Category: Amigos

The Oz the Great and Powerful

Went to see Oz the Great and Powerful this weekend!
To be honest, this movie wasn’t the best.
But then again, prequels and sequels can be hard to do.
Also, I kind of got motion sickness in some parts.
But I thought the monkey and china doll were really cute.
They both had me laughing out loud!
And hey, James Franco is a hottie.
(except when he smiles…I like him brooding)
So it’s worth watching if you’re into movies like that 😀
PS:

If you’re in Japan and have a Docomo cellphone
you can buy tickets online for 800 yen!!!

Well, actually you also need 300 yen for 3D viewing
and another 100 yen is you don’t already have 3D glasses.

But still that’s much cheaper than the regular 1,800 yen!

The Reunion of Friends

Odaiba is always a fun place to be.
More so this weekend because
Dimitri and Vanessa were visiting from Kobe.
And it was wonderful catching up with everyone!
The highlight of my weekend?
I finally got to meet handsome little Alex!
And oh what a charmer he was!
Vanessa and Dimitri were both nice enough
to let me hog Alex for for the afternoon.
Baby cuteness overload!!!
There is really nothing like the joy of seeing
a sweet little baby sleep in your arms 🙂

Getting to spend time with friends you don’t often see
is so wonderful, the time just flies by.

Speaking of time.

I’d almost forgotten but I got to know Vanessa and Dimitri
when they were working on their Project Biwa charity bike marathon
in support of the 3.11 earthquake and tsunami relief.

They also made a book Japan: lake Biwa
filled with photos taken during their bike marathon.

(It’s a gorgeous photography book!)
It seems like just yesterday
but now they are a jolly family of three!
Oh how time flies.
But I’m so glad we’ve been able to keep in touch.
Can’t wait till the next time we meet!
PS: I forgot to mention our mutual love of Starbucks! xx

The Aoyama Flower Market Tea House

Aoyama Flower Market is a popular flower shop
with over 80 shops around Greater Tokyo.
Last year they opened Aoyama Flower Market Tea House
behind their flower shop in Omotesando.
It’s really something.
Remember that movie The Secret Garden?
That garden they find inside the walls with all those vines?
It’s kind of like that.
Take a look.

We decided to have lunch there.
Masa got the beef stew lunch set
and I got the salad lunch set.

My salad was mostly all veggie
(just a little bacon!) so a perfect dish for vegetarians.
And my chocolate scented tea
(obviously not the official name!)
was quite delightful.
(what is it about tea that makes me want to use british-ish expressions?)

If you’re ever in Omotesando
you should definitely stop by this lovely cafe.
Plus you can grab a bouquet of pretty flowers
at the flower shop just outside on your way out, too!

Aoyama Flower Market Tea House
5-1-2 Minami Aoyama
Minato-ku, Tokyo
03-3400-0887
Monday-Saturday: 11am-9pm
Sunday, Holidays: 11am-7pm

The Girls Night in Shibuya

This is what happens when 3 girls are hungry.
We at and drank like we were in Italy.
So much food. So much wine.
Even the server looked kind of worried.
But we ate everything
and even had room for dessert 🙂
This is what happens when 3 girls have a billion things to talk about.
We don’t get to hang out often
but when we do it’s always lots of fun.
Dinner with the girls was the best way to start a three-day weekend! x

The Good Bye to Demi

We saw Demi off at the airport the other day.
I remember when she told me that
her company was sending her to San Francisco.
My first reaction was to say
“NO! Don’t go!!”
Which, of course, is selfish of me.
Sometimes you want to be selfish.
Sometimes you want things to stay the same.
But I could kind of see in her eyes
that she was just as conflicted about going, too.
So I went with my second reaction and said
“OMG what a great opportunity!!!”
And it really is.
We all sent her off with big smiles on our faces.
And we waved until the very last minute.
Miss you already. xx

The Snowy Day Lunch

It may have been a crazy day to go out for lunch.
But look at this great view we had of the snow outside!
I love this place because the place is spacious
and they have the yummiest foccacia.
And they can also make the meals vegetarian for you!
Great place to relax and talk for hours with your best of friends.
Which is exactly what Masa and I did on this snowy day!
Royal Garden Cafe Shibuya
Hotel Unizo 2F
4-3 Udagawa-cho, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo
Open: 11am-11:30pm

The Udon in Takamatsu

Daisuke and Kumi-san were nice enough to
come pick us up at the airport.
Not only that, they took us out to dinner, too!
Kagawa Prefecture is famous for their Sanuki Udon.
It’s my favorite type of udon.
They are thick and chewy.
So good.
You can find it all over Japan
but this was my first time in Kagawa Prefecture.
Look at the real thing, you guys!
Apparently, most udon shops in Kagawa
also serve oden, too.
And they eat it with miso sauce!
(tofu pictured above)
That was new.
And surprisingly good.
I am loving Kagawa Prefecture.
Thinking about coming through here every time
I come back to my parents place.
Thank you
Daisuke and Kumi-san!!!

The Day at Tokyo Disney Sea

We had so much fun!!!!
I love these girls so much.
Seriously.
Nothing can be better than
hanging out in the magical land of Disney
with your sweet sisters and BFF.

One of the things I love about Disney resort
is that everyone is SO NICE!!!
And not just the people who work there,
like literally EVERYONE.
It must the the magical atmosphere or something.
We were trying to take a group picture and
a couple walking by just stopped on their way to the entrance
and asked if they could take a picture for us.
I love small things like that.

Yoko got the cutest Duffy popcorn basket!
We ate two flavors.
Apple Cinnamon and Indian Curry.
I’ve always loved Indian Curry flavor
but the new Apple Cinnamon was really good, too!
Tasted like Christmas 🙂

We rode such random rides!
Tower of Terror
Jasmine’s Flying Carpets
Storm Rider
Center of the Earth

The girls put up with all my pictures (haha) and
we pretty much talked and ate
all the way through waiting in lines for rides.
I just shake my head when I see people
waiting in line together and
they’re all staring at their cellphones.
(Am I weird and old fashioned?)
Since we all live apart and don’t get together that often
it was great to catch up with what we’ve been doing
and share all those crazy stories.

We had a blast, Disney Sea, and we will be back 🙂