Best Countries to Visit?

jadis

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Fresh shell food at the basement of Takashimaya Dept Store.

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Tons of crepes.

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They say all ramen tastes the same, but this one was the best so far I ever had, at the Haneda airport. The eggs were incredibly tasty.

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jadis

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If doing Kyoto, I suggest staying at least overnight. A day trip just isn't enough. IMO Narra can be a great day trip Phil. Too bad you don't drink. I hear the distillery tours are awesome! ....hic.... :D

Yes Jack, I plan to do 3 days in Kyoto. My friend who frequents Japan told me there's even a hotel there with a hot spring bath inside. :D
While I don't drink, I will drink 1 cup for you there. ...hic hic hic...I'll be drunk by then. Haha.
 

amirm

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Yes Jack, I plan to do 3 days in Kyoto. My friend who frequents Japan told me there's even a hotel there with a hot spring bath inside. :D
I stayed at such a hotel in Kushiro, Hokkaido. Thank heavens I was told which color flag to look for or I would have stripped to nothing with 50% chance of doing so in ladies section! :eek:
 

jadis

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I stayed at such a hotel in Kushiro, Hokkaido. Thank heavens I was told which color flag to look for or I would have stripped to nothing with 50% chance of doing so in ladies section! :eek:

Haha. I was always told that when things go wrong there, consider it an adventure. :D
 

jadis

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And one of the most amusing objects I've ever seen is their toilet, which is a bidet combo. :D The one in our hotel opens its seat cover once it detects a person. :D A bright white light flashes and illuminates the bowl, showing how clean the inside its, like brand new. The controls have various functions. Low, high and eco flush mode. Oscillate mode. Bidet water temperature setting controls, nozzle pressure control, and nozzle distance control. And then you're done, there is a dryer control. :D And oh, standard item is, the round seat is heated, always. By the end of our trip. my brother in law and my wife said this is what they miss most upon arriving back in Manila. :D I can't say I'm not with them. :D
 

JackD201

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And one of the most amusing objects I've ever seen is their toilet, which is a bidet combo. :D The one in our hotel opens its seat cover once it detects a person. :D A bright white light flashes and illuminates the bowl, showing how clean the inside its, like brand new. The controls have various functions. Low, high and eco flush mode. Oscillate mode. Bidet water temperature setting controls, nozzle pressure control, and nozzle distance control. And then you're done, there is a dryer control. :D And oh, standard item is, the round seat is heated, always. By the end of our trip. my brother in law and my wife said this is what they miss most upon arriving back in Manila. :D I can't say I'm not with them. :D

Best thing I ever bought abroad (outside of audio of course :D) was our Toto Washlet with matching toilet! I think I actually started a thread here in the very early days of WBF. :)
 

jadis

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Best thing I ever bought abroad (outside of audio of course :D) was our Toto Washlet with matching toilet! I think I actually started a thread here in the very early days of WBF. :)

No kidding, Jack, for a while there, I thought it was only me and my wife and my bro in law. :D
 

jadis

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I love Takoyaki Balls, saw these 'giant' balls in Harajuku but was so full from lunch, wanted to have some take out after a little walk, but a sudden call from the wife to change our meeting place and I forgot to do the take out.

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But luckily we were able to try some smaller balls (the normal size) in Odaiba and they were simply delicious.
 

jadis

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We were recommended by friends to try Ichiran Ramen in Tokyo, but I never expected to be seated in a cubicle like voting booths. :D It has individual drinking cold water dispenser, and a curtain in front of you where in the waiter pops in and brings in your ramen bowl. You only get to see his hands, and the usual murmur of Japanese words which probably mean 'enjoy your ramen'. :D

The pen and paper is for you to fill out to order more ramen noodles if you still are hungry, with the distinct warning that you must still have some soup left before you order the ramen noodles because they cannot sell you more soup, just the noodles. :D

