Art Work #1 – Mount Fuji at Dusk:

Not bad for a first timer, is it? Yes, I know I am an overly proud father – but seriously, if you don’t believe me that it’s Mount Fuji – compare it once again to the view from our balcony:

See?? See!!

Time to take this art show on the road!

We’re off to sunny Guam, USA again for some R&R. Expect pictures and videos in another week or so!

This never ending summer is no exception …

If this shop owner was hoping to increase the amount of male traffic – mission accomplished.

Exactly what Pet Goods are sold here – I don’t want to know.

Pierrot – putting the R back in Quarity Yarn.

Free Pot with every purchase. Seriously.

Who says you need to be a Japanese company to make a grate Engrish mistake?

This place had characteristic smells of dropping too…

Now that’s the kind of game I want to play!

For a limited time, you can get the “Mos Naans” – Indian flatbread in two Mexican themed varieties:

Tacos Naan – flatbread topped with taco meat, lettuce, tomatoes, cheese sauce and broken taco chip pieces.

Chorizo Curry Naan – flatbread topped with cabbage, a spicy Mexican chorizo sausage and curry sauce.

Weird – yes. Appealing to us – absolutely.

We had to investigate…

While Mos is fast food – it’s still not quite as fast as your typical McDonald’s. Mos makes your burger when you order it, so don’t be surprised if the bun and meat come toasty hot while your lettuce and tomato are still nicely chilled. It’s worth the wait, and if you’re lucky your Mos will have kids books to read too!

We opted for the Tacos Naan, and balanced off the meal with a premium burger – which as you can see ended up just having a premium amount of lettuce!

The Tacos Naan – as advertised!

Not bad – but as one might guess – very challenging to eat. You need to fold up this mess to make it manageable… rendering it into a sort of focaccia taco salad sandwich. In the end I felt like I was back in university eating random leftovers from a dorm party.

So, a fry or two later – and we’re on to desert… true Japanese style – no more fusion:

The Genmai Flake Shake – cubes of green tea jelly, red azuki beans, mochi balls and rice cereal flakes – sitting in a pool of vanilla shake.

Could a desert possibly get more Japanese? No.

Could a desert like this possibly be any good? Yes.

It may look odd, but it works. Certainly not nearly as sweet as a sundae from Dairy Queen, but it’s very tasty in its own right. If this is the desert Japanese university students throw together from their dorm party leftovers – I want in.

Join Naoki as he shows you how to:

• keep cool this summer
• speed read
• have fun at Ikea
• phone home
• keep fit at the gym

genfab.com – fun and educational! Who knew?

This past Sunday I took in just my second haikyo exploration (the first being here) with Mike and Mike. I quite like the idea of haikyo (urban exploration) – but finding the time to take part is certainly rare now with our young family. With Mike1′s time winding down in Japan – I had to make the time, otherwise it may have been my last chance too!

Mike2 has become a bit of a local authority on Japanese urban exploration. He’s visited dozens of these sites, all of which can vary immensely in age, decay, size and of course the nature of the property left behind. The one he organized for us on Sunday was certainly unique to say the least.

We visited a site north west of Tokyo in Saitama prefecture where you’ll find the “Gan Kutsu Cliff Face Hotel”. I (like probably nearly everyone in Tokyo) had never heard of it – so I had no idea what to expect. I thought “Cool, a hotel – with like rooms, a restaurant maybe a pool and whatnot…” Wrong. The emphasis here should be on the “cliff face”. The hotel was one man’s dream of carving out a hotel within the side of a rocky cliff. Yes, it was ambitious to say the least. The project was simply too much for one man to handle and has been left in its unfinished state for 70 odd years. The site is completely fenced off – barbed wire and all – with the cave entrances sealed with metal bars… that is unless you know where to look!

Here’s a short video I pieced together of our afternoon at the Gan Kutsu:

For some great pictures and a bit more background, have a gander at Mike and Mike‘s sites.

… New York?

… Paris?

… the Moon?

Wrong.

Odaiba – Tokyo’s faux getaway destination!

