The day I wrote the best poem ever about USA MEAT

yes, that is what we went through to eat dinner.

Tuesday June 29 (Day 27)

In all of the 3 weeks we have been going to work, we have never slept in until now. Bean and I later realized that we slightly remember talking early in the morning about waking up to run, but it ended up being all a blur until I awoke at 9:15. Looking at my cell phone, which read 8:15, it took me about 30 seconds to realize the one hour difference in Japan and frantically wake Bean up. I am not sure what was different about this morning, but Bean and I must have acquired some grand power of speed because we arrived at the office no later than 9:30. We couldn’t help but laugh when we walked into the office, still trying to catch our breath, to see at least half of the seats still empty. All is well that ends well. After my heart calmed down a little bit, Bean and I hit the internet for resources. Lunch was…the normal…and the fun didn’t really begin until we sat down to write our report on the GuruNavi event on Monday. For some reason, Bean and I had a major attack of laughter. In an attempt to sit down and write the report, I shut my eyes and let my fingers and brain do the work. Instead of a report, I got none other than a …poem. Surprise surprise. Now, for sharing this poem that we jokingly sent to some coworkers as our report (before actually writing the real thing) and that brought laughs all around:

Lets crank this paper out
And tell them people what its all about
The meat industry is whack
That’s why USMEF is bringin it back

US beef is more tender
And we charge like an offender
And you know Pork is where the money lies
But Shoot! don’t forget about those chicken thighs
And that Japanese fresh fish might be cleaner
But our angus beef be leaner

Presentation is what they search for
And we provide like a fairytale folklore
So all those pretty plates sittin there on them tables
It don’t matter what is written all over them labels

With green tea on our side
We will be up all night for the ride

I cannot explain how much this poem lightened our afternoon, but I think I may frame this masterpiece. Oh, and Seya-san said later that she let her husband read the poem and the two of them laughed about us for a long time. Some things never change.
After work we ran around the city (2nd day in a row). Soon we found ourselves looking for dinner, and after a few failures, due to price or what not, we decided to go to a Chinese restaurant that we had passed multiple times during our trip but had never went to because it is only opens for dinner. The staircase led down to one red door in a “basement” of a building. Laughing at this hole in the wall (literally) we opened the door into a room of tables. Many businessmen and women were eating, drinking, and smoking, which left this restaurant without windows full of smoke. The atmosphere was very cool and the room was full of antiques. The food was equally as satisfying! We both got dumpling soup, similar to wonton soup, and shared fried rice. Having to take food home while not burning a hole in our wallets made this place a great find! Our next stop? None other than Don Quixote! I have no idea why we end up here most nights. This time we discovered the food varieties and soon bought some banana chips, yogurt, and ritz crackers for lunch additions. We desperately wanted to enjoy the Japan FIFA game, but because we were soo very tired, we both decided to watch the game in our hotel room. I made the mistake of watching the TV while lying in bed…I think I made it to half time ha.

The day I actually had to say NO to shopping...Shibuya!

No, Bean is a proud USMEF Chef!
Dirty Man is a chef?

Monday June 28 (Day 26)

Today marks the beginning of our last week here working. This particular marking point came with mixed, odd feelings of happiness, sadness, and feelings of just being plain old weird! The weeks have flown by and the comfort and familiarity of Tokyo and the office have grown. The coworkers are our friends, and the city is our playground. But, before I get too sentimental I suppose I should explain what Monday was like. Early in the morning we ran around the city before settling in at our work desks. We were unsure if we were to attend the event found on our calendar, especially since Yama-san left early in the morning without a word. But, soon Yuka-san and Kato-san informed us that we would be attending the two of them to the GuruNavi event at Marunouchi. Like usual, this entailed some taste testing! Ha. Before leaving, Bean and I ate a delicious PB&J lunch (I’ve lost count of the # of PB&Js I’ve eaten since I left home) and met with Sam-san to have an overall talk about what we were to help him with this last week. We soon found ourselves at the event, taking pictures, notes with our eyes, and maybe playing one or two Sudoku puzzles. Maybe. Dirty Man ended up coming to the event, which made our day that much better and full of laughter! The event was a cutting demonstration and informational seminar about US beef to an audience of restaurant owners and chefs. The event went by quickly and after cleaning up Yuka-san, Kato-san and the two of us headed to Shibuya. Bean and I had decided to go Shibuya tonight to explore the shops and experience the craziness of simply walking the streets of Shibuya. Shibuya is the area of young generations. It is always full of new trends, stores, and has the largest/busiest intersection in the entire world! Yuka-san and Kato-san first led us to this chicken restaurant that ended up having a homey wooden, laid back atmosphere. Each dish was great as usual, minus maybe the chicken cartilage. The crunchy, meat-less piece of cartilage lacked a much desired taste and texture for both Bean and me. I am not sure the exact purpose of eating chicken cartilage, but hey…When in Japan!! Afterwards, our friends said goodbye and we ducked into various stores. Finding too many cute things, I had to say NO, but each of us ended up with at least a few items to take back. Bubble tea, shopping, and chicken explains this Shibuya night, and we soon headed back to Roppongi.

BTW, I cannot say Shibuya without thinking of Shi-BOO-YA!....thought you might like to know ha

The day we found out Tokyo loved Rainbows

night view of TOkyo
yes..that is a mini statue of liberty

rainbow ferris wheel

Sunday, June 27 (Day 25)

