September 02, 2012
Bachelor Chow: Cheapass Japan Tourist Version
This is not a travel suggestion.
So I picked up several cup o' noodles type ramen cups from a Lawson 100. I knew I'd be schlepping around the apartment for several days while my ankle healed. One thing I did NOT have was a pot or teakettle, but this was of no concern to me because there was a microwave in both the communal kitchens back at the maison.
However, upon putting the cup in the microwave I discovered that I had not stared at the hieroglyphics on the side of the cup long enough. You see, in Japan, Nissins' noodle cups are foil lined, resulting in an electrical storm in the microwave.
I didn't want to buy a 30 dollar pot to cook 7 noodle cups over 18 days, so I improvised. Fortunately, I'd also decided to try out the Japanese equivalent to Jiffy-Pop.
This left me with a flimsy aluminum pan on which I was able to fashion into a spout and voila...
So I picked up several cup o' noodles type ramen cups from a Lawson 100. I knew I'd be schlepping around the apartment for several days while my ankle healed. One thing I did NOT have was a pot or teakettle, but this was of no concern to me because there was a microwave in both the communal kitchens back at the maison.
However, upon putting the cup in the microwave I discovered that I had not stared at the hieroglyphics on the side of the cup long enough. You see, in Japan, Nissins' noodle cups are foil lined, resulting in an electrical storm in the microwave.
I didn't want to buy a 30 dollar pot to cook 7 noodle cups over 18 days, so I improvised. Fortunately, I'd also decided to try out the Japanese equivalent to Jiffy-Pop.
Note the paper handle cover, a major technology improvement over the bare scaldy wire of the Jiffy-Pop pan
I'm pretty sure this is not healthy for the long term and I wouldn't use the pan for frying or anything, but for boiling water it worked fine.
Posted by: The Brickmuppet at
12:05 PM
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Post contains 217 words, total size 2 kb.
September 01, 2012
A Log Cabin in Tokyo
The Maison I was staying in was was only 7 kilometers outside of Ikebukaro. I decided one evening that rather than taking the train in I'd hoof it. In addition to any cool sights on the way in, this would give me my bearings in case I ever missed the last train in the evening, 3 miles is only a short walk if you know where you are going.
To my great dismay, despite walking all the way there, I saw no headless motorcyclists, flying vending machines, Black Russian sushi chefs, sword wielding meganekos, teeny-boppers wearing the wrong heads or technicolor gangbangers. But I did amble across a log cabin deep in the wilds of Tokyo.
The interior is decorated in early log, with a few cigar store Indians for good measure.
...and there were awesome steaks to be had for 2500 yen. Heavily peppered, marinated, and, inexplicably, buttered (!?). After debuttering it was perfect.
To my great dismay, despite walking all the way there, I saw no headless motorcyclists, flying vending machines, Black Russian sushi chefs, sword wielding meganekos, teeny-boppers wearing the wrong heads or technicolor gangbangers. But I did amble across a log cabin deep in the wilds of Tokyo.
The interior is decorated in early log, with a few cigar store Indians for good measure.
Posted by: The Brickmuppet at
05:15 PM
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Post contains 160 words, total size 1 kb.
Less Than 2 Weeks
That's how long it took these shoes I bought just before the trip to have their heels degenerate into this....
Which is why there is frequent mention of my feet in the posts on my recent Japan trip.
It's worse than that. The first week I did very little walking because I had a sprained ankle, so the shoes wore out in a remarkably short time. Now, it's true that there were days that I walked 14 miles or more but by the second weekend this had started to happen. The shoes left blood blisters on my heels which I shan't post here out of respect for my audience. Walking the last week was exceedingly painful, but unlike the sprain, bruises and blisters don't threaten long term debilitation, so I was able to hobble about with three pairs of socks to keep the trip from being a bust.
Shorter version of this post:
Spot Bilt sneakers: Don't buy them.
Which is why there is frequent mention of my feet in the posts on my recent Japan trip.
It's worse than that. The first week I did very little walking because I had a sprained ankle, so the shoes wore out in a remarkably short time. Now, it's true that there were days that I walked 14 miles or more but by the second weekend this had started to happen. The shoes left blood blisters on my heels which I shan't post here out of respect for my audience. Walking the last week was exceedingly painful, but unlike the sprain, bruises and blisters don't threaten long term debilitation, so I was able to hobble about with three pairs of socks to keep the trip from being a bust.
Shorter version of this post:
Spot Bilt sneakers: Don't buy them.
Posted by: The Brickmuppet at
04:44 PM
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Post contains 163 words, total size 1 kb.
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