Top 11 of 2011... Part 3

#9.  A Joyous Return to the Caribbean.

You know, when I was at the US Open rearranging my life last minute to be in Tampa in 3 days for rehearsals to return to a cruise ship gig, I wasn't really quite sure that it wasn't going to be awful.  I had some pretty rough memories from my first gig back in 2007 and I didn't love the idea of returning to the "floating prison".  But I needed a job, a break from the city, and a serious infusion of cash into my nearly depleted bank accounts.  I was pretty low, to say the least.

And what followed was a shockingly delightful return to the Caribbean and ship life.

I mean, I climbed a waterfall in Jamaica.

I cliff dived (dove?) off a wall in Mexico, whilst drinking rather too copious an amount of tequila.

I frolicked in the crystal clear bath waters of secluded Emerald Beach in St. Thomas while airplanes flew overhead.

I got to have another super-spoiled V. I. P. + 2 vacation with the best family ever.

I've checked off almost all the spots in "Kokomo"

No Aruba, but

Jamaica - check

Bermuda - check

Bahamas - check

Key Largo - check

Montego - check

I was surprised and reunited with one of my all-time favorite Aussies, Jayne, and the best Brit, Vicki!!!!

And my adventures in Grand Cayman were so great they'll come in another entry!

I made money, I drank delicious rum, I got a tan, I had a working vacation, and my soul got some serious happy!

See what I meant by breathtakingly high peaks?

Family and Friends

Since the reunion, I went camping in Moab to avoid the rain, and marveled at the red canyon gorge, the desert heat, and the unbelievable night sky.

My family took the most amazing 4.5-mile hike to Morning Glory arch and splashed in the river crossings along the way.

My mom, sis, and I did a drive by of Arches National Park in 75 minutes, keeping us salivating for more.

(for those counting, that means we did 3 National Parks in 2 different states across about 350 miles in 6 days!)

I ate 100,000 calories in a week.  Or at least it feels like I did.

And I had a wonderful last day in Denver.

4 people eating lunch at Chick-fil-a for 8 bucks.  Seriously.  Their coupons are that awesome.

Jordan and I visited my best childhood friend Meghan at her house down in Littleton last night, so we figured we'd beat the traffic by heading to a happy hour down in Littleton, and maybe hit up some of my old stomping grounds along the way.

So we pull up to Dewey's American Grill for happy hour, which we had scoped out online through yelp! and westword, and it looked reasonable.  It even had a second Highlands Ranch location.

Turns out...

a nice young lady was waiting for us as we got out of our car to tell us that Dewey's closed that morning.

WHAT?!  A Tuesday, they just up and closed?  

But, she gave us each a free drink coupon to go next door to Big Papa's BBQ for their happy hour, and we gladly indulged.

12 bucks later, we'd split 5 beers, chips and queso, and hush puppies.  God, I love how cheap the west is.

But the creme de la creme is that when we relayed this story to Meghan, she thought it was crazy because...

Big Papa's is catering her wedding!  What a clever coincidence.

That guerilla marketing really worked out.

It was also amazing to reminisce about our childhoods as Meghan showed us the slideshow for her wedding.  Yes, we played dress-up a lot.  And yes, believe it or not, I have already been a groom.  To her bride.  For Halloween.  When we were 5.  

Let's just say it was classic and people DUMPED their candy bowls into our sacks.  We made out a lot better than when those jerks stole my pillowcase full of candy in the greenbelt behind my house a few years later.  

So we giggled and laughed and walked down memory lane and I can't wait for her wedding.  I can't wait to sing and to celebrate such a special time with one of my favorite women and her amazing family.

And did I mention that I slept in a Harry Potter closet back at the reunion?  Priceless.

Green Table

Don't get me wrong. I'm all for PC.

Not the computers (I'm a Mac convert, 3 years running), but political correctness.

But I'm absolutely appalled at the fact that we can no longer refer to the Native Americans I loved and revered in 3rd grade as their proper Navajo name...

The Anasazi.

It's just so perfect.

Ancestral Puebloans?

CRAP. I'm calling you out on your B.S. Mesa Verde. Seriously.

See, when I was in 3rd grade in Colorado, we learned all about the different tribes of Colorado, including a heavy focus on the Southwest. You East Coasters spent all your years debating Confederates vs. Yanks, but we went back 800 years to the Indians.

And they say there's nothing historical more than 400 years old in the New World.

See we went on a week-long field trip to Crow Canyon, which was pretty much the coolest place ever. One week sleepover trip? Check. Archaelogical digs? Check. Visiting the cliff dwellings at Mesa Verde that you fantasized about in class? Check. Following in your brother's footsteps? Check.

It's ironic. I looked forward to two things from my older brothers before high school, going to Crow Canyon and the mine in Georgetown, and both nearly didn't happen. I remember tears. Distinctly.

But on that field trip, and a second visit to Mesa Verde with my family a few years later while camping in the San Juans, I never got to do something I had dreamed about for years. Going down inside the kiva at Spruce Tree House.

Sure we explored Cliff Palace. And yes we got to see Spruce Tree from afar. But I never got to go inside that darn kiva. And that's all I wanted.

Well, 20 years later, my inner 9-year-old finally checked off his bucket list and I got to explore the inside of a restored kiva. With roof fully intact.

And, well... it would've been better had I been 9. Which is why I'm so glad I was with my 9 year old cousin. It was awesome to see his face and remember why I wanted so badly to be there.  I actually think it was the igloo pool at the onsen that ruined it for me.  Dang it, awesome Japanese baths.

The real highlight of the day was actually visiting the lesser known Balcony House with our incredible guide. Well worth the $3 admission fee.

We actually got to climb 30 foot ladders, go into various rooms and sections of the ruins, and squeeze our way through 18-inch wide tunnels and caves. It was phenomenal. The views were spectacular, and I actually learned quite a bit from our guide.

He capped off the tour with an excellent point that we all are different and learning about each other and we have a respect for how these people lived and how they've been preserved for 800 years. Part of our search for security should be preserving and respecting that and coming together to celebrate our differences.

Thanks Mister Corsica, SD for providing me a lot of hope for the future of Middle America.

And thanks Anasazi, oops I mean ancestral Puebloans, for reminding me that we all are on our search for the Center Place now that we've reached the 4th world through the sipapu.

What a great day.

Oh. And we played kickball in a field full of horse poo.

And we kicked those Bardwell's butts back to SD as revenge for the water fights on the river. 11-4. 

Manic Monday

I should've known it wasn't a coincidence when both Kat and Lauren called today. Especially since we'd already been to the hospital once today.

I don't know details, but I found out before bed tonight that one of my former professor's health has taken a turn for the worse. And I'll just have to wait till morning to find out the details.

A fitting end to a day that started with a shower in the dark (short-circuit from too many appliances at once) followed by the news that my Grandma had fallen in the shower and broken her hip.

It seems whenever my family gets together, somebody ends up getting hurt, and since my cousin is 8 months pregnant and not here, unfortunately someone else ended up in the emergency room.

Don't worry, my Grandma pulled through surgery just fine, but we're all now worried about the length of the rehabilitation and the changes that will mean for her and Grandpa. Not to mention how we're gonna get her back from these great orthopedic surgeons in Durango.

That's right.

I'm at a family reunion an 8-hour drive from Denver in Durango, CO. I've been to the amazing Sand Dunes National Monument outside of Alamosa and gone sledding with my cousin in the hot sun.