Can’t afford a flight abroad? Odaiba’s got it all:

• Amusement parks
• Beaches
• Spas
• Luxury hotels
• 5-star restaurants
• Endless, beautiful shopping malls
• Dog rental agencies (seriously! well, at least one…)

… and we were long overdue for a break from life in Tokyo, even if the destination’s still … Tokyo. Odaiba was by far the most convenient & financially responsible option available.

Join Naoki for his adventure on the other side of town, rental dog and all!

As an aside, incredibly – our buddies Mike & Kumi also had the same getaway in mind – on the very same weekend! In a city of millions, running into some of your closest friends at a restaurant on a Saturday night with matching weekend plans – no coordinating whatsoever – is, well … unbelievable.

One Sunday evening just after having moved back to Tokyo in 2008, we came across the most AMAZING ice cream truck parked in front of our building. At the time I was stuffed from dinner, however had I only known how elusive this truck would prove to be – I undoubtedly would have made room for desert.

Nearly every Sunday night since, we could hear its mocking jingle from our balcony: “Ice cream, Ice cream da yo~~~“. Needless to say, tracking down the source was a different matter altogether. Every effort we made at finding it turned up fruit… err – ice cream-less. It seemed as though the ice cream truck was but a figment of our imagination.

That is – until this Sunday!

I bring to you: Itabashiku’s one and only Ice Cream & Hot Dog Truck!

That’s right – ice cream AND hot dogs – two of nature’s finest foods served up in style by a single mobile vendor.

Makiko looking mighty pleased with the plethora of ice cream flavors available: 23 in total. Just where they store them all is one of the untold mysteries of the Ice Cream & Hot Dog truck.

So – let’s have a closer look to see what else is on the menu:

Regular dog, wiener dog (actually a plain hot dog), special dog (jumbo), punch dog (spicy) and onion dog (ranging from single to triple (!) in size) – each with the option of a cheese topping at 50 yen a slice.

That all sounds great – but what I’m really after on this hot & humid Tokyo evening (and what I’ve waited two years for) is the legendary ….

… ICE de DOG!

Yes, that’s right kids – two scoops of ice cream served in a toasty warm hot dog bun. How could that not be good?

For the curious, the text above basically says: “Welcome to Daigakudou! This will surely put hair on your chest.” (Not exactly – but it’s the closest natural English I could think of that suits…)

Me looking mighty pleased with my Ice de Dog… Naoki wanting no part in this mess.

Pick any flavors you like – I opted for cookies & cream and strawberry (I’m not ashamed to admit I’m a sucker for strawberry ice cream). I suppose you could even top it with a cheese slice if you were daring enough.

The mandatory closeup shot:

So, how did it taste?

Amazing.

Well, actually like ice cream in a warm hot dog bun. What did you expect?

… or at least can readily use / eat …

Supermarket sushi!

Heart-shaped potato & macaroni salad combo sold separately.

Actually, there’s only a touch of sarcasm there. I like supermarket sushi (and potato & macaroni salad for that matter).

Happy Father’s Day to fathers everywhere (namely my own!). Whether you’re dining on sushi, steak or pizza – have a great one.

Amazingly, before today I had never been to Gyoen Park before. That’s nearly the equivalent of living in New York City for 4 years and having never visited Central Park before… a disgrace, I know!

In any case, I was pleasantly surprised. For the low low price of 200 yen per person, one can escape the ever growing forest of Shinjuku’s skyscrapers for a real bit of forest … grass and all!

“Oooo – grass!”, I hear you say. It may not sound like anything special – but city parks in Tokyo are generally brown and grey. I suppose the intent is to have them be as “low maintenance” as possible. So, 200 yen for this bit of “normalcy” – good deal.

We brought some grub with us, and picked up more on the way – and had a nice time just hanging out in the park on this hot spring day.

We’re overdue for a video, so feel free to join us …

… see you again soon, Gyoen!

And for the majority of you that probably think 3,000 yen ($35 CND) is way too much to get your kid’s hair cut – you’re probably right. But for huge benefit of keeping the trauma outside of the home, we think it’s well worth it.

Before:

Mop Top!

Ready for cutting action!

After (30 mins of crying and screaming):

The new ‘do!

Sneaking a sip of mom’s refreshing royal milk tea from Tully’s.

Let’s hope the cuts from here on in start getting easier!