Onjuku Part 2

Haven't posted all week. Been crazy busy preparing for my upcoming traveling. Leaving for Thailand tomorrow. That conference in Bangkok Monday and Tuesday then we are off to Phuket for some beach, will try to make it to Phi Phi island. Day after we get back from Thailand we're off to Hong Kong. I'm there training some people there and for client meetings. Kenn is tagging along there too and taking advantage of free hotel since he's never been.

Ok so back to Onjuku... Kenn and I try to sit on the beach in front of our hotel. Some guy comes up to us motioning that we can't sit there and have to move off to the side. We have no clue what he is saying and why we can't sit there. Then we see some other women who appear to be with this guy and they are helping him stake out this spot. Kenn and I can't figure out at all why they're there. They keep checking their phone and looking off at the parking lot like they are waiting for something or someone. We are baffled and coming up with possible scenarios. Maybe they are going to sell something, put up food booths? Are they drug dealers? Waiting for their friends to arrive? We have no clue. Then out of nowhere, a fishing boat is out in the ocean. We don't think much of it. Then we look up again and suddenly the woman is pulling in a rope the ocean! WHAT? And the other woman is pulling in another rope a little way down the beach. We have no idea where these ropes came from or why they're pulling them. Next, a ton of school children come running out of the hotel doors. They start lining up and pulling the ropes in. Finally after quite awhile we see it's a fishing net. Woah, we're wondering where that came from? They pull in a bunch of little fish and a few huge ones (as seen in the pic). From what we could decipher it's some kind or tour or educational trip. The funny thing is the next day, they did it again but instead of kids it was older Japanese men and woman. It just seemed like the most random thing at the time because we couldn't make sense of what was going on. Turns out the boat dropped the net in and a surfer brought the ropes into shore, we just didn't see him. The bizarre things we experience in Japan....

Onjuku Beach

Onjuku (御宿) is a fishing town on the Pacific coast of Chiba prefecture, Japan and a popular spot with surfers and holiday beachgoers.

Kenn and I had a great beach weekend. Of course we forgot to bring our video camera or old digital so had to rely on my phone cam and a disposable. We took the 1 hour 25 min train rain from Tokyo really early. Somehow we missed our hotel pick up but walking to the hotel is only 10 minutes (though we got lost). Onjuku is a great little surf town. It's early in the season so this time of year it was pretty empty except for the tons of surfers. I can't believe how many people surf in this area. The waves were tame but good surfing waves. We stayed at a hotel right on the beach with Japanese style tatami mats and futons and an awesome view.


They even had our name written out front!





A Japanese breakfast buffet was included and so was a traditional dinner. The dinner included so many little dishes including a small lobster the size of a cell phone, sushi/sashimi instead it's own ice igloo, and many other assorted delicious dishes. It was a feast!

We arrived early on Saturday and lounged on the beach, the weather was perfect. The water was pretty cold but Kenn was brave enough to swim in it. We were looking for a place to eat for lunch and down the beach were some small food areas. They looked empty and closed due to it being pre-season. We started talking to the woman working at one place but we had so much trouble communicating. I couldn't make out much of what she was saying. She was really friendly though and we bought some drinks from her and sat down. Then she brought us some food, just some tamago (egg omelet) and sushi roll, but it was out of her own lunch! She was sweet and it was so nice of her to offer that to us. We couldn't get over the wonderful hospitality.

Sunday was a bit cloudy, cooler, and around noon started to drizzle so we headed home after finding a nice lunch place with korean food.

I have a great Kenn-and-Jenn-are-confused-in-Japan typical story about our beach experience on Saturday that I will save for another post...

3000 visits!

I broke the 3000 visits to my blog mark. The count is neither pageviews nor unique visitors but a count of each individual visit someone makes. Defined as "a series of page views by one person with no more than 30 minutes in between page views". Not too shabby for my little blog. I've been monitoring my blog site metrics and noticing someone either in Singapore or with thei company's servers in Singapore consistently reading my blog lately. Who are you?? Just curious. :)

Kenn says my blog is getting boring because I haven't put any pictures up lately. One reason is that we broke our camera. Anyway, we're going to a beach in Chiba this weekend so will post some from that.

Today is our last day in this office location. The office is getting all packed up today and starting Monday I have to commute a bit further. It's too bad, I really like this office location.

Ok, off to read my RSS feeds now. I'm addicted to my new found reader and have unsubscribed to almost all my industry newsletters in lieu of RSS, which is awesome in keeping my email cleaner.

Happy Friday!

Gmail Web Clips / RSS Reader

(Yes, a new blog layout! Time for a change. I added a widget at the right which will link to items I'd like to share from other blogs or news feeds I read. Enjoy my new tech savvy-ness.)