I've driven over Wolf Creek Pass and nearly wiped out with all the momentum of a fully packed car.  I've played kickball, frisbee golf, and beer pong, and eaten way too much delicious food and washed it down with way too much delicious beer. I've met my gorgeous new niece, seen distant relatives for the first time in almost ten years, and laughed my way down memory lane. I've met new members of the family, and hugged my favorite old ones.

It really has been a good two days in spite of today's events.

So I'm thankful.

I took some me time on the way home at the end of the night and just marveled at the stars. It's amazing what you can see on a cool, dark, clear, moonless night at 8000 feet. I forgot how stunning the Milky Way was. I feel privileged to be the rare New Yorker who has seen it so clearly so many times.

We watched old videos that my great-uncle Art had of Delmont, SD in 1940. The fashion, the hats, the farms, the stature, and familiar faces much, much younger brought so much joy and reflection to my heart.

What a blessing to look back on people you actually know in black-and-white from 70 years ago, pre-WWII. What will my descendants think in 70 years when they find my old videos on this laptop? Or will they even care?

I hope they do, and I hope they remember their loved ones as fondly as I do. Phillip, the young handsome cousin I never really got to know. Art, in a plaid shirt and wide, short tie with a goofy grin on his face. Long hair too! Auntie Babe, with shoulders and a stature that football players strive to attain, yet with the grace of the rest of her 98 years still ahead.

What a joy to be a part of this family. With tons of prayers for one of its beloved members.

The Shore

What better way to celebrate both my Japanese adventure and my blog's first anniversary than a new adventure into a foreign culture?

That's right, kids.  I branched out and took the plunge.

To the Jersey shore.

And yes, it really is a different world.

Despite traveling to 47 states and 9 foreign countries, I've never made the 3-hour trip to the Jersey shore, a foreign place in and of itself.  The NJ Turnpike?  Well-worn.  The Shore?  Not so much.  Not even Atlantic City.

This week, that all changed, and it was spectacular.

And in a fitting tribute to my Japanese adventure, I had the fortune of spending 3 days with wonderful newlyweds who both performed multiple contracts at TDS and fell in love whilst working there!  Stories and reminiscences abounded making my heart ache for one of the best experiences in my life.

Not that orange tank top tans, mullets, and beer bellies aren't just as delightful.   Not.

I knew it would be an amazing adventure when we pulled up to the aqua neon OEO hotey-ho (It was called the Bolero, but every other light was out!) and we were given a look into classic 60's Jersey.  Including our hotel room and the class-less neighbors.  Luckily that also meant we could by beer by the case for CHEEEEEAAAP and we were happy to indulge.

And the best part was that the guys got to relax and play all day while the ladies had to go to work!  You know, relax by throwing our bodies onto rollercoasters and the claw ride that spun you around fully upside down and made you turn purple.  No wonder Jason got a little nervous there...

We also enjoyed the amenities of the Boardwalk, including a conspicuously-placed gazebo with rocking chairs, perfect for re-creating a contemporary solo seen the day before for our judged-out ladies.  Eat these lines 17-year-old Jersey girl!

And while we probably ran into more Snooki and Situation look-a-like wannabes than I care to admit (I don't really know who those people are, but...), there actually are some charming beaches minutes from Wildwood that look like this.

Definitely worth the escape.

And so the mini-vacation consisted of laughing, pizza and ice cream, beer, amazing independent coffee shops, Stone Harbor, Cape May, happy hour in utter seclusion, playing skeeball and the Ultimate Claw to buy the girls presents and pay four for four forever friends bracelets.  Dancing on rocking chairs, Japan memories, Wawa, and rollercoasters to seal the vacation as one forever incredible memory.

A 3-hour drive to a foreign country beats that 13-hour flight on Delta any day.

Happy 1st Anniversary "A Toph out of Water"!

Just Call me Dhilf

Dhilf. Or Dhlif. I can't really remember which... but that's what my name was when I checked in today! Ha!

I mean it makes sense when you think about making a phone reservation between English-Chinese... I mean D=C, L=R, F=S. But still... when you consider the fact that they only misspelled my last name by one letter... and it's the hard one!

It's just been one of those days where I'm so thankful I'm having this experience, because I've really gotten the travel immersion experience I was craving. I'm shocked at how much I accomplished today speaking 2 words of Mandarin (seriously... hello and thank you), and also how much fun I've had!

I had to get up before the rest of Taipei since I was taking a 7 AM bus to Sun Moon Lake, but luckily everything worked out well with breakfast, storing my suitcase at the train station, and getting to the bus on time. I'm REALLY glad I actually planned this part of the trip ahead of time.

The bus was one of my first "Aha!" experiences when I realized too late that the seats were assigned (I was in the back of the bus, of course). I tried to steal a single seat on the right (they were split 2 and 1), but it didn't really matter since all the seats were super plush and wide with extra legroom. I ended up sleeping most of the way, and the trip only took 3 and half hours.

After I checked into the hotel, I took the front desk lady's advice and rented an electric bike instead of a regular one so I could drive around the lake. Like yesterday, the fog and mist rolled in, but it ended up making for a spectacularly cool and eerie sort of day. I wasn't convinced I could make it all the way around in time, and the east end of the lake had been really traffic-y, so I stuck to the western end and just enjoyed the freedom and quiet. It's so nice to just get away.

At one point I was like, holy cow, I'm riding an electric scooter around a huge lake in Taiwan. How did this happen? I DON'T SPEAK CHINESE. Amazingness.

I stumbled upon this quiet little farming village, complete with pointy hats and bamboo trees and I took tons of pictures. There's an interesting dichotomy between the very recent tourist aspect of the lake, like the brand-new gondola station outside my hotel and the shuttle boats, and the traditional tribes and farmers still living on the lake, like the houseboats and rowboats and native tribesmen selling their wares in town. It just feels so quintessentially Taiwanese.

Later I tried to take a boat ride around the lake, and got completely waylaid by this woman I totally thought was scamming me and wouldn't give up. She sold me a ticket for only 200 NT, so I wasn't really worried about the money, but the 30 minutes I spent waiting left me a little confused. It turns out I merely booked a charter trip that was waiting for the boat to fill up, and I took a fun 45 minute ride on this small boat over to the random island in the middle of the lake, as well as another dock in town. It made me miss my ship days a lot. The water was so stunningly turquoise and it didn't sting when it sprayed you in the face!

I met several people throughout the day, including a friendly couple from Hong Kong. I also met a girl named Brandy who remembered me from the Taipei Bus Station (things like that happen when you're a giant white guy in Taiwan) and was collecting pictures with the different people from other countries she met. She brilliantly was carrying a white board that displayed what number you were and had your signature. So I got a pic of us too! Fun... I might have to steal her idea next time.

I continued to marvel at the way the people here will continue to talk to me in Chinese (like the bike rental lady, the ship captain, the street food vendor) like I'm going to understand. Just full-tilt two-language conversations that neither one of us understands. AMAZING.

Oh. And I had the BEST lunch in Ita Zhao today... a pork belly/Chinese pancake/with crunchies inside sort of thing. I got it on the street and it was fantastic! I almost got another one for later, but I realized it wouldn't have been as good...

Now I've just enjoyed the evening rain from my cheap hotel balcony and it's time to hit the hay. Sadly I have to take a taxi to the bus stop in the morning since the lake buses don't run, but at least I get free breakfast!

