Seeing the sites in DC

On Friday, our one full day away from the bball arena, Roy and I went on a bike tour of the sites around DC. One of the stops was in front of the White House. Many people were there camping out waiting to get tickets to the annual Easter Roll, which are handed out on a first come first serve basis. I looked very dorky, as always =) I must say though, my hair was less poofy for the rest of the day thanks to the helmet...

Another stop was along the World War 2 memorial. In the background is the reflecting pool and the Lincoln Memorial.

This was taken from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial during the bike tour. The place was very crowded with tourists...so we fit right in =)

After the bike tour we roamed around town trying to find a place to watch the first set of basketball games for the day. We tried going to ESPN Zone and a few other restaurants (we even contemplated watching it at a McDonalds that had the game on. But we finally ended up at a place called Austin Grill where we saw Davidson beat Gonzaga, and Western Kentucky beat Drake. From there we decided to go up to the Georgetown area and go to the university there. So we trekked up the hill toward the Georgetown area and took a look at the very cute homes and shops. We ended up at Georgetown University (as pictured above). We managed to find the student center, and despite students being on spring break, we found the area that the game was being projected, and we watched Georgetown University beat UMBC. It was the first time that I had watched the game of the team that was playing from the actual university when they were not playing on campus. It was a lot of fun =)


We went back to the mall, and caught the sun set by the Lincoln Memorial. I decided that this was my favorite memorial among the many along the mall. It was great to be able to see the Washington Monument being reflected into the pool of water.

On Saturday we went to the National Air and Space Museum, where some of the items from the Museum of American History was temporarily placed while that museum was under construction. There were many cool artifacts from American culture there, including THE Kermit the Frog. He's the best!

The Wright Brothers first flying airplane was on display at the National Air and Space Museum


Sunday was Easter. Prior to the trip, Roy had the brilliant idea of attending Easter service at the National Cathedral. We went to the 8am service, and got to attend Easter service with hundreds of people. The church itself is Episcopalian, and since that what my family is, I was pretty familiar with what was going on. The cathedral itself was gorgeous and huge!

I LOVE March Madness!!!!

From 19 March 2008 to 23 March 2008, I traveled to Washington, DC, USA to do two things:
1. Watch the 1st and 2nd Round of the 2008 NCAA Men's College Basketball Championship at the Verizon Center in downtown Washington, DC on Thursday 20 March 2008 and Saturday 22 March 2008
2. Be a tourist in Washington DC.

I accomplished many things during the trip...
- watch the 1st and 2nd round at a venue for the NCAA Men's College Basketball Champship...check!
- watch a team playing in the tournament from the college's campus while they are playing at another venue while they are playing a game in the tournament...check!
- visit the capitol of the USA...check!

So the saga began about a year ago, 2007, when I looked up the venues for this tournament in 2008. I discovered that one of the hosts was Georgetown University in Washington DC. I thought it would be awesome to attend the tournament, as well as explore a fantastic city. I decided to apply for these tickets, and in the meantime bought a pair of tickets straight from another host, North Carolina State where they would be playing in Raleigh. If I didn't get the DC tickets, I could at least go to NC. But, as of June 2007, I discovered that I was going to be a recipient of the DC tickets. So with the help of my friend John, I sold the NC tickets. As for my travel buddy, my friend Roy from college, graciously volunteered to attend the tournament with me. I was all set!! In February 2008, I received tickets to the DC game and we were all set.
This is Roy in his UCLA sweatshirt.

On Selection Sunday we found out who would be at our venue. Xavier vs. Georgia; Purdue vs. Baylor; West Virginia vs. Arizona; Duke vs. Belmont. We were definitely excited!!!
This is prior to tip off of the first of the 3 double headers we would be witnessing over the course of 2 days. I am SOOOOOOO EXCITED!!!!!!!!! =) There weren't very many people when we got there, but by the end of the games, the place was packed!!

New Years Food

One of the things that you are supposed to do for the new year in Japan is eat lots of good food! Here is just a sampling of what was on the menu...

(Family picture before the feast!)

(This is the layout of the table that we set. The black thing in the middle is a sake serving thing. Prior to the meal, everyone had to take a sip of sake, from the youngest to the oldest, served by the "head of household". The sake had some herbal thing in it, and it wasn't very tasty at all. Everyone grimaced when they had to take a sip...)

