Snack Time Part III

This Snack Time post has gotten way too long so I thought I'd better get it out there before it gets lost in my draft folder.

 

In May of 2019, I received an amazing care package from Julia, stuffed full of yummies. Thank you, Julia! With the exception of the Hanamizuki teas I'm savoring slowly, the rest didn't last very long ^.^

Only in Japan... Part V

I've caught up with my Japan food photos but there are still several Japan-related posts lining up in draft form, like this one in the Only in Japan series for example. I didn't do a post in this series throughout our time in Tokyo but it's better late than never.

Spotted this cool-dude-who-gives-zero-f*ck outside the Marunouchi Cafe Kai on the ground floor of the Kitte Building, across the street from Tokyo Station. Let's just say when you were minding your own business and then looked out the door to see guy sporting samurai hair, outfit, and hiking shoes, you just couldn't help but sneak a photo or two. I do wonder if there were a theater or film studio of some sorts nearby. Then again, he didn't look like he had any stage or film makeup on.

Tokyo Eats - Shibuya Area

Shibuya was another under-explored area for me and hubby. Believe it or not, we went to Shibuya more often while living in Yokohama than we did while living in Tokyo. I blame the same big, dense city exhaustion, because being a suburb Yokohama was nowhere as crowded as Tokyo.

Tokyo Eats - Tokyo Station Part II

Since discovering the Kitte building in the spring, I've been bringing hubby, friends, and visiting family back again and again. Of course, Tokyo Station is huge and this is just a tiny sliver of it, I'm just slow to explore, that's all :P

This is the inside of that red dome. Pretty, huh?

Only in Japan... Part IV

For me and hubby, food is a huge factor in making life in a foreign country fun. Some of the best amusement for us has been at the local grocery store. I mean, where else can you find a whole sack of salmon roe (ikura) and live wasabi roots?

I actually like ikura, but seeing it in its entirely is... well, I suppose I can't un-see it now. Ha.

Only in Japan... Part III

Because Japan!

About a week after our arrival into Tokyo, a new Doraemon movie was about to premier. To promote the movie, they had about a gazillion of these Doraemon statues around the area right in front of the Roppongi Hills Mori Tower entrance, each unique from another. Of course the place was swamped with kids and these were the only photos I could get without having to wait forever.

Only in Taiwan

Today I leave Taiwan, moving back to the US of A *sobs* To leave on a sunny note (forget that it's been raining 3 weeks straight, starting before Thanksgiving T.T), I thought I'd share some hilarious things I've ran into during my time here in Taipei. 

Is Forever 21 too young for you? Try Forever 26!

Taipei Eats - Ximending area (西門町, Picture heavy!)

On a lovely afternoon a few weeks ago hubby and I decided to pay Ximending a visit, though not because it is dubbed the Shibuya and Harajuku of Taipei :P We were there to look for 2 very specific places, one is an ice cream shop and the other another dessert shop specializing in almond tofu. But of course the stroll around Ximending was nice too ^.^

The view outside of MRT Ximen Station (西門站), Exit 4. It was a gorgeous sunny but cooler day, just perfect to be wandering around in.

The Taipei city police station front (left) and back (right). Fancy!

Japan's Golden Poops!

Moving home from Japan, I was really racking my brains what "Japanese-y" souvenirs I could bring back that would really marvel and delight. Mochi? Tastes good, but way too heavy. Who are you kidding, they are pounded rice after all! Sake? Supremely nice gift but is heavy and fragile. Double whammy. Nope. Hello Kitty? Erhh...it's all the rage at home! Geisha/ninja stuff? Cliche. Salted candies? Only certain people appreciate it. I can totally imagine the reaction, "Umm...why is this candy salty?" Yeah, totally defeats the purpose, though that didn't stop me from packing a good 20-something packages anyway, for those who do appreciate them, that is.

And then there are always those awesome Japanese sunscreens, like the recently reviewed Biore UV Aqua Rich Watery Essence, Mentholatum SunPlay Super Block, Mentholatum Skin Aqua UV Sara Sara Milk, even Allie Extra UV Gel Mineral Moist N. But again, these are worse than candies, because it's even harder to determine who would appreciate them, because not many can be bothered to use an oil cleanser to remove the sunscreen prior to the usual cleansing foam. I thought perhaps a light daily use sunscreen for the body like the Nivea Sun Protect Water Gel or Mentholatum Skin Aqua UV Moisture Gel would be nice, and it would, that is, if they would even apply a sunscreen at all! Sigh, Americans. ...But I ended up packing another 20 or so bottles/tubes too, for those who do like these things.

In the end, I still lacked a universally appreciated little something from the land of the rising sun. And then the light switched on, ooohhh...shit! Yes, you read that right, turd, crap, poo, insert your bathroom joke here, but I'm going to bring home a bunch of poops! Golden poops. Japanese golden poops ^.^ Heh. Heh. Heh.  *rub hands gleefully* I think we have a winner xD 

Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the below piles of poop: at right, mini poop in a glass bottle with cork stopper (my personal favorite - LOL!), and at left, poop stamp.

Right, poop on a cell phone charm and, left, poop on a red pillow. 

Only in Japan... Tokyu Hands Edition Part VI

Last of the hilarious stickers hubby and I found at Tokyu Hands ^.^

The Japanese says, "Shimura, behind you!" This is a quirky tribute to an old game show in which the title character, Shimura, is standing on stage facing the audience. He knows someone will sneak up to scare the living daylights out of him but he doesn't know when so it's up to the audience to shout this phrase out loud to warn him. 

Only in Japan... Tokyu Hands Edition Part V

More funny stickers!

The Japanese says, "Bring me some beer!" Is it me or does that guy look like Bruce Lee?

