Tokyo: Day 2 (Food and other things!) --

After our excursion to the Tokyo Game Show, we had lunch at a restaurant in the nearby mall before going back to Ikebukuro (where we were staying) --

They served katsu (fried stuff) --



I love that they give you a mound of cabbage with your meal. (I love that you can ask for seconds. ^_^)




<-- yummy sauce!



My brother had Deep Fried Oysters. They serve miso soup with the meal and it had tiny clams. ^_^

After our meal, we headed for the station and found this:


It's a cute concept! You pay Y300 and choose a box. The top prize was a Wii but you could also get neat stuff like DS games and iPods. You could also get duds (like we did) ^_^ --





After resting in our hotel and going through our loot from TGS, we walked a few blocks from the hotel to Junkudo, a bookstore.


<-- this entire building is all books and magazines



We went directly to the floor that contained the English books and I ended up buying a nice planner for 2010 and some cute small notebooks to take along in my bag.

Dinner that night was an adventure at Sunshine City! We cooked our own okonomiyaki! It was also my youngest brother's first time to do it so we all had fun figuring it out.





Thankfully, they had a really handy illustrated guide that shows you how to do it:


The meal began with a plateful of gyoza which we had to cook ourselves.


To make sure that you don't burn your food, they have handy sand timers at each table -- the magic number is 4. 4 minutes to cook/steam the gyoza. 4 (x2) minutes for the first side of the okonomiyaki and 4 (x1) minute on the second side.



The gyoza was really delicious. What was interesting was the sauce they served it with -- they call it "basil sauce" (pesto) and I wasn't sold on the idea at first but Johann told me to try it. It was yummy!




<-- mixing the okonomiyaki


<-- flattening, flattening, shaping, shaping ...


<-- waiting for one side to be cooked

After a total of 12-something minutes, this is what it looks like:




We also ordered Octopus with Kimchi and they gave us a foil pouch with the instructions to steam it for 4 minutes.




<-- the octopus was yummy!

We also ordered Yakisoba. The instructions were bewildering (to my brother) so we asked the nice server to cook it for us. (I guess you can also ask them to cook the okonomiyaki for you when they're not so busy...)







It was a yummy dinner! I remember Samantha Brown saying (on one of her shows) that you know you've had a good meal when you come home smelling the food on your clothes. We did -- and the smell was heaven. (Too bad we were scheduled to do our laundry the next morning. ^_^)

Dessert was ice cream at Blue Seal.



Johann had pistachio and I had milk chocolate chip.





We walked around Sunshine City, looking for the Toys R Us -- unfortunately, it was very late at that point and most of the places were getting ready to close.

Dear friends in Manila --

We've been receiving messages from Johann's mom and my sister about the terrible rains and the flooding in Metro Manila and we've been reading updates on Inquirer.net and on Facebook --

When my mother in-law first texted, I immediately remembered Typhoon Frank and how badly it affected Iloilo. I was (and am still worried) about how all of you are doing in Manila. We've been checking Johann's Facebook for news from friends and family --

If there is one lesson from Frank that I learned, it's to be mindful of the water you drink --

Within days of Frank, our hospitals were filled with people complaining of stomach problems. Two months after Frank happened, my son suffered gastroenteritis (from the water) and had to be hospitalized.

Boil it. Filter it. Spend money and just buy bottled water.

Right now, I'm still trying to wrap my head around the whole situation -- lightning isn't supposed to strike twice in the same place -- but here we are -- with Frank last year and Ondoy this year. It really boggles the mind --

What's amazing are the rescue and relief efforts that are already underway -- it is inspiring to see the Filipino spirit shine during this very dark (and wet) time. ^_^

*
*
*

My entries on Typhoon Frank: Force Majeure Part 1 and Part 2.

Tokyo: Day 2 (Tokyo Game Show) --

When we were in the process of choosing a date for our trip to Tokyo, we made sure to check the event calendars online to make sure that something interesting would be happening during our stay there.

We had several options:
- Tokyo International Anime Fair in March
- Tokyo International Bookfair in July
- Tokyo Game Show in September
- Akihabara Entamatsuri in October

We ended up getting tickets for September -- in time for the Tokyo Game Show.

