Fun time passes really fast. Now we are back in Japan already. It was like a dream to walk in New York city with my darling again. Blessed with the weather, we had no rain and the day we took our wedding photos was super nice with cool low temp.
Day 1 (6/30-Wed):
We used Delta airline to fly but there was an hour delay :( We arrived at the hotel at 5PM. We stayed at Grand Hyatt New York as usual. They opened a new food market on the lobby floor that opens from 6AM to 11PM, which was very convenient. After we checked in, we walked to Rockefeller Center to have a dinner at Rink Bar. This is the place where I first dated with my darling. Their BBQ Combo Plate is large enough for two :D
Day 2 (7/1-Thu):
Since there is a time difference, it was easy for us to wake up at 6 in the morning!!! This year, I made a super detailed meal plan (brunch and dinner) because looking for a place to eat when we are hungry causes a fight between us, you know... We headed to Clinton St. Baking Company for our brunch. Their recommended blueberry pancake was huge and delicious with lots of blueberries.
Mmm :) Then we moved to East Village, Union Square, SOHO, and West Village, for shopping. Before the photo at times square, we had a snack at Grand Central. Smoothie at Dishes is our favorite!!! We have it every year!!!
The photo plan at Times Square was for free since we purchased
the photo wedding plan. What a nice weather at night. The night view in times square was very crisp and beautiful. Our photos came out nicer than we expected.
Day 3 (7/2-Fri):
My makeup artist Kelly came to our room at 8AM. Meanwhile, my bouquet was delivered. It was huge but beautiful white roses. To tell the truth, it was still beautiful on the day we left New York. I wish I could take it back with me. At 10AM we took a limo to the Central Park. It was a perfect weather with blue skies which we have hoped. Of course we took the photo at the place where my darling proposed to me last year (left bottom image).
The second place we took our wedding photo was Grand Central Station. We requested there because we used to date at this station almost every night till my last train back to Harrison.
After the photo, we had time, so we shopped 5th avenue. It was too late to eat breakfast or lunch, so we had a snack at The Burger Joint. It is the best burger in New York City, hidden behind the curtain in the atrium lobby of Le Parker
Meridien Hotel. Yummy!!! In the afternoon, the weather was still nice. We headed to have dinner at Bryant Park Cafe. It was a romantic night that I hoped time could stop for us.
Day 4 (7/3-Sat):
The temp jumped up to high 90s from this day. We first went to Brooklyn Heights Promenade to take my hula video with a view of Manhattan and Brooklyn bridge. I will post the video later. Then we had brunch at Heights Cafe. I found an interesting menu called Brunch Strudel (filled with scrambled eggs, mushrooms, peppers, onions, cheddar and bacon with roasted pepper coulis). It was crazy hot in the afternoon... we again walked SOHO but we couldn't kept on going into the stores to cool down. In the evening, it was still hot. We planned to walk in the Central Park but I got tired and sat on the stone and fell a sleep. At night we had dinner at Rosa Mexicano, where you can enjoy super delicious Guacamole en Molcajete with handmade warm corn tortillas.
Day 5 (7/4-Sun):
The temp was expected to go up to high 99 but it was cool in the morning. We had brunch at The Boathouse Restaurant in the Central Park. Luckily, we could sit by the lake. Their assorted pastries and breads were awesome. After stuffed, we had a walk in the park. By noon, the temp went up. We shopped at
ZABER'S and I found cute cookie cutters for sale!!! Walking at the upper west side was really hot. In the afternoon, we tried to cool down at the Bryant Park but there was no wind and was like a sauna. I think since then our luck just went down. We thought our dinner is going to be really romantic but FUCK Asiate restaurant, they said they don't have any window side seat available for us. They said they never reserve seats. Why didn't they tell us at the time I reserved? They arranged a table for us but who the heck is going to pay more than $100 bucks for such a service? We left the restaurant and headed to Josie's. We always eat at Josie's East but this time we tried the West side. The menu was the same as East. We had a good time but we didn't feel that good. Too bad...
