Japan Trip

Dinner was extremely exciting for me because I was gonna get Kobe beef! We settled in a teppanyaki restaurant and brought along the Kobe beef we specially ordered.

I have to admit that the Tappanyaki selection on it’s own was pretty good already but the highlight for me was the Kobe beef. Kobe beef comes from the black Tajima-ushi breed of Wagyu cattle and are specifically raise under strict guidelines.  Looking at the beautiful marbled texture makes me drool!

Here are some of the guidelines to label your beef as Kobe beef. The Tajima cattle has to be born in Hyōgo Prefecture and raised there. The bull is castrated to get the purest most tender meat. There are only a few recognized slaughterhouses that can be used. Marbling ration of the meat must be level 6 and above and the meat quality score must meet at least 4 or 5. The total weight of beef from one cow is only 470kg or less. The cattle are fed one beer per day, massaged with sake daily, brushed to set their fur, and fed on grain fodder.  I’ve tried the US Kobe-styled beef and I find the Japanese one much nicer with the marbling a lot more even.

My candid shots says everything! Yum Yum Yummy! No seasoning or anything added… just grilled over fire for a short time and it’s ready and Oh-So-Good!

I love Disneyland and it is always so much fun! Every time I come to Tokyo I would alternate between Disneyland and Disneysea and this time it was to the Disneyland that I went. Of course there is a 2 park in 2 days ticket but since I’m re-visiting I usually just pick one.

I love that they had “Up” included in their park as it’s my favorite Pixar movie yet! Too bad they didn’t have much “Up” merchandise for sale. “Monster Inc” is #2 on my list so I bought quite a number of merchandise and my favorite one is the “Boo” clip I wore on my jacket. Isn’t she the cutest!

I know it’s really weird cause there is nothing special or fascinating about it. But I really do love having traditional Japanese set breakfast at the Hyatt in Tokyo so I never missed breakfast and it never crossed my mind to go for the western breakfast instead. The service there is always excellent and brings me to a good start to my day.

I love eating rice and the Japanese rice in Japan is yummier then the Japanese rice we buy in Singapore. From what I heard, Japan doesn’t export their rice as it’s a government subsidize commodity.  I don’t have to eat rice every day but if given an option, I would. It was common for me to cook rice with dishes when I was living in US and Australia so I could satisfy my cravings.

I stayed at the Hyatt Regency in Tokyo which is really comfortable and accessible. Since it’s in the heart of Shinjuku, it meant I could stay out late and shop all I want without having to worry about transport back to the hotel or if it’s too late.

There were a lot of celebration going on in the hotel and so while lounging around I met this huge group of Japanese girls in their traditional kimono getup! So pretty!

I love the view from my hotel room! Nearby we had Japanese hot pot for dinner. Perfect for the cold weather!

Sensoji is more commonly known to Singaporeans as Asakusa Kannon Temple. It is a rather well-known Buddhist temple in Toyko and also the oldest. I’ve been here several times before but this time Sensoji’s main hall is under renovation and covered by scaffolding. The works are scheduled to be completed by the end of November 2010. The temple grounds and the interior of the main hall can be visited during the renovation works.

The main entrance to the area is through the Thunder Gate or Kaminarimon. Four statues are housed in the Kaminarimon. On the front of the gate, the statues of the Shinto gods Fūjin and Raijin are displayed. Fūjin, the god of wind, found on the east side of the gate; Raijin, the god of thunder and lightning, is on the west side. At the rear of the gate, you have the Buddhist god Tenryū on the east, and the goddess Kinryū on the west. In the center of the Kaminarimon, hangs a giant red chōchin that is 4m, 3.4m wide and weighs 670 KG.

Before you reach the main temple complex, you’ll walk through Nakamise-dōri which is filled with food stalls and souvenirs! Very interesting place to wander around and pretty yummy snacks too!

If any of you have watched the show “Ramen Girl” you would understand how much work and thought is taken to prepare this common bowl of Japanese noodles. And the Japanese love their ramen so much they even have a museum dedicated to it!

Here you can find all types of ramen opened by selected renowned ramen shops from all over Japan, ranging from Sapporo, Asahikawa, Fukushima, Tokyo, Yokohama, Wakayama, Hakata, and Kumamoto. You can have miso, soy or tonkatsu soup bases; different degree of thickness of noodles;  curly or straight noodles, spicy or not. The combination possibilities are endless! The most amazing thing is that the tourists here are made up more of the locals then foreigners and they would happily queue for their ramen.

The Ramen Museum was established in 1994. It was the first food amusement park to be created anywhere in the world. The whole place is a large recreation of Tokyo in the year Shōwa 33 (1958) reason being that it was the year instant noodles were invented.  There is probably a lot of nostalgic feelings for the Japanese that visit this place.

It was an interesting sight especially the old style bar called the 35 Knots, where visitors can smoke and a few little stores where you can buy traditional snacks, food and toys. But on the whole I felt the queue for ramen noodles a little too long. It was yummy but the noodles I had at “yi lan” in Osaka were just as good without the crazy queue.

I wrote a superbly long post when I visited this place the last time so I’m not gonna be writing that much on it this time. If you want to know more about this place, go read my past entries under the category “Japan Trips” .

The sulfur rich volcano hot springs black egg is the main specialty here.  Each one you consume is said to add 7 years to your lifespan but you aren’t supposed to eat more than 3. I had 1 this time round and hopefully the added 7 years will help even the odds since I don’t exercise enough.