My brother got us tickets in advance so that we could save Y200 and avoid being delayed by lining up. Way in advance, he'd warned us to wear comfortable shoes and to expect waiting in line for a long while.

We told him that we knew what to expect because we'd been to the Hong Kong Comics and Gamers Fair -- he told us that this was different. This was Tokyo Game Show.

Most of the people on the train we were on were all headed to TGS -- when we got off the train, we were all hurrying to the same location. When I first saw this poster, I thought we had arrived at the start of line and was thinking to myself that my brother was wrong.



Turns out I was wrong -- we had to walk about 20 more minutes and then had to line up. Similar to the HK Fair, each batch had a wait time of about 10-15 minutes before they were allowed to proceed.

Again, at this point, I was thinking that it wasn't so bad. I could see the entrance from where we were lined up and we were only 2 batches away.

Turns out I was wrong -- we had to go around the entire complex -- the lines were that long!


<-- this is half of one (of 4 sides) of the complex we had to walk around. Thank God the weather was good.

When we finally got in, it was madness! There were so many people!





It was exciting to see the new games being previewed and all the nifty merchandise related to those games.

People were lining up, waiting to get a turn at trying them out.



When you finish testing the game, the booth ladies give you some nice freebies. ^_^

Perhaps the biggest game to be previewed during the Tokyo Game Show is Final Fantasy XIII, which will be released this coming December. It was amazing to watch the trailer on the big screen.



Another Final Fantasy title that was being featured was Final Fantasy: Crystal Bearers. The lines were insane!


<-- wait time was 120 minutes!

We didn't really line up for any of the major games because the wait time was too long. (And we wanted to be back in the city early in the afternoon to avoid the rush) --

The complex had eight massive halls and each one hosted a section of the TGS -- the first seven halls had all the big (and small) companies featuring their games. The last hall was my favorite -- it was where companies were selling their goods.

We lined up for the Square Enix booth because I wanted to get a t-shirt and a keychain souvenir.

We also lined up for Cospa, a company that specializes in Cosplay merchandise but also sells goods from some TV series. Johann scored a really nice Macross T-shirt (old Macross series).

We wanted to line up for the Capcom booth but we were told that the wait time was 60 minutes.

Here are more pics from TGS 2009:







<-- they had a section only for kids. You were only allowed to enter if you had a child with you -- they had fun old-school games like Super Mario Bros, etc. It was a nice quiet place for parents who brought their children to relax and have fun with their kids. ^_^






<-- cute, no? It's really an edible sponge cake! (Expiry is December.) We bought one for my sister and Seth to eat!

... more things happened on Day 2. To be continued!

Tokyo: Day 1 --

We took the 740am flight from Cebu Mactan International Airport to Narita earlier today.

Our flight was actually delayed for a few minutes because one of the passengers forgot a hand-carry luggage and had to go retrieve it. This was after the cabin doors were closed and the engine was already running. (This is the same passenger who was drinking beer at 5-something in the morning while we were waiting for the counters to open.)

We still arrived 7 minutes ahead of schedule -- customs and immigration wasn't that difficult and we were lucky that we arrived during a not-so-busy time. My youngest brother was at the exit waiting for us with bento boxes and drinks, which we ate on the train going to Ikebukuro.





It was a 50-something minute train ride to Nippori (from Narita), where we transfered lines and trains. From there, it was another X stops (I lost count!) before we arrived at Ikebukuro.

We are staying at The B Ikebukuro, a concept hotel by the Isshin Group and we are in an AMAZING part of the city -- we're a few blocks away from a Big BicCamera store (the place to go to for electronics and whatnot) and we're about 20 minutes away from Sunshine City and Tokyu Hands.





The lobby has a lovely waiting area -- very mod. I really love the mosaic wall that greets you when you get off the elevator.

Our room is small but is such a perfect example of Japanese style and technology. It is 18 square meters of careful planning -- and it doesn't feel small or crowded!



One of the best features of the room is the open "closet" -- I've been to a lot of hotels and I've never used the cabinet to hang my clothes -- at The B, for the sake of economy, they just have this accent wall with two hooks where you can hang your clothes on.