Day 6 (7/5-Mon):
The last day was hot, too. Believe it or not, it was high 101F. Forgot about the last night dinner, we went to Chelsea to have brunch at Pastis. Their Grilled Chicken Paillard (salad) was great!!! Try it out if you get a chance to go there. After shopping at Chelsea Market, we shopped at Macy's and 5th avenue again. Then we went up to East 86th to have a coffee at Cafe Sabarsky. Their Sabarskytorte (Chocolate and Rum Cake) was delicious. We could have brunch there the next year since they also serve nice brunch menus!!! Anyway, it was too hot to walk in the park, so we took a subway to go back to midtown. For dinner, we had Turkish food at Ali Baba. Unexpectedly, their recommended dishes (Findik Lahmacun: 3 Pieces - appetizer version of famous lahmacun and Mixed Grill - an assortment of adana kebab, shish kebab, doner kebab and lamb chop) were super delicious. We should try out more of foreign foods the next year!!! Walking 10 blocks back to the hotel was not a pain at all... we missed walking in the city since it was the last night.
Day 7 (7/6-Tue):
We woke up early to have a breakfast at Central Park. We bought our breakfast at Europa (my favorite cafe). In the same morning, at the same time, at the same place, we had a breakfast there and my darling proposed to me :) We are glad to come back here again this year.
I wish I could stay in NY longer but one day in NY costs about $200 per person if we divide our travel expenses, so maybe it was time. Also, We cannot take so many paid holidays...
One year was fast. We should be walking in the city next year when we realized :D
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At night, my darling booked a restaurant called "SONO". They are famous for creative Japanese food and soba made of 100% buckwheat flour. Huge fried shrimps with tartar sauce were really juicy, chunky and yummy! Of course, their soba was fablicious. I loved the way they served the soba with fresh grated wasabi!!!
On Saturday, my darling asked me to wear Yukata (casual summer kimono) for dinner. At first, I refused to wear it because I forgot how to wear it and was very muggy outside. My darling at last searched for an instruction at YouTube and taught me how... it took about an hour to wear it but I was happy with it. He-he :D
PRIVATE TABLE Mitamura is located in Ebisu. They serve Japanese prix-fixe menus using seasonal ingredients. The owner said they served foods at their best so that we can enjoy foods even if it rained and missed fireworks. Yeah, needless to say, everything was superb!!!
We used Delta airline to fly but there was an hour delay :( We arrived at the hotel at 5PM. We stayed at Grand Hyatt New York as usual. They opened a new food market on the lobby floor that opens from 6AM to 11PM, which was very convenient. After we checked in, we walked to Rockefeller Center to have a dinner at Rink Bar. This is the place where I first dated with my darling. Their BBQ Combo Plate is large enough for two :D
Since there is a time difference, it was easy for us to wake up at 6 in the morning!!! This year, I made a super detailed meal plan (brunch and dinner) because looking for a place to eat when we are hungry causes a fight between us, you know... We headed to Clinton St. Baking Company for our brunch. Their recommended blueberry pancake was huge and delicious with lots of blueberries. Mmm :) Then we moved to East Village, Union Square, SOHO, and West Village, for shopping. Before the photo at times square, we had a snack at Grand Central. Smoothie at Dishes is our favorite!!! We have it every year!!!
My makeup artist Kelly came to our room at 8AM. Meanwhile, my bouquet was delivered. It was huge but beautiful white roses. To tell the truth, it was still beautiful on the day we left New York. I wish I could take it back with me. At 10AM we took a limo to the Central Park. It was a perfect weather with blue skies which we have hoped. Of course we took the photo at the place where my darling proposed to me last year (left bottom image).
After the photo, we had time, so we shopped 5th avenue. It was too late to eat breakfast or lunch, so we had a snack at The Burger Joint. It is the best burger in New York City, hidden behind the curtain in the atrium lobby of Le Parker Meridien Hotel. Yummy!!! In the afternoon, the weather was still nice. We headed to have dinner at Bryant Park Cafe. It was a romantic night that I hoped time could stop for us.
The temp jumped up to high 90s from this day. We first went to Brooklyn Heights Promenade to take my hula video with a view of Manhattan and Brooklyn bridge. I will post the video later. Then we had brunch at Heights Cafe. I found an interesting menu called Brunch Strudel (filled with scrambled eggs, mushrooms, peppers, onions, cheddar and bacon with roasted pepper coulis). It was crazy hot in the afternoon... we again walked SOHO but we couldn't kept on going into the stores to cool down. In the evening, it was still hot. We planned to walk in the Central Park but I got tired and sat on the stone and fell a sleep. At night we had dinner at Rosa Mexicano, where you can enjoy super delicious Guacamole en Molcajete with handmade warm corn tortillas. 
