Hawaii 2023: July 26 – August 1: Waimea, Kauai

Our first stop on our vacation to Hawaii was to Kauai. Our time on Kauai is usually slow-paced and laid back, but this week was very busy. We landed in Lihue, rushed to Waimea, and started cooking for a BBQ that night. Caroline and her family were visiting and our time overlapped only by about 6 hours!

On top of that, Aunty Laura and her husband Bill were visiting from St. Charles, IL. Laura’s daughter, Cory, was visiting from Aspen, CO. And her son, Danny, and his family were visiting from Riverside, IL.

If that’s not enough, good family friends Tandy and Chris and their family were visiting from Seattle, WA. And we ran into multiple childhood friends of Dallas’s who just happened to be in town for a few days.

We had a very busy week, but we were very thankful to be able to spend time with so much friends and family!

1. Family BBQ
We ended up being awake for more than 24 hours but it was worth it to see so much family. Especially thankful to meet our new nephew, Luca.


Back: Danny, Caroline, Rory, Niko, Jose, Caroline, Grace, Kathy, Dallas, Makai, Cory, Luca
Front: Bill, John, Laura, Cathy, Dee, George

Makai and Grace were happy to see each other (and started playing video games immediately!)


Niko


Last time we visited Caroline, she was pregnant. Luca was born shortly after. 5 months old.

Dallas happy to meet Luca.

Makai and his dad grilling meat.

Grace had been on Kauai since the end of May – something like 8 weeks! She demands to know who invited all of these annoying boys (John, Rory, Makai). This was also 5 seconds before that ball went over the cliff into the valley.
Aunty Laura and Luca

Makai, John and Rory eating Kathy’s homemade guri-guri.

Dallas and Danny


George, Caroline, Cory, Luca, Caroline

Giant spider!

Danny, Caroline, Rory, and John Hara stayed at The Point at Poipu on Kauai. They were traveling together with Danny’s mom Laura (Fukuda) and her husband Bill Dubois, as well as Danny’s sister, Cory Hara.

It was fun for all of the kids to be able to hang out together. Makai joined Laura, Bill, Rory and John one night at Luau while the rest of us went out to dinner. Makai stayed overnight at the resort and loved swimming with Rory and John in the resort pool. They also all stayed a couple nights in Waimea with Kathy and George.

Aunty Laura (Fukuda) is Grandpa George Crowell’s first cousin!

2. Pooltime at The Point at Poipu
Dallas golfed with his parents and Danny while the rest of us had an all day pool day! Then Makai joined Aunty Laura, Bill, Rory and John for a luau in Kapaa while Dallas and I went to dinner with Danny, Caroline and Cory at Japanese Grandma’s Cafe and drinks at Port Allen Sunset Grill & Bar.

View from Aunty Laura’s room at The Point at Poipu.

First lava flow… and maybe the only one I had!

3. Japanese Grandma’s Cafe

Cory and I both wanted to try the sparkling sake. It was a big bottle – like regular wine size!

Fried wonton taco with poke inside.

Fried rice with tuna on top.

Maki roll.

Hamachi.

Lilikoi gelato.

Dallas, Rachelle, Caroline, Cory, Danny

4. Luau at the Sheraton Kauai Coconut Beach

While we were at dinner, Makai joined Aunty Laura, Bill, Rory and John at a luau! Then Makai stayed overnight at The Point.

5. Kauai Rooster Hat
 Caroline liked Makai’s hat. I dug out these old photos to show how old it is! Later on she ended up finding it at Kukui’ula and buying one each for John and Rory.

6. Leapin’ Lizards!
Made me jump when I saw it move out of the corner of my eye in the bathroom in Waimea!
7. Swimming at The Point at Poipu
Makai stayed overnight at John and Rory’s and did a lot of morning swimming.

8. Salt Pond Beach
Dallas and I met up with them at Salt Pond Beach Park where we saw endangered Hawaiian monk seals on the beach.

