Japan

We booked the trip for the first two weeks of March, in part because the flights were remarkably cheaper in early March vs later, and we'd also read that there is a lot more internal tourism during the cherry blossom season in later March. We decided to forego seeing cherry blossoms to travel in the lower peak time (and it turns out we saw a few early blossoms anyhow). The exchange rate is currently very favorable (151 Yen to USD), so that was an added bonus. We rented a wifi hotspot for $85, which was shipped to Sara and Todd's place, and we dropped it in the mailbox at the airport when we departed. It was small and easy to use, and it kept us connected throughout the trip so we didn't need to pay for an international cell plan. The only drawback was we couldn't communicate with each other if we separated. Prior to travel, I'd downloaded digital Icoca IC cards to our Apple Wallets, and we were able to take most subways, trains and buses throughout Japan by swiping our phones and could refill from our credit cards with a click. We also got Yen in cash in advance, which we did need at some temples, street food vendors and ramen shops.

We were grateful for the direct Delta flight from MSP to Tokyo (Haneda), which was smooth despite being 12.5 hours. We then caught a 3 hour flight to Okinawa, where Sara and Todd picked us up. They're living in Okinawa for 2 years (through Oct 2024) and have a lovely place looking right out at the ocean where we enjoyed 2 days/3 nights with them. It was warm and humid, and we strolled on the seawall. We took a humpback whale watching excursion along with some of Sara's coworkers. The seas were rough, and many people on the boat were sick. Thankfully we all took Dramamine before getting on the boat, but we still felt a bit green. We had some great meals together and they took us for a tour of the military base and the big commissary store. We went to a platform built for watching the planes takeoff and land from Kadena Air Force base. We always build in coffee breaks, and I discovered Starbucks had a seasonal sakura latte that was faintly cherry flavored but not too sweet- this became a favorite throughout the trip.

View from Sara and Todd's bedroom

Whale watching

Whale watching

Out for dinner- including complimentary poisonous snake-infused liquor shots

Catching up with Quinn

We took a 2 hour flight from Okinawa to Osaka (3 nights). Here was our first opportunity to start figuring out the subway system. Google Maps is the hero- it helped us navigate anywhere, including telling us which car to get into to expedite getting to which exit to take from the station. In Osaka, we went to a world-class aquarium that had whale sharks. We visited Osaka Castle, the Osaka Museum of History, and spent some time in the Dotonbori area ("crazy town" as our friend Dawn calls it). We discovered the restorative properties of ramen and ate sushi twice- once in a "revolving" conveyer belt restaurant and once in a place that had locals waiting in long lines for sushi made right in front of us. Our hotel (Dormy Inn) had a floor devoted to onsen facilities where we enjoyed a soak each evening. A highlight was a 30 min reserved visit to a mini pig café. At one point Andy had 9 pigs on his lap.

Our first of many bowls of ramen

Coffee break at Marufuku

Osaka Aquarium

Whale shark

Osaka Castle- great views from the top

Mini pig café

Mini pig café

Dotonbori

Sakae Sushi

Okonomiyaki at Chibo

We took a train to Nara, about 28 km away, for a day trip. We saw the Todai-ji Buddhist temple, housing the world's largest bronze statue of the Buddha. We fed the deer in the park, then walked to the Katsuga Shrine. We took another train to the Horyu-ji shrine, the oldest wooden structure in the world and Japan's first UNESCO site.

Todai-ji

Todai-ji

Todai-ji

Katsuga

Feeding rye crackers to the deer

Horyu-ji

We took the shinkansen (bullet train) to Kyoto, where we stayed 2 nights.

Fushimi Inari Shrine, with 10,000 tori gates

Yasaka pagoda

Starbucks

Early blossoms!

Bamboo garden at the Kodai-ji temple

Kiyomizu-dera temple

Heian Shrine gardens

Heian Shrine

The great eating continued. The "Jamaican" ramen place was a little weird, but Andy loved the Kobe and Wagu beef and fresh strawberries.

