Photographer's assistant for a day (or two)

{Earlier today our first shipment of belongings was packed up and sent on the way to America!}

A few weeks ago, a local photographer posted on his Facebook page looking for a second assistant for a two day shoot.  I met all the requirements and jumped at the opportunity to take a break from PCS planning try something new.  My responsibilities were minimal but I helped the day go much smoother than it would have with just one assistant.  During some of my down time I took the opportunity to see how he interacted with the client and did what was necessary to nail the shots he needed.  I learned a lot and got to experience some things that were new to me, including DRIVING through Shibuya Crossing, one of the busiest intersections in the world!

I also had fun documenting the two days with my iPhone.

I can now officially add "photographer's assistant" to my resume!

Sayonara souvenir

Before I leave Japan, there was one last item I wanted to purchase for myself as a keepsake of my time here.  One I would use daily to constantly remind me of all the wonderful memories I made here.  That item was a santoku knife.  I've been using an inexpensive version of a santoku knife since I first started learning how to cook and it's the knife I'm most comfortable with and use most often.  It's name refers to the three tasks it is designed for: slicing, dicing, and mincing (according to wikipedia and san means 3 in Japanese so I'm going with it).  It's sort of like the Japanese version of a chef's knife.  I did a little bit of research then headed off to the kitchen district of Tokyo with a couple of my girlfriends.  Once I arrived on Kappabashi, I realized I had no clue what I really wanted.  There were so many choices!  I figured when I saw it, I would just know.  Luckily I didn't have to choose that way, we stumbled into a store that had an employee who spoke English.  Marina saved the day.  Without her I'm certain I would have returned home with a very expensive, very attractive knife that did not meet my needs.  Instead Marina answered all of my questions, made suggestions and allowed me to try out a few that she thought suited me best.  I am so thrilled with the knife I came home with!

 The best part?  They engraved my name on it!  Plus the wood has a slightly purplish tint.  I could not be happier with my purchase!  Every time I use it I will think of all the great food I ate in Japan.

longest day ever = longest post ever {The Tokyo Yamathon}

This past Saturday was one of the longest days of my life (probably only second to the departure day).  I saw something about the Tokyo Yamathon online a few months ago and thought it sounded like a neat way to see some new areas of Tokyo.  I recruited some friends and my husband and we created a team to participate.  We all knew that it was a 40km+ walk around the Yamanote line in Tokyo, stopping at all 29 stations, to raise money for OxFam Japan but didn't know much more than that.  Here's how the day actually went.

We woke up at 0430 to catch the 2nd train of the day at 0523 to Toyko in order to arrive on time

Got our numbers attached and waited for our start time (it's not a closed course and there were 117 teams of 3-4 people so they staggered the start times).

At 0720, we departed Harajuku station wearing giant smiles!

We didn't even make it to the 2nd station before these guys needed to stop for food...and I thought I was going to be the one needing to stop for food all day!

(Shibuya @ 0745)

Then we soldiered on, stopping along the way to have a little fun

Stations 3(Ebisu@0805), 4(Meguro@0830), 5(Gotanda@0847) & 9(Hamatsucho@1040)

Group shot at station 10.

Then it was time for lunch; udon & curry, in and out in 30 minutes!  We still had 19 more stations to get to!

A little confused at Tokyo-eki (station #12 @1207)

Stations 14 (Akihabara@1245), 15 (Okachimachi@1302), & 16(Ueno@1318)

We did a little calf stretching while waiting at a red light.

And that's about where I started to really get tired!  By station #17 (Uguisudani@1334) I was pooped and my knee started to ache pretty bad.  Station #20 (Tabata @1425) was down a huge set of stairs and I stayed at the top while Dave, Rachel, & Jason ran walked down to the station and snapped a photo!

After that it was time for another break (our goal had been to break after station 10 & 20, and that's exactly what we did).  We stopped at Mc Donald's where we could recharge our bodies & my cell phone (as the designated "social media chair" of our team, my battery was also on it's last leg)!  A hour later (oops!), we set off to tackle the last 9 stations!

Group shot at station #21 (Komagome@1525).  Feeling pretty good after our hour long break.

It didn't last long, but we did a great job of faking enthusiasm for our photos.

Stations 22 (Sugamo@1539), 23(Otsuka@1558), 24(Ikebukuro@1625) & 25(Mejiro@1653)

By station #26 (Takadanobaba@1710) it was raining pretty hard and we were mostly over the whole day!

