This was expensive but it was very flavorful and yummy. I ate this when Leslie’s friend Alycia was visiting. She wanted Ramen for her last meal before leaving Japan and we picked this place in Yokohama that a line outside of the restaurant =P and yep, can totally see why there was a line.
I kind of think it’s hilarious that the first time I try Hard Rock Cafe in my life was in Japan. There’s one in San Francisco at Pier 39, there’s one in Hollywood and several in general in Los Angeles, but I never have eaten there ever.
Regardless, it was yummy and it was for Jamie’s birthday, so it was allgood. It was also kind of nice to have american food since I’ve been good and not have had it in so long ( not that I was really torn about it anyway). We went to the one in Sakuragicho in Yokohama Japan.
Lately I’ve been doing a thing where I make a card for a person’s birthday, and get everyone to sign it. For Jamie’s I kind of went the extra mile because she was expecting it and I wanted to blow her away the best I could with the time I had =P. I made it a 2 pager. The first page is a Pop up with a few signatures, and the next page was everyone else’s signatures all happy in a bunch.
The food was yummy, lots of fun laughs and good times.
MIX SPEAKERS INC., The Script, and LM.C. in a span of a month or so. Not deaf. Yeah!
MIX SPEAKERS INC. I watched with Yilan in Saitama, Tokyo. Yilan sent me some of their stuff a little before she came here so I could get an idea of their stuff. They’re a very fun band. Very catchy stuff . At the concert it was so insane with the audience since everyone did para-para like hand motions with the band, headbangs, running across the room, all IN SYNC. It was so amazing and fun. XD
The Script I watched with Jamie and Junki in Shibuya, Tokyo. They’re a band from Dublin Ireland and they were amazing. Jamie sent me some of their stuff a while prior to going and they were great, but after hearing them live/in person I am moreso in love with their stuff now. Very very nice <3
LM.C (Lovely Moco-Chang) I watched in Hibiya, Tokyo with Jamie. It was very fun and very hot pink and black striped. Maya and Aiji were adorable<3 They played songs from both of their albums (Super Glitter Loud Box and Gimmical Impact!) There were giant LM.C balls thrown into the audience so everyone can throw them around like beach balls. Maya and one of the Denki-Man went around the middle of the auduience with a walking stand while Maya was singing. Very entertaining concert <3
I snuck a picture with my cellphone from afar of the stage before performence started :X
Recent favorite UFO Catcher winnnings. Two Raichus and a Pikachu. They’re sooo soft. I love them. It’s fun to hug all three at once.
These were a fun win. Leslie and Jamie watched me go for the two Raichus. I wanted to get a Raichu for keeps but then I ended up wanting to get the second one cause it was the only one left in the machine. Raichus are very popular so I wanted to go for it.
It was a very fun night. Leslie, Jamie, and I just had dinner at Pepper Lunch, shopped, had desserts, did purikura, very generic normal things and yet it was honestly a really fun time. I haven’t had such a great time in a while. <3
This was when Yilan and I were in Osaka for lunch. 600-700 yen a piece. The taste just sticked with you after you eat it, and it’s very delicious. Melty in your mouth goodness.
This adorable baby deer here next to me is what Yilan dubbed as the cutest one of all the ones we’ve seen. She named it “Shikako” and it got the taste of senbei now in its tastebuds. Shikako is going to grow up into a scary deer snatching senbei away from people hands and nibbling on our clothes.
I swear when I went again to Nara the Deer were more vicious. When I went with Leslie back in January the worst thing they did was nibble my hand and get it soggy. This time around they actually bit my leg and side wanting senbei. It hurt D:. They are scary. Still cute. Just scarier. Maybe it’s a sign to not go during March.
So tonight was the Welcome Party held by 105 from the Ryugakusei Center. The whole shindig where you drink, eat, talk, meet new people, etc. I met this guy from Serbia ( i THINK it was Serbia) and the first thing he said was ” hey are you that girl who posted those pictures on your blog?” and then I was puzzled and asked him to elaborate.
