Well at least we got Leo’s done right away. (Below) My son and dad are fans, especially of the Coney Island. En route to Detroit from Chicago we stopped for a good breakfast at schoopp’s (way below) 
in Michigan City Indiana, off I 94. (We went there years ago and have never been clear on the right exit.)
Back to Royal Oak – Leo’s (Schoop’s in Michigan city)
Filed under Michigan
Two new (to us) restaurants on Chicago’s Gold Coast
We had some good meals at two restaurants on Chicago’s Gold Coast, off of Division, earlier this week:
- Nico Osterio, on Rush, was a pleasant spot for a reunion with a long-lost cousin. Light Italian fare for lunch. Good salads (tuna raw, kale chopped) and sandwiches (tuna, canned) although some of our party liked our meals more than others. (Yes, I’m talking about you Mike.)
- Eduardo Enoteca, which pleased all. Small rustic interior, sunny front patio on relatively quiet street (Dearborn). We shared lots of small plates (excellent brussel sprouts, with pancetta and caramelized garlic; okay cauliflower, spicy but somehow bland) a thin crust pizza with pancetta and wild mushrooms, cheesier (mozzarella) than expected but still good, springy ramen-like pasta with a light sauce of lemon, pepper, Parmesan and rosemary. I particularly appreciated the bottomless glasses of fresh lemonade on a hot summer day and the four-year-old amongst us enjoyed her lemon ice cream! And I forgot about our chopped salad with raw tuna…so maybe it was forgettable? The menu also included bresaola (a beef version of proscuitto), which I love but didn’t detect similar enthusiasm from my fellow dinners. Next time.
Nearby Eduardo’s
Travel story (by me) in the Des Moines Register – Yamanashi, Japan
Nice to have a story I wrote about our trip to Japan’s Yamanashi prefecture in today’s Des Moines check it out there
Or below:
Iowa farmers’ highlights from trip to sister state Yamanashi
Betsy Rubiner, Special to the Register11:50 a.m. CDT August 2, 2016
(Photo: Betsy Rubiner/Special to the Register)
After jumping at an invitation from Iowa farmers to tag along on a July trip to Japan’s Yamanashi Prefecture, I got even more excited when my guidebook had no mention of Yamanashi. I love traveling off the beaten path.
But Iowans – farmers, students, business leaders, governors – have beaten a path to Yamanashi since the 1960 “Iowa hog lift,” when Iowa donated breeding hogs and feed corn to help the region about 80 miles west of Tokyo recover from a typhoon.
So began the Iowa/Yamanashi sister-state relationship, the first between the United States and Japan. Exchanges of people, agriculture products and kindness have followed. (On the State Capitol grounds in Des Moines, check out the monument sent by Yamanashi residents in 1962.)
Our group from the Iowa Farm Bureau (where my husband works, hence the invite) was warmly welcomed with unusual opportunities, including an agriculture tour through a fertile valley surrounded by mountains, with stops at a peach orchard, rice paddy and grape greenhouse (rebuilt with some Iowa aid after a 2014 snowstorm).
But here are activities available to all:
Experience Mt. Fuji: Catching sight of Japan’s highest peak (12,388 feet) is thrilling – and not guaranteed, we soon learned. Among Japan’s most iconic images, the snow-capped, cone-shaped volcano can be found on everything from famous woodblock prints to hand towels and cookies. The real Mt. Fuji greeted us full frontal, with only a wispy cloud drifting across its mid-section, when we arrived at the Highland Resort Hotel, in the small city of Fujiyoshida, about a 33-mile drive north of the mountain. The next day, Fuji was gone, gobbled up by clouds. “She’s very shy,” explained our charming Japanese guide.
July and August are peak Fuji hiking season, including popular overnight climbs. Although I wasn’t among the Iowa farmers who went on a short, well-reviewed day hike, I joined a mid-mountain visit, arriving by tour bus after an hour’s drive south. Although the “fifth station” parking area was packed with visitors and buses (private cars weren’t allowed), being on Fuji and peering down into its spooky, dense green forest from the visitor area decks was a kick.
