Halloween in Japan (continued)

The never ending topic, we know. Halloween was a lot of fun in Japan, and we found some extra shots of the holiday. 

Although yummy, this is not like the pumpkin ice cream you get at home. There is a swirl of what tastes like actual pumpkin puree. It's pretty tasty, just not what you would expect from pumpkin ice cream. 

Porta in Kyoto station had a free photo station set up, complete with staff to take your photo with your cell phone! 

We went as a Korean couple, obvious isn't it? Korean couples are notorious for their twin-like dress. Unfotunately in Japan people just thought we were twins or not dressed up at all...

The Hub was a Halloween central! Well decorated and populated by many costume-clad Japanese people. For once it was actually a great place to be. Also to be noted was the awesome waiter who came to my (Meg) rescue when while Kev was in the bathroom, a drunk guy sat down at our table and wouldn't leave! Thank you to the Hub and their awesome staff (even if you are a chain)

Yes, it's totally fine to bring your precious baby to the bar...and yes it's totally fine to let them wander the bar. 

Black face DJ at Butterfly! Because it's totally fine to be racist here...(just kidding...sort of)

Our tiny little pumpkins...Sharpie pen decorated as they were too small to actually carve...

Ikea Osaka

If you are from the states a visit to Ikea may need to be added to your itinerary. We have been recently spending a lot of time at the Ikea in Osaka as we try to decide on how to furnish the new apartment.

Although pretty similar in setup to other Ikea's, the cafeteria in Osaka is beyond belief! below are a few pictures of the buffet style setup. Some things are as gross as they look, while other dishes were really quite yummy, and the salad bar although simple was great!

There is also a TON of seating and these fabulous little carts to push your multiple trays of food to your table.

Even if you are not hungry, grab a croissant and cup of coffee, just to enjoy the humor of the whole thing.

Tip: When visiting the Ikea Osaka, if you are catching the bus at Osaka station, ask how to get to the right bus stop. It does not stop with the other city and tour buses. The Ikea stop is under a covered area where some taxis also stop. There is a map and time table on their website, It took us 30 minutes to find the bus the first time!

Halloween in kyoto

Like many things in kyoto Halloween is just a little funny. As October progresses more and more festive things appear. The other day we went out to buy groceries and came across this little gem...eat your heart out americans!

Pumpkins for Halloween

As October started a few days ago, Halloween began to appear in Kyoto. We went to Loft (a Target-esque store) to pick up pens and an envelope and the downstairs floor had been turned into a Disney-dia-de-los-muertos Wonderland. Unsure what we are going to do to celebrate the holiday, we held off on costumes. This did get us thinking though, as every year we carve pumpkins for Halloween. No matter how far apart we are, we've figured out a way to always do pumpkins. Unwilling to let this go, we began the hunt for a good non-Japanese pumpkin (native Japanese pumpkins are green and very different in shape). Check out our past blog post about the Anraku-ji pumpkin festival to see native Japanese/Kyoto pumpkins

A couple days later, we found a flower shop that had a beautiful, perfect globe-shaped pumpkin. We asked the shop girl, "kore wa ikura desu ka?" which means "how much does this cost?" The woman replied that it was 4000 yen (i.e. $40!!!). Floored we thanked her and left, sans the pumpkin.

Two days ago we made our way to pick up bagels and decided to go by the botanical garden on our way home. Even from the outside the buildings and lush green, bush fences are worth passing. Right in front of the Tadao Ando building that borders the garden was a small pumpkin patch.
In a rush to get home we made plans to return later. Finally this afternoon, we made our way back. The pumpkins were 300 yen per kilo, and with a variety of sizes everyone can find the perfect pumpkin.

After a long debate in the "patch" over the safety of carving with full-size kitchen knives (they don't sell the kids carving-safety packs here), we decided on instead getting small pumpkins for decoration and possibly to carve (TBD on this part). We chose our favorites, and made our way home. 

Costco: the Japanese love it more than Americans

On a recent trip to Osaka (bad choice, we know) we decided to bail on Osaka and make our way over to Costco. We had heard that Costco membership cards were universal, so we thought what the heck, worse case scenario we just hop back on a train and head home.

A glimmer of Costco from the bus. 

To get to Costco from Kyoto or Osaka, you have to take a series of trains. It's pretty easy to get there, just be sure you have a bit of time and a planned out method to bring goodies back.
Thankfully for us, when we finally got to Costco and showed the two guys standing at the door (just like Costco back home) our membership card, they welcomed us and we walked in.

Just like back home, to get inside you grab a cart and have your card checked at the door. 

Both of us did a jaw drop the minute we walked in. It was just like walking into Costco in the states. Food court after you check out, pharmacy in the corner, and a vision center -just like back home. In addition, and sort of odd, all the major signs are in English. This was one thing we thought for sure would be different.

After doing a lap around the store, debating on what was most important for us to buy (we don't have a car so we can only buy what we can carry or put in a backpack). We decided it was probably best to eat at the Costco cafeteria -you know to really get the full Costco experience. This is one thing that is sort of a US/Japan blend. Many of the items are identical to back home (hotdogs, pizza, churros) and then some things are a little different. For instance, the soft serve was called "Hokaido soft cream", but looked just like soft serve. They also had bulgogi bakes instead of chicken/cheese bakes, but otherwise it was just like America. It was a lot of fun to watch people learn to use the soda fountain machine -from what we can tell, these are not very common in Japan, where most soda comes in bottles.

