Takoyaki Days

Alrighty! So, today I had a difficult time with my sixth graders at my smallest school. Two of them would NOT stop cracking up and I wasn't even saying anything remotely funny so it was rather annoying. Afterward I talked to one of my teachers, who lives in the same area as me, about ramen shops. I had a hungering for ramen, but then again when do I NOT have a hungering for ramen? lol. The ones we talk about are far away, so I decide that I'll swing by the 7-11, pick up a bento and a salad, and if the dinky little ramen shop near me that I've been dying to try out is open I'll just save the bento and salad for tomorrow's dinner.

Well, the shop was open! The shop's called "三十一番", which means "Number 31". The owner was really nice. He asked me where I was from and when I said Hawaii he said he LOVED Hawaii and that he'd been there, like, 24 times. He goes there to cook and to ride his motorcycle. He seems to really love motorcycles because he has a FINE looking bike parked outside! HAHAHA!

I had Sanmahmen, which the owner told me was a type of ramen that is rather rare and can sometimes be found in Chinatown off of Kannai. I'm glad I chose it because it had veggies, pork, tons of noodles and a good broth. It was slightly thick, probably from all the juices. I shouldn't have ordered gyoza to go with it because now I'm filled to burst.

Afterward, on the way home, I picked up Takoyaki from the little vendor on the road home. She remembered me from the first time I bought her Takoyaki, which was at least a month ago! Maybe it's because I'm one of the few foreigners in the area. OR MAYBE IT'S JUST BECAUSE I'M SO GOSH-DARN CUTE! HAHAHAHA! Anywho, we chatted for a bit while she put the dressings on my order. Her name is Michiko. I don't want to forget! She's so sweet. She actually had no fear and asked me in English where I came from and how long I'd been in Japan. TOTALLY AWESOME! She's open every Monday and Friday, though I don't think having Takoyaki every Monday and Friday is such a good idea. LOL.

I saw that the dry cleaning lady next door was downstairs at the counter (she sometimes stays upstairs, probably to keep warm), so I stepped inside to say hi. Whenever I go in there, half an hour to an hour of my life is lost because she totally chats my ear off, and though I don't understand everything I nod and make the appropriate comments at the appropriate times. She talks to me about cooking and her family and places she goes. She almost always gives me snacks when she sees me too, so I went in there with the intention of giving her one of my Takoyaki. Luckily, Michiko gave me two skewers. :3 Well, the dry cleaning lady gave me little new years envelopes, that are SO cute, and that I'm pretty sure are supposed to be filled with money and given to kids. lol. No money in these, but they're darn cute! She filled one with honey covered peanuts. I can't wait to try them!

After school I had to run to catch the bus and while sitting on the bus catching my breath I couldn't help but feel completely happy with myself. Each slowly taken deep breath made me feel so alive. Maybe it's because I was also thinking about my crush, who knows? I just felt wonderful and still do. Even though I'm sitting alone in my cold apartment at my kotatsu, I can't help but smile as I think about how I felt riding that bus, how I felt walking home with the excitement of possibly trying that new ramen shop. I'm so glad to be alive. :D

For the Love of Ramen

SO! It was brought to my attention that I hadn't actually updated my blog in a while. Since it's been over a month, I decided to update. Auntie Elaine? Please fax this to grandma. I got her letter, but I haven't had the chance to drop by the post office. @_@

Well, my friend Flo came to Japan with her friend Shawn (I'm not sure if that's how he spells his name) and happened to be in Tokyo for a week. Tokyo isn't that far away from Yokohama, so we decided to hang out. Our plan? Meet up at the Shin Yokohama Ramen Museum and then go see the huge Ferris Wheel over by Queen's Square in Yokohama.

Flo and Shawn were an hour late because they had to come from Kamakura (they went to go see the huge Buddha there). I thought ahead and came early because I was using the Blue Subway Line for the first time. It wasn't a complete loss, because wandering around Shin Yokohama made me walk into Uni Qlo for the first time. Uni Qlo is the BEST store in Japan, aside from the Pokemon Center, of course. Pokemon Center is by far the best. Anyway, bought a pair of really cute Alice in Wonderland themed ankle-length leggings there as well as a comfy top to wear either at home or out. Eventually, Flo and Shawn got there and we went to the museum.

