Saturday, August 22, 2009

Itadakimasu!

I haven't been posting much since being here in Japan. It's either I sit in my hotel room blogging or go on a new adventure out in Tokyo. There are so many things that I want to say...so many things that I wish I can share with you....I really wish you can be here having this experience with us. See...I don't consider myself a writer, or photographer for that matter....I just love taking pictures and sharing my adventures, and sometimes I get a little overwhelmed when there's so much I want to share. Id rather just grab you by the hand and take you on the journey in person. I want YOU to have the experience yourself. I want YOU to taste the dishes I have tasted...the richness of the curry sauce that the Chicken Katsu sits in, how fresh sushi can be, or how McDonalds actually tastes better here than in the US! I don't discriminate any kind of food. Being in Japan has been amazing.
Justin Johnston, Nicolette Hart and Adam Pascal order yakitori and noodles one of our first nights in Tokyo at Gonpachi.
Look familiar? Gonpachi is known to be an inspiration for the Tarantino film Kill Bill.

Tracy McDowell shows off the fancy chopsticks she bought.

I'm a big fan of Japanese food so it wasnt a huge culture shock being here. Actually, many of my favorite dishes like Katsu Curry Don and Beef Sukiyaki are Japanese.



Some places have a system where you pay by inserting money into a vending machine that gives you a little ticket of what you ordered. You then hand it over to the person working there that prepares your food. In other cases, once you know what you're going to order, you call on the waiter by pressing a button.

Rent alumni Kyle Post visits us in Tokyo!
Nicolette Hart turns to her guide book for help translating her order from English to Japanese, while Kyle and Adam Pascal laugh at her attempt. To our salvation, many of the restaurants have picture menu's or plastic food models outside where you can point at what you would like to order.

Lexi Lawson and Erik Hansen have some noodles. Slurping your noodles is actually good manners in Japan!

13 comments:

  1. so glad you have a great time;) Gonpachi is famous for the place where Bush went to have dinner before.

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  2. Have you ordered in Japanese as well?Let me hear it!:)

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  3. I appreciate that you take the time to share all your adventures with us, Andy! To a soccer/PTA mom living in suburbia it's a great window the world. When I get to the empty nest stage of life, I'll look back into my "mental note" files and perhaps find some of the places you describe. Til then, I'll wait for you to visit upstate NY again .....when might that be, exactly? ~~Tammy

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  4. I really like a lot of Japanese food, and I've heard that it really is better in Japan than in America. I wish I could have eaten some, it all looks so good!

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  5. I really glad to hear you've been enjoying staying here in Japan! I hope you'll make more good memories during the rest of your stay. BTW, have you ever been to a restaurant called Ninja Akasaka? It's very close to the theater and popular among foreigners since it's Ninja-themed Japanese restaurant. You can check it out here (http://www.ninjaakasaka.com/youtube.html).

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  6. Thanks for the post Andy!!! Tokyo sounds amazing and the food looks amazing!!! Really seems like an amazing city, hope to visit sometime :)

    Anyways good luck with the rest of the shows there :)

    <3

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  7. Thanks so much for this post! As a local native, it's really gratifying to know that you all seem to be having a good time here. And Andy, your kind words and photos about my city makes me really happy and proud. Enjoy what little time you have left here! Am going to see you all kick ass Saturday ;-)

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  8. Yuuuum....Chicken Katsu...edamame...I can eat edamame by the bucketful. Looks like an awesome time. That's good that you're out enjoying yourself and not being a slave to the blog, but love the updates all the same :D

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  9. The first picture of the chopsticks is really good. You say you're not good at photography.. PSSSSH!

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  10. Andy you seem like you would be a fun tour guide where ever you go. I love going on these 'journeys' with you and the cast as you tell about some of the things you happen to do, or about Nicolette trying to translate English to Japanese. Do you know Japanese yourself? How did Adam and Kyle learn it? Are you having fun spreading Jonathan Larson's message? What has been your favorite so far about Tokyo? Congrats on Fuji that would have been exciting and I know I wouldn't be able to do it myself because I'm terrified of heights yet I want to be an actress. Seeing the pictures and the videos is a wonderful treat. Thanks so much for taking us all along.

    <3 Mandie

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  11. Also I think it's pretty cool about inserting your money, having the ticket and then giving it to the waiter!

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  12. Oh, my god, that looks so amazing!! I love Japanese food, so it all looks really amazing. So jealous!
    ~All the best,
    Allie

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