Cute!!! >_<

The bathroom is "the little bathroom that could" and the highlight is the ultra-efficient and ultra high-tech toilet --





It is all electronic. And, yes -- we did take a few minutes to try out the "bidet" and "spray" option. You can adjust the water pressure! Cute!!! >_<

After resting for a few minutes it was time to go for my haircut. I've never written about it, but I hate my hair. It's flat and bleh. I hate the haircuts I get in Iloilo because they never get it right.

I decided to find a salon here in Tokyo that would give me a nice style/cut -- and I did!

Watanabe Hair Salon is in Harajuku and has been voted best hair salon by several magazines.

I had my hair done by Chie -- who speaks English and who is lovely and attentive.

There's apparently no such thing as simply walking in and asking if they have an available slot -- you really have to go make an appointment ahead of time.

The experience began with the lady at the front desk offering to take your bag and parcels so you won't be encumbered while sitting for your cut.

Then they lead you to a shampoo area -- where they make sure that your clothes don't get wet buy putting a big cloak (?) and a smaller cloak (?) on you. And they also put a blanket on your lap so you don't get cold.

After that you're led to your chair.

Here's the interesting bit -- you have to know which style you want already. Chie was a bit surprised when I asked her for her opinion in choosing which style would suit me best.

I had booked for a haircut and a perm but I was feeling a bit afraid/worried about the perm part and was trying to squirm my way out of it.

But I went ahead with it -- because this was a rare opportunity for me (who knows when I'll be coming back to Tokyo) and I was trying to be more open to new possibilities.

So we selected a style and Chie went ahead with the cutting.

I was dreading the perm part because I know how bad it smells (I've had a perm before) and how painful/itchy the chemicals are on the scalp. But this one wasn't -- it smelled a bit and they remedied that by rubbing lotion on my forehead, the side of my face and my chin. It smelled really nice. ^_^

I had 3 people working on the rollers and putting in the chemicals -- they were very efficient and it lasted for about 45 minutes total. After that they rinsed my hair and gave me an amazing back and scalp massage. At the end of the rinse, they put a nice warm (moist) towel on your forehead and the rub it on your temples and they finally place it on your neck -- very, very relaxing. ^_^

So this is what I look like!





I love it! When Johann saw me, he laughed and said I look like my daughter now. Hahahaha!

I was so excited to go back to the hotel so I could admire my new cut -- I passed on eating out (my youngest brother and Johann already had dinner) and just picked up a sandwich at a konbini (convenience store at the subway station). I also picked up a pudding cup!

As we were walking to the exit, we discovered Doughnut Plant tucked in one corner --



Glee!

We first found out about this shop when we were watching Food Paradise.

We picked up 2 doughnuts: A Triple Chocolate Valrhona and an Apple Cinnamon one (for Johann) -- they have 2 sizes and we opted to get the smaller ones. (We'll go back for more!)





I ate mine when we got back to the hotel. So, so yummy! (I'm sorry I didn't take more pictures of it -- I ate it too quickly. =^_^=)

Our first day ended with us watching a Yakiniku special on a Japanese channel. It was a group of people trying out the different varieties of Yakiniku all over Tokyo. It was insane! (It was also at almost midnight!)

To Tokyo! --

This afternoon, Johann and I are leaving for Cebu and tomorrow we will be taking a PAL flight from Cebu to Tokyo.

It's a bit unreal right now -- I never expected to see Tokyo at all in my lifetime and now it's happening sooner rather than later. (We are already making plans to visit Japan again in the future -- maybe when the kids are older.)

It's also my first time, in a long time, to visit a new city -- a place I've never been to before and I'm glad my younger brother is there to guide us through the experience. (I am also taking on the challenge of "mastering" Tokyo as much as I could.)

This is also an exercise for me in "letting go of my kids" -- for the most part, it's me and the two of them and I wonder how it will be tomorrow, when I wake up and not have to rub Seth's tummy or to play peek-a-boo with Anya.

Now I'm trying to decide whether or not to bring the Mac with us.

Strange last-minute thought ...

I'm a gLeek! --

Last week, JackTV premiered gLee, an amazing new TV series about a high school glee club/show choir in Middle America.

