iv'e been to tokyo more than a handful of times and this was probably the first time i had the most fun. tokyo's not one of those city's that a tourist can just venture into and get all there is to offer. even if you pay up for it. you need a guide, you need someone to take you to the "right places", you need to not only break the language and cultural divide, but you need to be allowed into the authentically awesome part of their inner culture.
i was no longer a touirst this time around, i was more just hanging out in japan. meeting friends and eating what was along the way. i had no must do's nor must sees, as my only must see was victor but with him newly immersed in a relationship plastered all over social media, it was perfect that steph joined me in tokyo.
"i had a feeling i wouldn't have time to drop my bags off, so i checked my luggage in at the train station" - stephs awesome. she knew me well enough to know (and that it's happened in nyc before)...that we go straight from the plane to the club. and we checked our bags in at dinner. then to rina's bar.
italian foodin japan is a MUST EAT. japanese precision makes all food good, and japanese handmade noodle skills translate into italian pasta awesomeness. it was probably the best pasta i've ever had. the bagna cauda was pretty good, but rather it was that presentation of fresh vegetables that probably spiked my tastebuds even more. friggin japanese...making everything truly awesome.
it was expected we'd be going to rina's bar as victor's been talking about it to the whole world via pictures and text about how this place is a haven for singing, drinking, japanese girls and more singing and more drinking. charmaine and crew came by and that was amazing cuz all of a sudden it felt like we were in nyc. we were in st marks. we were at japas basically. i passed out at some point in the back room from being too tired and drunk, victor took inappropriate pictures next to another passed out individual fully disappointed when realizing it wasnt' me. i woke up, came back for more drinks and a bowl of clam ramen which i basically didn't remember until i could taste msg in my mouth the next morning and my face was nicely swollen. that was day one.
i had not but seen victor for 30 seconds before he looked over and said "hey babe"...HAHAHAHA why in the world would he call me #babe. and i had not been next to victor for more than 5 minutes before our normal shenanigans began. and thanksgiving weekend started without a hangover either! the weather was absolutely amazing the entire time i was there. i packed for korea's tundra meanwhile japan was still in the teens celsius. a sweater was enough for a nice stroll towards omotosando. and instead of lunch, i came out with a wallet. valekstra for the win!
i was no longer a touirst this time around, i was more just hanging out in japan. meeting friends and eating what was along the way. i had no must do's nor must sees, as my only must see was victor but with him newly immersed in a relationship plastered all over social media, it was perfect that steph joined me in tokyo.
"i had a feeling i wouldn't have time to drop my bags off, so i checked my luggage in at the train station" - stephs awesome. she knew me well enough to know (and that it's happened in nyc before)...that we go straight from the plane to the club. and we checked our bags in at dinner. then to rina's bar.
italian foodin japan is a MUST EAT. japanese precision makes all food good, and japanese handmade noodle skills translate into italian pasta awesomeness. it was probably the best pasta i've ever had. the bagna cauda was pretty good, but rather it was that presentation of fresh vegetables that probably spiked my tastebuds even more. friggin japanese...making everything truly awesome.
it was expected we'd be going to rina's bar as victor's been talking about it to the whole world via pictures and text about how this place is a haven for singing, drinking, japanese girls and more singing and more drinking. charmaine and crew came by and that was amazing cuz all of a sudden it felt like we were in nyc. we were in st marks. we were at japas basically. i passed out at some point in the back room from being too tired and drunk, victor took inappropriate pictures next to another passed out individual fully disappointed when realizing it wasnt' me. i woke up, came back for more drinks and a bowl of clam ramen which i basically didn't remember until i could taste msg in my mouth the next morning and my face was nicely swollen. that was day one.
i had not but seen victor for 30 seconds before he looked over and said "hey babe"...HAHAHAHA why in the world would he call me #babe. and i had not been next to victor for more than 5 minutes before our normal shenanigans began. and thanksgiving weekend started without a hangover either! the weather was absolutely amazing the entire time i was there. i packed for korea's tundra meanwhile japan was still in the teens celsius. a sweater was enough for a nice stroll towards omotosando. and instead of lunch, i came out with a wallet. valekstra for the win!