Our hotel breakfast buffet included tiny servings of dessert. The matcha pudding was divine

Niyama Teppanyaki restaurant

Niyama Teppanyaki restaurant

Strawberry parfait at Arrow Tree

We took another shinkansen from Kyoto to Odawara, then a train to Hakone where we'd booked one night at a ryokan, the Airu.

Using Google Translate to understand all of the choices available for coffee prior to getting on the train

Mount Fuji as seen from the bullet train

We took a switchbacking train, funicular, and cable car up into the mountains, then the magic abruptly ended when one of the sections of cable car was down for maintenance and it took us 2 hours to get back to town by crowded bus.

View of Mount Fuji from cable car in Hakone

Fortunately, our nerves were soon soothed when we checked in at the Airu and were given a cocktail then escorted to our room and advised to put on the provided yukatas and soak in our own private balcony onsen overlooking a mountain and wait until they called us to dinner.

Balcony stone onsen, overlooking a mountain

Figuring out the provided socks

For dinner, we were escorted (wearing our yukatas and socks) to our own little dining room, where a very attentive waiter served us an elaborate meal, including grilling our own wagu beef.

Our dinner menu

During dinner, the staff set up futons in our room, and after another onsen soak I succumbed to a temporary food coma. Andy roused me to go check out the bar, which was filled with aquariums. The bartender turned out to be hilarious, and we had a conversation using the translator app on his phone. When he learned that Andy enjoyed whisky, he kept plying him with free tastes of various Japanese whiskeys, and saying "don't tell the front desk."

Food coma

Conversing with the bartender

We slept well on those futons, and then it was time for breakfast. I'd ordered the Japanese breakfast and Andy the Western. My breakfast included 15 different dishes.

Breakfast

Sadly, our magical ryokan visit came to an end. We wheeled our luggage to the Hakone train station to figure out how to get to Tokyo. It wasn't hard, as there was an express Romancecar train leaving in 10 min (again, the public transportation was unbelievable- we never waited more than 15 min, to go somewhere, ever).

Arriving in Tokyo, we found our way to the Godzilla hotel (2 nights) in Shinjuku. We took in the views from the top of the Tokyo Metropolitan building, walked to the Meiji-jinju shrine, and went to the Tokyo National Museum. We went to see the Godzilla movie, in Japanese, in an Imax theater. Despite the theater being filled, it was completely silent during the previews, film, and the entire credits before everyone stood up and silently exited.

Godzilla hotel in Shinjuku

Inside Godzilla hotel

A coffee flight at Starbucks Reserve

Shopping on Kappabashi Street- filled with shops of kitchen wares

Another early blossom find

Views from the Tokyo Metropolitan Building 

The interactive and digital art installations at TeamLab Planets were really cool. We spent an hour at a Maid Cafe, which was quite silly, and saw the "Samurai Restaurant Time" show with dancers riding robots.

TeamLab- digitally projected interactive koi

TeamLab- hanging orchids

Maidreamin Café 

Maidreamin Café 

Samurai Restaurant Time

The last full day of the trip was dedicated to Disney Seas, and we transferred to the Disney Ambassador Hotel (2 nights) the evening before. We had a wonderful day in the park. The lines for rides are quite long (2-3 hours) and we did the best we could with limited free and for-purchase priority status on the app, and enjoyed the shows, meals and a drink at the Theodore Roosevelt bar. The people-watching was fascinating. The park visitors were about 80% young female, many in groups wearing the same outfits and sporting the same Disney merch (Minnie the clear fan-favorite). The park put on an amazing 35- min evening show in the bay, and when the show reached a roaring conclusion, there was no sound from the crowds of thousands.

On the day we flew home, we got a 5th and final serving of ramen in the Haneda airport. Andy was so inspired, he researched recipes and made ramen for us the 2nd day we were home. It was delicious.