I loved it so much that I watched it twice: the director's cut on Sunday and the pilot on Monday. (And then we watched episode 2...)

And then we all had LSS for the entire week.

Every day, there'd be a point when we'd say, "Right now, it's (insert name of song featured on gLee episode 1 or 2) that's in my head."

It's so much fun!!!

gLee shows on JackTV every Monday at 8pm and on etc on Tuesdays at 10pm.

No video, but just listen to this and be blown away.

Some things I love --

- I love Sunday evenings and QTV. I love watching Ang Pinaka, True Confections and Secrets of the Masters.

- I love Sunday evenings and "no-cook" day. I take Sundays seriously. I take the idea that Sunday is "God's Day of Rest" very seriously. It's the one day of the week when our cook only has to prepare breakfast and can enjoy the rest of the day, without having to worry about what to feed us.

- I love mornings with warm bread and butter and a cup of coffee (decaf).

- I love discovering a new author or a new book. The thrill of having in my hands "the find of the century" and the time to read it. (My latest discovery is Joanna Bourne. Sorry, still a romance novel. ^_^)

- I love how my son says the words "Chocolate" (Chocholate) and "Panda" (Pandada).

- I love coming home from an excursion to Booksale with a bagfull of magazines. We found very recent issues of MacLife, Macworld, Real Simple and a cheap copy of Mental Floss. What I love even more is spending the afternoon with my husband and sister, trading magazines, discussing articles and reading aloud interesting passages.

Some things I'm looking forward to --

1. Going to Tokyo on the 25th.
It's always been a dream of mine to go to Tokyo. I was determined to do it before I turned 35. (The other travel I want to do before that age is Europe.)

The visa application always seemed so daunting and the fear of getting rejected was the main reason I never tried to go.

It was my youngest brother who encouraged us to try for the visa.

And we got it!

We were also very lucky to get super-cheap tickets through PAL.


2. Glee!
It's a TV series that's about to debut (both in the US and in the Philippines <-- thank you JackTV!) this September 9.

I found out about this through my sister who is a big Kristin Chenoweth fan. Kristin Chenoweth will make an appearance in the series as a former member.

Yahoo article on Glee

The trailer!

Drumstick-flavored ice cream! --

Saw this at Makro and couldn't believe it!

I told Johann and my sister and they didn't believe me. Tried looking for it in other supermarkets and couldn't find it.



It really tastes like the Drumstick! It even has the waffle cone bits.



* * *

Can you believe this is local? --

My husband and I love chips! We love to try out new brands and flavors. I saw this at Robinson's and bought a bag for Johann. It's really good! The texture reminds me of Kettle-cooked chips (which I love).





We were so surprised to discover that it's made in ... Malabon!

It comes in two flavors: Sour Cream and Onions and Barbecue.

Too bad the Philippines isn't part of the list --

Amazon is having a Comic Strip contest and the prize is a publishing contract from Andrews McMeel --

When I read the official rules, the Philippines isn't part of the list of countries eligible to enter.

Anyhoo, info here.

Is anyone else collecting these? --

I really like the new Happy Meal toys from Mcdonald's --



I'm trying to get the little apple for the following years: 1978, 1979, 1980, 2006 and 2009 for the birth year of my siblings and my two kids.

I strayed a bit and ended up getting these because they were so cute!

Seth likes the action pop-up one and the 1980 Hello Kitty with the moving tennis equipment. ^_^




<-- 1980 for my youngest bro! The 1978 is from the same set.


<-- you press the ribbon and the cake "lights up" -- Seth sings the "Happy Birthday" song and blows out the candles. Hahahaha!


<-- couldn't resist getting this one. The toast pops up! It comes with a Hello Kitty figure but we kept it away from the kiddies because it might get lost!


<-- My little girl! She's teething kaya she's nibbling on anything she can get her hands on.

Random Thought #5: Pizza blindfold test? --

A few days ago we tried out the new Greenwich flavor: Philly Cheesesteak Overload, which is part of the new line from Greenwich (Pizza for Men).

The cream cheese on pizza, mixed with mozzarella was a revelation. Next time, I will keep a tub or bar of cream cheese handy and I'll put it on my pizza as another topping.



