Rambling: The Japan and I

We arrived in Japan on Sunday and were somewhat loopy, but the flight went well. I somehow managed to watch five (count em) in-flight movies. The line-up included my usual crappy plane choices (as in, movies I would probably never put in my Netflix queue): Beauty and the Beast (okay, maybe that one), The Incredibles, Nights in Rodanthe (which was unexpectedly sad), The Women, and Ghost Town. Turns out, Tylenol PM did the trick, and we slept some. 

David's parents picked us up from Narita (there they are in front of the hotel), and we took about an hour train ride to Tokyo then checked-in to Asakusa View Hotel. We went to a restaurant with fantastic tempura for dinner, but around the middle of the meal, I started to feel fairly jet-lagged and as I recreated the "Rubberband Ball" incident from work for Rick and Sarah, I wasn't sure if I was totally making sense. 

We wandered around the small and brightly lit streets of Tokyo, past traffic cones imprinted with strange cartoon characters, and headed to a bar for a drink. Sarah ordered a rum and coke, and I did too. I haven't had a rum and coke since college, but it was really the only thing I understood on the menu. 

Jet lag was taking over at this point, and we headed back to the hotel. David and I found ourselves wide awake at 3 in the morning. Turns out Tylenol PM doesn't work that well.  

We headed to Starbucks (which fixes most things), ate a Japanese breakfast, and wandered around Tokyo. And saw the Imperial Palace... 

And drank Sake and beer with...

noodles... And then got on a plane from Haneda to Sapporo, where the temperature dropped. We went to the grocery store. 640 Yen for a mango? I thought NY was bad. We finally arrived at David's parents' home, where we settled in for a couple hours and ate homemade vegetable pizza and drank Sazerac. 

We were greeted by Sam. His brother Frodo was close behind. 

Tuesday, we hung around, drank lattes, went snowshoeing, and walked the dogs. We went for Indian food and went to the second hand store. Picture Target...times 20,  and with $400 Nikes.

Wednesday, we went snowboarding.  It was my first time, and I'm still alive. 

We took a break for lunch and ate ramen. I'm not sure the beer was the best idea, since my last time down the mountain seemed to take twice as long as my first. 

Honestly though. It was pretty incredible, and I think we may be bringing the gear back with us so we can give it a go at home.

We had beer out of the vending machine before we took the hour bus ride back.

When we got home, Sarah was prepared. i.e. champagne was chilling in the snow...

We had Sushi, Oyster Scallop Rockefeller Casserole, bread, and wine for dinner and discussed this and that.  

I choose this recipe, because it's a sentimental drink for us. We had it over Christmas in New Orleans, so re-creating it while in Japan was on the agenda. Also, it is the month of Mardi Gras, so it's a bit timely. I found the bitters at a store in Manhattan that will be seeing me again. I love good food finds. 

 I love vacation!!

Rick and Sarah took the day off, so we are headed to downtown Sapporo in a bit...more later!