(Nimono - A variety of root vegetables and shitake mushrooms, simmered in soy sauce for flavor, garnished with green beans. This is one of my favorite dishes!)


(Fresh crab = yum!!)

(From the lower left corner of the tray: Kazunoko - pickled herring row...not a favorite but I will eat it; Sweet chestnut mash thing - it's like dessert!; Kuromame - black beans that have been cooking for days; Tsukemono - picked radishes; Ikura - a cone of salmon eggs wrapped with a picked turnip.)

(char siu pork garnished with kamaboko (fish cake) slices...both were very delicious!!)

There was also a lot of sashimi, but I don't think I got a picture of it. In any case, it was delicious as well! At the end of the meal we had ozoni, which is chicken soup with some spinach and carrots and ball of mochi (rice cake) or two. It is very filling, and it topped off a very good meal. I was very very full for the rest of the day, and I felt like I was off to a good start to the new year =)

New Years Eve in Japan

On New Years eve, while the rest of the world celebrates the new year with fireworks and parties, the Japanese are praying. New Years is a cultural holiday in Japan, with an integration of religion, tradition, and culture. One of the traditions that many people partake in is eating soba as the last meal for the passing year. We did that. =) On New Years eve, another tradition is to go to the temple and say thank you for a wonderful previous year, and pray for a wonderful upcoming year. Since it's a one of a kind event, we decided to take a trip to Kamakura, about 45 minutes away, to go to a temple there to ring in the new year. We left the house at 10, and came back at 3:30am on 01 January 2008. Happy New Year!! =)

(It is tradition for the monks to ring the temple bell 108 times to mark the new year. At this particular temple, people can line up to ring the temple bell. This is a picture of when it was my turn to ring in the new year =) I got a good sound out of it!)

(Dad in front of the temple bell which is underneath the little wooden structure in the background. Many more people after us were eager to ring the bell as well.)

(This isn't the best picture, but we really weren't able to take a lot of pictures. This was taken at another temple, where we waited to climb the temple steps to throw in our donation and pray for the upcoming year. There were a lot of people here waiting to say their prayers for the new year.)

Sites in Tokyo

There are many, many things to see in Tokyo. This is only a fraction of what there is to see in Tokyo...

(There are 34 million people in a 30 mile radius around central Tokyo. It is almost twice the size of New York City. Much of the city had just as many people crowded into an area, just like in this picture near Ueno station. These were people going shopping to prepare for the coming of the new year.)

(Paris has the Eiffel Tower, Tokyo has the Tokyo Tower. We didn't actually go up the tower since the line was about 30 minutes deep)

(Attempting to walk down a busy street in the Harajuku neighborhood. It is an area popular among younger people for trendy fashions and brand name stores.)

(This is one of my favorite stores in Tokyo..Itoya. This is the sign outside the store. It is 9 floors of stationary, office supplies, and office furniture. It is nothing like Office Depot or any of those stores in the US. They have an entire floor dedicated to pens and pencils. I bought a few myself because they were just so cool!! I am such a dork..=) )

(In the Ginza district there is a Nissan Gallery/Showroom. There is no sales...there are just at most two cars on display. This time the soon-to-be-released GT-R was on display. It will also be on sale in the US, and I'm sure people can't wait to drive it! =) )

(A picture of gyoza (pot stickers) we ate in a chinese restaurant in the Ginza district. They were about 3 times the normal size of pot stickers...and soooooo good!!! Not exactly a tourist attraction...but I thought I'd post it anyway =) )

Family in Tokyo

We arrived in Tokyo the nite of 29 December 2007. We spent the rest of our trip in Tokyo, staying til 03 January 2008. It was really great to be able to hang out with everyone after many days of traveling.

(Going around the table...my cousin Hiroshi, grandma, Auntie Ryoko, Mom, Dad, Marie, Uncle Masaharu, cousin Isao, and Auntie Fumiko. We are at the table getting ready to pig out and eat our new year meal =) )

(Mom, Dad, Uncle Masaharu, me, Marie, and Auntie Fumiko...Hiroshi took the picture...we were all in downtown Tokyo near Tokyo station admiring the christmas lighting display along two blocks of the city)

(going around the table...grandma, Auntie Ryoko, Dad, Mom, Marie, Uncle Masaharu, Auntie Fumiko, and cousin Isao...we were sitting down to eat our first home cooked meal (potatoe croquettes) of our trip. It was delicious!!)

