PlayOn
After a gloomy 2-week-long black cloud on the ward service, even the ICU at the VA Hospital seems like a breath of fresh air. The service is lighter, my cloud seems whiter, and after election day last week, the skies appear ever brighter. I've also recently discovered an ingenious piece of software called PlayOn. Still under beta testing, the program can stream video content from both Hulu and Netflix directly to my PS3, and thus, my large-screen TV. This has unlocked a whole Pandora's box of TV shows to procrastinate with, including the first seasons of 30 Rock and Heroes, as well as new episodes of Terminator and SNL. So much to watch ... so little time. By the way, photos from our Japan trip are posted here - enjoy!
Part 2: Hakone and Kyoto
Traveling to our hotel in Hakone was an adventure itself. After reaching Odawara and its castle by train, we took a mountain tram to Gora, switched to a cable car to Togendai, then boarded a sightseeing boat across Lake Ashi to Moto-Hakone for the bus to our hotel. Though the heavy fog that day made for a misty, romantic view of the sulfur springs in Owakudani and the great torii at Hakone Jinja, our view of Mt Fuji was completely obscured by the blanket of white. Fortunately, we were redeemed on arrival at the Mikawaya Ryokan, where our lavish Kaiseki meal and a soak in our outdoor private hot spring bath melted our stress away. By the time we arrived in Kyoto by shinkansen on Wednesday, we were totally re-invigorated. After checking into our hotel, we wandered down the narrow street of Pontocho, munched on over-spiced okonomiyaki, and finished the night with ramen from another Santouka branch. The next morning, we braved the maze of bus routes to check out Tenryu-ji and the bamboo forest in Arashiyama. From there, we headed east to the famous zen garden at Ryoan-ji, survived the asphyxiating crowds at Kinkaku-ji, and found reprieve at the serene gardens in Koto-in. The afternoon was spent exploring the imperial palace with an hour-long guided tour and gobbling octopus balls at the Nishiki food market. We took a last detour to behold the tunnels of toriis at the Fushimi-Inari-Taisha before rounding the night off with a beautifully-presented yuba dinner at Komameya. On Friday, we went to Higashiyama for a morning view of the Kyoto skyline from the mountain-side temples of Kiyomizu-dera. From there, we strolled through the serene street of Ishibe Koji for a stop at the gardens of Kodai-ji and paid homage to the Ryozen Kannon. Further north, we passed Maruyama Park and listened to the hypnotic Buddhist service at Chion-In. After a lunch break with some nabeyaku udon at Hinode Udon, we wandered down the Philosopher's Path, with multiple stops for green tea soft-serve, before reaching Ginkaku-ji, which sadly was under renovation. Feeling totally "shrined" out, we spent the late afternoon browsing comic books at the Manga Museum. We concluded our final evening with two dinners - an unagi-don rice bowl and a hearty platter of udon. A perfect ending for any trip.
Part 1: Going to Tokyo
If a vacation is judged by the quality of its meals, then our trip to Japan is probably our best by far. We arrived Thursday evening, and had our first bowl of steaming ramen before settling into our hotel. We awoke the next morning to mouth-watering fatty toro at Daiwa Sushi before walking over to the Tsukiji Market. After wading through the bustling aisles of fish stands and watching mammoth hunks of tuna finely carved with samurai swords, we walked through the Hama Rikyu gardens to board the boat cruise to Asakusa. There, we munched on warm red-bean cakes and browsed colorful souvenir stands along Nakamise dori before reaching Sensoji Temple, where we joined the crowds to wash our hands and bathe in incense smoke. In the afternoon, we watched a Kabuki play in Ginza, then checked out the new toys at the Sony building. Saturday morning was spent in Kamakura, where we visted the Daibutsu, braved the caverns at Hasedera, and even watched a Shinto wedding ceremony at the Tsurugaoka Hachimingu. Lunch took place at the Shin-Yokohama Ramen museum with a family friend. To our dismay, we only managed to eat at one of the eight ramen stands there, not realizing that smaller "tasting" portions were also available. For dinner, we met with an old lab-mate for more noodles at Santouka, a ramen chain specializing in tender pork cheek char-shiu, of which only 200g can be obtained from a single hog. On Sunday, we went to Harajuku to gawk at the crazy fashions of Tokyo teens, shop for souvenirs, and eat the famed black pork tonkatsu at Maisen for lunch. Since tickets were sold out for the sumo finals, we spent the rest of the afternoon at Japan's largest electronics store, Yodobashi Akiba, where I perused the myriad gadgets that lined the store shelves. We met my lab-mate again for dinner, this time for tasty beef tongue and kalbi at a Korean BBQ joint. Yet, our adoration of Japanese beef was pushed even higher the next day. After immersing ourselves in Miyazaki's enchanted sanctum at the Ghibli Museum, we had our first taste of Matsusaka beef at Satou Steakhouse, where the grilled steaks were so well-marbled they literally melted in our mouths. Rain clouds were setting in by then, so we spent the afternoon with an indoor tea ceremony, then after a brisk walk through Roppongi, caught an evening shot of the Tokyo Tower. Before leaving Tokyo the next morning, we returned to Tsukiji one more time for sushi. Life has never been better.