Andy's homemade ramen

Updating the Living Room

Final results

When we bought the house in 2006, the sellers offered to include a lot of their furniture as they were downsizing. This served us well, as it helped us keep initial costs down and do updates over time. They also had quality furniture that continued to last. The first change we made in the living room was replacing the inefficient brass gas fireplace in Dec 2007. 

Former fireplace, replaced in 2007

I sewed customized window treatments for all of the windows in the house. We replaced the former owner's red plaid sofas in 2008. 

Former owner's sofas. Note the banister behind

New sofas in 2008

In the summer of 2011, we did an entire kitchen remodel, and removed the decorative railing and slightly decreased the living room area with a corner bar and new cabinets as well as creating more room for the casual dining area. We also took down the decorative ceiling beams, sheet rocked a new ceiling over the popcorn and installed new canister lighting throughout, including spotlights over the mantle. 

During the 2011 remodel

We hired a carpenter to build a new mantel and bookcases in Aug 2022, after being in his queue for 9 months. We had him enlarge the area for the TV and raise the mantel a bit. He stained the mantel and the cabinet tops the same stain as our kitchen cabinets. The painters finished the cabinets in Nov 2022. 

Bookcases and mantel before 

New bookcases, cabinets and mantel

We had new carpet installed in May 2023. 

During carpet replacement. Old on left, new on right

Our 15 year-old sofas were starting to sag and creak, so we bought new sofas in Nov 2023, and they were delivered in Feb 2024. We looked for new end tables and a coffee table to replace what we inherited from the former owners but we really didn't like the options we were seeing. Besides- we know this coffee table is built well and can hold at least 4 dancers.

Mardi Gras party 2018. Fun was had

New sofas Feb 2024. I made the throw pillows a number of years ago

Appliance Maintenance

The dead of winter is a good time to perform basic appliance maintenance. The coffee pot and espresso maker need to be cleaned and maintained- Andy does that.

Oven

Clean racks, then remove them (don't run oven racks through the self-oven cleaning cycle as it ultimately degrades the finish on them). Wipe out the bottom of the oven then run the cycle. A standard cycle is 5 hours, the low cycle is 3 hours which has always seemed to be sufficient.

Ready for a low cleaning cycle

Vent hood

Slide the cover underneath the hood towards you, then unlatch the fan cover box. Clean both covers in hot soapy water. Clean the underside of the hood using spray kitchen cleaner- this is an awkward reach.

Clean grease in  cover

Cleaned cover reinstalled

Fridge

Our current LG fridge's coils are covered and in the back of the unit with no access to pull it away from the wall, so we haven't cleaned them. I do vacuum under the fridge using a long tube attachment to limit the dog hair. I've had to defrost the bottom freezer- that's a yucky job. Change out the water filter about once/year.

Tube vacuum attachment

Dishwasher

Unscrew and clean the basket in the bottom periodically. Run a cycle with dishwasher cleaner a couple of times a year and clean the gaskets well.

Drains and disposal

Pour 1/4 c baking soda down the drain followed by 1/4 c vinegar. Let sit for 30 min, then follow up with a pot of hot/boiling water. If we're noticing real drain slowing, we've used drain enzyme cleaner. There are cleaners that can be used for the disposal.

Washing machine

Clean the drain in front by twisting the cap out of the drain tube and letting the tube drain into a bucket. This takes a while. Once the flow was stopped, unscrew the drain cap and clean out the drain, as well as clean off the scum that accumulates on the drain cap. Reassemble. Occasionally run a cycle with washing machine cleaner. I hear that some front-load washers can start to smell funky. Ours has been good, I think for 3 main reasons:

• Our Bloomington water supply is good quality and not hard
• I don't use as much detergent as encouraged by detergent manufacturers- maybe half, and I stick with Tide powder so it doesn't really build up
• I keep the washer door open between loads so it can dry out and breathe

Empty drain hose into a bucket. This takes a while

Unscrew the drain cap and clean the slime that accumulates

Dryer

Clean the vent filter with every load. Once a year, get the long-handled bristle and clean the exterior vent outlet and into the vent hose.