Japanese bathing: Yamanashi is a good place to try Japan’s famed communal bath houses, many with water from natural hot springs or onsens, thanks to the area’s volcanic activity. (Fuji hasn’t erupted since the early 1700s.) Yes, this is nude bathing. But there’s one area for women, another for men. (Some onsens offer private rentals for coed bathing.)
A typically American, solo shower gal, I discovered that lounging around in shallow pools of water (indoor, outdoor, hot, tepid, cold, rosemary-infused) is a relaxing way to end a day as a Yamanashi tourist, especially in hot-and-humid July. It’s also a very Japanese experience, with well-defined and obeyed rules that newcomers pick up, sometimes after a mishap or two. (Word to the wise: Wash yourself before entering the pools. And no people with tattoos allowed.)
Peach picking time in Yamanashi: One of Japan’s top fruit-producing regions, Yamanashi’s famous softball-sized, white-fleshed peaches are sold at roadside stands, indoor markets and pick-your-own orchards. (Look, too, for delicious peach ice cream.) We also spotted peaches hanging low from trees, each wrapped in paper. The result: pricey peaches pampered to perfection, rosy and blemish-free on the outside, sweet and juicy inside, sold in expensive Tokyo department store food halls.
Visit a traditional farming village, sort of: To Iowa eyes, Saiko Iyashi no Sato – a recreation of a farming village destroyed by a 1966 typhoon – brings to mind the Des Moines area’s Living History Farms. But this open-air museum/crafts showcase in the woods above one of the Fuji Five Lakes is distinctly Japanese, with traditional thatched roofed houses along winding paths dotted with purple hydrangea. Inside many are shops selling artwork and food, from Mt. Fuji depictions to green tea ice cream. (Yamanashi’s Fujiyama Museum specializes in Fuji art.)
Roller Coaster Riding: I hate roller coasters. But plenty of farmers were game to try the coasters – billed as among the world’s steepest – at Fuji-Q Highland, an amusement park well-known in Japan and located right behind our hotel.
Japanese dining – or not: Familiar restaurants near our hotel include a Big Boy, KFC and McDonald’s. But word has it, the hamburgers were less familiar – bun-less and more like meatloaf with gravy. All the more reason to eat Japanese classic cuisine at our hotel’s restaurants or at Aiya, a chain restaurant with an encyclopedic menu worthy of an Applebee’s, featuring greatest hits such as sushi, tempura, Udon noodles, karaage (chicken nuggets) and tonkatsu (akin to Iowa’s pork tenderloin). Fortunately, Aiya’s menu also has point-to photos, since our Japanese is pathetically limited to words like “arigato” (thank you) and “Ohayo” (good morning). And refreshingly, no one in the restaurant spoke much English.
Betsy Rubiner, based in Des Moines, writes the travel blog TakeBetsywithyou.
Filed under Uncategorized
Sayonara Japan
Kyoto yakatori
I never heard any Japanese people use the word “Sayonara” while we were here but it seems the right word as we sit in Narita Airport, waiting to board a flight home via Minneapolis. (The Japanese guy at the Delta check in machine looked at our final destination DSM and said “I don’t know that one.”)
We had a last walk around Ginza and the Tsukiji Fish Market this morning and had enough time to take the bus rather than the Narita Express train from Tokyo Station. (The bus was 1000 yen/$10 – one third the price of the train and took about a half hour longer. The bus turned out to be faster than advertised (1 hour 15 minutes, with no traffic issues) and in some ways easier than the train. We just stood in line and paid the driver, rather than having to figure out the machines for the train track and navigate Tokyo station in search of our track.
We had four hours to kill at Narita and started by visiting Sushi Go Round, a conveyor belt restaurant where we scarfed down some more tuna shashimi and fried chicken. Nearby is an outdoor observation deck where you can watch the plans come and go so we trudged around in the heat and humidity briefly. Then time to try to spend as much of our yen as possible. We never did find the wasabi Kit Kats we saw in the Yamanashi bus station so settled for green tea Kit Kats and Oreo cookies to give as gifts.
Last night, I met a nice Japanese woman in the bath who was traveling with an American woman from Maine – both are involved in organizing an Andrew Wyeth exhibit. That was fun. Now starting to board. Goodbye Japan. Great trip!!!
