Yokohama's Cup of Noodle Museum

I went to Yokohama's Cup of Noodle Museum with my friends while I was in Japan this winter. I had actually walked by the museum many times without ever noticing it before! The sign on the side of the building is pretty small.

We arrived around 4:30pm and barely made it before they closed! Actually the only reason we were even allowed in was because I was a foreigner. My friend, Akane, asked if they could make an exception since I had came from America. The people behind the counter discussed it and decided to let us buy our tickets and let us in, thankfully! However, I saw that they turned away Japanese customers right after us and I felt bad...

The entrance fee into the museum cost only 500yen.

When you first go up the stairs into the museum you are surrounded by a display full of hundreds of Cup of Noodle packages with varying flavors and types. There are three walls in chronological order displaying every Cup of Noodle ever created. I was surprised by how many there are!

After the display, there is a small trick art room, followed by information on the history of the company written on the walls. The theme of "not giving up" and "thinking outside the box" to discover new things is receptively expressed.

After we looked around the "creative thinking" rooms for a bit we went to the main attraction—the factory room where you can make your own Cup of Noodles! You are allowed to purchase an empty container for 300 yen. You then are seated at a table where you are given markers so that you can decorate your package. My friends drew some really cute drawings on their's!

After you decorate your package, you stand in line to add the ingredients inside and seal your box. First the employee puts the dried noodles into your box and places it on a machine. You are asked to turn the wheel and the noodles are pushed firmly into the box. After the noodles are inside you are asked to pick from one of the four soup options. Next you are asked which four (out of 12) toppings you would like to add. I believe I chose chicken, peas, corn, and cheese. Your package with the ingredients inside is then put in another machine where the lid is sealed. Once the lid is sealed, your package is put inside a plastic wrapper and is then placed on a conveyer belt. It then goes through a machine that heats the plastic so that it forms to the shape of the Cup of Noodle box. Your own Cup of Noodles is finished! You can also make a carrying case for it afterwards.

I had a lot of fun at the museum with my friends. I hadn't really been interested in going before, but this time I wanted to see what it was all about! The museum was a fun and unique experience. I would like to take my friends or family there in the future if they visited me in Japan. Plus you get a unique souvenir!

You can find more information about the museum on their official website:http://www.cupnoodles-museum.jp/index.html

ペンギンのいるバー Ikebukuro's Penguin Bar

I recently went to Japan again in December to visit my boyfriend for Christmas and New Year's. I had a great time and was so sad to leave.

I had wanted to go to the Penguin Bar in Ikebukuro the year before when I studied abroad and this time I had the opportunity to go! It wasn't as "fancy" as I had expected. But you did have to make reservations in advance. My boyfriend handled that and choose a time during 1 of the 2 penguin feeding times (about 7pm).

My boyfriend, our two friends, and I were seated at a table and were given warm napkins folded into Penguin shapes. They were very cute and I almost didn't want to take it apart to use!

While you can get a set course, we decided against that and just ordered the food we wanted. In the end it was still about 3000 yen ($26) each almost the same price as the course menus.

We all ordered our drinks and then ordered 2 dishes to share amongst the four of us. We got a pizza, a beef dish, and a veggie plater that had a delicious heated sauce to dip the veggies into. The carrots were cut to be penguin shaped. We later also ordered spaghetti since we were still hungry. The dishes were all a little small for four people to share, but probably 1-2 dishes would and been enough food for 2 people.

After we finished eating it was feeding time! We were sited in the front of the restaurant and thus the farthest away from the penguin tank. They would ask a few tables at a time to get up and get in line to feed the penguins. We were one of the last groups to feed the penguins. When I reached the front of the line, there was a lady with a bucket of fish who handed you tongs and told you (in Japanese) to grab the fish by the tail and feed it to the penguin. My boyfriend snapped a photo of me feeding the penguin. I held onto the fish longer than my companions did. Their fish were gobbled up before they could blink! After we fed the penguins we went back to our seats.

