Takiyaki overload

A couple of weeks ago Hayato and I decided to make Takoyaki (octopus balls). However, we ended up preparing too much batter which caused us to make around 60 takiyaki balls. This was my first experience making takoyaki and I found it quite difficult and most of my balls did not come out. I will try again next time and hopefully I succeed.

Yellow Curry from Muji

This last week I had the opportunity to make Yellow Curry with the help of Muji`s package. The curry came out very good and tasted the same as restaurant quality. I will most likely make this again when my friends come to visit me .

Chinese Gyoza in Ikebukuro

Today I went to a new Gyoza shop located in Ikebukuro. The shop is owned by Chinese people and majority of the customers were also Chinese. The shop was very small and only had room for five people to sit and eat gyoza. None the less, the shop had very good gyoza. The inside is very juicy and you have suck the juice out in order eat the rest. The price was also very good you can get four dumplings for only 390.

Korean language and Angela

Today I meet with my old friend Angela and we decided to study Korean and English together. We ended up eating lunch at a small cafe in Shinjuku where I ordered a BLT sandwich. Soon after we both headed to the west exit and enjoyed coffee and study. I really enjoyed teaching Angela English because she has a real bright personality and takes joy in learning. However, I had a difficult time studying Korean. Hangul is very difficult to learn and I think it will take me along time just to learn the basics.

KCP hanami

Yesterday, I meet with my previous KCP Japanese language teachers to do a hanami party. The same members who attended last year were there. Angela, Tanabe, Nikaido, Naito, Mishima and myself. We met in Kunitachi which is one of the last stops on the Chuo line. Cheery Blossoms only bloom for two weeks a year and that is when Winter is becoming spring. However, due to the recently rain I was anticipating that there would be no more cherry blossoms but when I got to Kunitachi station is was quite the opposite. Kunitachi is a very interesting part of Tokyo, not only does it have wide streets and is surrounded by nature; a majority of the stores are high quality stores and you will not find a 100 yen store in sight. Also the district of Kunitachi banned Pachinko parlors from being built in order to maintain the natural beauty of the city. Along the main street in Kunitachi there are cherry blossom trees lined up.

Once we meet at the station we headed down the main street where we purchased drinks ( mostly beer). Once we found a place to have a picnic, we set out all of the items we brought and had a three hour picnic. Soon after ending the picnic we packed up all the trash and gave it to Tanabe because she lived close to Kunitachi and it would be easy for her to carry the trash home. However, after giving her all of the trash a majority of the members laughed at her because she looked like a bag lady. Soon after heading to the station the six of us had coffee at a bakery and went our separate ways. It was a nice day to meet with my previous teachers including Mishima sensei because she had come all the way from Kyoto in order to take part of our little get together.

Soon after arriving to Shinjuku I meet my friend Thephong for coffee and I mocked him because his shirt was too short and it looked like a women`s shirt. Then I headed to my previous apartment in Takashimadaira where I meet my friend Jennifer and we both watched The Princess Frog.

My baby brother

Today I talked to my family for the first time in a long time and my mom sent me pictures of my baby brother Anthony. I cannot wait until I get a chance to visit America because I want to meet my baby brother.

Ueno park

Today I had the opportunity to go to Ueno to view the cherry blossoms. While I was there I also went to the little shopping market located near by where I bought one bag of candy for the low price of 1000 yen ( 10 dollars). Soon after purchasing candy we continued to walk through the streets where I found a vendor that sold belts for a really cheap price so I bought four belts for the low price of 1590 yen (15.00 dollars). After walking around on the streets I got some sweet potatoes from a stand I also got some coconut milk . However, while Japan is known as a safe country it can be at times dangerous. While walking around Ueno you can run into some strange people. For instance, while I was walking around Ueno a man came up to me and pushed me and I was quite shocked because he had no specific reason to be pushed around. However, I continued to look to see where the man was going and to see what he looked like and from I noticed is that he had pushed everyone in his path...

I had a good day

Wednesday in Shinjuku

3








This is a bit of a late update but I had the chance to go to Shinjuku on Wednesday because I had the day off. I started out going to lunch at a yakiniku place located in Shinjuku 3chome. The reason I went to this particular place was because it was ranked number 1 on a TV show. The place offered lunch specials from the low price of 790-1300 yen. Hayato who introduced me to this restaurant ordered the Yakiniku set and I ordered the Kimuchi chige set. The taste was good but it was nothing special. I would rate this place at a 4 out of 10.

Soon after eating lunch we walked around Shinjuku and looked at shops in Marui and other stores. While looking around I bought a shirt at H&M and some new shoes.

By the time we finished shopping it was time to eat dinner so Hayato and I headed to Shinokubo ( Korea Town) and had some Kimuchi dumplings and some Korean style sweet and sour Chicken. We also tried some Korean style sushi and then went outside and tried a Korean style pancake with Honey on the inside.

After that we had ice cream at Baskin Robbins and then headed back home.