2 Days in Taipei

Well, so far Taipei has let me have it.

After my first night feeling overwhelmed and exhausted, I woke up Saturday feeling much more refreshed and ready to go. I had some time to kill before I was set to meet up with my cousin's good friend, so I got some breakfast from the bakery across the street (it was delicious!) and started on a walk looking for somewhere to stop and eat. My meanderings led me quite a ways without much success, but pretty soon I stumbled upon the gorgeous area of Chiang Kai-Sek Memorial Hall.

It's basically this HUGE plaza that has an octagonal-shaped monument replete with Abraham LIncoln-like statue of CKS, a major dictator in Taiwan's history who had a lot of power and therefore a lot of museums and residences and palaces left, but he isn't exactly held in the highest regard here. Regardless, I happened to show up right at 11:00 for the changing of the guard which involved 4 guards and AMAZING drill-team rifle choreography and precision. I, however, was not a fan of the goose-stepping, drag queen heel boots, or the bayonets being pointed directly at my face several times.

The plaza also contains the National Concert Hall and Theatre and they are HUGE andgorgeous. Spoiler Alert: I want to perform there! Big surprise, right? There's also a giant blue and white Chinese gate that I believe is one of the old 5 main gates of the city.

I had to hurry back to the hotel to meet Neev and Damon, and they took me to an amazing feast of Dim Sum for lunch. We had a lovely afternoon comparing countries, swapping stories, and laughing at all the standard foreigners-in-Asia experiences we've had. It was really nice to have some tour guides, and we just let the day dictate itself, which turned out for the best!

As we were walking, we stopped in Da'an Forest Park for a while, where we saw people doing Tai Chi on the stage of the amphitheatre. This usually happens early in the morning, so we were a bit confused, and we were really confused why everyone was gathering at the foot of the stage with pillows...

Turns out, according to a facebook event, it was the International Pillow Fight of 2010 at 3 PM and we showed up just in time to witness the craziness! I caught some awesome footage, though I wish I had caught the Taiwanese teenager screaming "Welcome to Pillow Fight!!!" as he continually whapped his girlfriend in the back as they entered the melee. Seriously priceless.

My favorite part of the whole day was this random woman who was standing on the edge of the stage where people were doing tai chi and right above everyone gathering for the pillow fight. She was just standing there with her umbrella (even though it had stopped raining and she was under the cover of the stage) and a grocery bag, kind of turning back and forth mouthing or singing something along with the music of the Tai Chi. That's what I guessed, anyway. And I just couldn't stop staring at her completely content in her zone. She kept noticing me staring and had this weird little half smile, and never moved from her spot for a good 30 minutes, even after the pillow fight had moved up the hill, been broken up by the police, and people had gone their ways, except for the tai chi session. Simply put, she was crazy, and I was OBSESSED with her.

Next we meandered through the weekend craft fair (where I bought a really nice ring for 10 bucks), the flower market, and the gorgeous jade market. We jumped on the MRT to stop by Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hall, where I got my first look at Taipei 101 in the background. It really is GINORMOUS, though the crappy weather this week means I've only gotten a few glimpses at the top and it probably won't be worth my while to go up (I've been thwarted by weather twice already).

I wasn't super impressed by Sun Yat-Sen's building, though the statue inside was awesome. And we happened to be there just in time to watch the young military men take down the flag. The craziest part was when they stopped the awful karaoke happening at a make-shift stage behind us so they could do the ceremony and play the National Anthem, and as soon as it was done, the screeching Chinese ladies continued. And then the young men had to march, and it was in rhythm! Again, priceless.

We jumped on the subway again and stopped over the west side of town at Longshan Temple which was crazy crowded and looked like a market was going on inside. Turns out, many people were gathering to prepare their offerings to the dead for Tomb Cleaning Day, which is the holiday on Monday. It also has had the joy of ruining several of my travel reservations...

The temple was magnificently detailed and it was so cool to see it in the middle of a big service complete with chanting. We also stopped by another temple after we meandered down Huaxi Street, and it was lovely to see the contrast of a neighborhood temple. It had three stories we could climb through, and lovely views of the neighborhood alleys. In short, I loved it.

I did not love Huaxi, or Snake Alley, quite as much... It's one of several night markets within the city, but it's famous for the fact that you can see vendors showing off live vipers and other kinds of snakes. We watched a classic demonstration, which consisted of a man showing us several snakes, pulling one out, killing it right before our eyes (I almost vomited), then knifing it open two times, once to pull out some organ and drain the venom, and then again to cut the veins and drain the blood.

If that isn't gross enough, they offer you the chance to then drink the blood, venom, and/or another snake fluid mixed with water or alcohol or whatever. As brave as I've been, that was one attempt I could not complete. Something about watching the animal get whacked (literally) right in front of me was just too revolting to enjoy. But I experienced it, I guess.

We decided to let our systems settle before eating, which meant we traveled North to Shilin Night Market (the biggest and most famous) for dinner. There were wonderful shops there, where I bought the watch I've wanted from Wego for 3 bucks (seriously!) and had tasty steamed buns, meat skewers, waffles, donuts, fruit, and boba tea. OISHII!

I've figured out what the smells I can't stand are, by the way... Stinky tofu (it's been fermented, tastes much better than it smells, which is AWFUL) and Chinese 5 spice. I've gotten more accustomed to the latter, though my nostrils are still not happy with the stinky assault.

After the market, I said so long to Neev and Damon (and many thanks for being such great tour guides!) and headed out to a bar/club I'd read about in my guide: Fresh. There I met some new Taiwan friends and had a nice time, though my lungs and sinus infection were not pleased with the smoke and booze. Seriously, I gotta kick this darn thing, but the damp weather is NOT helping!

I got to bed VERY late, which meant I let myself sleep in this morning, which apparently happened to be until 1 PM!!!!! Happy Easter to me, I guess. I spent most of the afternoon booking hotels and trains and buses for the rest of week, and I'm really looking forward to my excursions to Sun Moon Lake and Taroko Gorge. Hopefully the weather will cooperate, and at least be more like today, where if it's cloudy, at least it doesn't sprinkle or rain too much.

I had an excellent beef noodle bowl lunch at the Main Station whilst arranging travel, and didn't really finish until almost 6. So I headed up north again to visit the CKS Residence Park, which was open until 7. They have huge, amazing gardens there with some interesting sculptures, but you don't get the privilege of visiting the actual house. I wish I had been able to go in the daylight, but the flowers were still beautiful, even if my pictures aren't as great.

I then walked through the Shilin Market again, which was even crazier tonight, so I got Boba Tea and out quickly. I used my BGP to visit the ridiculously ornate and expensive Grand Hotel, and then walked across the river through the Arts Park (sadly under major construction) to the subway. From there I traveled to Taipei 101 only to see that there was no view from the top, and so I continue on down to the Taiwan Normal University area to the Shida night market. I wasn't as impressed with that market, so I decided to walk the half hour or so back to the hotel and see what was on the way.

I found a lot of really delightful food options that were mostly closing, then re-visited the CKS Memorial Hall area. It reminds me so much of DC and how beautiful everything can be at night. I finally had the time to also stop by the Presidential Building, a random park with a giant-tree-topped mini mountain, and 2-28 Peace Park. I'd been hoping to stop by there every time I've been out, but it was well worth the wait. It's a park reminding everyone the terror of martial law that was as recent as 50 years ago, and the sculpture fountain in the middle is just stunning. I took TONS of pictures and enjoyed exercising my artistic eye.