He mentions the post about the dormitory room, one of the first entries I posted when I moved here, and he said he was really happy to have seen pictures of the Dorm before to have moved in. I asked him if he remembers the site name and said “it was tinainjapan.com I believe.” lol. He said that when he searched on Yokohama National University Rooming or whatever my blog was one of the first results. Hooly moly, small world indeed.
ugh, the placement test is tomorrow therefore school is starting soon. I don’t want to start, I want a vacation from my vacation =p
Yilan has been here for the past two weeks. One of the highlights was going to Kansai region, to Kobe, to try out the infamous Kobe Beef.
We ate at very nice restaurant and both ordered the Chef’s Course ( if that is the correct term). This was a 6-7 course meal including two steaks of Kobe Beef
The starting soup. It was a chowder soup. It was very light. very nice
The Salad :3 I even ate the cherry tomatoes, and I don’t like cherry tomatoes.
Scallops and Greens <3
And the Kobe Beef!!!!<3 Sirloin style. It was so tender and juicy. Melted in your mouth gooooooood.
The Kobe Styled Pasta.
And lastly, Sakura Blossom ice cream, Creme Brulee, fruits, and coffee.
Yilan ordered a Champagne while we were at it. We both finished the bottle at the end, got a bit tipsy XD;
The entire meal for one person (excluding the Champagne) was under 10,000 yen which was really not bad at all considering we both were figuring to pay more for this meal. It was definitely one of the best ones I’ve had. Great stuff, it’s so worth it to try authentic Kobe Beef at least once.
Just got back yesterday morning on a Night Bus from Hiroshima. I am never taking a Night bus to Hiroshima ever again, Shinkansen all the way from now on if I ever go back. Night buses aren’t good for me for that far of a distance. Unless I get a more comfortable bus? I took a train ride from Fukuoka to Hiroshima which took over 5-6 hours, then I took the Night bus back to Yokohama that was about 10ish hours. I’m pooped.
It was a fun few days trip. Went to Hiroshima, Mijiyama, Iwakuni, and Fukuoka. There were a lot of first timer experiences for me on this trip. One thing was being on my own at the end in Fukuoka since the entire group split three way. A group to Korea, group to Osaka, and I was on my own to explore on my own and get back on my own.
When I was on my own I stayed at a Ryokan Hotel that was a slash Udon House in Fukuoka=D. Since it was a hostel you stay in a room with other people that most of time you don’t know. I met another exchange student from Chicago studying in Kansai named Kira. We hung around Fukuoka and ate. It was also fun when we were speaking to each other in Japanese we would have moments where we catch each other saying something that we’re not used to since Kansai and Kanto dialects have a lot of differences XD. It was a trip.
That night we ate at one of those street stands ( omg my first time ever so far in Japan =D) Since Fukuoka is famous for their Ramen, gotta eat Ramen, and even cooler at a Ramen stand <3. It was really yummy, affordable, and the vendors were super nice. The broth of the Ramen was extremely flavorful :3
We also had a late night dinner at the restaurant portion of the ryokan, We’re staying at the place, we gotta try the food right? I ordered an Ebi Tenpura Udon and Kira ordered a Curry Udon. The Udon was homemade, and you could really taste it :O. It was really soft and tasted really fresh.
Afterwards we met the other roommate who was in the same room with us. Her name is Keiko from Kyoto =D We chatted up pretty nicely and then took a picture. It was about a total of 10 attempts with 3 different cameras. Afterwards in the morning we all parted to our own little trips. It was fun to meet strangers on the trip.
In the beginning of Jan. was the Osaka/Nara/Kyoto trip that Leslie and I embarked on. The night in Osaka we stayed at a capsule hotel. Omg I LOVE capsule hotels. The boxes we live in are so freakin’ nifty and they are honestly not as small as everyone makes it seem to be, I was very comfy.
It was great! There was a bath house, bathroom with free hair dryers, free internet, and so many more cool things =). It was a great price too at less than 3000yen a night ( roughly 30 USD a night) per person.
Inside the capsule had a TV, radio, alarm, shelves to place items, air conditioning, and mirror. :3
For capsule hotels they aren’t great for huge families or couples who want to be together since each capsule separates per person and women and men have different sections of the hotel. But if you’re just traveling with a friend or two it’s great =)