Whether or not Japanese people have the restful, sleep-in reputation attached to their Sundays, Bean and I made sure we brought the “American” culture of it here. Strolling out of bed when we pleased, we decided to get lunch and wait for Koji-san’s phone call. Having seen a fair priced, delicious looking restaurant beside Hard Rock Café the other week, we headed that way to hopefully find our meal for the day. We soon sat down in the small restaurant to peruse the menu, zooming in on the gyoza, fried rice, edamame, and soup combo to split. After spending about 5 dollars each (at the most) to eat a filling, delicious meal, we happily made our way to both of our usual “waste-time” shops, Don Quixote. The 9 floors of food, kitchenware, costumes, electronics, and everyday products, never seems to lose its luster! Not to mention, the “We Love Don Quixote” songs playing on repeat throughout the entire store. Koji-san soon saved our Sunday, which would have been lost in Don Quixote, and said for us to meet him at Akihabara. We arrived at the station and anxiously looked around for any sign of Koji-san since our phone ran out of minutes and can only receive phone calls. Before we knew it, Koji-san showed up in almost unrecognizable street wear and we hopped into his car. I think this was the first time I had been in a car “with friends going somewhere” since the very very beginning of summer. We drove over Rainbow Bridge and on various streets before reaching Odaiba. Odaiba is an area that looks out onto Tokyo Bay. The area has extensive shopping mall options, as well as a small beach that people hang out and wind-surf off of (but no swimming!). Driving in, Rainbow Bridge and the Rainbow Ferris Wheel came into view. For some reason rainbows are everywhere in Japan, which soon became a big joke between the three of us. The rest of the day we walked under the rare sunny sky and looked out onto the beautiful scene of the bay, with a few islands in the middle, surrounded by the city towers and lights. Each shopping mall had several floors of stores that we walked in to, but quickly tried to look away for our wallet’s sake. Basically Bean and I have decided we have fallen in love with the clothing styles of Japan. Often times we feel as if we are homeless, wearing shorts and t-shirts, while everyone else looks cute at every moment of the day every day. We sat down for dinner at an Italian restaurant and had an amazing Italian/Japanese twist of pasta, pizza, and appetizers. The food has not let us down once! We tried to fake that it was Koji-san’s birthday, but the cake would have taken too long to bake and Koji-san couldn’t take the thought the embarrassment. Afterwards we just looked out at the night view and walked slowly to the car. Before heading back to our hotel for the night, we went to First Kitchen for some tapioca bubble tea. Fully satisfied, we were soon at Roppongi Annex.

The day of JR trains

meat meat meat
nothing like wearing a suit and backpack

Saturday June 26 (Day 24)

Today’s epic seminar was to be a USMEF presentation followed by a cutting demonstration by Kemi-san. Sitting at the back of the room, we listened for Yama-san’s intern introduction telling us to make our way to the front and say something in Japanese. After that nerve-racking experience for the second time, I sat back down. Finally, after the usual Japanese smoke break, we headed down into the “kitchen” type room that felt like an ice box with meat in the refrigerator/freezer. Kemi-san showed several cutting techniques and with masterful ease he trimmed the fat and cut the pieces to be packaged. Standing up in slippers for a few hours can be treacherous if you are someone lucky enough to have a non-existent arch. In fact, I “went to the restroom” to simply sit down and take a load off. I had to force myself up before I felt into a napping slumber. After the demonstrations and tastings were completed, Bean and I mulled over the possibilities for the rest of the weekend. Should we stay in Matsuyama, or take a ferry to Osaka, or go back to Tokyo? Picking the easiest route that included an already paid hotel room and a guaranteed bed for our sleepy bodies, we decided to head towards Tokyo. Unfortunately by the time we arrived at the station, there was a train to Okayama but no train from Okayama to Tokyo. Koji-san and Dirty Man gave us the options. We almost decided to take an overnight ferry, which we thought would be exciting and eventful, but, having never taken the ferry before, Koji-san and Dirty Man took over with fatherly instincts and highly highly suggested not to do it. So, in the end, we headed out on a train towards Tokyo. Our arrival time was 1130ish pm in Tokyo, leaving just enough time to catch the trains to Roppongi before they closed down for the night. Koji-san had brought 2 of his favorite English DVDs for Bean and me to watch on the ride back, Adaptation and Being John Malcovich. Needless to say, these were all VERY …interesting…movies and I feel like I know Koji-san’s mind much better. Watching the movies, eating a baguette that served as our dinner (due to lack of time and options at the few convenience stores), and passing out with exhaustion made the trip go by fairly fast. Finding our familiar way back to Roppongi, we were soon off to bed with excited thoughts about Koji-san “attending us to Odaiba.”

The day I dressed up as a flight attendant and sang karaoke

maid, flight attendant, and nurse
Bean's personal Edemame meal
Hot spring!!

Friday June 25 (Day 23)