Filed under Japan
Sunday in the park with Tokyo
We went to Yoyogi Park this Sunday morning to do some people watching, thinking we’d 
see more Japanese kid culture. Instead we ended up at a Brazilian festival, complete with performances by martial arts dancers and drummers and Brazilian churrasco (grilled meats). Like the Japanese, we went with the flow and it felt like we were in Central Park at times, except for the giant shrine nearby, Meiji Jingu, which was very Japanese and hosted several elegant wedding parties. From there we walked in the general direction of Shibuya, where we encountered more crowds. It’s pretty astonishing how many people there are out and about in this city.
We were not entirely sure which crazy intersection was the famous Shibuya Crossing. Several qualified. Traffic stopped in all four directions while a sea of people crossed the street in all directions, including diagonally. It was crazy to not only watch but join in. The stores didn’t interest us much but it was fun to see more kid fashion trends…including a store of baby doll fashion. (That get up is expensive.)
At about 4 pm we stopped at a chic coffee cafe called 24/7 where people we eating stacks of fluffy pancakes. It didn’t occur to us to eat them any time other than for breakfast but must say they looked delicious. My ice coffee was served in a ceramic soup bowl with a giant block of ice and a little pitchers of milk and simple syrup. Made iced coffee quite exotic. Must try that at home.
Back in our neighborhood near Tokyo station we ended up having tapas for dinner at Zion, a popular place, we noticed, with Japanese people and, it turned out, for good reason. The food was great and we sat at the bar watching the chefs prepare paella and mussels and plates of jambon. Time now for our last bath of the trip. Tomorrow home. It’s time but we loved getting to know Japan!
Filed under Japan
Harajuku craziness, Aoyama class, Andy’s, Omotesandro Dori – Tokyo
Boomeranged back again to Tokyo from the countryside, which has turned out to be a good way to deal with the craziness and rush of this big city (i.e., in small doses).We left our little rustic Fuji Hakone Guesthouse in Hakone and took a slightly out of the way route so we could ride the old narrow gauge mountain train from Gora. It was fun creaking along a narrow track cut into the mountain, lined tightly with purple hydrangea.
After one bus ride, three train and one subway (not as hard as it sounds) we were back at our sleek business hotel in Tokyo, Super Lohas where the lovely female staff greeted us as old friends (this is the third time we have stayed with them during this trip.) After lunch at what turned out to be a Chinese, not Japanese, restaurant near our hotel (we went where diners were. Chinese was a nice change) it was time to brave the crowds and check out the crazy teeny bopper scene in Harajuku on Takesita Dori and beyond.
Takesita dori, HarajukuWalking along Omotesando Dori, we were in the quintessential dense crowd we’ve seen in movie depictions of Tokyo, with clans of kids dressed in all kinds of costumes, from baby dolls to punks. (This is the first place in Japan where I’ve seen tattoos and pierced and trans Japanese.) It was the biggest crowd I’ve ever been part of but everyone seemed to get where they were going and keep moving without crashing into each other. I wonder if people are so orderly here (for example, lining up for various subway cars) because it’s the only way to make a city with this many people function well.
Dinner tonight was at a packed hole-in-the wall tucked underneath the Yamamote train line rail in Ginza called Andy’s. Excellent, affordable, quick service. It was also one of the few places we’ve been that seemed to do it all, rather then specializing in say, sashimi, or yakatori (grilled meat/veg on skewers). We had excellent everything– asparagus, mushrooms, gyoza stuffed chicken wings, fried chicken and garlic prawns (small portions so not too much food….) We walked back to our hotel through Ginza, with all its fancy stores lit up and flashing.
I bought a yukata (the traditional cotton robe we’ve enjoyed at almost every hotel we’ve stayed at here) at the Oriental Bazaar.
We also wandered the narrow streets of Aoysama, an upscale neighborhood of fancy little shops and modern architecture homes that reminded me of London’s Covent Garden (even before we chanced upon a store called Neal’s Yard, an old Covent Garden favorite.)