Seating was also insane. Families will take whole tables and stay for 30-40+ minutes eating everything on the menu. We have literally never seen anyone eat as much as we did at Costco Japan. We each ate a slice of cheese pizza and thought we would die (biggest meal in a while), while Japanese women half Meg's size would finish off a slice, a bulgogi bake (same giant size as in America) and then go for soft cream. People also park their carts as if parking a car to eat.

In actuality we really shouldn't be that surprised at home many people stayed to eat at Costco, as we learned on our way out to Osaka, "eating on the go" is about as bad as murdering someone on the street. You will receive looks of shame and disgust (literally, disgust) if you eat while standing, walking, or in public (and by public we mean anywhere that isn't your home or a restaurant). The best thing to do if you have to eat on the go is squat in an alley or at the very least as out of the way as possible.

Anyway, Costco was amazing. We ended up buying a huge Costco freezer bag to carry everything home. Including 4 pounds of grapes, Amy's bean burritos, guacamole, blueberries, raspberries, 4 giant pillows and two US-sized towels (and that wasn't even the whole list of things we carried home). As our temporary apartment came with the world's worst pillows (aka normal Japanese pillows) and two child-size towels, these were by far the best win from the trip. The whole way home, we received humorous laughs from Japanese adults who (I assume) thought we were crazy, and their children pointed and laughed likely thinking we were pillow-loving tourists. With shit eating grins plastered on our faces as we ran through the subway trying not to miss the train, who could blame them.

Here are a few more photos of a Costco adventure:

Take away pizza -really similar, but with seafood added (normal topping in Japan)

5+lb tiramisu 

Sampling is a little different in Japan. Well, different for people not Japanese. It's feels so normal now, but you line up and the sample woman will put your little sample in a cup or paper dish and hand it to you. There is no taking one from the try as you walk by, so you will see lines of people in the isles waiting for samples. This woman was giving samples of sparkling wine -also might be weird for some Costco visitors to see alcohol being sampled freely, but in Japan there are really lose restrictions on drinking (age limit is 20, on the streets drinking is totally ok, vending machines all over selling beer and shochu)  

Costco Christmas -in a country that doesn't celebrate Christmas or have much in the way of religion this is just really silly to see. People still had giant wreaths in their carts, and others were eyeing the tree lights and ornaments, possibly debating what they were for. Please note the giant nutcracker to the left -it's larger than most Japanese people. 

Cheese is really expensive in Japan, so to see full-size blocks was like hitting the jackpot. We couldn't help but bring home lots of cheese. 

I swear this is in Japan. 

We found the Mexican

Yes, you heard us correctly: We found the Mexican...food, that is. At a local (we think) underground bar called Den En, you can get Nachos and quesadillas! Although they do put pork or ham in the quesadilla, you can with just a little Japanese (or a solid finger "x") get them to leave it off.

To be honest the nachos are sort of Mexican-Italian...tomatoes are uncommon here so they use what tastes sort of like italian seasoning stewed tomatoes, but whatever they tasted like Mexican food!

There really isn't much to say about this...we just couldn't believe it and wanted to share. Den En is across the street from the Hub (a british style chain restaurant, similar to Applebee's). They have an "all you can drink" menu, that can either be all beer or all cocktails and the food is very cheap!

While we were there it was us and several groups of twenty-something Japanese people.

Just like New York!

Although not a lot of options exist in Kyoto for bagels ("almost non-existent" may be a better way to put it), we have been in search of a good New York-style bagel. You know that dense, chewy bagel that puts the store bought fluffy bagel to shame? We want that bagel and we are willing to do just about anything to do it.

We did some internet searching and found there are or were two options in Kyoto for bagels: Bagel & Bagel and Radio Bagel. On further research, by foot and Chrome translate, we found out that Bagel & Bagel is no longer in business in Kyoto (at least they don't have a shop).

Radio Bagel on the other hand is definitely in business! Located in the very north part of Kyoto, it's about a 50 minute bike ride up the river and a few blocks west. It's a super cute, little shop with no more than 6 seats.

They serve both in house, delivery, and pre-order pick-up. If you want more than about 10 bagels they request you order at least 24 hours in advance, but day-off orders for pick-up can be up to ten bagels. We arrived a little after noon and they were already sold out of most of their bagels (so a call-in to dine-in isn't a bad idea). On a scale of 1 to Jewish, these bagels get a solid 9! The owner's wife is from Tokyo and speaks very good English, so it is possible with a little bit of Japanese to get yourself one heck of a bagel!

Check out a couple pictures that we took. There was an odd sign with a camera on it, so we weren't sure if it was a "no photos" sign or a "you are on camera" or a "please take pictures" sign. Regardless, no one said anything and we tried to keep it to a minimum.

(those are our matchy-matchy bikes!!)

They have every flavor of cream cheese and 13 types of bagels. If you order in plan to get your fill on cream cheese. They pack it on!!