9. Waimea Town
Dallas went home to cook. We then hit Shrimp Station and JoJo’s Shave Ice. Makai and John named all the chickens — the biggest one was named Todd, for some reason!

10. Egret!?I saw this in the yard!

11. Bon Dance at Waimea Higashi Hongwanji Buddhist Temple
Later on we went to the bon dance festival. Dallas ran into multiple childhood friends, some of whom he hadn’t seen for decades!

Festival Food: Akule
(got an extra one to bring home for George! Aunty Jane, working the counter, talked me into banana bread and coffee cake too!)


Festival Food: Andagi (Okinawan Donuts)


Festival Foods: Flying Saucer


Festival Food: Pronto Pop (corn dog)



Dallas was surprised to see his childhood friend, Kari. She lives in LA now! Her parents still live in Waimea and her dad told us a lot about the Bon Dance.

We found out Tandy was in town, but Dallas was surprised to see his childhood friend Lad and his sister Rona at the dance too!


Makai and John – John wanted to know when the ninjas were going to jump out!

Bon Dance begins! The leader at the temple came from Japan via Honolulu. This was the first Bon Dance since before covid!

We found out the next day that the woman in white is Janice’s grand daughter, Dana!

12. Family Monopoly Game
Dallas and his mom found their family Monopoly set and figured it is close to 70 years old. The hotels and houses are made of wood.

13. Day at Home
We did laundry. I sat sat on the porch alternating between looking at a book and looking at the ocean. Makai helped grandpa with yard work and running errands. Dallas and Kathy prepped for a party later.

14. Makai, Meet Makai
Makai and I went to get lunch at Porky’s and the guy that took our order was named Makai!

Grilled Cheese with Kalua Pig

Kalua Pig Bowl

15. Friends BBQ
We had a big barbecue with friends and it was great to spend time with people we had not seen for a long time!!!

On one of our past trips, Dallas made chimichurri, which is not a common thing to eat in Hawaii. Aunty Nancy requested he make it again. Janice made homemade pronto pops (corndogs) and the kids loved them. Rory ate 4 in a row! Janice’s grand daughter, Dana, handmade ti leaf and plumeria leis. And funny story, we discovered I’d taken a photo of her the night before dancing at the Bon Dance!

At one point, we realized every one of the kids at the party were hapa haole so we took a photo of them all together.

Dallas invited Ladd and Rona, who we’d run into the night before at the Bon Dance. Kathy was so bummed out she didn’t get to see them because she skipped the dance. She was so shocked and excited to see them at her front door!

Caroline and I, both from Wisconsin, talked with Såfina for a while. She is going to Lakeland University in the fall for Physical Therapy and to play volleyball. I hope we get to see her and her family more since she will only be 2 hours away from Chicago!


Rory running after Janice’s wontons!


Janice’s grand daughter, Dana, hand made these ti leaf and plumeria leis!

Makai, John, Rory

Janice made homemade pronto pops (corn dogs). Rory ate 4 in a row!

Dallas, Ladd, Uncle Bob, Swede, Marissa, Uncle Bob’s brother Warren, Safina, Aunty Nancy

Xavier, Janice, Kathy, Dana (Janice’s grand daughter)

Chris, Kai, Kanoa, Tandy, Rory

Danny, Tandy, Kanoa, Kai, Chris, Safina, Nancy, Caroline, Warren, Marissa, Bob, Dallas, Ladd, Swede, George, George, Linda, Rona

All the hapa kids! Back: Safina, Swede, Kai. Front: Makai, Rory, John, Kanoa

All the hapa kids! Back: Safina, Swede, Kai. Front: Makai, Rory, John, Kanoa

Make a funny face!