Today we were to catch a JR train for a very long 7-7.5 hour ride towards Matsuyama. This was our first weekend business trip, so we packed up our backpacks with suit clothing and pajamas and headed out the door. Our first train left at 8am, so the alarm sounded bright and early. Getting to Tokyo Station was a breeze. We then proceeded to go to the ticket office, cutting the time slightly close. In fact, when we bought our tickets the lady simply looked at us and said “Uhhh…run!” Sweating profusely from the abnormal high humidity in Japan, Bean and I continued to run up stairs and around corners and people till we reached the platform we thought was ours. Not wanting to make a dire mistake, I showed my ticket, with a quizzical “Yes? Help me?” look on my face, to a woman in line. Leading us down the two flights of stairs she quickly pointed us towards the right platform and finally, after a few more flights of stairs, we jumped on the train. Sitting on the train we couldn’t stop laughing (and breathing heavily) because of our realization that the past 10+ minutes were spent looked ridiculous running through the station with large backpacks, and yelling “Sumimasen” (excuse me) with our JR ticket in hand. But, all is well that ends well and we were off towards the eastern island of Matsuyama. The first two hours we remember very little simply because we passed out to the truest definition of the phrase. Somehow awaking from our slumber, we spent the rest of the first leg (4-5 hours) talking, looking at the scenery, and watching The Guardian till we arrived. In all, our first train ride to Okayama was fairly easy and sleep-filled, and we soon switched to the Okayama-Matsuyama line. The next ride was for roughly 2.5 hours. We made our infamous lunch of PB&J and watched the awe-inspiring scenery of Japan’s coast and islands. For a large leg of the trip the train was sandwiched between the side of the island and the ocean, giving us the feeling that we were on the edge looking out into the scenery. Although rainy most of the day, the landscape filled with green forests, rice fields, and a foggy, blue ocean were equally stunning. We arrived at our final destination around 4:15pm and took a taxi to our hotel to wait for Koji-san and Yama-san’s arrival from the airport. When they arrived we met them in the lobby and were informed that all they wanted to do first was go to a hot spring. Japanese hot springs are a traditional way of bathing where men and women are separated, occasionally with one co-ed room, and bathe in a communal type hot spring bathtub. The kicker…no clothes or bathing suits allowed. This particular hot spring is one of the oldest in all of Japan and the building was at least 100 years old. Having done this once before, I knew what to expect, but Bean was in for a good experience. Sparing details of what our eyes saw, the hot spring experience was overall very refreshing and we felt cleaner than we had in a while. Next we searched for a good place to eat dinner and found ourselves at a suggested yakitori restaurant. Yakitori is a “genre” of Japanese restaurants that are similar to tapas. The menu mostly consists of small plates that are often skewers, appetizers, deserts, and miscellaneous food items that are, of course, delicious. Unaware that we were to be joined by other businessmen until we sat down at the table, we were told that Dirty Man (our friend), and 3 other men from Nippon Ham were going to eat with us. Dinner was delicious and mainly full of rice (too much), beef and pork skewers, and edamame (which Bean devoured). I thought after dinner everyone would get a good night sleep before the long business day tomorrow (like normal people?), but I should have known that isn’t the Japanese way. Instead, Bean and I found ourselves going to karaoke with 6 men. Not only was it karaoke, but unlike the karaoke places in Tokyo, this one had costumes. I am not sure exactly how, but Bean ended up being a maid, I was a flight attendant, Dirty Man was a nurse, and Sonada-san was ...we think...another flight attendant (costume did not fit him!). I would say this was a very bonding moment for all of us. At least flight attendants wear a suit-like uniform…I wasn’t too embarrassed ha. One of the men had a wonderful voice, and the rest of us tried to sing up to his level. A mixture of English and Japanese songs were sang, and the night was complete with new nicknames and jokes for Dirty Man. Apparently in Japan many business men will go out to karaoke before a large seminar so that they can be on a more friend-like basis the next day. Ok, I accept! Finally, by about midnight, we headed back to the hotel and “hit the hay”

The day a copy of my passport was not enough identification

I'm going to just do a quick overview seeing that I am a little behind:

Thursday June 24 (Day 22)

Slept in instead of running in the morning….gah

Work work but nowhere near as successful as the day before.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KATO-SAN!!!!! gave him a USA birthday celebration

Lunch-noodle bowl from Lawson’s Convenience store. Absolutely delicious

Excited for travel day tomorrow. Left work

Ran to the imperial palace. Did sprints etc…was amazing!

Ran back from imperial palace to a curry house for dinner. Cheap and quick and delicious. Mmm

Went hunting for a movie to watch on the computers for the long train ride. Unsuccessful- passport/ID situation. Apparently a copy of the passport was not enough evidence.

Started The Illusionist and went to bed. Early wake up in the morning

The Day of Success and Fail: Being productive= success; Love life 101= fail

(photos coming soon)
Wednesday June 23 (Day 21)

This morning we managed to get up early and finally run. And, although there was a mist-like rain we welcomed its cool presence. Feeling full of happy endorphins, we preceded to have one of the most productive work days everrrr. Going through Sam's needed bullet points gave Bean and I some consistent things to do and new websites to explore. Drinking green tea and feeling the after effects of running, I felt more awake this morning than I had in a very long time. Soon we were rescued from the glow of the computer screen by lunch, our savior, and decided to splurge and BUY lunch. So, naturally, we walked to Lawsons (a convenience store similar to 7/11) for a cheap meal. We both got different types of rice bowls that tempted all my senses...just like food should! Delighted, both of our convenience store meal did not disappoint, and it made our college student wallets/stomachs pleased . During lunch, in line with our normal shenanigans, we spent the entire time writing on the board in the empty meeting room. The only failure was that, unknown to us, Yama-san had a meeting during the end part of our break and opened the door to us trying to print our hilarious board picture. We were slightly startled and laughed until we saw a stranger, probably a customer, walk through to door after him. Slightly panicked and embarassed we erased the board and left the room with our lunch trash in hand. HAH. Despite our startled hearts, we finished out the day with diligence and in good humor. Work soon ended and we headed back to our hotel. Feeling extra and abnormally productive today, Bean and I did our laundry. So many amazing successes of the day. As we were waiting for our laundry to dry, Koji-san called us to see what we were doing for dinner. We all decided to go to Mexican, which we were definitely craving, and Koji-san took us to one of his favorite Mexican restaurants. Later we realized it was his favorite not only because of the food, but because he confessed to a girl that he liked her at this restaurant when he was young. Above ground the restaurant looked like a small, somewhat run-down building, but as soon as we opened the door we were met with old, cool brick stairs leading down to an unknown destination. After taking at least 3 downward stair cases through decorative hallways, we finally reached the dining room. This was one of the best Mexican restaurants I had ever been to and it happened to be in Japan! All the food was equally satisfying.
As we finished dinner the only thing on our mind was reaching the sports bar to watch the USA vs Algeria FIFA game. It was not hard to identify the sports bar from the familiar sounds and cheering people from America and England. Koji, slightly overwhelmed in the situation, just smiled at us while we tried to make our way closer to see the TV. Walking through the crowd we occassionally were drawn into a conversation about our reasons for being in Japan and it was truly mind-blowing, after so many weeks, to hear English everywhere. We met an Australian and hung out with a group of guys from California and one from GEORGIA! They had been living and working in Tokyo for at least 7 years. With "England Till I Die" and USA chants being yelled, Bean and I excitingly watched the games. There is nothing more bonding than being in a foreign country and randomly watching a national game with people from your country ha. After the USA scored the goal we were drenched with beer that had been thrown from who knows where and soon we found Koji, who had disappeared in the excitement for a smoke break (he must have been stressed by the outgoing crowd). Heading back to the hotel I decided that each and every part of the night was so great, especially since it was the first night we managed to stay out with a crowd of strangers. I can't wait to watch the Japan World Cup game tomorrow night!