The Penguin Bar was fun and an interesting experience. The food was pretty good and about the expected quality of most izakaya (Japanese bars). I did feel the penguins were in a small tank and I thought the glass was extremely dirty. But maybe they are moved to a bigger tank when the restaurant closes and the glass is cleaned every night. While I hope that, I can't say I expect that since I have heard many bad things about animal rights in Japan...

The official website of the penguin bar can be found here http://www.penginbar.jp. 

フルーツサラダのレシピ

これは私の家族のクリスマスデザートです。毎年のクリスマスとサンクスギビングに作って食べます。日本にCool Whipを買わないから、ココナツのホイップクリームを使いました。

This is a dessert my family always makes for Christmas and Thanksgiving. Usually I use Cool Whip but Cool Whip is not sold in Japan, so I substituted it with coconut whip cream. This also makes it Vegan.:)

フルーツサラダの作り方

How to Make Fruit Salad

材料：

・バナナ２つ

・大きいリンゴ１つ

・みかん３つ

・クルミ

　・ココナツ

・フルーツカクテル

・砂糖

・バニラエッセンス

・ココナツミルク1缶(ココナツのホイップクリーム作り用

Ingredients:

-2 Bananas

-1 Big Apple or 2 small apples

-3 Cuties or 1 big orange

-Hand full of walnuts

-Shredded coconut

-Fruit Cocktail

-Sugar

-Vanilla extract

-Cool Whip and Sugar OR Coconut milk to make Coconut Whip Cream

リンゴ、みかん、クルミを小さく切って。

Cut the apple(s), orange(s), and walnuts into small pieces.

ボウルに入れて。

Put everything into the bowl.

それに、フルーツカクテルも入れて。甘いほう好きなら、砂糖も入れて。

Then add the fruit cocktail. If you want it sweet, add some sugar.

1.5個のバナナを切って。

Cut up 1 banana and half of the other. Save the other half for decoration.

バナナとココナツを入れて。

Add the banana and the coconut. 

混ぜて。

Mix everything together.

最後に、ココナツミルクも入れて、全部混ぜます。デコレーションのため、フルーツサラダの上にバナナを乗っけます。

Finally add the cool whip (or coconut whip cream) and mix everything together. Use the rest of the banana to decorate the fruit salad.

ココナツのホイップクリームを作る方法

１．ココナツミルクの缶は一日間冷やかす。
２．ミルクはすぐクリーミーになりやすいので、もうクリーミーになった方だけを取って、冷たいボウルに移します。
3. それが終わったら、砂糖１テーブルスプーンとバニラエッセンス１テーブルスプーンを加えます。
4.最後にふわふわになるまで混ぜてください。

How to Make the Coconut Whip Cream

1. Chill 1-2 cans of Coconut milk for a day.

2. The milk should had became harder and creamy. Use the non-liquid part and put it in a chilled bowl.
3. Add a tablespoon of sugar and a tablespoon of vanilla extract.
4. Mix Everything until it is fluffy.

Maid Cafe: @home

Maid Cafes are very unique to Japan and thus embody many aspects of Japanese culture. They indulge the obsession with the kawaii or cute and reflect the idea of amae or the idea of wanting to be taken care of by another.

 Prior to experiencing a maid café, many people have the impression that they are a place that overly sexualizes young girls and that they are essentially a “dirty” place—a place where only creepy Otaku or sexually frustrated men gather. However, this is not the case. Maid Cafes are not sexy; they are overly CUTE and thus highlight Japan’s obsession with the kawaii.

At the maid café I went to, @home, all the girls wear plush toys clipped onto their aprons, hair accessories, and fake eyelashes and circle lenses to enlarge their eyes. All these elements help to make them kawaii. Even the food, drinks, and desserts that are served at the cafe are cute. The desserts are pink and pastel colors and are made of marshmallows, chocolate hearts, ice cream, cake, and even cotton candy. If guests order a latte the maids will draw the guests’ favorite animal in his or her’s drink and if they order a special drink they have to chant childish words such as  “nya nya” and “moe moe” with the maids. At the end of the experience, (if the guest ordered a meal set) guests can take a photograph with his or her favorite maid. For the photo, they get to choose what type of animal ears they want to wear, such as bunny ears, cat ears, giraffe ears, and then they make a cute-some-what “girly” pose and take the photo. The guests are given the photo in a small frame and a letter from the maids after they pay the bill.