You can add your favorite RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feeds to your Gmail account using Gmail Clips. For those of you who aren't as tech savvy, this means that if you have a gmail account and want to see clips of headlines including posts to MY BLOG :), then follow these steps:

- Log in to your Gmail account.
- Click Settings at the top of any Gmail page.
- Open the Web Clips tab.
- Enter the feed URL you'd like to view in the field under Search.
>> For my blog, enter: http://www.jenniferng.blogspot.com/
- Click Search.
- Once Gmail locates the feed, click Add so you can view it in Web Clips!

Now above your inbox, it will show my blog post topics that you can link to when you see a new one. Gmail adds a ton of random web clips so you may want to go back into the Settings>Web Clips tab and remove some or even all the other random news feeds so only mine shows up :)

If you are new to RSS readers and want to try something a little more advanced than Web Clips in gmail, here is a free RSS reader from Google: www.google.com/reader
If you read multiple blogs or news sites often, it's a great way to get your news and blog updates from different websites all in one place! Go technology!

My brother just told me you can use RSS in Firefox also. Obviously I am a little behind the times. I admit I've known about RSS for a long time but never tried it until yesterday. It's awesome.

Kit Kat

Some of you have may have tried the delicious green tea Kit Kats I've brought home from Japan. They are a big hit, some of you visitors have even brought them back as souvenirs yourselves. I think they taste like green tea ice cream mixed with white chocolate. They have a ton of different Kit Kat flavors in Japan including things like Mango (not as good). And they have seasonal flavors sold during limited times as well.

Just read this blurb about Kit Kats in Japan and thought it was interesting:

Nestlé Kit Kat bars are more than a candy here; they're a token of good luck. The association between the red-packaged chocolate treat and a wish for success evolved from the similarity between the product's name and the Japanese term for good luck, "kitto katsu." Students here often eat a Kit Kat just before they take their school exams. Sales driven by this ritual were so good that Nestlé has come out with Kit Kats packaged in blue -- a color symbolic of heaven to the Japanese. And this has spawned a new ritual in which students eat blue Kit Kats before an exam, as a kind of prayer.\

Losing fashion perspective

I think I've been in Japan too long and I can't tell good fashion from a fashion faux pax anymore. Can someone tell me if these are new trends in the US, are fashion no-no's, or neither....?
1) Wearing peds that are visible with your shoes (or even intentionally showing)
2) Wearing skirts or dresses with leggings

I just can't tell if these things are normal anymore.

I've also been here so long I'm starting to wear makeup on a normal basis now (highly unusual for me). I even caught myself putting on blush before going to the park on Sunday. And if I wear flip flops or sneakers, I feel frumpy. What's happening to me? haha

In other news, Japanese class last week was ok. Kenn missed it because he was still sick with a cold. We learned numbers, and not just 1 to 10. In Japanese, they count numbers in terms of 10,000s which really throws me off. So for example: 250,000 is 25 ten thousands. Why can't things just be simple? This week we'll be learning to tell time among other things.

This week is my last week at our current office. We are moving locations as a result of the merger so I will have to commute a bit further now. Saying goodbye to a great office location is a bummer.

Next Friday Kenn and I leave for Thailand. I am speaking at a conference in Bangkok - well actually leading a workshop on measuring branding and marketing ROI. Yup, aren't I important? (yea right - I hope I don't suck) We're going to be in Bangkok the weekend before and after Bangkok we are are flying to Phuket for the rest of the week. Maybe try and hit Phi Phi also depending on the weather. Can't wait.

NEW: photo gallery links on the side bar

I finally took a minute to figure out how to add links to the side bar at the right. Now you can access links to our photos anytime.

It was Meeghan's last day in Tokyo Friday and we met up with her and coworkers for a Karaoke send off. I used to not really like Karaoke but now I think it really is fun. I don't necessary like to sing much and am awful when I do but it's always a good time and hours just seem to fly by. I'll post pics when Meeghan sends them. We broke our camera last week! Well, we cracked the lcd screen so you can still technically take pics but it's virtually useless. Total bummer.

It's getting warmer in Tokyo everyday and now I feel like it's really summer. Unfortunately it's going to get really hot and nasty soon but will try to enjoy the weather before that. Yesterday (Saturday) Kenn and I slept in and then did some shopping in Daikanyama, a sort of trendy, hipster shopping area. Kenn got a couple t-shirts and I bought a couple pairs of shoes. :)

Today after getting my first haircut in Tokyo, I am going to Zara and Banana Republic for some shopping. I have to resort to stores I am familiar with because everytime I check out clothes at some trendy little shop, they never have my size. Yesterday I was looking at this nice shirt in size medium, which would normally would be a size I could wear in the US, but of course it was itty bitty. Too depressing, I am tired or searching and will go with places I know.

Happy Father's Day to my Dad and any other fathers out there that might be reading!