The day we day we stayed at work too long

Passing out after work

Tuesday June 22 (Day 20)

Today was a very normal day. Work had little diversions a few sleepy thoughts. The couches against the wall sometimes whisper sweet nothings in my ear and resistance is hard. But, Bean and I finally got some research direction with Sam's handout of things he needed us to look up. For the first time since we arrived we were given an exact idea of what data to research. :) For lunch we camped out in the large meeting room to eat our PB&J/banana sandwhiches...again. The meeting went very well. By the time 5:30pm rolled around, I was exhausted physically and mentally to say the least. However, before leaving for our hotel we had to talk to Koji about our upcoming business trip this Saturday in Matsuyama (7 hours away by train). Near the end of the conversation, while Koji was on the phone with a customer, I fell asleep. The humorous scene of Koji on the phone at his desk and I asleep on the other side of his desk in a chair, for at least 25 minutes, proved to be a photo opportunity to not be missed. After waking up, Kato-san and Koji-san asked us to go to dinner with them. They are just way too nice! We went to a Chinese restaurant close to the office and ordered several dishes to share. I am convinced they think Americans are always hungry because they continuously try to order new dishes despite our insistence of our inability to eat more. All of us spent a very long dinner eating salad, gyoza, dumpling soup, and chop suey while playing the "what animal are you" game. This popular game back home was unknown in Japan...at least to two of them. Kato-san and Koji-san thought the game was very entertaining and slightly embarassing while they busily attempted to identify animals for everyone we knew. As usual we spent hours almost in tears of laughter. After dinner Bean and I decided that sleep was absolutely necessary even though Koji's offer of playing pool was tempting. Rain check!

The Day we met a famous cook?!

just to make your mouth water
Jay McCarthy

Our group for the day

Monday June 21 (day 19)

Today we woke up to have the last breakfast with my father before his departure. Gladly we were able to fully enjoy breakfast because we didn’t have to say our permanent goodbyes until at the office. After getting a little life pep talk from my dad, he left for the airport and in no time we were off for the event of the day. We had the pleasure of going to a cooking event today! The famous chef, Jay McCarthy was to give a cooking class (of course using American beef) to several bloggers. Traveling in the taxi with Jay, we soon found out that he had been gone for 5 weeks traveling in Asia and has had the pleasure of traveling all over the world doing what he loves. In addition, he knew and cooked with Julia Child and many famous famous cooks and critics. Way COOL!! So, naturally I tried to talk to him as much as possible and befriend him…including getting his email so I could “email him photos of the event.” The 2 dishes to be cooked were a Surf n Turf Maki roll with crab/asparagus wrapped in sirloin with wasabi mayonnaise, and a Slider with sirloin, onions, mushrooms, red peppers, cheese, and a chipotle mayonnaise! Wow, I really hoped we would get to eat these dishes. The bloggers, all women, took thousands of photos and I bought into the fad quickly. Overall the cooking class was so much fun to watch, even though we were unable to participate. He taught techniques and cooked while the women took fast notes and laughed at his corny jokes. Then, the women all got to cook the dishes. Finally, it was time to eat, or at least we got to watch them eat first, and have an ending discussion. OH and of course we got to try the dishes too :D. When the event ended they said we didn’t need to go back to the office since work ended in one hour, so we gladly made our way to the subway towards Roppongi. As soon as we got to our hotel we changed into RUNNING clothes...finally. We ran throughout the streets of Roppongi and our work area for a long time and then stopped in the area we ate dinner at on Friday. In Akasaka Mitsuke there is a discount grocery store there and we soon excitedly realized that the drinks were half the normal price. Our college kid mindset went into a frenzy of happy thoughts. Leaving with full bags in hand we stopped at Hotel Okura to pick up Bean’s binder she left and headed back. When we got to our hotel we further worked out ...lifting full water bottles, calf raises on the bathroom doorway, pushups by the front door, and sit ups wherever (whatever we could do!). With the A+ quality workout under our belts, our stomachs began growlingBefore . Soon our mind had been made up...it would be Indian tonight. With Nan on our brain we walked about 1 minute to the Indian restaurant by our hotel and ate one of the most delicious Indian meals we had ever consumed. Chicken curry, rice, Samosas and cheese Nan were shared between the two of us. Successful day and the rest of the night is history...felt like a fairytale!

The day we thought we would take a walking tour...everywhere

the heart made of candles. Can you pick which one is mine?
Free Hugs? Yes please
The beautiful flowers of Yoyogi

Imperial Palace gardens!

Sunday June 20 (Day 18)

FATHERS DAY! How lucky I am to have my father here, in Japan, for Father’s Day.

