ラーメン (Ramen)

How to order ramen:

Welcome party recap and food news

Yesterday, I had my welcome party. I was pretty much left in the dark on the actual plans until 10 minutes before. The whole day I was pretty busy with work and skipped lunch. It turns out that skipping that meal was a bad mistake.





The party was held at a restaurant called 音音 (Sound Sound) in Shinjuku. The restaurant was about a 10 minute walk from my office building. As you can see from the pictures above, the place was pretty elegant. I came with the first wave of people. So we started the night early. I let my co-workers order my food and drinks. This proved to be a fatal mistake. I was handed beer after beer. the food that was ordered was non-oily and non-absorbent. This combination started my demise for the night. When the second wave of people came, they quickly ordered Japanese sake. Of course in Japanese culture, you cannot refuse anything that is given to me. The guy offering me the sake was very happy go lucky and was very eager to find out how strong I was. By the time the 3rd and final wave of people came to the party, the volume of sake increased and my happy go lucky friend soon started to order various sake from the different regions of Japan. The one from Aomori prefecture was like a dagger to the heart. I was quickly finding myself laughing to every joke regardless if I really understood it or not. I also found myself speaking Japanese, not knowing if I really made any sense. Yep, I was trashed. There was suppose to be a second party at a club in Roppongi, but I could barely walk, so I said I couldn't do a nijikai and we all went home. I honestly don't know how I made it home. I did take the train home, but it is a fuzzy memory to me.

This morning, I was paying the price. My head was spinning and my stomach was in shambles. Thank god I have the opportunity to work from home, or else I would have had to use a sick day. I was happy that I survived my first nomikai as a "salary man". I know there will be more of this in the near future, so I have to be more smart about it next time. I definitely need to eat bigger meals beforehand and not to mix any drinks.

In other news, I finally went to a kaiten sushi near my house.



Oh yes, Kaiten sushi. I love sushi, especially when it is cheap. I'm always on a quest to find the best kaiten sushi. The quality at this place was decent, but that was because I was comparing it to the quality found in rural Japan. The service was outstanding and the chef was really friendly and talkative. They even gave a 10% off coupon for the next time. I was impressed with the service and will be coming back.

I also tried out a Thai restaurant near my apartment. The restaurant is located in a small alley. The only reason why we found the restaurant was because my friend spotted the Thai flag hanging outside. The restaurant also had the menu outside. The price was not so reasonable. I was going to try the restaurant sooner or later, so I decided to indulge myself and take a chance. I was greeted by a Thai lady with really bad Japanese. I knew I would be getting authentic Thai food so I ordered a lot. It turned out to be a mistake. The food was shit. The spring roll appetizer was really small and bland. The curry was too oily and Tom yum soup lacked flavor. I was very disappointed but at least I know now and will not be going back to that place.

Finally, I found a community center near my place, actually about a 15 minute walk that has an indoor basketball court. The best part is that they do not charge an entrance free. The big draw back though is that the court is only opened Monday through Saturday from 12:00pm to 1:00pm. Luckily, I work at home some days, so I think I may drop in when things are slow hehe. Now I just need to buy a basketball and get some friends to play with and I'm set. I guess the latter is easier said than done. Is there anyone in the Setagaya ward of Tokyo who likes to play basketball and is free during 12 - 1??? Please leave a comment :D

Yakiniku

I finally indulged my 焼き肉 (BBQ) craving at Yoga today. Like I always say Good food + Good People = Good Times. I'm so full right now that I can barely move, yet I feel so satisfied. This time, I also tried different types of meat that I never ate before. One of them was raw beef mixed with egg, pork tongue, and pork intestines. Yeah it sounds nasty, but it was actually pretty good. Being a bit drunk beforehand also helped in my willingness to eat them hehe.

Most people have a day off tomorrow and some even a week due to Obon, but I have to work. Since I follow U.S. rules, I don't observe any Japanese holidays. I will choose to work at home for tomorrow and maybe the day after. The only day I really have to go to work is Thursday, because that will be the day of my welcome party. But I think I may go to work atleast 2 or 3 times this week. I just hope it doesn't get too hot, because that will definitely factor into my decision whether to go or not hehe.