Childhood friends reunited: Tandy, Dallas, Rona, Ladd, Marissa


Aunty Nancy, Uncle Bob, Ladd, Rona

Kanoa and Rory

16. Sleepover
John and Rory stayed over 2 nights in Waimea!

17. Mini Golfing 
Kathy took Rory, John and Makai mini golfing at Kukuiolono. Chris, Kai and Kanoa joined them!

18. Shopping at Kukui’ula
With Dallas and Danny golfing with George, and Kathy taking the boys mini golfing, Caroline and I had free time to go shopping!Lappert’s in Hanapepe closed and there was a rumor that the one in Poipu did too, but luckily that was untrue!

Funny sign.

Lunch at Living Foods

19. Red Salt
We went out to eat with Danny and Caroline at Red Salt in the Koa Kea Resort in Poipu. This was our first time to Red Salt. I didn’t love my entree and it was very expensive. Also felt like we were sitting in a hotel lobby. Our view was people getting in and out of the pool. For the price would expect a more luxe setting and exceptional food.



Driving from Poipu to Waimea

20. Waffles
Rory and John stayed overnight. Makai got up early and made everyone waffles.

21. Legos
Makai and John and Rory played Legos with Dallas’s old Legos many of the days of the week!

22. Salt Pond
We met Caroline and Danny at Salt Pond Beach Park. The two Monk Seals were not on the beach any more, but there was one in the water that just kept circling. Every time it came by everyone had to get out of the water!

23. Waimea Town
Afterwards we had lunch at Shrimp Station and Island Taco and JoJo’s again!

24. More swimming!
Makai went to swim at Caroline and Danny’s condo. The kids were tired from a long day!

23. Stevenson’s Library
Dallas and I had dinner at Stevenson’s Library with Tandy, Chris, Kari and Jeff.
Jeff and Kari, Dallas and Rachelle, Tandy and Chris

24. Grandpa’s Pidgin Lesson


Spring Break in Washington

Our niece, Lilinoe, was born at the end of 2019, so we booked a trip to see her in the spring of 2020. That trip got canceled + we’re finally using our credits to visit. Lilinoe is already 2 years old! Happy to meet her + see Liz, Jordan + Mahealani, who we haven’t seen for almost 3 years.

Leaving Chicago

Touchdown in Seattle

Breakfast our first morning at Jordan + Liz’s house.

Me + Lili

Mahea + Makai

Mahea + Lili

Makai and his cousins Mahealani + Lilinoe. And meeting their puppy, Betty!

And speaking of Betty…

Makai and I totally fell for this pup and wanted to take her home!

She is a Boston Terrier that Liz got for Jordan for his birthday, making her only a few months old!

We arrived in Seattle on a Thursday night, got our rental car and drove up to Everett, Washington, where we had a hotel room. Since it was late we went right to bed. The next morning we went to Jordan and LIz’s house for breakfast (see photos above) and then spontaneously decided to take a ferry somewhere.

Makai had never been on a ferry up here (he has been on an NYC ferry).

We drove to Edmonds and took the ferry across to Kingston where we had lunch at Westside Pizza + ice cream + played in the Port of Kingston Kiwanis Park before taking the ferry back across.

On the way home from the ferry, we stopped at the Funko Headquarters store in Everett. We’d told Makai about this before the trip and he was SOO excited.
Aside from all the figures for sale, they had a lot of fun displays of the characters they sell. Me with Batman and Robin.

Ironman!

Really cool Harry Potter display!

Disney princess castle.c

Captain America and Stan Lee.

Star Wars

Godzilla

I don’t know how each of these kids finally decided on one figure each! There were THOUSANDS to choose from! Mahea looked at every cat in the store: Mewtwo from Pokemon, Hello Kitty, Crookshanks from Harry Potter, the Cheshire Cat, etc.

Makai chose Captain America, Mahea got Chester Cheetah and Mahea got Hello Kitty.

This is Liz and Jordan’s second house in Lake Stevens. Dallas had visited them at their first place, but I never had been there. We were curious about the actual lake that Lake Stevens was named for, so Jordan took us to Lundeen Park and drove us around the whole lake.

Swimming at the Snohomish (neighboring town) aquatics center. It was SO nice for a public pool! Makai went down a big water slide about 10 times! Liz and Jordan took Mahea, Makai and Lili in. I stayed on the side.