So if you don’t remember, Bean and I held a vow to run this morning. Well, FAILURE. Out of pure exhaustion of the day before, the snooze button was my best friend and I barely realized the time or the presence of morning till I realized it was 920am. We were to meet my dad at his hotel at 10am. Rushing around to eat breakfast and get ready, we cursed our sleep-induced laziness. We spent a good bit of time in the lobby of my dad’s hotel trying to look through booklets of things to do. Despite our desire to go to Hiroshima, it was already too late in the morning for us to make the one-way 4 hour trip (hopefully at a later date). Instead we decided to first walk through the Imperial Palace's gardens. The beautiful greenery in the middle of the tall city buildings gave the Imperial Palace a secluded feel that left us happily aimlessly walking. After seeing the various tea ceremony houses and taking the various garden trails, we soon decided to take my dad to the absolute delicious ramen noodle restaurant that we had our first week at Tokyo Dome. This time we actually knew how to order with ease. The meal was equally as wonderful and it had my dad convinced we needed to open one of these restaurants in Athens, Georgia. After a delicious lunch we sat and people watched for some time while trying to figure out our next move. Finally we decided to go to Shibuya and Yoyogi Park. Tietz told us that Shibuya was the place to go, and although it wasn’t nighttime we thought it would be good to scope out the scene. Getting out of the train station at Shibuya was a different world. People, lights, shops, and sounds were EVERYWHERE. This is the Tokyo people imagine. Next we spent about 30 minutes asking various people on every street where to find pearl (bubble) tea. Two girls, at last, came to our rescue and seeing our tired, desperate expressions personally walked us to the bubble tea. Totally worth it. On the map Yoyogi park was down one road for several blocks, but what seemed not far ended up being a walking adventure. We passed numerous stores, starbucks, and people before asking an English speaking Jamaican guy (selling NY dogs) if we were on the correct road. Yoyogi soon came into view and along with goth, anime, and interestingly dressed people…including a guy saying he could give free hugs and free communication, we took in the scene with awe. In the end we think the place we reached was Yoyogi Park, but we really don’t know anything besides the fact we walked through forests of flowers. In order to make it back to Roppongi in time for candle lighting we headed back. Dinner was to be an amazingly cooked AMERICAN meal. The first time since we reached Japan, Bean and I ate a “home-type” meal…Hard Rock Café...and it surely proved to be the best choice of the day. Bean and I, finally, got a real BEEF burger to share, and I got Mac n cheese that I had been craving even in Australia. The last thing on our list of things to do was go to Midtown to see this set up of candles. Earlier in the week we had decorated separate candle holders to be used in this love, earth candle lighting event. Seeing the candles from above, our eyes were met with hundreds of candle holders beautifully crafted into the shape of a heart. We got to take pictures with our personal candle holders, even though mine was unable to be re-lit. I destroyed about 4 more lit candles trying to exchange them. Now, time to sleep to get ready for work and the last breakfast with the Father. I am convinced we walked at the very least 10 miles the past two days so sleeping wasn't a hard task.

Countryside shrine day

caught my Dad sleeping...no surprise?
cute cute

the majestic scene of Nikko
RAGE!

Saturday June 19 (Day 17)

AHH Saturday. Today we were going to wake up, run, get our endorphins going, and run before we met my dad to catch the train towards Nikko. Today I pressed the snooze button on my alarm several times. AND today, due to our deep sleep and dodging of the alarm, we didn’t get to run. That is basically the story of our early Saturday morning: one with so much potential but so little success. Instead, a vow was made for tomorrow morning and with heads held high we met my dad in our hotel lobby for our day’s adventure. We headed towards Tokyo station’s JR to catch the Shinkasen (bullet train) towards Nikko. According to people we knew and online sources, Nikko was a place of beauty and enchantment, scattered with shrines, marshes, and bridges. To my surprise the transit there was extraordinarily easy. Knowing the train system to Tokyo like the back of our hand, Bean and I led the way. To get on the JR, even with the language gap, was very easy and we were soon sitting on the bullet train for a little over an hour. The train ride was full of conversation about what we have learned, tried, and updates on life. Our last leg of the one-way trip was the Nikko line, a public train system that lasted 40 minutes till Nikko was finally reached. A little hungry and tired, I quickly made the decision that food was a necessary first find in Nikko. The quaint town of Nikko resembled an old time mountain town in the lush greenery of the mountain’s forests. The color green that we had not seen in so long flooded our eyes with practically tears. The walk from the train station to the base of the shrine area was about 40 minutes, but along the way we took a lunch break at a restaurant resembling a cute chapel of some sort. The food was deliciously scrumptious in my tum: beef rice bowl, salad, soup and tea. With stomachs full to the absolute BRIM, we gladly walked the rest of the way to the shrines. Entering every shrine was a new experience and although I have seen hundreds of shrines throughout my lifetime, each one never loses its wonder. Needless to say we walked miles and miles that day through the shrines,　including getting there and back from the train station. While at the shrines, the sky unleashed its rain, sometimes a slight rain and sometimes a brief downpour, but nothing fierce enough to lessen our desire to see as much as possible. On our way back we stopped for ice cream, bought our tickets, and bought coffee for the train ride back. Once on the train, we soon realized that amazingly our one train car on the Nikko line had 3 languages being spoken, journal writers, tattoo covered people, rapper-asian looks, and my dad’s wide-open-mouth-snoring. Finally figuring out the people with tattoos were from Spain, I couldn’t help but listen intently for the Spanish language that I missed so much. Also, there may or may not be a photo of my sleeping father floating around in some stranger’s camera now :). The bullet train back was a dream. Literally. We all slept the entire time and luckily woke up to the announcement of Tokyo! Attempting to open my eyes and remind my body how to move, we slowly made our way back to Roppongi to eat dinner. Dinner was at a wonderful, interesting restaurant featured in the Kill Bill movie. Like Moes’ “Welcome to Moes” cheer, we got some Japanese welcome and were soon seated. Similar to tapas, we shared several dishes (each one being as good as the one before). Finally, with full stomachs we headed home to sleep and take advantage of Sunday, the last day of the weekend.

Okonomiyaki Day!!

our finished product

the bowl before we mixed it up
WAAAAA

Friday June 18 (Day 16)