Ice Cucumber

Pepsi released a limited time soda in Japan 2 days ago called Ice Cucumber:



I thought I'd try to see what it tasted like. Very carbonated and like a sweet and fruity tasting soda. Smells like cucumber but I don't think it really tastes like it. I don't drink much soda so I am not a good judge but I thought it tasted too sweet, bad sugary aftertaste, and wasn't that interesting.

Where is Jeff??

Some of you may have seen this but come on, of course I had to make a blog post of it!!

We want our friend Jeff to come visit Tokyo. We think he would love it here so when he didn't plan a trip over with Karl, we decided to start our own outreach program in the streets, bars & clubs of Tokyo (including Feria of course!). Surprisingly many friends, strangers, bartenders, and bouncers obliged our sillyness. It started with much hestitance and questioning "Who the heck is Jeff?" As the night went on, it got easier and easier.....


Check it out: WHERE IS JEFF?


Just a sample of the craziness:

Karl in Tokyo

Thanks for visiting Karl! We had an awesome time with you! Check out the full photo gallery .

Pictures speak louder than words so will leave the sampling of photos here and the full photo gallery to do most of the talking. The week included much eating and drinking, visiting some popular Tokyo sites, and one of the highlights was the Giants baseball game at the Tokyo Dome.






Karl looking out at Tokyo at the Mori Tower Tokyo City View.




We paid 1000 yen for tickets with no assigned seating. It was really interesting that many people go and just stand in the back or walk around, eat, or even sit on the ground in front of TV monitors to watch the game. Japanese baseball games have a lot of stuctured cheering. Concession includes hamburgers and hotdogs but also rice bowls, curry, and noodles.

















There are beer girls that carry small kegs around on their backs.






Sorry for the explicit photo but we could not believe this guy's shirt and had to stop him for a pic! Too funny!






Conveyor belt sushi!

Repeat?

Karl successfully toured around Tokyo on his own yesterday since Kenn had some work to do. He made it around on the subway system to Asakusa, Akihabara, and Meiji Shrine. But not without some battle scars at least - he wore his new sneakers which ended up giving him a bloody ankle. Total Curt Schilling style.

Anyway I met up with Kenn and Karl after work at guess where - a sports bar in Roppongi. We went to dinner at the Tonkatsu place in Roppongi Hills and then to Heartland for a few drinks. Sound familiar? Yes, Kenn and I take visiting guests to the same places often.

We got a good night's sleep, saving our energy for the remainder of the week. I am taking a personal day tomorrow. I think the plan is dinner at Tokyo Midtown and Departure Lounge tonight, then maybe a baseball game tomorrow, Milwaukee Bar (Kenn might dj for an hour), and Feria. Saturday we might hit the Absolut Ice Bar then club Muse or Yellow. I think today Kenn and Karl went either to Ueno Park/National Museum and/or Shibuya and shopping again.

This blog post is boring.

So here are some pics taken from Meeghan's camera:

Kenn and I at Asakusa after a passing rain shower just poored down from the sky sending everyone running for cover:



Cute kid in festival gear:


It's Meeghan's last weekend in Tokyo! I am so sad she is leaving already!! :(

Boys don't like gardens

Yesterday Karl and Kenn went to the Imperial Palace East Garden. I guess it wasn't clear to them that going to the "Imperial Palace" meant you can only see it from far (it is not open to the public except on New Year's) and you just get to see the surrounding gardens (which are nice!). They were disappointed and like typical guys the gardens didn't do it for them. :) Funny.

They did enjoy walking around Shibuya/Harajuku/Omotosando and sneaker shopping (of course). Then they came to Ebisu (where I work) and had some huge drafts of beer at the Beer Station. They persuaded me to come down for a drink at 4pm (reluctantly of course, wink wink). It's been super slow at work so I didn't miss much. Went back upstairs, sent a few emails and left at 6 for more beer. We went to our favorite Udon place in Roppongi and had a few drinks at local bars including the usual - Propaganda. It was a dead night though. What can you expect for a Tuesday I guess.

This morning we were going to see if we were up for Tsukiji fish market. Karl actually woke us up at 5:15, guess it's the jet lag. So we went to the fish market and had delicious sushi for breakfast. I really liked the place we went to today, the sushi was great and cheap too. I'm impressed (and glad) we made it but was tired all day.


On a separate note, here are some pics of Mt Fuji from the 5th station and from the mountain at Hakone. (Meeghan, hope you don't mind I stole them from your photo gallery). This is what we would have seen if the weather wasn't cloudy for us. Meeghan went just a week or two before us on the same tour. What a difference a couple weeks makes!




By the way, the sun rises around 4:30am this time of year. And the sky starts to get bright around 4am- insane!