Another aspect of Japanese culture that is found within the maid cafes is the idea of amae or indulgence dependency. It is a unique part of Japanese culture where there is the need or desire for someone else such as one’s mother, wife, or subordinate to indulge or help a person with tasks. By indulging another, that person is displaying their love. This aspect is rooted in the unique Japanese mother-child relationship and that continues throughout a Japanese person’s life both in school and in the workplace. Maid Cafes embody this idea for the guest is the “master” (or “princess”) and thus gets indulged by the maids. The maids entertain their guests by playing cute games with them, by chitchatting with them, by serving them food and drinks, and by complimenting them. Thus by taking care of the guest, the maids make them feel loved and appreciated, continuing the idea of amae.

Japanese culture is filled with many elements that make it unique such as the obsession with the kawaii and the need for indulgence.  Even its pop culture and niche areas of interests such as Maid Cafes reflect these aspects of life in Japan. Maid cafes, while usually thought of as “sexy” by foreigners, are in actuality a reflection of Japan’s love for all things cute and for the Japanese desire to be indulged by others.

I really enjoyed my experience at the maid cafe I went to. While the desserts weren't great, it was still fun and an exciting new experience to try. We requested an English speaking maid since a lot of my classmates just had began their Japanese studies. Our maid actually had lived in the city where I came from in California! It was quite the coincidence!

While, there were obviously men in the cafe who frequent maid cafes often (they had a while photo album of photos with the maids), there was also an abundance of Japanese people coming in to check it for the first time.

You are not allowed to take photos of the maids, but I do have photos of the desserts to share!

Cat Cafe

Jessica and I went to the local Neko Café in Kawagoe and had a fun time petting and running after the kitties. The first thing we were asked when we entered the café was if we could speak Japanese and then we were told the rules of the café. You are not allowed to pick up the cats or hug them and you must take off your shoes and leave all unnecessary items such as your purse or bag in a locker. Bringing a camera, cell phone, notebook, book, pencil, etc is fine, however. Before entering and handling the cats, you also must wash your hands. The café cost 1000yen for an hour and a drink in a pet bottle such as milk tea, Fanta, Coca Cola, or water. Every 15 minutes after the hour was an additional 200yen, but three hours only cost 2000yen. Still I thought it was a little expensive, but it was a fun experience that you can only do in Japan, and thus was worth it for the first time. At the end of the hour, I was given a reward card to cash in after the 15th visit. The front of the card featured a photo of my chosen favorite cat on it.

The “café” room was more spacious than I expected and only one man besides us was in the café. I assume that during the weekend or after school hours, the place becomes more crowded with people. For being a place where many cats live, I didn’t smell any “cat-like” smells at all. It was very clean. There was only one table so it wasn’t really a “café;” but more like a lounge. Cushions and beanbags were scattered about on the floor and there were play areas for the cats to rest in or run through. The café also featured a good variety of manga to read, a few (mostly foreign) movies to watch, and even a Nintendo gameboy DS to play as you enjoyed the environment of being surrounded by cats. There was even a massage chair. Framed photos of cats were also hanging on the walls. One wall in particular was dedicated to the current cats’ biographies with a photo of each cat to accompany the information. The cats were not as people friendly or loveable as I had hoped sadly. They just lazed around on the cushions or window frames and ran away when you tried to pet them. They did not seem to want to play either. We tried to play with them with their toys but they just stared at us very unamused. I wonder if they were just so used to the attention that they didn’t care about people being around, or if they were tired of so much attention and thus wanted to avoid human contact. I never had pets before, but I thought animals that are used to humans are friendlier. When I was trying to play with the youngest white cat, the café owner told me to bend over and let it climb on my back. The cat just leaped onto my back and stayed there. It didn’t seem to care that I was moving around either. It even lied down on my back and curled up! It was amusing and a lot of fun.