Filed under Japan
Open-Air Museum, Japan’s Ithaca, Fujiya Hotel, Naraya Cafe – Hakone
We found the Hakone that lived up to the hype today. After a haphazard journey that involved a bus (the wrong one, apparently) and then a train (which turned out to be the famous narrow gauge train through the mountains), we arrived at the Hakone Open-Air Museum in a downpour. Fortunately there were several closed air (indoor) galleries and several fantastic museum shops to explore until the rain finally became mist and then fog and then a few hopeful patches of blue sky that never really panned out.
But we were able to explore the famous sculpture garden for hours. So spectacular, especially with the atmospherics from the fog and mist drifting across the forested mountains and into the valleys. We ended up staying almost four hours there and could have stayed longer. The combination of dramatic contemporary sculpture and gorgeous gardens was stunning. Everywhere we walked, we’d find sculpture and nature complimenting each other. Female bronze nudes popping out of a sea of tall grasses. A bright red circular sculpture in a rock garden pond with orange and white koi swimming around. A grassy hillside dotted with bold sculptures. And this being a hot springs area, there was a long narrow outdoor foot bath for strollers to soak in while admiring some sculpture.
Indoors was a really interesting exhibit of work by a contemporary Japanese artist (Tadanori Yokoo), another interesting permanent Picasso exhibit and a way cool exploratory exhibit on sculpture that included two podiums where you could stand and move around and a sculpture on a video screen would duplicate your position. Amazing.
We left reluctantly and took the train a few stops to Miyanoshita station, which turned out to be another highlight. Wet and hungry (we delayed lunch so we could stay at the Museum), we found an ideal spot – the Naraya Cafe, a charming place that served not only great pizza but we ate it while sitting at a table with our feet in a foot bath underneath the table. That was a first. We sat at an outdoor wooden table on the side of a mountain, with a tarp draped above us to keep out the pouring rain, eating delicious pizza and soaking our feet. Oh happy day! The cafe was all wood and bonsai plants and gorgeous crafts. Reminded me of a place you’d maybe find in Big Sur.
Miyanoshita is the home of the famous old Fujiya Hotel, where we peeked into the gorgeous wood carved dining room, wandered around the gardens and the old-fashioned swimming pool, and stocked up on some breakfast food at the hotel’s bakery. We also did a little walk on a narrow path in the woods, high above waterfalls and a ravine that reminded me of my beloved Ithaca.
Tonight, we had a good Japanese meal at a little place near our guest house called Hanasai and ended up chatting with a mom and her two teenage kids from the Netherlands. Also chatted with people today from Seoul and Kobe. Great day.
Filed under Japan, museum exhibit, THE ARTS
Back to the futon at a Japanese guesthouse – Hakone
We’re not in Tokyo anymore….The Fuji Hakone Guesthouse is in a lovely secluded spot in dense woods on the side of a mountain in the hot springs resort area of Hakone, about a 2.5 hour trip from the frenetic Tokyo Station this morning, by various forms of public transportation including a subway, train and bus.
Now if I could just find a comfortable place to sit. Our room is traditional Japanese-style with two futons on tatami mats and a low wood table with pillows as seats. So I’ve doubled up the pillows and wedged myself against the wall for back support. Our sliding wood and paper screen window is open to a view of the woods and a mountain in the distance. We can hear wind or is it rushing water? And birds, frogs and crickets. (I’m guessing here.)
I’ve had onsen bath #1 – the small private indoor bath. Dirck and I booked the private outdoor bath fo,a half hour this evening. ( When in Rome…) I’ve never taken so many baths in my life and have grown to look forward to them after long days as a tourist trudging around in the heat and sometimes rain. The small bath here was very hot and the water was cloudy, I’m assuming with sulfur but it didn’t smell bad.
We went to a small Japanese restaurant nearby for a bowl of udon with tofu for me and soba and tempura for Dirck. Then we took the cable car. Unfortunately the ropeway (which we are guessing is a chairlift or gondola ) was closed but will be open tomorrow. We’ll take the area’s famous narrow gauge train part of the way home back to Tokyo on Saturday.
I am glad we opted to get the Hakone free pass at Shinjuko station in Tokyo which covers all our transportation to and from Tokyo and while we are here. It’s great not to have to pay for all the bits and bobs of public transportation we are using.