(This is my childhood friend Rie, who lives in Japan now. She and I have known each other since we were babies, so we're basically family! Apparently we're a little older now... =) )

Food in Kyoto

On our last day in Kyoto, we went to a restaurant called Ganko in Kyoto Station. (There are about 50 restaurants in Kyoto station. The place is huge, and we got lost trying to find this place numerous times!) We had a wonderful meal, and here is what we got!

(Tonkatsu (breaded and fried pork cutlet) and fried chicken)

(The mega meal! It was wonderfully presented, and included sashimi, some cooked veggies and fish, and a make your own tofu thing to the right. Basically, they light a little light under the soy milk, and you're supposed to let it boil, then add some salt solution to make it more solid. It had an interesting taste, and I thought it was ok, but it didn't taste like tofu I'm used to cooking with. The presentation was the best for this meal, and it was almost too pretty to eat!)

(Ikura donburi - salmon eggs over sushi rice. Salmon eggs are soooooo good!)

(An assortment of sushi. This is the meal I actually ordered. I had better sushi while I was in Saga, but it was delicious...can't complain!! =) )

Temples in Nara and Kyoto

After Hiroshima, we went to Kyoto and visited the nearby city of Nara on 28 December 2007. Nara was the capital of Japan in the 8th century, and was known to be where Buddhism and japanese art had flourished. We were able to see some very old buildings and sites here.

(Dad, me, and Marie in front of Tohdaiji Temple. This is a huge building that housed a gigantic metal Buddha. It was raining a lot this day, but this was definitely worth walking through the rain for!)

(Unfortunately, because of the lighting in the temple, it was extremely difficult to take a picture of the Buddha while capturing how massive it actually is. I am pretty sure it was at least 5 stories tall! The lotus leaves alone were taller than most of the people visiting!)

(Another very nice temple in Nara is Kasuga Taisha Shrine. It was sort of in remodeling stages, but it is known for having these hanging lanterns all around the temple)

(This is the 5-story pagoda in Kofukuji-temple grounds. It is featured in a lot of postcards and photos of Nara)

After visiting Nara for the day, the next day we had a little bit of time to spend in the city of Kyoto, so we decided that we had time to visit one temple. We decided to go to Kiyomizu-tera Temple, one of the more famous temples in Kyoto. Marie and I have been there before, and this time there were tons of tourists out visiting the grounds. It is one of my most favorite temples in Kyoto.

(The main building of Kiyomizu-tera over looks the city of Kyoto.)

(The supporting structure underneath the main building is amazing. It is mostly wood, and it is cool to see the way that everything criss crosses underneath the building into the mountainside)

(The main building as well as the surrounding buildings and the pagoda in the background. The grounds to this temple are very large, and the main building is just a small portion of the overall temple. It is like walking through a park!)

Yumminess in Hiroshima

Hiroshima is known for an excellent dish called "okonomiyaki" (literally means something cooked the way you like it). It is basically a pancake looking thing that is anything but a pancake. It is filled with lots of veggies, noodles, egg, and any meat you want. We went to one place in Hiroshima, and this is how they made their version of okonomiyaki

(She spread cooked yakisoba noodles onto a hot cooking surface and spread it out into a flat "sheet" of noodles)

(On another section of the cooking surface, she poured a very thin flour based batter and spread it into a circle, almost like a crepe. On top of that she sprinkled some sort of seasoning)

(She then took a handle each of cabbage, bean sprouts, meat, and other veggies and piled it on top of the pancake thing)

(Once the crepe was crispy, she flipped the whole mountain of veggies over so the veggies and meat could cook. It was amazing that veggies didn't just spray out everywhere!)

(Back to the noodles...she made sure that they were crispy, and then folded the noodle pancake in half.)

(She then fried an egg on the cooking surface, and while it was still cooking, she transferred the veggies on top of the crispy noodles. She then took the whole veggie, meat, and noodle mountain, and transferred onto the egg.)

(She then flipped the whole thing over, egg side up.)

(In the end, the okonomiyaki is served with okonomiyaki sauce, some green onions and greens on top, and tah dah!...dinner is served!!! This was one of many wonderful meals we had while in Japan. The crispy noodles and veggie and meat and egg combo made for a very filling and yummy meal!!)