There were a total of nine cats and all were different breeds. Two cats had super short legs, which I had never seen before on a cat. The cats were very well groomed and behaved. They also had the softest fur I had ever felt! The hour we spent in the café was fun and definitely an interesting once-in-a-lifetime-Japan-only-experience. However, I don’t believe it is worth 1000yen for a second visit. Maybe if the admission price was half that price I would be more be more willing to visit again and curl up on a cushion and do homework or read a book while playing with the cats. But I suppose for a person in Japan who lives in an apartment or house with strict animal ownership rules and thus cannot own a pet, a cat café is a good place for a person who really loves cats and who wants to be surrounded by them.

SwallowTail Butler Cafe in Ikebukuro

I am going to start out with my first blog about Japan. I have been wanting to blog about Japan for a long time and I have finally decided to do it! The first thing I want to talk about is one of my worst experiences in Japan. One of my worst experiences was actually going to the infamous Butler Cafe, Swallow Tail. I can laugh about it now, but at the time I was really upset about it.

I have read a lot of reviews about Swallow Tail butler cafe praising it, but I honestly thought it was unpleasant, awkward, and greatly over priced. Maybe otaku girls or fangirls would like it; however, my friend and I did not enjoy it at all. There a variety of different "types" of butlers. They have a glasses type, an older man type, a cute boy type, etc.

The cafe is located on Otome Road in Ikebukuro. It's by the K-books stores and not too hard to find. You are not allowed to take any photos inside the cafe so I do not have any. To eat at the cafe, you have to make an online reservation (in Japanese) 2 weeks in advance, but there are instructions in English. Their cancellation policies are a little strict but looking back at it they could never catch you since you do not give your credit card information.

Originally my friend and I were pretty excited before going and were excited when we first arrived. When you enter the cafe a butler takes your coats and stores them and then takes you to your table. You are told you cannot use your cellphone or camera (since they don't want photos being taken inside) and you must store your bags in a basket next to you. They will come around and tell you to put your phone away if you are using it.

Once we were seated at our table and received our menus our problem began. We had ate before coming, thinking it was going to be like other cafes were you can just order desserts. However, when we tried to order a dessert and some tea, they told us we could only order the 5000yen ($50) dinner set because it was 7pm. Before making reservations I had looked at the website and no where did it say (that I found) you had to order dinner. I told them he didn't want the dinner and that we only wanted desert and tea and thought we could order just dessert. But they wouldn't let us and didn't seem to think I understood any Japanese, so my friend and I both regrettably ordered their dinner set and hoped it was good and that we didn't throw up. We couldn't leave without paying 2000yen ($20) fee each for cancelling even if we had wanted to walk the door right then And no where to run when they have your jackets and it is cold out.

The best part was the tea. The tea I ordered was some vanilla extract and was really good and served in a cute cup. As I was told later, by our butler, each tea type has it's own specific cup. You can not refill your own tea even though they give you the pot. The butler has to do it for you. And it was something that just felt weird to me. Maybe I am too independent and want to pour my own tea... And he also has to escort you to the restroom if you which to use one. I found this awkward... Also I expected the bathrooms to be fancy, but they were not. Just normal. I was a little disappointed. I hoped the regal facade was everywhere. I didn't go to the restroom until they asked if we wanted to wash our hands after eating.

The inside of the cafe was cute and "regal." The majority of the people in the cafe were single Japanese women or pairs of women who seemed be blushing each time they interacted with the butlers. They were enjoying the experience at least. Maybe being treated like a princess is their thing, but I felt out of place. And I was angry about saying goodbye to my $50 the whole time I was there. Our butler did not try to talk to us until we were waiting to leave. He just asked us why we were in Japan and what school we went to mostly.

The first part of the meal were some sort of long crackers with a dip. They were not very good... Had no flavor. We hoped for better with the main course and dessert, but were disappointed. I do not remember the contents of my meal entirely. There was some meat, some fish, and some vegetables, and it was one of the worst things I have ever tasted in my life. Everything had little to no flavor. The portions were small, not as fancy or artful as I would had expected, and I tried to not throw up the Hawaiian burger I ate before coming. The dessert was also sad... My friend and I got different desserts, but I had some "apple pie." In Japan they seem to have very different ideas of what apple pie is than from other countries. Their pies are more like tarts. My apple "pie" wasn't very tasty. :(

We had to wait awhile before we were even allowed to leave. We paid and waited and were given a membership card where I guess we can use to save up points for each visit.

