Omataseshimashita! Thanks for your patience …

… come on in and pay us a visit!

Please take off your footwear first - after all, we’re Japan yo.

Anyone for a yakisoba sandwhich?

Complete with fried noodles, ham cutlets and pickled ginger…

Read the rest of this entry »

Who says Japan is expensive?

On our seemingly never ending efforts to get our apartment setup here in Tokyo - we decided to make our way over to one of Japan’s new Ikea stores.  They didn’t have Ikea here when I lived here previously - it just popped up in the last couple of years.  Ikea is pretty much the same as back home - simple furniture at reasonable prices.  They also have your cheap eats - like a 99 yen breakfast plate and your uber cheap hotdogs at the cash.

I was also amazed to find that on a Saturday morning we practically had the store to ourselves.  That was a welcome relief after a week of commuting to the office and a crowded train.

As we were in that part of town - we also decided to drop by Costco.  Now that’s a store I have missed in Australia!  I don’t tend to buy that much at Costco, but it’s fun to look there once in a while.  Costco in Japan is pretty cool as it’s got local stuff in bulk - like your udon noodles, sake and kakipi.  We picked up a few food items as well as a new microwave / toaster oven.  No idea if we really saved that much money - but the novelty of it was certainly worth it.

Wanna tag along on our day trip?  Check out the pictures we took along the way…

Itching for some pictures of our place and new daily routine?  They’ll be coming before too long - we’re still getting setup.

Removed?  Yes - as in Australian for “moved” - and not of the emotional type.  This is likely old news to a lot of you - but Makiko & I have packed up and left Australia as of about a month or so ago.  Ironically enough, one of the “removers” (at least the guy who owned the van) was a Scott Harris:

What are the odds!?

We’ll miss Sydney.  It was a great home for us for a couple of years.  I know I for one will miss:

• Laughing at snowed in nothern hemisphere dwellers in February, while enjoying week after week of +25C sunny weather
• “Aussie burgers”, meat pies and sausage rolls
• Living near countless beaches - even though we rarely exploited them!
• Big Brother, Kochie and Mel
  
• Saturday morning Japanese classes at Sydney Uni
• Working in a 2 (well now 3 or 4) man office
• Harbour ferry rides… *sigh*
• Monthly fireworks and festivals
• Surry Hills and its amazing selection of restaurants within walking distance of our apartment
• Our rooftop pool and BBQ area - complete with Sydney skyline views

What I won’t miss are:

• Deadly snakes and spiders
• The isolation of being so far from loved ones
• Overpriced everything ($3 for a canned soft drink - get real!)
• Crappy Internet service providers
• Rowdy drunkards parading down our street at 2AM on a Wednesday night

We tried to make the most of our remaining time in Australia once we knew we were on the way out, but now it seems there was never enough time to cross everything off that “to do” list.  Now how am I ever supposed to go streaking at a cricket match…

There’s pictures of the move if you want to dwell on it any longer.  I’m happy to move on though.

Hey Tokyo - we’re back!

I don’t claim to be a good chef - but I figure I can follow a recipe fairly well and make something tasty…

Last night I got the motivation to make an Angel Food Cake. The recipe looked simple enough.

The results…

… not so good.

My memory’s a bit foggy, but I’m pretty sure Angel Food Cake shouldn’t be cooked on the top, and soupy on the bottom. My bad for not pre-heating the oven and following the steps to the letter.

Dang - a dozen eggs down the toilet. Shame.