So I am pretty sure I pressed the snooze button 4 times this morning. I practically dragged my body out of bed. After showers and all that jazz we were off to the work for our 2^nd FRIDAY! Since it didn’t feel like Friday and we had such a fun time the night before, I was bubbling with happiness. Despite wanting to laugh about the night before at the office, we were not surprised by the expected silence. But, throughout the day there were funny thank you notes emailed to one another and with the added extra reassurance that they enjoyed our company. For lunch June-san invited us to eat with one of her college tennis friends, Yoshi, and although we spent plenty of money the night before we couldn’t resist the offer. As lunch came around we were extra happy to go outside. Yoshi greeted us with a smile and questions about our whereabouts. We ended up walking a short distance to a new food court area that had 4 different restaurants to order from. It reminded me a little bit of Australia and a little bit of a cafeteria so I felt right at home! Lunch was delicious and full of conversation, including a plan to meet up before our departure to play tennis and eat eel on rice with their college friends. New friends? J. But, soon it was time to head back to work and we packed up our things and said our goodbyes. Work, for the most part, was the same as every other day minus the anticipation of the weekend! Greg came into the office with ice cream and a spam, egg rice ball for Bean and I to try. This spam concoction was one of Greg’s old favorite cheap Japanese pick-ups, so naturally we had to try it. It was the first time we had tried spam and embarrassingly enough it wasn’t bad! But, can’t say we have tried it again since he bought it for us. As we were about to leave the office Koji flagged us down. Being on the phone, he soon started writing on and passing us sticky notes. Koji, being the cute “older brother” he is, asked us about our dinner plans. Soon we had decided we would all go and eat Okonomiyaki. Okonomiyaki is a dish that Bean and I have anxiously wanted to try since our eyes saw the photo and description. This do-it-yourself “pancake” consists of batter, cabbage, vegetables and anything from squid to chicken. Mixing all these ingredients together in a bowl, you then pile it on a griddle in front of you to cook. Walking to Akasaka Mitsuke, we met up with the one of the agency guys at the Okonomiyaki restaurant. There are many various types to make and we tried three. One was a classic pancake looking one, the next had noodles in the middle and an egg cracked on top like a “toad in a hole,” and lastly a liquid like thin pancake traditionally from a very different area of Japan. All of them were delicious and filling. We could top them with seaweed, mustard, mayonnaise, or tuna flakes. Dirty man came to join us and we spent at least 2 hours in this restaurant swapping thoughts, stories, and future plans. Graciously we thanked everyone for joining us for dinner and headed back to the hotel. The last thing we did was call my dad to make meeting plans for the morning and then quickly fell asleep to prepare for the day ahead of us.

Unlimited Candy and Karoake-Most typical Japanese night :)

All the girls!
Karoke
Kato-san! And his Birthday "Cake"
Gummy lips are the best
We miss you all!!

Thursday June 17 Day 15:

Today marks the official 2-week cap of our trip here in Japan. Time seems to be flying by, full of new food and people, but the excitement about being here has never lessened. Oh and hey my dad is here now J. Time to celebrate the first time I will see my dad since early May! So, we met him early in the morning for breakfast at his hotel. We proceeded to have the best breakfast of our entire trip, even though salad and toast had become a favorite of ours. After having a wonderful breakfast and planning to meet for the weekend, Bean and I headed to work. Our main source of excitement today was looking forward to this get together with a handful of coworkers tonight from 7-9. Almost everything about tonight was a mystery and a necessary secret since not everyone had been invited. BUT before all that excitement we had yet another official workday ahead of us. Instead of being confined to my beautifully decorated (or lack there of) cubicle for the entire day, the afternoon would be spent visiting more supermarkets with Seya-san. With the morning moving slow, or fast (I can’t remember), a PB&J lunch time was soon here. And, what did we do you ask? The two of us ate lunch in the large meeting room where we proceeded to make sandwiches and play hang man on the board. We played several rounds, laughing hysterically and nervously looking out the open door to see if people could hear us. Just when we started writing love notes to our fellow laxers, Sam-san came in and told us that we can print whatever was on the board with one simple press of a button. Trying not to be embarrassed about the fact that he was showing us how to print a large drawn heart with “Laxers + Bean and Wigs” in the middle, we just smiled. Soon after our ridiculous lunch playtime, Seya-san gathered us up (the babies) and we headed towards the subway. Arriving in an area of Japan that used to be a sea 500 years ago, we visited 3 supermarkets. We laughed for hours and made Seya-san lose her breathe in laughter as we took our usual random sleep photos, talked about how Koji-san calls us his babies, and yelled continuous questions her way. We had about 30 min left of work when we got back so we just typed up our data for the afternoon and walked back to the hotel to get money for tonight. For 4000 yen we had 2+ hours of unlimited drinks and Japanese candy at a traditional Japanese hang out from the 1950s. We were not just with 7 coworkers, but now 7 of our closest and newest Japanese friends. We spent time telling stories, eating the 5 dishes included (balls of fried octopus, edamame, yakisoba, ham, and pizza) and candy, and drinking (more like watching Kato-san drink ha). The candy consisted of many weird things like squid on a stick and random unnamed things, but we gladly found gummy lips that we proceeded to take photos with. Also, apparently in Japan it is not rude to scream "Excuse me" (Sumimasen) to the waiter and waitresses. So, our Japanese friends had an absolute blast making us scream SUMIMASEN at the top of lungs throughout the restaurant every time they wanted a refill. It was absolutely hilarious and left the entire table, including us, laughing...we are really getting the cultural experience. Finally, near the end of our dinner, we realized that we were mainly out to celebrate Kato-san’s upcoming birthday, which made the night even better! And, of course because Kato-san loves karaoke and even has a membership card (ha), we ended up at a karaoke bar afterwards. Absolutely the funniest part of the night! We sang classic songs for hours and our voices filled the private room. Bean and I basically sang to each other and laughed at Kato-san’s hilarious face/singing. Afterwards we missed the last train so Koji rode with us in a taxi. All in all…this was the best night because Bean and I really felt like we had friends here in Japan. We absolutely love every single one of them and it was a night that we will talk about forever…I even hugged Koji-san which technically isn’t “normal” behavior...woops ha.

The day we spent too much money on lunch

Wednesday June 16, Day 14

Well, today was a regular day at work. No rain and no worries. Besides doing our usual research and email entertainment with one another, we had no particularly urgent projects to pursue. The only part of our day that veered from the norm was lunch. In the morning Sam-san, one of the head honchos of the office, told us that he would like us to meet some agents over lunch. Of course out of respect we said yes. As lunchtime rolled around, with no details to where we were going, we set off alongside 4 coworkers and 3 new faces. To our surprise we ended at the door front of Lawry’s. For all those who know little about Lawry’s, it is a very nice, expensive Prime rib restaurant. To put this in perspective, during the first week in Japan Bean and I walked by Lawry’s and realized that everything on the menu was cheapest $20 and promised to only go there if we still had money at the end. Now, here we were. Thinking that the invitation to lunch meant they were “sponsoring” our outing, we were soon informed that we would be paying for our own meal. Sam-san told us that it was very affordable so not to worry, which meant close to $20 for lunch…we definitely had a good chuckle to ourselves. Lunch ended up being delicious (beef curry dish and unlimited salad bar) and full of conversation (especially with the unexpected Chicagoan at the table). The rest of the day was fairly uneventful and ended up eating a ramen-type noodle bowl in our room to save money after the day’s events and the “unofficial office meeting” this upcoming Thursday. Tuesday done, Wednesday (hump day!!) tomorrow!