After swimming the kids were soo hungry so we went to Blazing Onion. Liz and Lili went home and Dallas brought his parents to meet us.

Jordan and Liz had a barbecue and some of their friends and Liz’s family came over. I don’t know why I don’t have any photos except this one of Makai picking up McFurry. He was squirming around and Makai yelled “OW, MY NUTS!!!” in front of the whole BBQ. Luckily no one seemed to hear!

Liz and Jordan also have 3 goats that they rescued: Marley, Fig and Peso! Makai LOVED them. Every day he visited them in the barn and fed them different plants to see what they would eat.


Makai liked to ride around on this motorized tractor. He called it his “Joe Deer” and because he can never be wrong, referred to it as that for the whole trip.

Liz took us for a walk by their house.

That same day there was a random freak hail storm that was super localized today! Liz and Kathy were at a store not far away and there was no hail at all! Kind of fun since it wasn’t big enough to do damage.

WHO COULD IT BE??

Jordan and Dallas went to the casino for a while at night. Since Easter was around the corner, the rest of us decided to dye some eggs. Liz and Kathy dumped the leftover dye in the yard and the next day we found an egg out there too!

Dallas and I took Makai in to Seattle to show Makai some of the common tourist sites. It was fun to explore. I hadn’t been to Seattle for a very long time.

The first thing we did was get lunch at The Athenian. Chowder! Oysters! Fish + Chips! (Makai loves fish + chips now. We just had to tell him it was “fish sticks” like he has at school!) We ate very light because we knew there would be a lot of good things to eat at the market!

We walked through Pike Place Market where the vendors were selling all their wares. We saw the flying fishes being thrown and then we walked out through the gum alley and the gum wall! Dallas was SO grossed out!

We next visited the Seattle Aquarium where Makai’s favorite exhibits were the ones with the otters (both river and sea otters). He also told a volunteer “Me and my dad are from Hawaii” and talked about the tropical exhibit and the Hawaiian species there.

Dallas REFUSED to go on The Seattle Great Wheel and instead opted to sit at a bar in the market and drink a beer! Makai was scared, but in a fun way, he said.

Before we left, we stopped at Beecher’s and split a grilled cheese and some mac n cheese, which were both amazing. Jordan and Liz highly recommended Beecher’s and it did not disappoint. They also recommended Piroshky Piroshky, a Russian bakery. We got two pastries to bring to dinner.

For dinner we visited Tandy and Chris on Mercer Island. They were moving literally in a couple days (just down the street), but were still nice enough to have us over and order pizza. Makai and Dallas met up with Tandy recently in Chicago when she was visiting for work, but the last time any of us had seen Chris or the kids was when I was pregnant and we visited them in Japan! Makai instantly made two new friends! Kanoa and Makai are close in age and have the same silly, punny sense of humor!

Jordan took us to Katsu Burger in Lake Stevens. We all really liked it. I had the Fried Chicken Katsu Curry which had curry powder, American cheese, tonkatsu sauce and curry.

After lunch, Jordan took Makai, Dallas and I to BobaKhan Toys. The store is packed with comics, toys and collectibles! They were all loving it! Makai was so overwhelmed when we asked him to pick something. He ended up getting an Avengers graphic novel, a Captain America pin and a magnet by ClockworkArt (Captain America reimagined as a cat).

Makai spent most nights sleeping in Grandma + Grandpa C’s room at Jordan and Liz’s house, while Dallas and I slept in a hotel room in Everett Hampton Inn, which was about a 10 minute drive away. Only on the first and last night did Makai stay with us. ^ Dallas’s parents went to Florida with Caroline’s family and got makai the NASA Cat in the Hat stuffie. The otter is from the Seattle Aquarium and the teddy bear from home.

It was nice in the morning to walk around Everett and do some exploring and to have some time to ourselves. We visited Narrative Coffee, but our favorite quickly became Choux Choux Bakery. It was very close to our hotel, had a daily rotating selection of bread and pastries, the coffee was good and the staff was really friendly.