Finally on the way home I stopped for my favorite, a steamed pork bun, and I'm off to bed somewhat early so I can head out of town to the hot springs tomorrow!

It's been a busy and tiring two days, but I'm having an absolute blast! Happy Easter!

Sister, Sister!

Well, big surprise. It's Monday. Again. It's been a week since I last blogged. Again. I have visitors. Again. And I'm fighting something.

Again.

Ugh. I'm so over being sick. Every time I get better, one night celebrating a birthday, or one night's lost sleep and I'm fighting my darn body all over again. I'm so over it.

At least I only have two days of work left, everyone's seen the show, and I'm just gonna push through until vacation.

I just think it'd be nice if Japan would freaking help me out and turn up the temperature dial! Sheesh.

It was snowing yesterday. AGAIN!

You'd think that when my sister and Kelli booked their trip for late March during the beginning of cherry blossom season (which it happens to be, by the way) that it wouldn't be 2 degrees Celsius outside! On Palm Sunday!

Remember that whole spring thing, Japan? Apparently, not. Next week it'll likely be 95 with a 100% humidity.

That being said, my sister's here! And it's MARVELOUS!

Despite the fact that I leave this country in 96 hours, not a thing is packed or given away, and that's because I have two guests in my room till tomorrow. And so my final two days are designated only as packing up days! And that they will be...

Anyways, the girls and I have had a great time. Before they got here, I had a busy night Monday trying to keep up with the vacation planning, and on Tuesday I spent my day out and about in Tokyo before heading to Tony's birthday dinner in Roppongi Hills. Which was DELICIOUS but the copious amounts of smoke were a bit of a buzzkill.

The extreme buzzkill came the next morning when my stomach hated its life. Apparently Joe and Destiny threw up the whole night, which luckily never happened to me. But I think we all had a bit of food poisoning since we were sharing from the same set of plates at one end of the table (it was a family-style set menu). So instead of being excited about my sister's arrival, I spent the whole day with the tummy rumbles and the shakes. Awesome.

The girls arrived all the way to E-Village by themselves (good work, ladies!) and then met me for sushi at Ikspiari after work. Yum. Surprisingly, I was able to eat that and hold it down! Then we took the monorail out the Hilton where Rick and Robin were staying to say hello. Turns out everyone was early to bed (I'm sure the day of freezing rain helped that along) and Rick and Bobby came down to chat with us for an hour or so.

Pretty cool to stand in a hotel lobby in Tokyo with my sister and uncle after we all arrived here separately. Who thought that'd happen?

Then we cabbed it home because of the stupid rain, and the girls got a great night's sleep since it rained all day Thursday too. I sent them around the station and Shin-Urayasu since they weren't too keen on freezing all day after two weeks in Thailand. Rick and Robin and the whole family came to the show that day, which was wonderfully fun to see them, though it would've been nice to be able to hug the kids after the show. Mondainai, I guess.

That night the girls, Joseph, and I headed into Urayasu for some delicious food and drink at Big Mama's after we finally figured out an ATM that the girls could get money from. I'm glad I finally made it there because the food was superb, and my personal favorite was this chicken pasta gratin that tasted like Mom's Turkey Tetrazzini. Delish.

Friday the girls (and the rest of Japan) froze in the park, and only got to ride 2 rides (even with FastPasses!), but they did get to see all of the shows, including mine... twice! They came home pretty darn early, but much to their avail as it was Mexican Fiesta Night at Heidi and Renee's. Free delicious food, and Heidi was so kind as to clothe the girls with some warmer wear for their stay here.

Since, ya know, Tokyo doesn't understand that winter should be OVER by now.

Saturday we headed to Hakone for the day, which was the nicest weather we've had by far, which is saying a lot since we couldn't see Fuji, and only had partly sunny weather for a few hours of the day. We barely set foot outside on the pirate ship since it was so chilly, and we braved the wind to go get onsen eggs at Owakudani (and some really cool pics too). Though I will say that it was actually warmer up there than when I went in January!

I think the girls really enjoyed the scenery and the day, but I'm just disappointed at this crappy weather. It did make for a delightful onsen evening that night, complete with Evan on vocal rest, superb yakiniku, and the onsen specialty... soft ice cream. I know the girls were a little out of their comfort zone in the naked section, but they were champs nonetheless.

Yesterday we slept in till 9 (which still felt early...) and made it to church at noon in Yotsuya. I hadn't been there before, but wanted to try a new English mass since I really didn't like the one in Roppongi. I think we were basically at the cathedral of the Archdiocese of Tokyo since there was Mass in a different language every hour and a half and it was packed! The church was architecturally gorgeous, in an oval shape with a flower pattern ceiling, but we didn't get any pics. Unfortunately, the sound was about as atrocious as the obnoxious children, but we did get some beautiful palms for the whole Passion reading.

After church we snapped some photos of the cherry blossoms outside, and headed over to Harajuku and Shibuya to get in some much needed shopping for the girls. Sadly, my sister's feet are just too big to buy shoes or boots here, and so her feet hurt pretty badly all day. We stopped for lunch at my favorite kebab place, and got crepes in the middle of Takeshita-dori later that afternoon. Our attempts to take a picture with a Harajuku girl were met with running, dodging, and many "dame"s. Oh well.

Kelli did manage to buy some cute shoes, a new dress, and we all had a lot of fun. Oh and by the way, it was 2 degrees outside. As usual.

So we cut our plans to go out early, since I had woken up with more of my nasty Japanese head colds, Bree's feet hurt, and it was darn cold outside. We came back to Urayasu for conveyor-belt sushi and the girls were in heaven whenever they'd start shouting and auctioning off a new set of plates. Good thing I was there to let them know what was going on!

We came home early, Evan came over, and we all just rested and went to bed early, since they went to the fish market at 5 AM this morning. I, once again, had to refrain from going due to yet another sickness, so instead I happened to wake up early enough to update the blog.

And now, I must go perform the first half of my last 5 or 6 shows!! Let's hope the throat and voice hold out!

Family Time!

Oh, what a fun and wonderful week it has been! Funderful even!

So momma, aunt, and uncle are visiting, and we are having the best time walking, sight-seeing, and laughing a whole lot at what baca gaijin they are! It's fantastic!

From the moment they arrived, we've just had a ball. From shopping for the next day's breakfast the night they flew in completely jet-lagged to tramping through Kamakura, we've just had a great time.

The first day I scrapped the fish market plan after learning from the exhaustion of Cathy and Meg, so they spent the morning at the Imperial Palace whilst I visited my favorite voice doctor in Tokyo Station. Good news, it all checks out, I've just had a nasty case of pharyngitis, so he put me on some great drugs. Bad news, the medication doesn't always agree with my stomach, but I've survived.

Then we adventured further south to the park near Roppongi to see the beautiful temple there and take a trip up Tokyo Tower. It was awesome (for me) to see the layout from the city from 400 feet up after traipsing across the whole city. It made me realize how many places I've been and what an enormous amount of the city I've seen.

That afternoon we stopped at a noodle house for lunch, but it wasn't particularly great, which was disappointing. But then we stopped at the International Forum building and wandered all the upper suspended walkways and the view was incredible! Topped off with some delicious gelato, the day couldn't have been much better. I met Evan briefly to continue planning our Thailand vacation. And of course, we were early to bed for our early wake up call for the fish market!