I also have to open up my bank account tomorrow. This will be my 3rd attempt in opening up a bank account. I hope I can finally accomplish this task.

Soccer recap and Odaiba

I will cut right to the results first. We lost the soccer tournament. We tied a few games and lost the rest. The tournament was fun, but the fact that we were playing on a clear sunny day and 98 degree weather turned my stamina into dust, not that I had great endurance in the first place. Every time I stepped into the field, my shoes would start burning. I was really afraid that my shoes would start smoking when I started running. The teams that were at the tournament were supposedly beginners, but I had my doubts when they showed up with matching uniforms. It seemed like we were the only team that didn't have proper uniforms. Especially me, I was wearing my running shoes and basketball shorts. I didn't even have the proper socks and had to buy them at the store near the field. We were the only team as well that didn't have a real elaborate strategy. Our only rule was to "run and pass". As I mentioned before, we managed to tie a few games, one of them was I think was to the number 1 team that day. Our reward for playing so hard was to indulge ourselves at a 焼き肉 (BBQ) restaurant but because we headed out at an odd time (after lunch hours but before dinner hours) all the restaurants were closed. We ended up going to a Chinese-chain diner instead. I had a great time, and would definitely do it again. I definitely need to get into better shape though. I also need to get myself some proper soccer shoes. I am really sore right now and I can barely walk, but I feel great.

I've managed not to be lazy and have taken and uploaded some new pictures. So to end this post, here are some that I have taken in the past few days:



Though a bit fuzzy, this is a picture of the krispy kreme doughnut shop in Shinjuku. Its kind of hard to see but there is a huge line just to get into the shop. It honestly looked like one of those lines you see at an amusement park to one of the most popular rides. I like krispy kremes, but I have never seen a line like that before just to eat one. Also note that this was taken at about 9pm on a Thursday night, which is usually a less crowded off-peak time. I can't imagine how long the line is during peak hours.




I went to odaiba last night to see the fireworks. Here is a picture of the Fuji TV studio. Its a unique building and the sunsetting made the backdrop nice. No other real reason why I took this picture.




Here is the famous ferris wheel in odaiba. Its been a few years since I last saw this. It brought back some 懐かし feelings.




Finally the fireworks. I didn't go up close to the fireworks fearing the massive crowd by the sea, but I ended up getting a satisfactory view.

Sports..Sports..Sports

I just finished watching Dallas Cowboys beat the defending national champions Indianapolis Colts in football via slingbox. Sure it was just pre-season where the games don't count and Peyton Manning only played one series, but my team did technically win, which is all that matters hehe.

This is my first live action sports game I have watched with my slingbox and I was very impressed. For the most part, there was little video garble. Only the super high overview shots from the Goodyear, or other tire maker blimp was a bit fuzzy, but the game time view was near television quality. I am very happy with my investment.

In other sports news, I have a soccer tournament tomorrow. I haven't played soccer since I almost died playing with my coworker and his team back in March, so I'm a bit nervous for tomorrow. Soccer is actually one of my weaker sports, but I'm a bit more concerned that I won't get injured rather than winning at this point hehe. I also know that my stamina is pretty weak now, but I'm hoping that my plan in loading on the carbs tonight will give me some sort of chance to last through the whole tournament. I'll let you guys know how it turns out in my next post.

Work, Billy, and the Korean Monster

As I was writing on my previous post, I was struggling to meet new people at the office. That soon changed, at least for now. I had a meeting with the HR guy.. the same guy who denied me in the first place. Basically, since I have my visa and everything, he wanted me to go through the steps on how to transition me into the Japanese status. I on the other hand, being the lonely and desperate soul that I am, was trying to come up with strategies on how to turn the enemy into a friend. My basic point of attack was just to drop all my prior knowledge of him and suck up to him at will and see where that led me. Apparently it worked and now I have a welcome party planned by him next week. Lets see how that goes.