Hot water heater

Test the relief valve by draining a bit of water. Next time use a collecting vessel that can be pulled out from under the pipe without tipping water onto the floor. Connect a short hose to the bottom drain valve and drain a few quarts to clear sediments that collect at the bottom.

Relief valve

Draining relief valve

Draining sediments

Humidifier

Turn the water supply off in the spring and on again in the fall. Sometimes gross stuff grows at the end of the drain pipe, due to the filter sediments, etc. Clean this up and spray the hose with bleach water. Replace the filter pad annually.

Yuck!!

Gas Fireplace

Turn off the pilot light in the spring to save gas. Push in the control knob and turn to off, then turn gas valve perpendicular to the line.

Off

In the fall, open the gas line (parallel), then depress button and turn so the pilot indicator is to the left. Keep button depressed for a few seconds then press the ignitor button. Once lit, push button and turn to the "on" position.

On

Defrosting the Upright Freezer

Do this in the winter, when the food can stay cold on the porch. Unplug and empty the freezer. Set up the box fan on a chair in front of it and put pans of hot water on the shelves. It takes a lot of old towels to mop up the melted ice. With the ice build up shown here, it took about 3 hours total to defrost.

Before defrosting

During defrosting

Spaetzle

After being reminded how much I loved spaetzle both at Oktoberfest in New Ulm and at a German restaurant in Palm Springs with friends, I asked for a spaetzle maker for Christmas. A 1/3 batch of the recipe on the maker's label was delicious and a generous amount for two people.

Spaetzle 

(Serves 2)

• 1 egg
• 1/3 c milk
• 1 c flour
• scant 1/4 tsp salt
• couple dashes nutmeg

Using paddle, beat egg until foamy, then beat in milk, then dry ingredients, a little at a time. The dough will be stiff and elastic. Use the spaetzle maker to press into boiling water and allow to boil 2-3 min. Strain the cooked floating dumplings out of the water and top with butter and freshly cracked pepper.

Vegetarian Sushi

Grandma rolling sushi

Rolling your own sushi is a fun, if a bit messy.

Sushi Rice

2  c sushi-grade short grain rice

2 c plus 2-4 tbsp water (more if very dry/in the winter)

1/3 c rice wine vinegar

2 Tbsp sugar

1/2 tsp salt

Rinse rice well, then cook on the regular cycle in the rice cooker. Remove to a large bowl or cookie sheet and fluff with a paddle. Allow to cool (you can periodically fan the rice). Mix vinegar, sugar and salt, and gradually sprinkle over the rice and lightly mix (don't stir). Wait until cool to the touch before using. Don't refrigerate.

Dynamite Sauce

1/4 c mayo

1 tsp to 1 Tbsp Sriracha hot sauce (to taste)

Stir to combine.

Quick pickled carrot and daikon

5 oz daikon

4 oz carrot

1/2 c water

1/2 c apple cider vinegar

1/3 c sugar

pinch salt

Julienne daikon and carrot using a julienne peeler. Combine vinegar, water and sugar in a saucepan and heat until sugar dissolves. Allow to cool, then add to vegetables.

Other ingredients:

Nori wrappers

Pickled ginger

Soy sauce

Wasabi (in the tube is better than preparing from dried which is what we did this time)

Avocado

English cucumber

Furikake seasoning

Green onions

Will trying out the Sushezi extruder

Quick Sourdough Crumpets

Halving this King Arthur Flour crumpet recipe makes 2 crumpets- they're quick and go well with soup.

• 1/2 c unfed sourdough starter
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 1/8 to 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp plus a pinch of baking soda

Preheat griddle to 300 and grease it. Grease the 2 circular molds. Divide batter into the molds on the griddle and cook 5 min, then remove rings and flip, cooking another 4-5 min until golden brown.

This one was cooked in a cast iron skillet with a good film of oil