The next morning we were up bright and early to visit Tsukiji. 4 AM Wake-up call, and 4 people out of the house by 4:45 AM! I was so proud we actually caught the first train at 5:10 AM. Vending machine coffee has never tasted so good...

We ran into my friend Heidi and her boyfriend on the train, which was really fun because then we all got to experience the madness of the fish market together. I kept comparing it to Narnia, because the early AM tuna auctions are at the very back of the market, and you just gotta keep going "further up, and further in".

Not following? Do yourself a favor... re-read that amazing 7 book series and promise me you don't get a little emotional when you get to the final pages of The Last Battle...

Anyway, the reason I say that, is because you first stumble upon rows of Alleys and little shops selling restaurant goods and fresh fruit and vegetables and many other things... And you have to walk through that until you're in this crazy loading dock area that feels like you're in Port Authority and/or the West Side Cruise Ship port, except all you smell is fish. And this is one time you gotta follow that nose.

Further down you're surrounded by the vendors selling all kinds of fresh seafood, freshly caught, some still alive, and little carts screaming down these teeny shop alleys trying not to kill you. And still you gotta go further in. You have to cross several big streets of transport, and THEN you arrive at the one warehouse where they allow a roped-off, no-flash-photos, out by 6:15 AM visitors area. Of course, the really big tuna auctions are still further up and further in, but they have plenty of "Keep Out you Baca Gai-jin" signs preventing you from going any further.

Side story: I'm not sure why I thought the best phrase I should teach to my family in Japan was baca gaijin... aka stupid foreigner. Because now they shout it all over Japan, which is hysterical. But even moreso was watching my mother try to remember the correct phrase, and with full commitment call herself a "Danke Schon!" HA!

Anyways, this, this is where the real show takes place. Despite the fact that you are herded like cattle into an "itty, bitty living space", you have the chance to see GIANT 300 lb tuna being auctioned off. And there are like 5 auctions going on at once in this giant warehouse. So cool. It's interesting because it's run like a fancy schmancy Sotheby's auction. Where the caller is shouting out in Japanese and the bidders only bid by hand signs. And they auction those fish FAST. It's a flurry of activity, but it's by far one of the coolest places I've visited in Japan.

Once we were kicked out of the auction, we wandered around and saw a bucket of live eels, live crabs in sand, those fish that swim on the bottom of the ocean and therefore look like they've been peeled on one-side, giant tuna just roaming around on those forklifts, octopus, squid, you name it...

And then it was time for an onigiri sushi breakfast with Uncle Greg while the ladies ate Pan Jewel pastries and we all sat down in McDonald's to drink coffee and warm up. D-E-licious!

The rest of the day we wandered around Ginza, saw the incredible opening of Matsuya Department Store where everyone just stands and bows to you and says "Shaimasen" over and over for 5 minutes. You kinda feel like a rockstar. We eventually had a delicious lunch at the Shiodome, and toured the Hama Detached Palace Gardens.

We opted to try out these handheld iPhone-type audio/visual tour guide things, which ended up making for a fun experience where we were constantly saying, "Did you ding yet?" "No, I didn't ding!" "Ahhh I don't wanna hear the thing about the bridge a fourth time." Surprisingly fun.

And we spent the evening chowing down on delicious Chinese food and soaking in wonderful bliss at the onsen. Even Aunt Jan enjoyed the baths despite her trepidation, and the night ended with a wonderful conversation about Phillip and all our other family members we've lost too soon. It might have been the best onsen night ever.

Over the weekend, the family headed down to Hiroshima and Himeji, and I spent most of the time sleeping off our early mornings and hoping I was starting to get better. I finally made some decisions about Thailand and Taiwan, and by Tuesday night, Evan and I had booked our flights and our hotel! YATTA! Vacation is only weeks away!

Sunday night the family returned, and we took off to Disneyland on Monday since it was supposed to be cold and rainy Tuesday and Wednesday. Though the park was INSANELY busy and I lost the lottery for both the castle show and Evan's show yet AGAIN, we had a pretty marvelous day. I was surprised that everyone loved Space Mountain and Thunder Mountain so much, and even more surprised at how much I disliked the castle show. I thought everyone was great, I just don't really enjoy the concept of hearing WACK arrangements of Disney songs in front of Cindy's Castle. Out of place, much? A rap version of Chim Chim Cheree? No thank you.

We had a great day together, and the lines went by quickly since we had so much to talk about. I think my family was shocked at how many times I started talking to some of the Japanese in line and ended up with friends and photo shoots!

That exhausting day segued into our grossest day yet on Tuesday that ended in snow. YUCK! Isn't spring supposed to be here yet? So we spent the day sleeping in and milling around Shin-Urayasu, which turned out to be an absolute BLAST! The ladies loved shopping in Shopper's Plaza, we laughed ourselves silly taking sticky pics, and everyone's absolute favorite was drinking at karaoke! Who knew my family would enjoy that so thoroughly? We ended the day with a long overdue game of pinochle (Aunt Jan and I won!), and a trip to Yakiniku across the street. Everyone loved the food and it was a successful end to our day!

Wednesday dawned less rainy than expected, so we took off for Kamakura for the day. We visited the Hachimangu shrine, which sadly lost their 1000-year-old towering Gingko tree in the storm the night before. News cameras and people milling around everywhere made us feel like we witnessed history, and in a way we had. I only wish I had seen it the first time I visited Kamakura.

Then we walked over to the other side of town, visited the inside of a Japanese Catholic Church, and visited my favorite shrine, Hasedera. The view from the top of the hill was amazing, seeing the whitecaps out on the ocean and all the windsurfers not far from the beach. Everyone enjoyed the temple, and of course we stopped at the Daibutsu (Great Buddha)! It was so much easier to walk around town then the first time I went in August when I couldn't get money, was dehydrated, and it was 100 degrees outside! Thank goodness!

We took the scenic Enoden streetcar over to Enoshima, and then the suspended monorail rollercoaster subway back to Ofuna. The detour was well-worth the experience of interesting transportation, a view of Fuji, and the gorgeous seaside train. We had hoped to stop in Yokohama for dinner, but we needed to get to the travel agent by 8, so we stopped into Monsoon for a TASTY dinner that night. I got to eat all of my favorites, so I was more than satisfied!

Thursday the family came to DisneySea, and despite the crowds, they made the most of fast passes and my planning, and rode just about everything except the Tower of Terror. They adored BBB, and after work, I joined them in the park to finally see BraviSEAmo!, see the Mermaid show, ride the rollercoaster, and spin around Aquatopia! They had a great and exhausting day, and I know they were impressed at the sheer amazingness of that park. Heck, I work here everyday, have visited 4 times now, and I was amazed!

Now the family has shipped off to the Ise Peninsula for the weekend, and I have spent the days working and resting up. I have tomorrow (Sunday) off with them for their final Japanese day. Who knows what we'll end up doing, but I hope they enjoy it thoroughly!

Finally, I just finished our fourth show, and there was a special needs child in the front, challenged with Down's Syndrome, I believe. I couldn't believe how well-behaved he was, and how wonderful his mother was with him. It always makes me a little sad inside to see children like that, but it really got to me at the end of the show, and I walked offstage with tears in my eyes. But it wasn't a sad cry. When Mickey came over and waved at the kid, I've never seen so much joy in my life. And as Blair said, it just makes it worth it. All the 5 show days, all the scheduling BS, that dang lottery, all the B-shifts back to back (like today so the other boys could go to rehearsal), seeing that little boy in the front row makes it all disappear.

