour a year ago, and really enjoyed it.  You get a nice overview of different types of Japanese food, and the guides speak English well, so it's a great chance to ask questions.  It looks like they're with a good group of people and due to a holiday, they end up returning home more than an hour later than expected (and yes, we did call the company to find out where they were - it's like having kids!!). 

During the tour the women got to try on yukatas (summer cotton kimonos).  Lots of fun!  

We have one last big meal - a kaiseki dinner, which is a multi-course Japanese feast (well, feast in Japanese terms, so lots of small courses).  These are supposed to be the best meals you ever eat...but I'm not quite falling for that line.  Yes, everything is very seasonable and fresh, and all aspects are supposed to be considered in relation to the meal - from the serving dishes (the material they are made out of, the color, the design), the decorations, the scents and the presentation of the food, etc, etc.  And it's nice...but so far they haven't been the best meals ever.  It's probably because the food is "different" - combinations that are unusual for western taste buds, strange textures...  However, everything is cooked well, it's very fresh, and interesting to see.  It's something to experience if visiting Japan!

We send off our guests, full, tired and with their heads spinning from all they've seen and done while in Japan.  We loved having them here, and the apartment feels a little empty after they're gone.  (Echoes still remain - Steve and I continue to give each other 5 minute warnings before we leave the apartment.)  Though there's a big sigh of relief from Steve and me - it's almost as stressful as having the young nieces and nephews come stay with us!  I can't imagine if we had to explain to Steve's brother that we lost/maimed/accidentally killed his mother.  Thankfully, everyone returns home safely.  We decide to go down to Bubbles to have a drink to celebrate our successful first visit!