This mural was near our hotel in Everett. It’s Breonna Taylor and Jatarius Tolbert, a local teen who was murdered.

On our last day of vacation, we decided to go into Seattle and hang out for a few hours, since it’s closer to the airport. Mark the Space Needle off the bucket list.

The Space Needle was fun, especially since there was no line! No photos of Makai because he was too afraid to go by the glass wall or in the rotating glass floor.

We ventured over to Belltown for lunch at Karaage Setsuna, a Japanese/Hawaiian restaurant. Makai asked to try the egg and spam maki then pounded the entire roll plus some fries and karaage chicken! Loved the restaurant and the neighborhood!

Our last activity in Seattle before heading to the airport was the Chihuly Garden and Glass exhibit. Dale Chihuly is from Tacoma and famous for his glass sculptures. I was so excited that we could now see his work while visiting Seattle – last time it was only in Tacoma. Everything was so gorgeous, I took sooo many photos!

Tandy in Chicago

Tandy and Chris (and Kai and Kanoa) moved from Tokyo, Japan to Mercer Island in Washington this year. We haven’t seen them since I was pregnant and we visited Japan! Tandy was in town for work, so Dallas took Makai downtown to meet her for lunch.

Afterwards, they hung out at Marty’s office while Dallas and Marty worked and Makai played video games.

Sukiyabashi Jiro: The Best Sushi in the World

Where to begin with Sukiyabashi Jiro and Jiro Dreams of Sushi? Begin at the beginning? We first learned about Sushiyabashi Jiro and its chef, Jiro Ono, by watching a documentary about the restaurant, Jiro Dreams of Sushi (movie trailer above).

And then we saw Anthony Bourdain go there on his show, No Reservations. We were amazed!

Sukiyabashi Jiro is a three-star Michelin-awarded restaurant in Ginza, Tokyo. For reference, one star is “very good cuisine in its category,” two stars is “excellent cuisine, worth a detour,” and the rarely awarded, coveted three stars means “exceptional cuisine, worth a special journey.” At 86-years-old, Jiro Ono holds the Guiness record for being the oldest chef to be awarded three stars! He was also the first sushi chef to be awarded Michelin stars. Famous chefs like Joel Robuchon, Eric Ripert, and Anthony Bourdain consider Jiro to be the world’s best sushi chef, Sukiyabashi Jiro as the world’s best sushi restaurant, and the country of Japan considers Jiro to be a national treasure. I mean, all this is just to say that Jiro and his restaurant are the shit!

There are so many crazy stories from the documentary and that we heard from friends in Japan. That Chef Ono, when he scoops the rice out of the container to make the sushi, always has within a few grains of 50 grains. In the documentary we saw how hard the apprentices work. They might stand in the kitchen and wash dishes for months before ever getting to touch anything else. One guy made tamago (kind of like an egg omelette) for months, 200 times and every time it was not good enough for Jiro. When his tamago was finally approved, he cried like a baby! For most apprentices it will be years before they are allowed to stand behind the sushi bar, helping Jiro. Jiro’s son, Yoshikazu, rides his bike every single morning to Tsukiji Fish Market to buy fresh fish for the restaurant. (This was the market we’d visited the day before.) Not only is the fish as fresh and as best quality as can be gotten, the rice is a big deal too. Jiro Ono has a special rice dealer who only sells his best grains to him. To this rice, Jiro adds his own blend of vinegar to get the perfect sushi rice taste.