Simply for his smile. And my family singing karaoke.

I'm so blessed!

Visitors!

Well, the Olympics are almost over, I'm still obsessed, and I haven't had a chance to update my blog!

I've actually been THAT busy.

Because, well, in typical Topher-in-Japan fashion, I got sick right before my friends arrived, and had to go on drugs and vocal rest once again.

Then, Cathy and Meg arrived and we had a WHIRLWIND seven day tour of Japan. No, not just Tokyo. JAPAN.

Seriously, them girls are travelling crazy nuts, and their feet paid a heavy toll for their efforts.

The first two days they enjoyed Tokyo while I fought with management at work over sick tracking. Luckily, the girls were awesome enough to take my computer to the Apple Store on their second day so it could be repaired! YAYZA!

The night they arrived, we had a delicious noodle dinner at the station, and the oishii Japanese meals got better from there. The second night we ate at the amazing Yuuzan Yakiniku place across the street, replete with our own private room and delicious barbecuing fun! The third night we ate at the Tonkatsu place in the Atre I've always wanted to try and it was MECHA OISHII.

Monday morning we set off early (as we did most days) for Kyoto, and the girls were unfortunately at their most exhausted. We had a beautiful day for the Philosopher's Walk, though we didn't make it to Ginkaku-ji, the Silver Pavilion and final stop on the walk. Luckily, it's not the top sight to see in Kyoto and isn't actually covered in Silver like the Golden Pavilion (Kinkakuji) is covered in gold on the other side of town.

We visited the amazing Nanzen-ji, which was down the street from our hotel and got to see amazing zen gardens and a view of Kyoto from the upstairs of the main gate. We also stopped for a great bowl of noodles along the way, and visited the many Buddhist temples. I can only imagine how beautiful it is in sakura season.

But we had a fantastic stay at our ryokan, with a large, gorgeous room and very friendly English-speaking staff. Sadly, most of the guests were gai-jin, but our keiseki dinner was AMAZING. I only wish we would have had a traditional onsen with a beautiful nature view instead of an ofuro tub with no view.

After dinner, we left exhausted Meg to sleep, and I forced Cathy to take a walk with me through Gion. It was AMAZING, because we saw the old traditional street that seems like it is a glimpse back in time when geisha houses ruled Kyoto. And we walked down one of the famous streets on the canal, and I actually got to see two geisha with their patron and mama-san despite the fact that it was Monday night. Thank you, universe!

Day 2 we had the most delicious boiled tofu (a local delicacy) for breakfast and set off on our side trip to Nara. We had a great time hanging out with all the deer, seeing the amazing giant buddha (though I have to say I like the open air one in Kamakura better... something about the sunshine), and had an amazing mountaintop view from one of the temples. I had to wait 20 minutes in line behind an annoying school group to reach enlightenment, but I have to say it was worth it.

Even if old Japanese tourists are rude and cut in line.

Basically there's a skinny hole cut in one of the huge pillars holding up the largest wooden structure in the world (and it's 2/3 the size of the original one!) over the buddha and if you can squeeze through apparently you will reach enlightenment. So yeah.

I did that.

We also travelled outside of town to see one of the great temples there, but sadly the very old pagoda was covered up for construction. There were some really awesome artifacts there, but the 800 yen cover charge was a RIP OFF. Especially when your top sight was covered. Rude, Nara, rude.

The girls loved the Nara Deer Boy character we saw everywhere, but I just found him creepy.

That night we had shabu shabu at the ryokan, but I'll be honest, I liked the tofu better than the beef. Topher likes Tofu! HA!

Wednesday morning we had originally intended to hit more of Kyoto, but the girls were really interested in visiting Himeji castle, about an hour and a half side trip away. And I am SO GLAD WE DID.

It's one of the most historic and preserved castles in Japan, mostly because it never has been under attack. Most of it was built from 1601 to 1610, and it is an incredible maze of engineering and architecture. And sadly, they will cover it up in April for 5 years to do more preservation and restoration, so I'm thrilled I got to see it before it goes under.

Now, Nara should really learn a lesson, because we got in for 600 yen, and had a 2 1/2 hour FREE volunteer English guide take us through the ENTIRE complex. He gave us tons of history that we would never have otherwise learned, and pointed out some fascinating details in the complex. By the fourth gate, I realized I would never have been smart enough to successfully siege that castle. It was GENIUS in its construction.

After we left Ken, we had curry for lunch, and visited the gorgeously new garden built just West of the castle. And then it was time to head back to Kyoto, leave the girls for their last night at Yachiyo, and head back to Tokyo myself.

I had a couple hours to kill, and I thought about climbing the hill to Kiyomizudera, but I refrained, and took a trip to the top of Kyoto tower instead. It was lovely to see the city and see Kiyomizudera and some of the other sights through the free binoculars. And basically I realized Kyoto is HUGE and SPREAD out and very difficult to see in one trip. So I'm looking forward to heading back with momma in a few weeks to see more of the town.

After that I explored the amazing architecture of Kyoto station, walked through the skywalk at the top, grabbed some dinner, and jumped on my shinkansen back to Tokyo feeling like I needed a vacation from vacation!

Then back to work while the girls spent a day in Hiroshima. They came to the park on Friday and it was wonderful to have the great energy that comes when you know you have friends in the audience. For their final night we went to the onsen for an amazing Chinese food dinner, lots of wonderful soaking, doctor fish, and foot massages. Then home to pack, where the girls were AMAZING enough to each take home a suitcase of my winter clothes for me.

And now, I'm exhausted, recouping, planning my Taiwan and Thailand trips, and gearing up for 2 weeks of more wonderful guests in only 2 days! AHHHHH!

It's really happening. My guests are here, the new cast is here, and I'll be home in the states in 2 months. How wonderful!

Sapporo Yuki Matsuri Part 2

Day 3, Thursday. Teine, Ramen Yokocho Alley, Susukino Ice, Park View Spa.

The day started bright and early with a hangover. And the despair of losing my camera.

Luckily, the fresh, cold air and hot breakfast buffet helped, even if I was still a bit woozy as we headed out of town on our ski shuttle bus for 3. That's right, the full-size charter bus took 3 people up the mountain! HA!

Of course, we foolishly assumed this meant we might end up having the mountain to ourselves, forgetting the joy of school trips and ski school. In the end, though, we did pretty much have most of the upper mountain to ourselves and it was AWESOME!

Did I mention that skiing is a great hangover cure?

We chose to ski at Teine because it basically had two mountains we could ski for 6 hours for 3700 yen, and the fact that it was only 45 minutes out of Sapporo. Not only that, it was used for some of the slalom and downhill runs during the '72 Olympics, and it has crazy beautiful views of the city.

Oh. And the ocean. Nobody told us about that, and I don't mind a bit. That surprise was well worth the wait! I mean, I could practically see Russia from my house! (wink, wink).

My brother has told me about this awesome race in Seattle called the Ski to Sea, where the relay of 8 or 9 people on 6 different types of transportation goes from the top of the mountain to the ocean... And I thought the Japanese should definitely adopt that idea at this place.

Anyway, we started out the day renting our skis (which they were so kind as to have in giant foot sizes for Evan), and then working up our nerves on the bunny hill courses on the lower hills with 8 million people. Did I mention that there's an amusement park at the top for summer -- bizarre! Anyway, somehow we learned that we got to cut in front of everyone in the lift lines with our passes, and we never questioned that decision. That privilege was AWESOME!