the pictures are probably nothing that impressive (other than my awesome wallet), but we were just hanging out in tokyo. not getting lost and catching up and being as we belong there...and thats what was impressive. victor was busy prepping for sunday's thanksgiving dinner, so without any plans with him, i had yoshi come meet up with his. yoshi being the character that he is...was nothing short of hilarious. kentaro also showed up. we had a night out in roppongi talking about teenage girls, yoshi's kids, watching yoshi hit on an engaged girl right when the fiance went to the bathroom, yoshi stuck out his tongue a few times and it was a good night.
i woke up without a hungover again. amazing. and we were able to catch victor for lunch. in japan, even the conveyer belt sushi s pretty good. im not sure how much it cost, but japan isn't cheap. but u dont have to go michelin starred stuff to get great michelin quality food either. so be ready to spend...but be ready to get insane quality food. and w steph connected at the hip, our diet conscious pair walked a lot and ate enough for 1...but for two. great exercise, great coffee, great weather, i like daikonyama, and well "hey that guy at the counter is pretty good lookin...you can take a pic of him and pretend you're taking a pic of me"
THANKSGIVING 2013 should deserve it's own post as the night was just about as epic as any. the night took place on a Sunday night at RIna's top floor apartment, a spacious early 90s design that was kept in pristine condition. 180 degree views with a balcony to go along with it. dry crisp cool fall weather with the backdrop of the most beautiful autumn falling leaves anywhere in the world. we took off our shoes and was greeted by a glass case of louboutins in the foyer. our coats were put away and steph and i hadn't really eaten anything all day so the sushi spread looked absolutely fantastic on the table. but why eat first when the host owns a bar and started the evening off with free flow champagne. we were one of the earlier ones to arrive, so i tried to sip slowly tho that obviously doesn't really work that well. the people started to flow in, the food started to be served, kids came, friends came, colleagues came, charmaine came, alanna came =), and then the male models came. turkey was cooked to perfection in a nabe pot (natural convection cooking with the turkey in the nabe pot)...steak was cooked to a perfect medium rare...and when sushi ran out, we ordered more for delivery. and when that ran out, we ordered pizza...and more pizza. all while the drinks continued to flow...and flow...and well...we ran out of champagne. that's when the trouble started. TEQUILA. WHISKEY. WINE. TEQUILA, WHISKEY, VODKA< all at once. here's some pictures....(i left...came back....and went clubbing. steph left and went somewhere too...).
at 8am...there was a knock on the door and there was a recap about fairy dust and liquid courage. it was a most awesome and amazing update ever. it was everything i could have hoped for. and that led to full day...a full months worth of stories references jokes etc...and then we took a nap. we had done so much the past few days that there was no need to push the limits of tourism. it was a good day to recap...to go back to the places we liked...take it easy...buy my red jump boots, walk thru shibuya...eat crepe cake...more coffee... and finally have dinner with the lop. the local yakinku joint was fantastic. and the best korean bbq i've ever had has always been in japan, its a fattier cut of meat and you eat it in portions (but if you want general quality...then LA K BBQ is the best. meatier steakier flavor). we ate seafood because we didnt want to eat with victors distributor whom we met up with anyone. REO sushi....a louis vuitton guide michelin rated restaurant....whether it were true or not the freshly hand carried hotate from hokkaid that morning by the owner was amazing!!
nights are never complete without a trip to R bar. steph knew we would end up there though i ignored the warning signs. reminder to self: valium + drinking = ULCER. this trip lasted until today without a painful morning as i woke up in a world of stomach pain. the kind of pain that has you writhing in agony. has you running to the bathroom every 2 seconds and makes you almost not able to move. it's a sharp pain...it's an immobilizing pain, it's uncontrollable and it's life draining. how i made it thru the day is a shock to me...because after lunch i barely made the walk to Rina's. while there, i laid down the whole afternoon. and while there i wondered how i would make it through the night because we had dinner plans with the one person i wanted to have dinner with. how i powered through the night was amazing because i not only started shabu shabu dinner with a beer....we ended up drinking heartily throughout the night. karaoke (its kind of cool karaoking with wise rapping his own songs). then feria. then as we left feria and discussing our options on where to go next...marisa yelled out what i thought was a joke..."carbombz anyone?? im buying" ...before i knew it, she was back with 7 carbombz....4 rounds of carbombz...shots, drinks, and a trip to a teriyaki boyz house....thats how the trip ended. EPIC>