Sukiyabashi Jiro has been noted as one of the most difficult reservations to get in the world. After watching the documentary and booking our flights to Japan, Dallas and I half joked about trying to go. It’s too much money, we’d say. And then we’d think about how Jiro Ono is 85 years old.. and we may never go to Japan again.. and how it’s the best sushi restaurant in the world! We were at Rory’s birthday party when Dallas mentioned it to Doug and Naoko. Turns out that Naoko, who is from Tokyo originally, knew someone who knew someone from the restaurant! She was able to make some calls and after a week or two we got an email with some rules (don’t wear perfume and don’t you dare be late) and instructions on what to do. We had to have our friends Tandy and Chris, who live in Tokyo, call the restaurant to give contact information. And not only that, they had to make a cash payment to hold the reservation! It was all so elaborate. I could hardly believe that we had the reservation. I half thought we’d show up and they’d have no idea who we were!

We arrived in Ginza way early and found our way to the restaurant, just to make sure we could find it. The restaurant is located in the basement of the Ginza station and can be difficult to find, but luckily we found this blog post where the author took photos of the path to Jiro’s! Also, Tandy had been there to make our “down payment,” so she gave us tips. With time to kill, we walked around Ginza a bit to take in the sights. When it was time, we went back to the restaurant and arrived promptly at 11:45 for our noon reservation. We sort of were just lingering outside, not sure if we should go in early or what. We actually saw Jiro Ono walk past us and into the restaurant. He was wearing a suit. We decided to go in early.

We were greeted by nice older lady cashier and then seated at the bar by a younger apprentice. Jiro’s oldest son, Yoshikazu, was behind the bar making sushi. There were three other people eating, they were near finishing their meals. The restaurant was tiny – just ten seats at the counter and only a couple tables. And it was absolutely quiet, aside from the noise of a water fountain somewhere. It was so quiet that Dallas and I whispered to each other! We were asked if we had any food allergies or if there was anything we didn’t like and we said no. We were all in for whatever they wanted to serve us! We were given the 19-course menu and whatever we wanted to drink. The choices were beer, sake or water. We got a warm towel to wash our hands and approximately two minutes after we entered the restaurant we were being served our first piece of sushi! There’s no messing around here.

I was a bit disappointed because it was Jiro’s son making the sushi. I mean, I’m sure it would all be freaking fantastic, no matter, but half the reason we were there was to get served by the 86-year-old sushi master of the world! Luckily at 12:00 exactly, Jiro came out with his chef’s coat on and took over for the son. It was interesting to see the transition. They took away the son’s knife, his cutting board. Out came all of Jiro’s special equipment.

I didn’t take photos of every course, just because I didn’t want to be annoying and also, I didn’t want to get behind. I’d read one place online that someone had taken a photo of every course and had gotten behind and missed out on some pieces! That was not happening to me. haha. So, I took photos of maybe half.. or less of our pieces just so we could remember how beautiful they were. Another reason for not too many photos is because when Jiro sets the sushi in front of you it is prepared to the exact right temperature and everything.. you’re supposed to pick it up (with your hands, not chopsticks) and eat it within seconds! I’d also only brought my point and shoot camera because I thought it would be more discreet if the restaurant was opposed to people taking photos, but they seemed to be quite open about it. They even gave me a little rubber mat to set my camera on in between shots.

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View Larger Menu Photo.

Here is the whole menu of what we had and the photos that I did take:

1. Karei (Sole Fish)

2. Sumi-ika (Squid)

3. Inada (Yellow Tail)

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4. Akami (Tuna) – The beginning of the tuna pieces!

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5. Chu-toro (Semi-Fatty Tuna)

6. Oo-toro (Fatty Tuna) – The semi-fatty and fatty tunas were so tender and delicious. They just melted in your mouth.

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7. Kohada (Gizzard Shad) This was the prettiest sushi. Dallas loves fish skin and loved this piece.

8. Torigai (Cockle Shell)

9. Tako (Boiled Octopus): I’m not usually a tako fan because of it’s consistency (kind of chewy), but this was very good. Supposedly Jiro has an apprentice massage the octopus for 50 minutes prior to serving!

10. Aji (Jack Mackerel)

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11. Kurumaebi (Boiled Prawn)- Two-pieces: one head, one tail.

12. Akagai (Ark Shell)

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13. Sayori (Needle Fish) – also very pretty!