Filed under Japan
Ginza, hole-in-wall ramen, moving feast – back to Tokyo
The farmers stayed later than planned in Yamanashi (many wanted to try the roller coaster behind our hotel) so we went back to Tokyo on our own, finding an incredibly convenient and on-schedule bus that went directly to Tokyo Station from the bus station smack dab next to our hotel. Much easier than expected.
Two hours later we were back at the Super Lohas hotel and soon after, having the classic experience of getting lost in Tokyo. But with time, we found our way to fancy Ginza, a 20-minute walk from our hotel, once we figured out where we were and needed to go. We managed to find a popular, hole-in-the-wall restaurant called Andy’s (a Brit named Andy who married into a restaurant family here) but it was only open for dinner. Not to worry. We found another hole-in-the wall place, ban-nae, underneath the Yamamote subway line (It was kind of eerie when the train rumbled above the ceiling we sat under) that had fantastic pork ramen, gyoza and edamame. There was a reason the place was packed with solo Japanese diners. The restaurant staff didn’t speak much English but were very kind and even walked us over to Andy’s, a few doors down (where we met Andy and reserved a table for Saturday night).
On to the two grand department stores, Matsuya and Mitsukoshi, where we toured the food halls in the basement and saw all kinds of amazing stuff, including square watermelon, very expensive cantaloupe and waygu beef and Yamanashi peaches selling for about $8 a piece. We also managed to find an famous old coffee shop Cafe de L’Ambre, a kissaten/coffee shop that serves only coffee and unusual coffee at that. I had a #7 hot and cold coffee with a meticulously poured layer of sweet milk on top, served in a shallow wine glass. (“Don’t stir,” I was instructed)
Tonight we had a lot of fun at Nemuro Hanamaru, in the 5th floor of the Kitte building on the elegant side of Tokyo Station– a “conveyor belt restaurant” where different dishes (mostly sushi but also some great fried chicken/karaage and odd stuff like grape juice, tiramisu and French fries) glided by on a moving belt while we sat, at the counter.
A nice young guy and his 13-year-old son (in photo above) sat next to us and helped us figure out how to do various things and even insisted on buying us a plate of tuna sushi. People here have been so incredibly nice. In Tokyo Station, no fewer than four people asked today if we needed help. And we did. And they helped. (I’ve learned it pays to ask even when you think you know what you are doing because often you don’t. Or the people offering to help have a better idea!) I love this country!
Filed under Japan
Mt Fuji day – Fujiyoshida City (Yamanashi)
Finally figured out what city we’re in. I knew the Prefecture (Yamanashi) but not the city. It’s Fujiyoshida and appears to be dominated by this hotel, the amusement park behind it and a commercial strip with restaurants, some with familiar names (McDonald’s, Big Boy, KFC,) but the good is different than the starts. Word has it the burgers at Big Boy were more like meatloaf with gravy. We stuck with Japanese food and went to Aiya, which we decided was the Applebee’s of Japan, a chain restaurant with serviceable fare – we had sashimi, tempura, tonkatsu (breaded pork cutlet) etc. We were the only westerners there (for awhile) and it was a useful experience to be in a place that didn’t cater to tourists (i.e., no English menu or English spoken). We sat next to a couple and their elderly mother who ordered a lot of food. (The woman started with an ice cream sundae.)
Today we went to Saiko lyashi no Sarto, a reconstructed ancient village with thatched roofed wood houses climbing up a thickly vegetated hillside lined with purple and pink hydrangea. We’d already had a taste of this environment in Kyoto and it reminded us a bit of Living History Farms in Des Moines but it was a pretty place to stroll and Mt Fuji peaked out from the clouds now and then.
After a good lunch at the Japanese restaurant in the hotel, we drove on the bus about 45 minutes to station 5 of Mt. Fuji, so we were actually on the mountain. Clouds broke up the view below but we could see most of the peak — dark brown earth with patches of green. Lovely. Just back from the onsen (bath house) feeling refreshed. On to the last banquet.
Filed under Japan
TakeBetsywithyou 