I cannot convey in words just how AWESOME the Ramen Museum is. I am DEFINITELY going back, as well as dragging my parents there when they eventually come to see me. :3 I highly recommend it, especially if you like ramen. And as my family and friends know, I LOVE ramen. We each had three ramen. Flo had all the minis while Shawn and I were awesome and had one normal sized ramen and two minis. We tried one of each flavor: shoyu, miso and tonkotsu. Each was delicious and I still can't figure out which one I liked the best. The three of us were painfully full after we'd finished our ramen. One of the places (the Sapporo one with the Miso ramen) was a 45 minute wait, which totally let us digest. And you know what? It was WORTH the wait. And being uncomfortable for the rest of the day because my stomach was fighting with all the delicious noodles and broth in my stomach? It was WORTH it. It was all for the love of Ramen. <3

I took a bunch of pictures. I'll have to post them... but I have to shrink the darn files because they're all 3 MB each and... I'm lazy. XD

ANYWAY. OMG. Uploading pictures (had to be selective) on my flickr, so YOU'LL SEE PICTURES ON MY SLIDESHOW. OMG.

MOVING ON.

The gift shop is insanely awesome in the museum as well. I bought two cell phone straps, but their kind of large. I'm still debating about where to put the more sensitive one, but I might put the other on my camera. :3 I also bought a notebook set that came with a kamoboko automatic pencil as well as a kamoboko eraser. Once again, my family knows how much I love kamoboko. I really couldn't resist. :3

After the museum, we caught the subway to Sakuragicho and I dragged my friends to the Pokemon Center. There was an event there, so there were TONS of kids and their parents. I really wanted to participate in the event, but they were closing it up when we got there. And besides, I'm twice as big as these kids. Heck, maybe even three times as big. I didn't want to embarrass myself and my friends. lol.

After purchasing a super cute wallet (which was really great since the clasp on my wallet broke off and I wasn't comfortable with the wallet being loose.), we walked across the way to go to the Shounen Jump store. I bought two pins for my bag and a surprisingly cheap D.Gray-man glass that looks SO awesome. I still haven't used it yet because I'm super scared about breaking it. It's SO pretty.

Then it was off to Cosmo World, which is this small amusement park like Santa Monica Peer. It has a TON of those UFO Catcher games, which are really dangerous and I've decided that I'm not going to go near them ever again. Those claws are WEAK SAUCE. Well, the reason we went to Cosmo World was to go see the MASSIVE ferris wheel there, which is the second largest ferris wheel in Japan. Apparently, the largest ferris wheel in Japan is in Tokyo and is only taller by a few feet. As far as I'm concerned, the one in Yokohama is just as good. Probably just as expensive. We went with the intention of riding it, but it's 700 yen (a little over $7) PER PERSON. I can understand if it was for a single car, but per person?! We sat on a bench beneath it and stared up at it while we tried to digest. Even if we WERE willing to spend that much to ride it, Flo wasn't feeling all that well because she was just THAT full.

We came, we saw, and we conquered the bench. We had a bunch of laughs while we sat on that bench. I did a lot of people watching, which included commentary. We saw a bunch of Japanese girls with their (obviously) white boyfriends. Flo and I were really shocked to see so many. Then again, Yokohama seems to attract quite a few foreigners.

We split at Yokohama station when I had to transfer to my line. It was a lot of fun, and all of us were exhausted from 1) the heat, 2) being super full and 3) all the walking we did to get to the dumb ferris wheel only to find out how expensive it was.

Video Time

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-WUUgaW6krQ

Here's a video of my apartment. I made this video after I bought my futon and sheets today, so what you don't see is that I've replaced the plastic baggies with two trashcans (bought at Homepic) for combustible and non-combustible materials. I wasn't sure if I needed two or three, so to be on the safe side I bought two. Turns out I should get one for recyclables, but I might just do a plain old bag for that, still not sure.
I also got cookware! :3

I found out about Homepic at the Shisheido Chain store, which apparently isn't only for makeup. It was like walking into longs. They actually had Downy there, which I found really interesting. Well, I got all the soapy stuff I'll need, including those really awesome dish sponges mom uses. :D Apparently in Japan, you refill your bottles. With this knowledge in mind, I chose the cheaper ones that had refills available. I ended up with pomegranate scented (I could choose from a selection of smells, but I've come to realize that pomegranate smells gorgeous) body wash and rose scented shampoo and conditioner. I also got the largest and cheapest detergent I could find. XD It seems large enough to last me a year, but you never know. We'll see how long it lasts.

For getting so much done today I treated myself out to ramen at a nearby ramen place. I'll upload it to my flickr, so you'll shots of the delicious miso ramen I had on my slideshow. :3

Oh, and apparently 100 yen tip is super generous. O_o