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14. Hamaguri (Boiled Clam)- BIG bite!

15. Uni (Sea Urchin) – This was the sushi I had the hardest time with. I didn’t like uni when I first tried it about 6 years ago or so, but have sort of come around on it when I’ve had it in Hawaii. The uni at Jiro was huge though! Dallas ate his first and was saying how briny and good it was. Then I went for it. And struggled a bit. Dallas said my face looked so horrible he was praying Jiro wouldn’t turn around at that second!

16. Kobashira (Baby Scallops)

17. Ikura (Salmon Roe) – Always fun!

18. Anago (Sea Eel) – I really liked the eel. I always do. I wished I’d gotten a second piece of eel!

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19. Tamago (Egg) – This was so good. A bit sweet. Dense, but light at the same time. It was fun knowing the back story on how perfected the tamago is.

Dallas was really adement about eating the sushi as soon as it was set in front of us. I was having a hard time keeping up just eating, not even taking photos. I kept asking him to at least wait til we both were served before he ate, but most times he was chewing and almost done before Jiro even set my sushi on the plate! PLUS, in the back of my head I was kind of tallying how much we were paying for the amount of time. The meal is notoriously short and notoriously pricey, so I would have liked to drag it out a little more!

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It is kind of bizzaro how you watch the documentary and then you go to Sukiyabashi Jiro and exactly everything you saw on TV is happening in front of you. Half of the joy in this meal was just watching Jiro do his thing and knowing that he’s been honing his skill and working his craft for something like 75 years, since he started apprenticing at a sushi restaurant at just 9 years old! I’m not a huge rice fan and when I kept reading and hearing about how this rice was different than other sushi rice you’ve ever had, I was sort of “whatever,” but I must say I was totally shocked when I took my first bite and tasted that rice. It’s definitely the best sushi rice I ever had. You could really taste how it was more vinegary, but not so much that it overwhelmed the fish. And also, it is not cold. It’s somewhere around body temperature, which really did make a difference.

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At the end of our meal we were asked if we wanted more of anything. I got one more piece of the semi-fat tuna and Dallas got both the semi-fat tuna and the fatty tuna. So, all together we had 20-21 pieces of sushi each. Filling!!!

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When we were done, we were lead away from the counter to some booths on the side, where we were served hot green tea and a slice of super juicy musk melon. You might be like “melon, whatever!” but I read that melon is Japan is super expensive and that a single melon can go for anywhere between $50 – 400! And, of course, it was really good melon. Only the best for Jiro! As we were eating our dessert we heard another customer ask if they could get their photo taken with Jiro. An apprentice called out to the back and Jiro came out and obliged. So, when we were done, we did the same.

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Funny story – We were lined up Jiro, Dallas, me and Jiro made me switch with Dallas so that I was standing in the middle. He looked back, behind us, to make sure that you could see the sign for the restaurant, and then he signaled for the apprentice to take the photo. Then he bowed and thanked us, we bowed and thanked him. And that was it.

Overall, I would say that Sukiyabashi Jiro lives up to the hype. What a great experience and great meal we had!! Definitely something we will remember for the rest of our lives. Yes, it was very expensive, but when you have a once in a lifetime chance to eat at the best sushi restaurant in the world, you should do it. Even if we ever go back to Japan, chances are that Jiro may not be around. Also, the bill was a little easier to swallow since we flew to Japan using miles, not money! Our meal was way less than two flights to Japan and back would have been. We are definitely grateful for this experience and do not regret it one bit!

Shibuya, Tokyo

Technically, Harajuku, Omotesando, and Meiji Jingu are all in Shibuya, so we were in Shibuya all day, but after visiting each of those places we went to the area around Shibuya station to check out Shibuya Crossing. This is that famous intersection in Tokyo that is featured in a lot of movies like Lost in Translation. This area is CRAZY on the weekends and we were there on a Sunday. It’s like Times Square x 100. When the lights turn, all car traffic stops and pedestrians take over the whole huge intersection. There are 3 huge TV screens and a million ads everywhere. The Starbucks there is the busiest in the world.