The smaller Japanese text at top left says, "Take care to close up your door and your zipper." 

The larger text below says, "Check your zipper." Yes, make sure the sun doesn't shine through your window ^.^

Only in Japan... Tokyu Hands Edition Part IV

More funny stickers hubby and I spotted at Tokyu Hands ^.^

The Japanese says, "Cheating is prohibited." The English has an added clause, "unless you want to breakup with your girlfriend." Not sure where they got this because the Japanese text is short and simple. Also, the English text introduces the moral dilemma of whether cheating is okay or acceptable when you want a breakup. Hmm...

A decent translation, only the Japanese text isn't a somewhat begrudging command in the form of an annoyed question. Rather, it's an outright aggressive and extremely rude command. I mentioned before one can be vulgar and profane in Japanese without being literally vulgar and profane, this is a good example. To say this to a stranger on the street would be an equivalent of, "Shut the fuck up for a bit!" or if you're yelling at a friend or a younger sibling, it would be, "Shut up for a bit, you [insert name-calling here]!" 

Only in Japan... Tokyu Hands Edition Part III

The Tokyu Hands branch I'd been to was rather small, because despite having 6 floors and 2 basement floors further divided into half-floors (for example, floor 1A is one flight of stair from floor 1B), each actual floor was only the size of a single shop and it wasn't a sprawling department store in any sense. Still, there were 2 whole floors (that's 4 halves) dedicated to all things stationary! It was among the several aisles of cute and sparkly stickers that hubby and I found these hysterically funny ones. We were going through and read them one by one, giggling like nut jobs and contributing to the inflammatory stereotype here that foreigners are mostly weird, crazy, suspicious, etc. 

The Japanese says, "Aim right!" Damn right! They ought to put one of these stickers in every public bathrooms, for all the guys and gals who are disgusting enough to not clean up after themselves.

Only in Japan... Tokyu Hands Edition Part II

More ramune in "normal" and wacky flavors!

- Wasabi Ramune: I am actually curious about this one, believe it or not! May be I'll take the fall next time ^.^

- Kibidango (millet cake) Ramune: curious about this one too, although I'm hesitant to try it. Why? Because I'm afraid it might have the taste of mitarashi, a soy sauce syrup that they smother some dangos with. The vast majority of the time, I love the mix of sweet and salty, but for some reason my palate just rejects this combination of mitarashi dango. In my opinion, the soy sauce usually comes out rather strong in mitarashi, and so it overwhelms the much more mildly flavored dango. I prefer my dango with kinako, or soy bean flour.

Only in Japan... Tokyu Hands Edition

Remember this Pepsi Pink that was the limited edition flavor last November? (Psst, check out this list of past limited edition Pepsi flavors!)

While out doing some shopping for my sister, I stumbled upon a treasure of gag-n-giggle inducing shelf full of different flavored Ramune from the famous (or infamous, depends on who you ask) Tokyu Hands. You probably have heard of Tokyu Hands before, it's a multi-floor shop selling things you never realize you need until you drop a few hundred bucks and leave the place with bags full of them. That's how it always works, doesn't it? Here, see Tokyu Hands' official website in English, or better yet, google Tokyu Hands and see for yourself! Hell, Dick Page spent a precious few days in Tokyo and where did he tour but Tokyu Hands?

So here I present - tadaa - Ramune gag gifts!!! Some of it are just "normal" flavors, but some are definitely gag worthy. Of course they're nowhere as gross sounding as Jelly Beans in Booger, Dirt, Earthworm, Earwax, Rotten Egg, and Vomit flavors, but they're still pretty, umm, wacky stuff.

- Squid Ink Ramune: Squid ink pasta? May be. Squid ink soda? May be not...

***Squid ink pasta picture from Kitchen Connaisseur.

Only in Japan... Part II

...may be not just Japan, but Asia in general, there's this ceaseless trend of really funny-crazy-are-you-kidding-me names for snacks. The below aren't the best examples, but I'm not much of a snacker even if I'm on a cookies kick lately. Here are what I came across during my shopping runs for my sister.

Who cares about Harvard when you can have Harvard cookies? The chocolate cookies have vanilla cream filling and the vanilla cookies have orange cream filling. They turned out to be ho-hum, a little blah even. Where are those pesky corporate lawyers when you need decent tasting cookies? Come on!

Maneki Neko says...

...HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Genji Monogatari Starring Ikuta Toma

Hubby said to me one afternoon, "Hey, want to go see a really short Noh performance? It's going to be in a Noh theater up in Shibuya, and it's related to Genji Monogatari. A. senpai just sent me an invitation."

I was never really excited about Noh, but hey, I'm in Japan, and we have a free invitation, so why the hell not, right? Turns out this was a promotional event for the Genji Monogatari movie starring Ikuta Toma of the original HanaKimi and Honey and Clover fame. Check out the trailer for the movie! It looks interesting enough, though I didn't know a thing about the movie prior to attending the event.

Groceries Randomness

Found a couple of random things on a typical trip to the groceries and decided to take pictures of them to show you ^.^ The neighborhood groceries store is a 15-20 minutes walk from our apartment, and yes, we carry all our groceries by hand, which is a pain, but I guess we're getting [forced] some exercise so it's okay xD Plus it's just me and hubby, and the fridge is a college dorm size anyway, so it's not like we can buy a giant cart full even if we want to. That said, somehow we always end up with 3 giant and heavy bags, which fills our mini fridge to the brim and keep us fed for a week :P 

The Yokohama manhole cover is actually really cool looking!

More otaku dorkiness

Another totally random post ^.^

My sister finally got a glass cabinet to enshrine her growing collection of figurines which includes the 3 Gintama figurines I bought for her back in August.