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amirm

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And then you're done, there is a dryer control. :D And oh, standard item is, the round seat is heated, always. By the end of our trip. my brother in law and my wife said this is what they miss most upon arriving back in Manila. :D I can't say I'm not with them. :D
I "enjoyed" the heated seat so much that when we built our vacation house, I made sure there is electricity right next to the toilet. But try as I might, i could not convince my wife to get one of those because she had never experienced it!
 

amirm

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We were recommended by friends to try Ichiran Ramen in Tokyo, but I never expected to be seated in a cubicle like voting booths. :D It has individual drinking cold water dispenser, and a curtain in front of you where in the waiter pops in and brings in your ramen bowl. You only get to see his hands, and the usual murmur of Japanese words which probably mean 'enjoy your ramen'. :D

The pen and paper is for you to fill out to order more ramen noodles if you still are hungry, with the distinct warning that you must still have some soup left before you order the ramen noodles because they cannot sell you more soup, just the noodles. :D

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This reminds me. It never hurts to ask for an English menu if one is not provided per above. Often when they see you are a foreigner, they give you one. But many times they don't. So I just ask the in Japanese: "eigo no menu arimasu ka?" (do you have English menu?) They are shocked at first that someone who seemingly is speaking Japanese wants an English menu. :D But then they get you one or say no. If they don't, they may switch to speaking English which while broken, will be better than our Japanese! :D :D
 

jadis

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This reminds me. It never hurts to ask for an English menu if one is not provided per above. Often when they see you are a foreigner, they give you one. But many times they don't. So I just ask the in Japanese: "eigo no menu arimasu ka?" (do you have English menu?) They are shocked at first that someone who seemingly is speaking Japanese wants an English menu. :D But then they get you one or say no. If they don't, they may switch to speaking English which while broken, will be better than our Japanese! :D :D

That's true Amir. On some occasions, there were English menus provided. If not, the next fallback is 'sign language', which we in the Philippines are good at, the non formal one, like drawing a rectangle shape with your index fingers to indicate a menu card, and a smaller rectangle to indicate you're asking for your bill. :D My last fallback, is that fortunately I was schooled in Chinese characters and Japanese Kanji writing is the same as Chinese, so it's easy for be to detect words like chicken, beef, pork, vegetables and a host of other animals. I told my kids, eat your heart out for not taking your Chinese lessons seriously in high school. :D And talking about the language barrier, I spotted a few salesladies in department stores with an arm band that says 'I speak Chinese'. And amazingly, they speak Mandarin Chinese with the tone like they were from mainland China. :)
 

amirm

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That's true Amir. On some occasions, there were English menus provided. If not, the next fallback is 'sign language', which we in the Philippines are good at, the non formal one, like drawing a rectangle shape with your index fingers to indicate a menu card, and a smaller rectangle to indicate you're asking for your bill. :D My last fallback, is that fortunately I was schooled in Chinese characters and Japanese Kanji writing is the same as Chinese, so it's easy for be to detect words like chicken, beef, pork, vegetables and a host of other animals. I told my kids, eat your heart out for not taking your Chinese lessons seriously in high school. :D And talking about the language barrier, I spotted a few salesladies in department stores with an arm band that says 'I speak Chinese'. And amazingly, they speak Mandarin Chinese with the tone like they were from mainland China. :)

Indeed Japanese are excellent at sign language. I use my hands all the time even when speaking Japanese. Like how many of us are there for dinner. I say it and hold up my fingers at the same time.

I also took some Taiwanese people with me to Japan and indeed they did manage to read Kanji characters many times although sometimes their meaning was quite different than Japanese for more exotic stuff. I really envy anyone who can read Kanji/Chinese symbols at any level!

You are making me really hungry to go back to Japan! My Japanese friends/colleagues there have been asking me to come for a union this fall and if all goes well, I will do that.
 

jadis

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Indeed Japanese are excellent at sign language. I use my hands all the time even when speaking Japanese. Like how many of us are there for dinner. I say it and hold up my fingers at the same time.