I would personally not recommend this cafe (especially for dinner). But maybe going during lunch time when you can just order tea and dessert is better. I did enjoy the tea a lot, but it was basically the only thing I enjoyed about the cafe. The ambiance was a little strange as well. Lots of socially challenged women swooning in the background. The butlers are not as handsome as you would hope either... 

This is the cafe's website if anyone does still want to check it out or if you just want to look at the site:
http://www.butlers-cafe.jp/

All Right Translation (Attempt)

Here is my attempt to translate Yusuke's character song "All Right" from the anime Yu Yu Hakusho.

Yusuke's Image Song,
Sung by Sasaki Nozomu

どんなに呼んでも　時間は止められない
記憶を集めて宝箱につめ込む

Donna ni yonde mo jikan wa tomerarenai
Kioku wo atsumete takara bako ni tsumekomu

No matter how much I call out, time can't stop
I gather my memories and stuff them in a treasure box.

かたちなんか囚われないさ
本気出して生きるだけ

Katachi ni nanka torawarenai sa
Honki dashite ikiru dake

Forms don't capture me
I only live, giving it my all

All Right!　結果など
All Right!　見えないよ
明日のことさえ　わからないけど
All Right!　オレたちは
All Right!　いつだって
All Right!　進むだけさ

All right! Kekka nado
All right! Mienai yo
Ashita no koto sae wakaranai kedo
All right! Ore tachi wa
All right! Itsu datte
All right! Susumu dake sa

All right! We can't see
All right! the results
We don't even understand tomorrow, but
All right! We
All right! will always
All right! only advance!

いろんな世界へ　歩き出していっても
真っすぐ投げ合う　歯応えある優しさ

Irona sekai e arukidashite itte mo
Massugu nageau hagotae aru yasashisa

Walk on different worlds
Throw straight, chew the kindness (?)

かけがえのない出会いと別れ
ひとつひとつ煌くよ

Kakegai no nai deai to wakare
Hitotsu hitotsu kirameku yo

There is no replacement for meeting and parting
Each shines

All Right!　昨日から
All Right!　明日へ
すべては変わって行くものでも
All Right!　オレたちの
All Right!　自分色
All Right!　色あせない

All right! kinou kara
All right! ashita e
Subete wa kawatte iku mono demo
All right! Ore tachi no
All right! Jibun iro
All right! Iro asenai

All right! From yesterday
All right! to tomorrow
Even if everything changes
All right! Our
All right! own colors
All right! don't fade

強くなれるのは大事な物が
いつもオレにあるからさ

Tsuyoku nareru no wa daiji na mono ga
Itsu mo ore ni aru kara sa

Because I always have something very important,
I can become strong.

All Right!　結果など
All Right!　見えないよ
明日のことさえ　わからないけど
All Right!　オレたちは
All Right!　いつだって
All Right!　進むだけさ

All right! Kekka nado
All right! Mienai yo
Ashita no koto sae wakaranai kedo
All right! Ore tachi wa
All right! Itsu datte
All right! Susumu dake sa

All right! We can't see
All right! the results
We don't even understand tomorrow, but
All right! We
All right! will always
All right! only advance!

All Right!　昨日から
All Right!　明日へ
すべては変わって行くものでも
All Right!　オレたちの
All Right!　自分色
All Right!　色あせない

All right! Kinou kara
All right! ashita e
Subete wa kawatte iku mono demo
All right! Ore tachi no
All right! Jibun iro
All right! Iro asenai

All right! From yesterday
All right! to tomorrow
Even if everything changes
All right! Our
All right! own colors
All right! don't fade


Yu Yu Hakusho and all associated characters are copyright of Togashi Yoshihiro, Studio Pierrot, Fuji TV, Shounen Jump Weekly, and Shueisha. It's licensed by FUNimation Productions, Ltd. This is simply a fan site to it.