Thankfully we opted to go in a counter-clockwise direction which put us at Shinjuku (Station #28@1800) almost at the end of our journey.  Shinjuku is the station we needed to return to in order to catch a train home so while we were there we stopped and purchased confirmed seat on the romance car so we could sit our tired butt's down on the way home...then we continued on.

We had one last station to stop at before we FINALLY made it back to Harajuku @1900, putting our total time to complete the loop at 11 hours and 40 minutes!

37,590 steps later, we were finished!

We stopped for some food then took a train back to Shinjuku to catch our train home!

Before the day started, I assumed that since I had climbed Mt Fuji last summer with very little trouble, that this even would be no sweat.  I could not have been more wrong!  Every joint from my waist down ached and I have more blisters on my feet now than I've ever had combined in my entire life!  I know last summer I said I'd never climb Fuji-san again, but I would do that 10 more times before I complete the Yamathon again!  Thankfully I had GREAT company.  I don't think I could have done it with anyone else!  We finished with smiles and discovered lots of new places that we can't wait to go back and visit on a day when we're not walking 30+miles!

Escoffier Dinner

Jason and I had such a great time last year at the Escoffier Dinner at the New Sanno hotel that we decided to go again this year.  They put on this event every few months, I wish we had taken advantage of it more often!  If you ever find yourself stationed in Japan, look into it.

Of course, Jason got stuck at work late so we paid the extra 400 yen ($5 US) to ride the "romance car', which gives us assigned seats and doesn't stop between the time we get on and the time we arrive in Tokyo. It's a special treat for us and it was the perfect, relaxing way to start off out evening.

We had just enough time to change our clothes and rush off to dinner.

Dinner was an 8 course meal which usually isn't my thing because I'm such a picky eater but both times we've gone I've tried everything and enjoyed more than I expected to.

Course 1, duck pate

not my favorite, but I tried it which 5 years ago, I wouldn't have.

The soup course which is usually one of my favorites was consomme mirei or basically beef broth so I wasn't very excited about it.  It was garnished with shiso leaf which is one of my favorite Japanese herbs so that made it much more appealing and I actually finished all of it.

The seafood course was far and away my favorite!  This was the first time I've ever had scallops that were cooked properly and they were divine, plus one of our friends that we were with is allergic to shellfish so I got his portion of lobster.  YUM!

 After that, I was about finished.  The seafood portion was HUGE and I don't typically eat a lot at one time, but I managed to push on.

Next was the game course which was roast quail.  This one I wasn't going to try but Jason insisted that I would like it so I tried it and really enjoyed it but knew if I ate more than one bite I wouldn't make it through the rest of the meal.

Sorbet was passion fruit which was SO tart I could barely eat it.

The entree was a beef filet.  I don't eat beef so I didn't touch this one but the veggies were good!

Salad was Caesar with smoked salmon jerky.  I had high hopes for the jerky but it was just weird.  I didn't care for it.

Finally was dessert!  The chocolate gateau (or cake) was way too rich for my taste but the vanilla bean ice cream and fresh fruit were the perfect end to the meal.

We had a great night with great friends.

The next morning we went out in search of this tiny cafe an Instagram friend had told me about.  All I had to go off of was this top picture and some vague directions.  After hours of searching on Google street view, I finally realized that the street view of the alleys in Tokyo hadn't been updated in 3 years

We finally found it though!

Their only menu item is French toast but it was the only thins I would have wanted to order anyways.  It was like having dessert for breakfast!

After breakfast we did a bit of shopping in Tokyo before heading home.  I then spent the rest of the day watching Downton Abbey.  I'm hooked!  I just started watching a few days ago and it's consumed my time ever since.

Wendy's

When you live overseas it's family and the little things that you miss the most {at least for me}, so this weekend we spent a chunk of our 4 day weekend {thank you Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.} with our substitute family best friends enjoying one of the little things.

We accidentally overslept that morning which resulted in a sleepy train ride to Tokyo.

 A little over an hour and a few wrong trains later, we arrived at our destination!

In Japan, almost all employees at American chain fast food restaurants speak a good amount of English but for emergency situations they all have English picture menus.

Even with English speaking staff and picture menus, we managed to order the wrong thing, we wanted plain fries but that's obviously not what we ordered.  Even still, the food was spot on what we're used to in America and every bit just as delicious as we remembered.

We couldn't ask for better friends here.  One of the best things about these specific friends is that our families are all from the same general area so even after we leave Japan, we will see them again!

After stuffing ourselves silly, we headed down the road for a little sight seeing at the Tokyo Tower.

A little music sharing on our way home.

This was definitely the perfect end to a long weekend!