I also took some Taiwanese people with me to Japan and indeed they did manage to read Kanji characters many times although sometimes their meaning was quite different than Japanese for more exotic stuff. I really envy anyone who can read Kanji/Chinese symbols at any level!

You are making me really hungry to go back to Japan! My Japanese friends/colleagues there have been asking me to come for a union this fall and if all goes well, I will do that.

I've made myself hungry too to go back. My daughter just pointed out we have a long work holiday here at the end of October to early November. I told her it's Kyoto/Osaka time. :D
 

jadis

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I visited Taiwan last month, mostly Taipei, my first trip there in 30 years. Boy, has the city changed. It zoomed, in terms of progress, as seen by its infrastructure and mass transit system. Unlike Japan, I felt very much at home, being able to converse with the locals and read vital street signs and directions in the subway. :D I have the pleasure of being guided by my college classmate who now resides there permanently, and my first goal was to visit the National Palace Museum which houses 8,000 years of Chinese history with an incredible collection of arts, pottery, porcelain and many other historical artifacts. One can stay there for a whole day if only to digest the history of each piece artifact, a collection which is only 10% of the total treasure in their vault. Hence a need to 'rotate' the pieces every 3 months or so. Taipei is a modern city where shopping, eating and touring is a pleasure to do. Great value in most things. People are friendly and the place is safe. Some pictures I took:

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jadis

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jadis

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jadis

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The USA is so vast you can spend a lifetime visiting its so many cities, from east to west, and perhaps from north to south. I have been to many cities, NYC, JC, SF, DC, Chicago, SD, LA, Orlando and enjoyed them but last week, my 'pre-season' basketball trip to Boston was punctuated by an immensely beautiful scenic tour of the heart of the city, via the famous Duck Tours, and the T subway. So many 'first' and 'oldest' places come to light, statues of heroes, battlegrounds, even burial gardens of the who's who of Boston are just beside a street. Now I realize how the New England Patriots got its name. :D I was fortunate to have booked myself in an Inn beside a subway station, a convenience store, Quincy Market, Faneuil Hall, the Aquarium & IMAX, and best of all, in walking distance to the TD Garden, my primary purpose to watch a couple of Celtics pre-season games. :D My friends had 'warned' me about the 'Boston Accent', and of my first day, I immediately heard a few distinct words, like Hahburr and Mahkiht ( I hope I got that right) :D I love it. Needless to say, stepping into the famed Garden (although not the same building where the old Celtics legend played) was the most thrilling experience I had - it was almost like a dream to see throngs of green shirted people, from kids to teens to middle age to seniors, trot to the garden hours before game time. And some came from Germany and Spain and browsed for Celtics souvenirs and shirts at the sports shop. And the electrifying music and PA perking up the crowd with the starting five intro, plus the cheering squad flying all over the court. Wow! And of course, seeing your favorite players and fans cheering from the first possession to the last, I almost felt like an unworthy fan content with taking pictures (and hooting a bit). :D After that, I set out to see the attractions, and I love to do this by foot, feel the streets, feel the people and have a talk with the shop owners. One thing I really enjoyed was the street performers. I've seen some in the SF Bay Area, but here, the 'talents' are far more exciting. And an impromptu piano/singing mini musikfest got me glued to me feet, with visitors hitting the piano and the crowd swelled and joined in to sing along with the pianist. Songs like Hey Jude, and Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah mesmerized me no end. And food, food, food. I told myself after walking thru end to end of Quincy Market, I wouldn't have tasted half of what was inside for a week. :D The highlights were of course the famous Maine Lobsters and the Boston Clam 'Chowdah'. The desserts were mind-boggling as well, now I understand the craving for 'sweets' in America is that tremendous. :D All told, it was the 'best' trip I ever did in my life, very meaningful because of my Celtics 'roots' (I've been a fan since I was 8) and since then I have come to love anything or any sport associated with Boston. Hence I like the Red Sox and Patriots as well, but never appreciated the Bruins because I just couldn't understand hockey nor see the puck. :D

And here are some pictures that will speak a thousand words, all in the city of Boston.

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jadis

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