The helpful and polite japanese

Yet another example of the politeness of Japan. Our friend Karl got in ok yesterday to Tokyo. On his flight, he met a Japanese man on his way to visit his family in Tokyo. Since it was Karl's first time in Tokyo, this nice guy ended up waiting for him after customs, helping him buy a train ticket, took him on the train to Tokyo station, and then even proceeded to show him how to take the subway to our subway station. And to top that, instead of continuing on the subway to his own destination (he already went out of his way to a different part of town), he got out and helped Karl find our apartment because he thought it might be difficult to find. Wow!

Did you know that...
- Japanese say "itadakimasu" before every meal. It is similar to saying Bon Apetite before eating but roughly the meaning is giving thanks/appreciation for the food.
- Japanese students learn about 1000 Kanji characters in elementary school and 3000 by the time they graduate high school.
- They have pizza cones here - pizza ingredients rolled up into a cone shape for "easy" eating
- They have small food counters in basement supermarkets where you can sit down for a quick meal

Other recent observations:
- Dresses with leggings are trendy now
- Metal briefcases are trendy
- Wearing shoe peds is really common
- Phases like "ok", "interesting", "really?", and "probably" are just as common (and used similarly) in Japanese as they are in English

Hakone

We had a really great time at Hakone this past weekend, it's a gorgeous area. Here is our Hakone trip photo gallery.

The tour bus first took us to the 5th station at Mt. Fuji which is the highest point you can get to by car. This time of year it is too humid to get good views of Fuji-san. So unfortunately we couldn't see much there or on the way there. You can see a little of the snowy trail here:


Then at Hakone, we took a short boat ride on Lake Ashi. Beautiful lake:


We took a ropeway up to the top of Mt. Komagatake. Amazing views from up there:



And we even saw a tiny piece of the top of Mt Fuji above the clouds:



Kenn and I stayed the night at Hakone Prince Hotel and had Sunday to explore the area on our own. After visiting Hakone Shrine and taking a sightseeing boat across the Lake, we took another ropeway to Owakudani. It is the area around a crater created in the last eruption of Mount Hakone 3000 years ago. Sulfurous fumes, hot springs and hot rivers can be experienced on a walk around the area. Eggs, boiled in the naturally hot waters, are said to prolong one's life by seven years and are readily available for sale:




Then we hit a glass museum which wasn't that great. Glass and crystal Venetian jewelry, some modern glass sculptures, and glass trees. Last stop was the Hakone Open Air museum which has modern art sculptures around the beautiful grounds and there was also a great Picasso exhibit there.

Great weekend trip outside of Tokyo! Summary of interesting highlights:
- Mt. Fuji/Hakone day trip tour is not worth it this time of the year because you can't see Mt Fuji.
- But Hakone is gorgeous on its own and worth the trip.
- Hakone Prince Hotel has open air hot springs (onsen) which I took advantage of
- I accidently walked into the hotel room beside us because the garden entrance looked exactly the same! Oops- luckily the couple was just lying in bed watching TV...
- Picasso didn't just paint really weird stuff. He did a lot of cool paintings, sculptures, pottery in his later years.

Our friend Karl booked a last minute trip to Tokyo and arrives today! Should be a fun week and we're really looking forward to him being here!

Work dinner

It was a coworker's last day so the office went out for a farewell dinner. A nice set menu which included veggie appetizer, sashimi, fish, steak, rice dish, oyster tempura and dessert. Coupled with drinks and conversation it quickly approached midnight which is around when the last train runs. For most people in Tokyo, this means you take a taxi home (can get very expensive if you live far) or stay out until 5am for first train. It being a Thursday, we didn't do the Karaoke thing and took cabs home. I just so happened to not have any cash on me (very rare, I always make sure to have cash in Japan) but luckily most taxis take credit card. It is sometimes hard to find an ATM that takes US bank cards.

I find the Japanese lighthearted culture of going out with coworkers and getting smashed really amusing and entertaining. There is no such thing as drinking too much or making a fool of yourself. They use drinking as a good excuse to basically do anything. And it is hilarious that there is no shame to exceeding your drinking limits and puking anywhere. What an odd society. When I got out of the cab, there was a guy sitting in the entrance of some building next to his puke. He was wiping off his shoes with a tissue and proceeded to get up, dust himself off, and walk off like it was just an average day. Not a soul even looked his way when passing by (besides me).

Kenn and I are taking a trip to Hakone this weekend. We decided to book a tour (same one Amy did without the Kyoto part) to eliminate the hassle of getting there, choosing where to go, getting around, and finding accomodation. We leave Saturday morning, go to Mt Fuji welcome center and the 5th station. Then proceed to Hakone where the views of Mt Fuji are great in good weather and the area is beautiful. Staying at a hotel on Lake Ashi with traditional onsen (hot spring) and then have Sunday to explore whatever we like until we have to catch the train back to Tokyo Sunday night. Can't wait for the short getaway!