Anyway, I met up with my awesome friend from LA who was the best tour guide ever. Not only did she bring me goodies from the States, but she can also speak Japanese and had lived in Osaka before, so there were no issues trying to figure out how to do things. It was fantastic. Plus, she knew all the good eating spots so we had some amazing food. Of course, I don't remember the names of anywhere we went or what we ate (for the most part), but everything was fabulous and delicious. Oh, I do know we at okonomiyaki, which is an Osaka specialty (which I've been told they have in Korea), and went to Kyoto and Nara. So that's something.
I hate to say it, but I think I like Japanese food more than Korean food. I know! I feel like such a traitor, but I am part Japanese, so maybe I'm just genetically disposed to it. Also, there isn't really any spicy food in Japan and yall know I like my food bland. Korean food is a gamble because all Koreans say, "oh, it's not spicy!" and then laugh as my lips catch on fire. Anyway, I pretty much ate tofu rice balls and potato sticks every day for breakfast, which may sound unappealing, but you don't know what you're missing. I forgot what the tofu things are called in Japanese and I don't know how to spell it in Korean (uboochubap is what it is phonetically), but they are delicious. And hopefully nutritious because I ate at least 50 of them while I was there. Every lunch was something fantastic...gyoza (Japanese dumplings of delciousness), ramen, okonomiyaki, etc, etc. And dinner was always amazing as well. Except for Christmas Eve..we were supposed to eat KFC (that's what all the Japanese do) but my friend fell asleep so I ate candy in the hostel instead. But, the next night, for our Christmas feast, we had sushi and it was fabulous. We also got some "fried cheese" and I'm pretty sure they just threw any random western looking food they could find on the plate, because it came out with lemon, popcorn and a tomato on the dish. So random. Our Japanese friends even found it strange. Whatever, it was totally delicious.
Christmas day was spent trying to take Christmasy Japanese photos, and I got some good ones. I tried to find the most Japanese looking things I could. I could have done better, but I was embarrased to be taking so many pictures. In Korea, they are all about taking pictures of everything, all the time, but not in Japan, so I felt out of place, haha. It was also interesting to see the differences in Japanese and Korean culture. They are similar in a lot of ways, but soooo different in a lot as well. Koreans are much more conservative in how they dress, hair styles, etc. I also personally feel the Korean men are better looking...the Japanese men are a little smaller and some of them have some crazyyyy hair styles. I saw so many mullets, it was a little ridiculous. I wish I had gotten more photos, but I was too stunned. Also, wonky teeth seem to be the norm there...not sure if there are any orthodontists in Japan. I did see some cute guys, though. None with mullets, though. Take a hint, friends.
There were other random things I noticed about the differences in the two countries, but I'm guessing no one cares. I just find it interesting because a lot of people at home lump Asia all together and that is not the case. A lot of people do it with Europe as well, and it's also not true.
Anyway.
Another night we met up with our Japanese friends we met in LA (they were students at my school there) and had a great time. Oddly enough, we ate at a Korean restaurant since all the Japanese ones they wanted to go to were too busy, but it was a lot of fun. I drank soju...no sake this trip..weird...but it was gross because here they always have cider but there they only had club soda and tomato juice. YUCK. I got it down but it was rough. We also did karoke and wandered the streets laughing at Japanese mullets. A good time.
Thursday I spent most of the day in the airport, but it was quite entertaining. We did some shopping, wandered around, did a lot of people watching (more mullets!) and ate sushi..where I witnessed the most fantastic restaurant situation of my life. Behold:
Right???!!! It's an express train! TO YOUR TABLE!!! Sooooo awesome. First off, they have sushi that is just cruising around the restaurant on a conveyor belt and you just grab off whatever tickles your fancy. And if that isn't cool enough, you can use the COMPUTER at your table to order things from the kitchen. Then, they put it on the express train and zoom it out to your table. Fantastic. I thought nothing was cooler than the call your waiter button at Korean tables, but this wins for sure.
Anyway, I had a great time in Japan and did tons of shopping. I was never much of a shopper before but lately, I've been losing my mind in stores. Maybe because it's cheaper, or I have more money, or I'm just getting old, but I love shopping now. Kinda lost my mind in Japan, but hey...how often do you go to Japan? Ok then. Plus, a lot of the stuff was gifts. Even though, I ended up keeping one (or three) things that were meant as gifts. Whoops...sorry friends. Next time!
Pictures are coming soon! My internet is on the fritz and the wifi isn't strong enough to support picture uploading. My apologies, I'm sure yall are dying.
So now it's time to ring in 2013. Insanity! Can't believe this year is over and 2013 is here. Time flies when you're having fun! My resolution: to use all the Kakao and WhatsApp emoticons. There are tons of them and in WhatsApp especially, they are suuuuper random. I don't know if I'll be able to use them all in context but I'm going to do my best. One of them is a syringe! When does that come up in conversation? We'll see...I have a year. And my theme for 2013? "Don't stop me now, cause I'm having a good time!" Thank you, Queen! It's also my new go-to norebang song. It's a crowd pleaser AND fun to dance to. Woo!
Happy New Year everyone! Hope your year was as fantastic as mine and I hope next year is EVEN BETTER! I'm pretty confident it will be. It's all about the meals you start/end the years with. This year started with Waffle House and this one will start with Korean BBQ. Good things are coming in 2013. So go welcome 2013 with something delicious!
Dream big people!
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