On other news... remember I mentioned about Billy Blanks below appearing more times on T.V. than the SMAP guys? Well, I was watching SMAPXSMAP on Monday night and guess what... he was in their show. Here is the skit below: (The fake Billy or Hilly is one of the SMAP members Shingo-kun)



Also this past Sunday, I was watching a bit of K-1 fighting. K-1 is like UFC but in a boxing ring instead of a steel cage octagon. They also show the events on public television instead of PPV like in the states. Anyways, there was this huge Korean fighter that totally blew my mind. The guy's glove was as big as his opponent's head!!!! The giant's name is Choi Hong-Man aka "Korean Monster". I mean... this guy was like an Asian Godzilla.... wait.. Godzilla was Asian right? Umm.. He was like Godzilla with blonde hair and the other dude looked like one of Frotto's little hobbit friends compared to him. Needless to say, the tanned Bobo Baggins got knocked out. I thought that after the short match, the unsatisfied Korean monster was going to eat the audience and step on some buildings afterwards. Luckily, he was in a good mood and everyone was spared ... for now. I have also provided the clip for you below:

Recap on my life in Tokyo thus far

Here is a brief recap on how my life has been since coming to Tokyo:

Work: I am commuting to the office in Shinjuku. I've been doing it everyday, until I got the internet. I skipped out the past two work days and worked from home. My daily commute to the office is pretty grueling. Though I only have to endure a 12 - 17 minute train ride (depending if I hit the local or rapid trains) the amount of people I have to jock for position everyday is pretty crazy. I have been twice elbowed by two different elderly ladies. I've also been almost trampled over by a disgruntled salary man. The funniest part about the commute though is when we arrive to Shinjuku station. Right when the door opens, everyone makes an Olympic-like sprint to the stairs to get out of the station. I on the other hand patiently wait for the rush to go by fearing I would get eaten up by the sea of salary men and office ladies. My office is a 15 - 20 minute walk from the station. The time really depends on how gung-ho I am that day. Usually, I just take my time and enjoy the sights and sounds that Shinjuku offers. My office building is ok. I have taken a picture of the building in my previous post. The people that work near me (I don't actually work with anyone there, since I am remotely working with my old team) have treated me fair so far. I have met the people that were against me during my attempt to join their office and they put their fake smiles and handed me their Christmas handshakes. I offered the same. I have spoken to a couple of friendly people and had lunch a couple of times with them. I hope to make more office friends in the near future.

Apartment: Furnishing an empty apartment is not only expensive, but is hard work. This makes it extra hard without the aid of the internet to do prior research. Needless to say, most of the appliances and furniture have been obtained, but after an empty wallet, more furniture is still needed. The location of the apartment is convenient and area is not bad. On the weekends, I hear the occasional drunken salaryman battle cry, but all in all, the only constant disturbance I encounter is the express train zooming by.

Life: Life is fine. I have to admit, that I am fighting homesickness, but I try to make the best of it. I spend most of my off time trying to explore different parts of my area to find out what can be bought without going to the center of Tokyo. The center of Tokyo is not very far, but if things can be done without having to travel on the crowded trains (even on weekends it is crowded) and of course not spending money for the train fare, all the better. I also meet good friends on occasion which definitely cheers me up. So far Japan has experienced a few earthquakes and 2 typhoons. Though it sounds like a lot, I honestly haven't noticed any earthquakes thus far and had no immediate impact of the 2 typhoons.

Food: God.. I'm in heaven here. Food is so good. I even found a nearby Kaiten sushi near my apartment. There are also a lot of ramen shops that are just steps from my apartment. I look forward to exploring and discovering more tasty restaurants in the near future.

Misc: I have not missed American T.V. thanks to the slingbox. With the fiber optic connection I have here in my apartment, I get really good quality coming out of my slingbox. This is really good since NFL season is coming up in a few weeks. Go Cowboys!!!!!!!!!!!