I likey Taiyaki

Conveyor belt sushi
Anago fish
Taiyaki!!

June 15, Day 13:

Very tired from the previous day’s activities I had to work extra hard to pull myself out of bed. The hardest part about the morning was sitting my body up, but once my feet hit the floor I felt far more awake then I thought possible. Breakfast was extra busy and we could barely get a table to sit at. At work we were back to the grind of research when a few visitors walked into the door. The leading figures of USMEF, Mr. Hanes and Mr. Haggard, greeted us and we talked about our experiences thus far. They also gave us ideas for future trips and restaurants, especially Mr. Hanes who lived in Japan for 2 years. Unknown to us, we were soon called into the meeting room with Yama-san, Mr. Hanes, Mr. Haggard, Fuseya-san, and Kato-san. I was nervous and hoped they wouldn’t ask us to summarize our findings so far because the meeting was announced with no warning. To our benefit, the meeting was about a new project they wanted us to work on. Even better, the project required us to get out of the office and visit several supermarkets and writing down what brands were present and their selling points, prices, and percentage of shelving. Yes a project!! Being dismissed we found ourselves back at our desks. For lunch we ate yet another PB&J. However, we spiced it up a little with the addition of an amazing and small salad from 7 eleven. We tried to eat at Starbucks, and near the end of our “meal” we were told we had to leave unless we wanted to purchase a drink…sooo we, the poor college students, left ha. Work was the usual business, but we were mainly excited for yet another Koji experience. We were to meet Koji at Kinshicho to visit our first 4 supermarkets. Unknowingly we were traveling to Koji’s hometown and where he lives now. Before going to our first supermarket, Koji brought us to a famous Taiyuki place. Taiyuki is a soft tapioca shell shaped like a red snapper that is filled with sweet azuki bean paste, chocolate, and caramel-like cream. It was absolutely delicious and fairly cheap. Koji randomly handed us two he got and I got a green tea tapioca shell with bean paste inside. Bean got a tapioca shell filled with a sweet caramel, butterscotch inside. Sooo good. Next we were off to 4 separate supermarkets and constantly asking Koji questions because our lack of ability to read let alone speak Japanese. After seeing the supermarkets, including a 24-hour Wal-Mart owned supermarket, we headed to dinner at a conveyor belt sushi restaurant. I had wanted to go to one of these ever since arriving to Japan and Bean, who is not a fan of raw fish, thankfully agreed to go along and try the experience. Surprisingly we had a great time and fearlessly ate whatever dish we picked off the conveyor or that Koji ordered and handed to us. Our new meal items included trying small pieces of sea urchin and crab brain…yikes! Besides that it was shrimp, anago (spelling? But absolutely amazing and tasty), tuna, salmon, and saba. Bean and I decided that, at the very least, a second visit to a restaurant like this was necessary in our future. We said goodbye to Koji and promised to call him because he says he gets nervous (he is just too cute ha). Before going to our hotel I of course had to get some bubble tea that really hit the spot. Soon after arriving to the hotel I fell asleep.

Dirty Dirty man likes Yakiniku

aw Koji!


we are so official!
June 14, Day 12:

I woke up to rain outside…ah rainy season has begun. Instead of going in for office today we were to meet Koji at 8:30am at the Tokyo Station. Our travel filled day was to Osaka for another similar presentation and tasting session as our first one in Shinjuku. We made sure to leave on time in order to activate our JR 14-day pass we purchased back in Georgia. From Tokyo Station we were to take a 3-hour bullet train (JR) to Osaka. However, after running all over Tokyo Station trying to find the correct JR exchange office we were denied to activate our pass because whoever issued the pass forgot to stamp the issue date. The problem could easily be solved through a phone call or two but one main problem… the necessary office opened at 9:30am and our train was to leave at 9:03am. Semi-frantically calling Koji’s cell phone with our new prepaid phone we tried to explain the situation and he came to meet us. After he sweated a little from nerves he told us that we could take the 10am train and still be there on time since the presentation officially started at 2pm. In the meantime he helped us talk with the JR ladies and decided to wait and ride with us. Finally after waiting for 9:30am, it finally came and we went straight to the desk. Wanting extensive information about our flight receipts and dates of issue and traveling, we were nervous that we may not be able to get our pass today. However, after some negotiating from the helpful ladies behind the desk, we were soon off running towards the train. Catching the train just in time, we all took a large sigh of relief in our seats and let some laughs out as Koji quickly went to the smoking cart to “calm his heart.” The train passed through various cities, such as Nagoya, Nara and Kyoto, before reaching our final destination. The outside view was full of beautiful greenery and mountains that we had not yet seen on our trip to Japan. However, every time we got close to a city the towering buildings all looked so familiar. After several discussions about customs and culture differences between the US and Japan, we arrived at Osaka (by the way Japanese people do not say I Love you…??) We took a cab to the hotel where the presentation was held and quickly stopped at 7 eleven for a pick-me-up of black coffee. A few familiar faces were at the presentation and as we sat down. In front of my eyes were two bottles: black coffee and green tea…can you say caffeine high? The presentation was almost exactly the same as our last outing, so we mainly spent time calming Koji’s nerves before he presented and kept ourselves busy. After the presentation we all walked down the street to the oldest Yakiniku restaurant in Japan and were put in a room with Koji, Furiya, and two very important, leading men of the Yakiniku Association. Differing from our first Yakiniku experience, we had more vegetables than weird cuts like pork foot, which we happily ate. After we got to try US beef, similar cuts to before (tongue, skirt, stomach), and Wagyu beef. Wagyu beef is the domestic high-quality beef of Japan that is highly marbled and so tender it almost melts in your mouth. Overall the meal was delicious and we had some great laughs from constantly being looked at to see if we cringed at the food or not. Before we left in order to catch the train back to Tokyo and not be forced to stay overnight in Osaka, we were escorted into the large room where everyone else was sitting. The room was filled to the brim with smoke and we were escorted to a table of men sitting. Before leaving our room we had been warned the man we were to talk to was a creepy old man that likes young women. ?? However, to our happy surprise he was just very nice and did not give off a creepy vibe. We soon took the opportunity to say our respectful goodbyes and find our trustful friend Koji. The ride back to Tokyo was full of constant laughter, playing Uno, and learning/teaching slang words. Including the constant laughter and mention of how Furiya got the nickname “Dirty dirty man” at dinner and with Koji saying, “Dirty man likes Yakiniku.” Behind her faithful camera Bean took a handful of videos of Furiya talking English and our great games of Uno. Sadly to say we never fail to be the loudest people on the train…day or night. I think we continuously embarrass Koji in public, especially when we yell “I love you” to him. But, no matter because I think my abs got the best workout so far from that one 3-hour trip back from Osaka. After getting to Tokyo stations we said our goodbyes and headed to our hotel. From laughing so hard Bean and I had trouble going straight to bed and ended up staying up till about 2am just doing who knows what! Our real work week starts tomorrow but it sure did start off gloriously!!