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Outside the Hachiko exit at Shibuya Station is a statue of Hachiko, who is a dog. Hachiko used to wait at Shibuya train station for his master, a professor. Even after the professor died in 1925, the dog would go to the station and wait every afternoon. He did this for another 9 years until Hachiko finally died too. The people of Tokyo were so moved, that they built a statue of Hachiko at the station. Today it is a common meeting place.

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Hachiko and Rachelle

We were so tired from walking around all day, that we stumbled into the closest pub to have a seat. Nevermind that it was an Irish pub called Dubliners!

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Dallas was psyched to see they still had Zima, a favorite college drink that has not been available in the United States for years! We met some people and sat and talked for an hour or two until it was time to meet for dinner.

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sake_chris

We met Tandy, Chris, Kai and Kanoa for dinner in Akasaka. The place we planned to go was closed so we walked around a bit and found this kind of yakitori place on like the 3rd floor of a building. It turned out to be a very good choice. We ordered about a million small plates and shared. Chris ordered sake and there was only a bit left in the bottle, so they just gave him the bottle!! It was just a little bit big!

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Also, I took this photo of our waiter. I noticed a lot of service staff in bars and restaurants in Japan use tablets to take orders. Wonder when this will catch on in the US!

Hase-dera Temple in Kamakura

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One of the Japanese gardens at Hase-dera.

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Chris helping Kai with the hand washing ritual.

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Kai, having a little too much fun with the water! 🙂

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Kannon-do Hall

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A view of Kamakura Bay.

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Rachelle & Dallas

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Tandy, Kanoa, Chris & Kai.=

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Inside of a pretty umbrella.

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Dallas photobombing through the bushes, in front of Kyozo Sutra Archive.

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My new love, this ume (plum) drink, was discovered at a vending machine at Hase-dera in Kamakura. Chris told me it was his favorite, so I gave it a try. YUM!!! I was forever on the lookout for the ume drink after this.

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A view as we climbed the hill.

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Kamakura Bay.

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Kamakura Bay.

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View large panoramic of Kamakura Bay.

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This kannon statue was on the walking trail.

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An old stone statue. There were a bunch here.

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These ema are prayer boards, or wish boards. People write down they’re prayers or wishes and hang them up here where the gods will receive them.

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This one was in English….

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…. but there were so many different languages represented.

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More ema.

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Cute!

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Kai.

After our okonomiyaki lunch, we walked up the road to Hase-dera temple. We didn’t spend too much time taking part inside the temple or doing temple rituals. The grounds here are so beautiful, we mostly just walked around. There were a lot of beautiful Japanese gardens with all kinds of peonies growing. The temple is known more for its hydrangea, but it was not the right season. Hase-dera is built along a big hill. The gardens are at the bottom and the buildings are a little farther up. You can climb a trail to the top – I kept telling Dallas there better be monkeys at the top, after all that climbing. When we got to the top, no monkeys. But there was an amazing view of Kamakura Bay, which was pretty cool. I mean, I know Japan is an island, but I never really thought about beaches!

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Jizo-do Hall

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Hase-dera has hundreds of small Jizo statues. I’d venture to say thousands, even. These are left by parents mourning the loss of mizuko, or children lost to miscarriage, stillbirth or abortion. I read that the statues remain in place for about a year before being removed to make space for more statues. They estimate that since WWII, there have been about 50,000 Jizo statues placed at Hase-dera.

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The entrance to Benen-do Hall and Benten-kutusu Cave.

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Dallas in Benten-do Hall.

Hase-dera also has a cave, Benten-kutsu Cave. Inside are a bunch of really old carved statues and the whole place is dimly lit by candlelight. It’s a little bit creepy! Of course, this was one of Kai’s favorite things!

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Leaving Hase-dera. We stopped at Kamakura Gelato before heading home.

Here are some more great photos of Hase-dera that I found online.