The meat part was a bit too heavy for me --



Anyhoo, it got me and my sister talking -- would we be able to differentiate the different pizza brands blindfolded?

If so, how? By crust? By distinctive flavor?

What would be a good flavor to try this with? Pepperoni? Or do we go with each brands "signature" pizza?

Random thought #3: At the Supermarket --

I'm not sure what the policy is, but I wish people would take the initiative to bag their own groceries when there are no baggers available at the check-out counter.

It will really speed along each person's transaction if the cashier can just punch the items on the register and not have to pause from time to time to bag the items.

Random Thought #2 -- TV Ads

The better title would have been "John Lloyd Cruz" because this is about him.

I really like the Greenwich Overloaded pizza series of commercials. They're clever without being too clever and they're cute without being too cute.

And they're memorable.

And they make you want to order a Greenwich pizza right then and there.

I especially enjoy the Extreme Cheese Overload commercials. Whoever wrote the copy for those ads is a genius. IMHO.

My favorite:
JLC: Hindi tayo tao. Hindi tayo hayop.
BA: Ano tayo?
JLC: Bagay tayo. Bagay na bagay.

Still makes me laugh. =^_^=

(And Seth loves the "Eeeee~ Sobrang cheesy!")

On the other hand, I'm not sure his endorsement of Purefoods hotdogs was a step in the same (read: right) direction.

It's a well-made ad, but I don't know what he contributes to it. (Except his name and his face.) I'm not sure that's his target audience either.

But that's just me. ;-)

You know you married the right guy --

... when he isn't ashamed of dotting the "i" of your name with a tiny heart. =^_^=



Happy 4, dear!

Why I love Bookmooch --

I've been a member of Bookmooch since October 2007 and I've enjoyed every minute of it.

I was able to mooch really amazing books (like some Judith Tarr books for my sister and 2 David Hartwell anthologies in HARDCOVER format) and was able to give away some books that people have been looking for.

I've sent books to as far away as Iran and Zambia (through the local post office -- Philpost And they didn't get lost!) and received books from France, Australia, etc.

The package is part of the fun -- I love getting the stamps and looking at the postmarks from different countries. ^_^

Most recently, I received a mooch from New Caledonia.





I'll probably never get to travel to New Caledonia (or many of the countries I've sent books to and received books from) -- but it makes me smile thinking that someone is reading my book in those countries (Iran and Zambia) and I have a little something of New Caledonia right here in the little, quiet city of Iloilo. ^_^

Guess what I did last Saturday --

This is what I did in the morning:



And this is what I did that evening:



I was supposed to process our visa for Japan but decided at the last minute to let my aunt's travel agency handle the processing for us.

Which meant I had a ticket to Cebu --

And a chance to spend the day with one of my most favorite people in the world -- my cousin. ^_^

I arrived at around 930 and my cousin's hubby picked me up at the airport. We went to Banilad Town Center where we met my cousin and my nephew at Gymboree.

She then took me pasalubong shopping at Leona's (for their AMAZING Carrot Walnut Loaf) and Cafe George (for their ADDICTING Banana Loaf).

Lunch was at Spice Fusion. It surprised me that my cousin's hubby asked us to make reservations, considering it was lunch -- but when I tried the food and saw the crowd coming in, I understood the need.

Must, must try: The Roti (I actually ordered 2 and brought it back to Iloilo), the super crunchy Singapore Chicken and everything else on the menu.

My cousin and I spent the early part of the afternoon at their house and we just talked while I figured out how I was going to bring home all of my purchases (on Go-Lite) --

This was my favorite part of my visit -- I got to catch up with my cousin and was able to ask for her thoughts on some concerns I have. (My cousin is really great about giving advice.)

Our last stop was Fullybooked where I promised myself that I would only buy 3 books (1 for me, 1 for my sister and 1 for Johann) -- I ended up buying about 6 books. Hahaha!

Then it was time to go back to the airport for my flight home.

BEST DAY I've had in a while.

* * *

This is how much I've changed --

I pride myself with being good about time.

I'm always arrive promptly at events and whatnot.