After a couple wimpy runs from me, we jumped in the express gondola to the upper mountain with a bunch of kyusai (9-year-old) kids. Naturally they spoke very little English and it was then I figured out how little conversational Japanese I speak. But they were awesome and adorable, especially this one kid who kept saying, "Whhhaaaaat?" And "doko?doko?doko?doko?doko?doko?" (where?where?where?) and cracking us up. We do understand enough to know that one kid basically said to the other, "They're Americans. Of course they can't speak Japanese," which probably could have made me mad, but didn't. Cuz they're right.

So we get to the top of the mountain and see the beautiful view for the first time, take some pictures, and make our way down what we hope to be the easiest trail, only to discover ourselves at the top of quite a scary blue/black. Luckily we found a narrow but slightly easier side trail to get down, but the long run that followed didn't do anything to boost my confidence. And so, about an hour in, as we were returning to the top, I was getting frustrated with myself.

So I started skiing down the back bowl where the actual easy trail was, and Evan and I separated for a bit. Somehow not having to compete with or impress him really forced me to suck it up and stop being a wimp, and I suddenly found a couple trails in the back bowl I really liked. And thus began our love affair with a certain course for the next few hours. We basically skied there all day, with very few groups to get in our way. About 1 some fresh powder started falling which was awesome since the slopes were just starting to get a bit icy.

And I absolutely had to stop and eat PB&J at the top of my FOURTH mountain in Japan. The first in Hokkaido! YATTA!

From there the day just got better and better and we made our way down the mountain to the lower one, stopping along the way to call and change our bus reservation to the 5 PM one. Now how that was ridiculously easy to do, despite not speaking Japanese, yet in 3 days I couldn't actually get 10% of the people I asked to help me find my camera, I'll never understand. But I'm thankful we didn't have to hang out in the lodge for 3 hours with nothing to do!

Once back in town we ventured down to Ramen Alley for a DELICIOUS post-skiing dinner of Sapporo miso ramen. Man was that noodle bar oishii and cheap!

On the way home, we stopped to gaze at the finished ice sculptures at the Susukino site, along with a couple receiving their finishing touches. They were stunning, though I have to say I think, in the end, I like the snow sculptures better.

You can't really complain about the chainsaw and firetorch though! AWESOME.

Back at the hotel, I started making some phone calls about my camera and made a little headway with the police, but no really avail.

So we headed up to the 14th floor to the onsen where we soaked and relaxed and zen-ed out whilst overlooking the gorgeous snow sculptures for the next day's festival.

It doesn't get much better than that, folks!

Day 4, Friday. Odori Koen Site, Sapporo Beer Museum, TV Tower, Sapporo to Tokyo.

Friday dawned with grey skies, but super delighted spirits! It was SNOW FESTIVAL day!

After a final delicious breakfast and checking out of our hotel (I'm pretty sure they missed something cuz they only charged me 40 yen for all my phone calls, including one to Urayasu, as well as our 500 yen per person onsen visit... but we didn't complain) we walked across the street and began our journey through the Festival!

And look who was right across the street watching us every step of the way... AHHH! I can't ever get away!

Basically, the sculptures were as amazing as we had expected, but breath-taking in that must-be-seen-to-be-believed sort of way.

My favorite was the Asahiyama/Maruyama Zoo Sculpture because the detailing was just AMAZING.

Similar to Hiroshima, there were tons of school children practicing their English and interviewing foreigners, and we humbly obliged them. Luckily we didn't have to rush through the day, or we'd have been up a creek!

About 20 minutes in, a random Japanese man came up and started talking to us, and translating to some of the students. He seemed quite interested in chatting with us and offered to walk the loop with us. As we learned a bit about him, he seemed nice and harmless, so we let him play tour guide for the next few hours.

It turns out, we were hanging out with an 80-year-old man (!) who basically was just bored and likes showing foreigners around the touristy areas. He gave us all sorts of information and stories, and we learned about his daughter and granddaughter in New York and his grandson who recently came back to Sapporo for university. Basically, he was the kindest, coolest grandpa ever (besides my own, of course).

It started to snow quite heavily halfway through the morning, but we trucked on through till he took us to a cheap little Japanese cafeteria for lunch. We would never have found this place without him, but basically it was a cafeteria in the bottom of an office/government building. But for 560 yen, I had miso soup, rice, sushi, pickled vegetables, and tempura in a set. Talk about a bargain! It was fantastic too.

And then, he took off to go play Go, the Japanese chess-like game. That's how he spends his afternoons, and we had a great new friend to remember!

The sun came out a-shining, but it was still -10.2 C, and we thought we'd head to the Beer Garden for one last attempt at finding my camera. By this point, the restaurant had been called 5 or 6 times, and they were quite annoyed at being asked, but we perused the grounds to no avail. We decided since we were out there again (and had chased a bus 5 blocks and failed to get on it to get there), we'd take a tour of the free museum that unfortunately was not nearly as cool as Coors. It had some interesting memorabilia, but was definitely not a factory tour of the process.

Still got some good beer to bring home though.

Then we headed back into town to go up the Sapporo TV Tower and have a great view of the Festival. Saw some awesome snowboarders on the jump in the middle of the park, and an incredible performer playing an electronic organ. She was INSANE!

Finally, we headed down to the international competition section of the park (where 16 teams compete to build the best sculpture in 3 days) to have some delicious Iranian Kebab Pitas for dinner. It's experiences like meeting the owner of the stand who speaks 4 languages and lives in Japan selling kebabs, that make me grateful for and ashamed of my own life all at the same time.

Seriously. He speaks 4 languages. And sold me a delicious kebab. I don't get it.

And from there, it was a journey back to the airport for souvenirs and our short flight home.

Basically, it was one of the best trips I've ever taken and merely a sampling of how much that island has to offer. I can't wait to return someday and explore more!

Sapporo Yuki Matsuri Part 1

Sapporo is AMAZING.

I lost my camera.

There was a TON of light, powdery amazing snow.

That's pretty much all you need to know. If you want details, read on!

Day 1, Tokyo to Sapporo, Okurayama, Mt. Moiwa, Sapporo City.

Evan and I got up tour early (read: 4:30 AM) for a 5:56 Bus Call at Fountain Terrace. Which was pretty brilliant since we had about an inch of heavy wet snow on the ground as a precursor to our trip. I'm just hoping we didn't wake anybody up and break curfew what with my super noisy suitcase wheels and the fact that we were RIDICULOUSLY excited.

Haneda Airport was relatively easy to navigate, though I'm amazed at what I bad traveler I became when I didn't have to fly for 6 months. Holy cheese, Batman, I can't navigate security anymore.

Check this one out, though. We boarded a 777 (10 seats across) to full capacity, from first person on board to backing up from the gate... in 15 minutes. And they do that EVERY TIME. Reason #85 Japan will someday rule the world.

We slept through most of the flight, which only disappointed me in that I wanted to see the ocean! But no matter, the half hour train ride through the snow-covered countryside to Sapporo city was breath-taking. Foolishly I didn't take any pictures, though even more foolishly (spoiler alert!) I lost my camera later in the trip, so it wouldn't have mattered anyway.

The sun was out but it was cold all day Tuesday, yet we walked the 5 blocks to our hotel and got a preliminary glimpse of some of the statues near/nearing completion. And we jumped up and down like schoolkids.

