Things are happening so fast --
Almond star cream Tokyo banana
Tuna onigiri
Train bento with shumai, pickles, fried rice, yam
Blood orange orangina
Street food: toasted red bean pancake
The BEST 11F shabushabu
Honey latte
More tuna onigiri
Tea flavored KitKat
Calpico
Lemon cake


Ooof 11/4
Chocolate mint shake
Lemon cake
Tuna cutlet with curry and pickle, iced tea, Dan's melon soda
Hello Kitty latte, fruit pancakes with ice cream
Eel sushi
Gyozas
Roast beef onigiri, salmon onigiri
Calpico
Raspberry cake, strawberry cake, pear cake

Ouch 11/5
Morning mochi, apple/carrot juice, another curry croquette
Zoo lemon soda, panda ice cream
Omelet rice with curry and tempura shrimp, small salad
Peach iced tea
Zoo animal mochi
Mango lassi, samosa, salad, dal curry, butter chicken, lamb tandoori, garlic naan

*burp* 11/6
BEST morning chirashi -- chopped fatty tuna, salmon, shrimp
Bear cream bread
More animal mochi
Grating apple sorbet cone
Iced vienna coffee, ham and potato gruyere pastry
Naki udon with tempura shrimp, shredded onion, yam
Chocolate covered candied lemon peel
Strawberry cakes
Greek tomato, cucumber, feta, olive, mint salad
Braised lamb shoulder with lemon and yogurt
Raspberry, mint soda
Braised greens
Tomato, oxtail orzo
Strawberry cake
Animal mochi

Almost perfect 11/7
Strawberry cake strawberry cake
Cafe mocha
Pork bao
Mochi hotdog
Gyoza x 6, cucumber salad, bean sprouts with beef
Fromage tart hot tea
BEST teppanyaki dinner: japanese beef, sashimi (salmon andmackerel), crab amuse bouche, miso soup, bean sprout, garlic chips, pickle, garlic fried rice, teppanyaki french toast ice cream

Finale 11/8
ShineShine Berry
Almond chocolate crepe and cafe latte
Chicken soup, beef curry with poached egg over rice, side salad, tea
Teppanyaki part deux: turtle flan, tuna with roe, rare beef with flowers.  Beef tenderloin, garlic chips. Garlic fried rice with hot water soup, hot tea with caramel flan cake, fruit sorbet, and fruit gelee

Before I forget

Okay okay, before it all dissolves out of my tired brain

Curry croquet, apple puff pastry
Chinese shrimp and veggie noodle bowl, Dan's soup dumpling
Pork bao
Caffe Excelsior macchiato
Strawberry cake and mochi
Shaved green salad, steak/fried fish/pulled pork sliders, mixed berry seltzer
Hot cup of Darjeeling, strawberry French pastry nonsense

Imperial Gardens
MOMAT
Isetan
Tokyu Center

Nerds

First, the tummy chronicles:

Soy latte cup
Daiwa Sushi at Tsukiji Market ... set plus aji
White strawberry mochi
Apple tartlet
Stir fry beef bowl set
Apple ice cream

Tsukiji Fish Market ... amazing and even larger than I thought it could be.  Such a shame it's moving
Tokyo Station Town ... Intermediatheque and high class shopping
Akihabara for tiny trinket impulse buys!


Really just a great birthday

Japan is exactly the right amount of different

First post since 2014!

I'm sitting in bed in a high rise Tokyo hotel, awake against my will.  Hotel is in the Giza district, fancy shopping and wide streets.  Cute women in camelhair overcoats and black pumps and lots of shopping bags.
Love this hotel, side note.  Dan booked the trip, I'm a lucky wife.  The hotel is brand new, located right on top of a subway station, and surrounded by shopping and tiny cafes full of weird pastries and coffee beverages.  Toilet is the best -- alone in a dimly lit stall away from everything else, heated, and and a million weird options for washing my butt.  Room is small by American standards but has everything it needs tucked up in a logical way.

So far, Japan is exactly the way I imagined it to be.  The city part, anyway.  Got in late afternoon yesterday and have gotten to wander Haneda airport, which is rad and full of things I want to buy.  Met up with Viv and Hoss, ate ramen and tried showering next to a bathtubwhile sitting down  (reminds me of Korea),  Real adventures start today.  Pictures to follow.

MLB Cafe Tokyo
Yushukan Museum at the Yasukuni Shrine
Tokyo Sky Tree Town


Tummy:
Haneda thin udon and tempura set with small tuna roll and tamago, grated turnip, miso soup
Duck breast ramen in "rich broth" with spinach, meatballs, egg, fishcake

Then:
Apple pastry
Matcha green tea latte cup
Hot dog and french fries with a strawberry slushee
Tonkatsu in dark gravy with cabbage slaw and potato salad, miso soup
A good latte
Strawberry shaved ice with condensed milk
Pork gyoza
THE STRAWBERRY CAKE FROM GINZA ... tokyobanana.jp