For my trip going, I arrived at the airport at 815am for a 905am flight and was the last person to check in.

For my trip coming back, I arrived at the airport just in time for the last call for confirmed ticket holders on my flight. (The porter helping me with my box had to run to the counter to tell them not to close.)

* * *

And, yes --

Johann and I have tickets to Tokyo in September.

Just in time for the Tokyo Game Show.

We're also going to Tokyo Disneyland and Sega Joypolis.

And, yes -- I am gloating. =^_^=

Betterworld Books Buyback offer --

Betterworld Books is one of my favorite online shops. I've find Hard-to-find and Out-of-Print titles here at very good prices and I love the flat shipping rate ($3.97 to international destinations.)

I recently checked their website and found an interesting new development -- Betterworld Books now has a Buyback policy -- you can sell your books to them! (They'll even pay for shipping if you're selling more than 3 books.)

Unfortunately, the offer is only available in the US. ~sigh~

I hope they expand this and open it to countries outside of the US.

Clickety click here for more information.

While you're at it, check out their books!

A wonderful book meme --

Got this from Julie --

Childhood Favorites:

I read a lot of Nancy Drew growing up. (One of our older cousins gave us her entire collection when she visited us.)

Also a lot of encyclopedias. One of my best memories of childhood is my mom leaving the most current catalog of Reader's Digest books and let us pick 2. My siblings would deliberate on which 2 books we would get and we ended up with gems like: How Was It Done?, When, Where, Why and How It Happened, The Story of Jesus, etc.

We also read a lot of comics. I remember my uncle sending us the Mile High Comics catalog (back when they were printing them) and told us to pick one each. We weren't picky back then -- we didn't mind getting grab bags because we just wanted to have a lot of comics to read. ^_^

Believe it or not, I didn't get into Sweet Valley and Sweet Dreams until I was in high school.

Comfort Reading (to which i return again and again)
1. Possession by A.S. Byatt
2. Tuesdays with Morrie <-- which I read every New Year's Eve
3. Reader's Digest issues (old and new) <-- laughter really is the best medicine ^_^
4. Little Women <-- but not so often. I just think about it (especially Beth's dying scene) and I get misty-eyed.
5. The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster
6. Worried All the Time by David Anderegg
7. Suddenly Silver by Lynn Johnston

Best I've Read in the Past Year
Apologies ... this list will contain romance novels and comic books because that's what I've been reading mostly ...
1. Private Arrangements by Sherry Thomas <-- she's an interesting writer though -- she's Asian-American and English wasn't her first language.
2. The Umbrella Academy: Dallas by Gerard Way and Gabriel Ba
3. How to Eat by Nigella Lawson <-- I read this one a few years back and decided to re-read it. I love her. >_<
4. Anna Godbersen's Series: The Luxe, Rumors, Envy ... can't wait for the next one!
5. Mary Balogh's Simply Series <-- didn't like her the first time I read her. But this series was very good. ^_^
6. Tempted by his Kiss by Tracy Anne Warren <-- read this a few days ago. Amazing! Can't wait for the next installment.
7. My youngest brother's dissertation proposal <-- it was choppy and I helped him edit it and his proposal was approved (not because I edited it ha. The topic is very interesting). (Made me feel good knowing that I still had a bit of the teacher in me. =^_^=)

Non-fiction Faves
1. Anthony Bourdain's A Cook's Tour
2. Nigella Lawson!!!
3. The Professor and the Madman by Simon Winchester


Ones which I've only pretended to read in their entirety
1. Ulysses by James Joyce <-- was supposed to read this for my compre -- read the first five chapters and then made a big show of flipping through the rest of the book
2. The Republic by Plato
3. Siddharta by Herman Hesse <-- was supposed to read this for a class. Don't know how I managed to get through that paper and test without having actually read the book

Strangely have never picked up
1. JRR Tolkien <-- but I am not a fan of fantasy (or SF)
2. Gabriel Garcia Marquez <-- I've only read 2 short stories
3. Haruki Murakami <-- one of my husband's favorite authors. I've only read Sputnik Sweetheart and 1 short story
4. Philip Pullman <-- I tried to read him ... but I couldn't understand it. T_T