For lunch we wandered a bit and found a Japanese restaurant that looked delicious. Not a word of English, but we've been here long enough now that that's no worry! And boy was our Japanese lunch delicious! Even if the Japanese ladies were freaked out by how much food we ordered. Nonetheless, there was definitely no way I could have done that even 3 months ago. Just waltzing into a foreign establishment and breezing through the menu successfully and actually having quite a good idea of what was happening and I was going to be getting. AWESOME.

We then decided to make the most of our first day and started off visiting the Okurayama Ski Jump, site of ski jumping for the 1972 Winter Olympics in Sapporo. It had an incredible view of the city and was super scary to peruse from the top. Evan accidentally dropped my Nalgene off the lift and the best part of the day was watching the Japanese man traipse up the hill in 3 feet of snow to get it! Again... no pictures.

This trip began the never-ending cycle of "we need to be on that bus THERE (as the bus is pulling away)", though we were ever so fortunate this one and only time to have to wait only 3 minutes for the return bus. Especially since they only come once an hour. PHEW!

Next we transferred to the streetcar and took our "Romantic Passport" ropeway journey up Mt. Moiwa that was included in our tour package. We originally felt like it might be stupid and cheesy, but the view at the top was pretty spectacular, and we got to ride an awesome giant snowmobile vehicle with huge treads to the summit. And heck, it was free, so it was ALL GOOD.

And then again, at dinner we just wandered into some random Yakitori place that looked good to us from the street, ordered a delicious array of chicken skewers, rice, and a bloomin' onion with Wasabi mayonnaise that was the SHiznIT! Seriously. We should be commended for following our instincts and noses. That being said, we were oblivious to the fact that we were a mere 20 feet away from the Ramen Alley I was half-searching for and that we would eventually eat at after our ski trip, but who cares? We had a GREAT Japanese dinner to end the day.

And at that point we were so beat from a long day of travel (bus, plane, train, subway, ski lift, ropeway, snowmobile, and streetcar for those who are paying attention) that we hit the sack and passed out in our lovely little hotel!

Day 2: Sapporo City, Ice Skating, Maruyama Zoo, Sapporo Beer Garden

Day 2 started with our first of 3 DELICIOUS breakfast buffets at the hotel, and our one and only sleep in day. 8:30 AM has never felt so good! We had our first Hokkaido potatoes and milk and they were farm-fresh oishii. We then decided to head down the festival to go Ice Skating with the final coupon of our Romantic Passport.

It ended up being one of our best ideas the whole trip, because we got our skate rental for free, a souvenir pin for free, and 2 hours of skating for free. By week's end the rink was crowded and you were surely held to your 30 minute time limit, but we just made friends with several of the Japanese employees who spoke English and had a great time. We were doing choo-choo trains with random Sapporo university girls and basically charming them with our baka gai-jin ways.

It seriously was one of the most fun experiences I've had in Japan. If only I hadn't lost the video of our adventures!

We then trekked back out to Maruyama to go the zoo there, which is very nearby to the Okurayama Ski Jump. Now, I'm still not a big fan of Japanese zoos since I don't believe the animals have big enough cages, but this zoo was pretty amazing. Because of the cold weather, the animals were incredibly active, there were hardly any guests and we caught most of the animals right before feeding time.

There's a zoo 2 hours out of Sapporo that is supposed to be the best one in Japan, but Evan and I needed a day of as little traveling as possible (not that that worked...) and I'm glad we stayed near town. The keepers brought out a raccoon and it nearly jumped down from its poles onto my head, which would have been awesome if they hadn't "Dame"-ed it from happening. And most of the animals were just inches from our face. Like this slow loris who wanted to join us so badly...

Then we strolled back through the beautiful snow-covered park and watched kids play baseball in the snow. It made me miss my family and our crazy kickball game last year!

For dinner, we decided to head out to the Sapporo Beer Garden for all-you-can-eat-and-drink genghis khan Mongolian BBQ, beer, sake, and alcohol for 40 bucks for 2 hours. Of course, this became our best and worst event of the trip. Worst because a) my camera somehow got lost between the restaurant and bus when we left and b) because we went an hour out of the way to get there! Best because we ate and drank like crazy goons!

But whoever decided to create two different Bus #88 lines in Sapporo city should be shot. One is very clearly a tourist bus and you'd think the fact that Evan and I talked to 3 people and asked for the 88 bus to Sapporo Beer Garden would have gotten us proper directions to the proper bus. It's a shame it didn't.

Somehow we ended up on the 88 Bus that goes to Sapporo Dome (the far end of the city), and instead of listening to my instincts, we boarded that one for 25 minutes before I finally ixnayed the situation and we jumped on a bus across the street back to town.

Again, we got lucky (this one time only) when we got off that hour long detour through Southern Sapporo and were trying to find someone to ask where to find the correct 88 Bus when Evan went, "like that one there"? With its giant images of the beer garden and friendly Romaji spelling! I don't know how he saw that and we actually caught the bus that time, but we did.

And then we ate, and ate, and ate, and drank a bit too... and somewhere in a snow bank or a police station or bus lost and found office lies my camera. And I'm still praying to St. Anthony it'll come on home.

I think that night was the one time I completely wiped out on the ice whilst walking home, and I surely regretted some of my ingestion choices the next morning. But that night, in all our desperate attempts to find the right bus and find my camera and just enjoy our meal, was totally worth the memories!

Part 2 coming tomorrow! Nighty night!

Respite

I just had a most wonderful evening.

And I know I haven't blogged in a week, but there's good reason for that...

I was on VACATION!

In Sapporo!

In a winter wonderland of SNOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!

But more on that later...

Tonight, I met up with a new Japanese friend for the first time. Now we know each other from work, exchanged emails, and two months later finally found a day that worked for both of us to hang out. Satoshi's a university student out in Chiba so he really only works at Disney on Sundays, but he actually didn't work today since it is such a slow season.

But I was really nervous because he speaks VERY little English, and as was reinforced for me in Sapporo, I speak VERY little conversational Japanese.

And surprise, surprise! We had a great afternoon talking over coffee, looking at pictures from Sapporo, making pasta for dinner in my apartment, and watching Japanese high school volleyball games on TV. And it was just really nice. Really nice to hang out with someone from a different culture, get completely confused and lost in translation at times, and remarkable to figure it out enough to learn more about him and his life.

And that's the part of Japan I'm going to miss. The part of me that is unafraid and patient enough to make new friends with someone I'd never otherwise have the chance to spend time with. Who is incredibly different than me.

Other than that? I'm ready to go home.

Vacation really hammered that point home for me. Don't get me wrong. I LOVE my job and I LOVE the money. But unlike normal people, I don't get a 3-day weekend here or there. I work EVERY national holiday, both Japanese and American. I work on weekends, and when I do switch to have longer weekends, I have to work a 6-day week to make up for it.

Basically, I'm burnt out.

I still love performing and I love working here, but the little things in life, the favors and the BS and the scheduling crap I've been dealing with at work are getting under my skin and unleashing the Mr. Hyde side of me.

And I don't like that.

So I'm looking forward to going home. I'm looking forward to having visitors. I'm looking forward to NOT working a 45 hour week doing the same show 5 times a day. I ran away from repetitive office work for a reason.

This has been an amazing experience, and one I'm sure I might very possibly repeat. But I'm ready for a break. REALLY ready.

If only I could take my new Japanese friends (and food) home with me!