The day I gave out my identity? And ...ANIMALS

mother gorilla

The awesome band we came across
dad?

June 12, Day 10:

Waking up I realized it was the bittersweet of Sunday: the day of sleep and family along with the realization of the upcoming work week. But, forcing ourselves out of bed we knew we had things to explore today. Our plan? To go get a prepaid phone, go to the Ueno Zoo, visit the parks and shrines around Ueno park area, and walk to Akihabara (the king of electronic appliances and distractions). At breakfast Bean and I took out our peanut butter and bananas for the third time in a row only to get stared at quizzically. Apparently Japanese culture has no idea about this American phenomenon! Next we were off to purchase a phone to communicate with Koji about traveling to Osaka tomorrow and future trips. Soft Bank was the phone company close to the hotel and most trusted for selling phones (looked legit). The inside reminded me of any AT&T, but of course it had an amazing collection of Japanese technology. Sadly we got turned away because there were no more prepaid phones in the store and instead got lead to Don Quixote (the discount store we have so become accustomed to). Unknown to us, Don Quixote had something around 9 floors of everything you ever wanted in life! At the 4^th floor we found electronic heaven and soon, with little ability to understand the Japanese, we were attempting to purchase a phone. Sadly the phone only lasts 30 minutes, which seemed like a slight rip off but we realized we wouldn’t be able to find a much better deal. I now have a Japanese phone J. “I think I’m turning Japanese”…song ha. To purchase the phone I felt like I was giving away my identity to random Don Quixote. First was my passport, hotel name, address and phone number. I felt really uncomfortable giving away all that information so Bean a work address and number she knew. In the end we were laughing hysterically about all the information needed for a prepaid phone and decided if he asked for a SSN we were going to leave asap. Ha. In the 40 minutes we had to wait for the phone to be processed Bean and I walked up floors of Don Quixote, looking at everything of course. We finally reached the watch and sunglass floor. I haven’t had a watch in so long so I figured it was worth looking on the floor. The floor consisted of veryyy expensive watches but I found the cheap wall! Ok, so I don’t normally feel compelled to buy things suddenly, but I ended up with 2 watches. How it happened..I have no idea! Ha. But, have no fear because they are awesome: A multi-colored watch and a funny, cheap pocket chain that was silver with an engraved eagle on the outside. HAH. I will have so much fun whipping out that pocket chain in good ole Athens.

After finding our way on the subway and eating a delicious lunch of PB&J (like usual), we found ourselves in Ueno. We had to ask various people on the street about the Zoo because there was no sign anywhere minus the few zoo animal figures on the street drains…like that was a clue or something? Anyway, after many attempts to talk to people we finally found ourselves on the Panda Bridge headed towards the Zoo. Due to our great eyesight we missed the Zoo at first and headed down into the park area. While there we came across this jazz/swing band consisting of a baritone sax, trumpet, clarinet, trombone, banjo, and bass. The best part of the band was the drum set made of cans and wood, and the instrument that was a wooden block with metal spoons attached to pluck. They sounded great and drew a large crowd. We stayed and listened for several minutes and songs until we decided it was time to go towards the Zoo we finally located on the Park map. Reaching the entrance there was a rush of children coming out of the zoo with wideeee smiles, and we quickly rushed in so we could see the zoo in their last few open hours. Running around to various exhibits we saw red pandas, polar bears, monkeys, tigers, lions, gorillas, penguins (jackass penguins to be exact), and various birds. The Zoo was beautiful, the animals were fun, and the monkeys, which were full of human emotion and the babies, were especially cute. This particular day at the Zoo I saw more babies and more animals close to the glass than I have seen at any other Zoo. Soon we knew it was time to move towards the exit because Japan plays very calming music when it is either time to leave the area, time to get off or on the subway trains, or time to walk across the street. I will truly miss such nice, inviting music in my ear. In all the Zoo experience was a wonderful day filler and full of funny, exciting photos to soon share with the world. For dinner we headed towards First Kitchen, a place we passed on the way to the Zoo that had the main attraction of bubble tea. Ordering a fairly normal dinner of French fries, a small small chicken wrap and bubble tea, we were soon off to Akihabara. First we got directions from an English speaker who overheard our translating problems, but mainly he pointed us in the right direction and thought we were crazy to be walking. In a short 30 minute walk we walked to Akihabara station and soon realized the electronic superstore was one large building with 9 floors of bright lighted various electronic goodness. We walked on each floor, exploring every inch before heading to the next. Only one floor we stayed extra long playing musical instruments. After splitting an order of Nan, we hopped on the train towards Roppongi. Tired and having to wake up extra early to travel to Osaka the next day, we were soon sound asleep. Goodbye weekend!