The temp was expected to go up to high 99 but it was cool in the morning. We had brunch at The Boathouse Restaurant in the Central Park. Luckily, we could sit by the lake. Their assorted pastries and breads were awesome. After stuffed, we had a walk in the park. By noon, the temp went up. We shopped at ZABER'S and I found cute cookie cutters for sale!!! Walking at the upper west side was really hot. In the afternoon, we tried to cool down at the Bryant Park but there was no wind and was like a sauna. I think since then our luck just went down. We thought our dinner is going to be really romantic but FUCK Asiate restaurant, they said they don't have any window side seat available for us. They said they never reserve seats. Why didn't they tell us at the time I reserved? They arranged a table for us but who the heck is going to pay more than $100 bucks for such a service? We left the restaurant and headed to Josie's. We always eat at Josie's East but this time we tried the West side. The menu was the same as East. We had a good time but we didn't feel that good. Too bad... 
The last day was hot, too. Believe it or not, it was high 101F. Forgot about the last night dinner, we went to Chelsea to have brunch at Pastis. Their Grilled Chicken Paillard (salad) was great!!! Try it out if you get a chance to go there. After shopping at Chelsea Market, we shopped at Macy's and 5th avenue again. Then we went up to East 86th to have a coffee at Cafe Sabarsky. Their Sabarskytorte (Chocolate and Rum Cake) was delicious. We could have brunch there the next year since they also serve nice brunch menus!!! Anyway, it was too hot to walk in the park, so we took a subway to go back to midtown. For dinner, we had Turkish food at Ali Baba. Unexpectedly, their recommended dishes (Findik Lahmacun: 3 Pieces - appetizer version of famous lahmacun and Mixed Grill - an assortment of adana kebab, shish kebab, doner kebab and lamb chop) were super delicious. We should try out more of foreign foods the next year!!! Walking 10 blocks back to the hotel was not a pain at all... we missed walking in the city since it was the last night.
We woke up early to have a breakfast at Central Park. We bought our breakfast at Europa (my favorite cafe). In the same morning, at the same time, at the same place, we had a breakfast there and my darling proposed to me :) We are glad to come back here again this year.
Last Friday, I met my brass band friends and the teacher from high school. It has been more than 10 years to get together. It all started with my wedding stuff. I really never see them again unless I look for my old friends' contact info, you know!!!
6/7 is the day I met my darling! It has been already 7 years since then. Time flies... This year, I was kind of busy with our new home, wedding and my cooking stuff, so I forgot to remind him of the day! I hope he remembers...
We arrived at Asahikawa airport, which is located 2 hours away from our destination: Sapporo city. Therefore, we decided to stop over at Asahiyama Zoo nearby, where there are many unique interactive animal viewing facilities.
Close to the Zoo, there is a city called Asahikawa. Since we had to connect the bus through the city, we had lunch at a famous ramen shop called 梅光軒 (Baikouken). Their miso ramen was super delicious that you can easily finish up the broth as well :D There is a branch in Singapore, so I hope jose can try it out someday!!!
In the evening, we arrived at Sapporo city and headed to Sapporo Beer Museum, the only beer museum in Japan, was opened in July of 1987 to provide visitors with a varied knowledge of beer and brewing. At the museum, many selections of their brews are available to sample in small sized glasses!
The Sapporo Bier Garten is located nearby the museum. You can enjoy the freshest draft beer and Genghis Khan-style fresh barbecued lamb on hot plates shaped like Hokkaido! Yummy!!!
We visited Otaru city, where is located 30 minutes away by train from Sapporo city. Otaru Canal is the symbol of this city. Otaru Beer was begun in 1995 in the Otaru Soko #1 Warehouse. We had their seasonal beer called Helles! Then we had assorted fish bowl at 澤崎水産 (Sawasaki Suisan) for lunch. You can enjoy fresh seafood in Otaru :D
For dinner, we went back to Sapporo and went to かに本家 (Kani Honke) to enjoy full-course crab meal! The seasonal crab was hairy crab! We had one each for our main course. It was my dream to eat my fill of crabs!!!
To tell the truth, the rain finally cleared on the last day, so we rented bicycles and rode few miles to 場外市場 (Outer Market) to get some breakfast. Each day, approximately 70 shops line up in the outer market to sell a wide variety of produce, seafood, and other food that was just bid on in the nearby Central Wholesale Market. We had fish bowls at 平野屋 (Hiranoya) where they serve many different varieties of fresh fish bowls. Super yummy at a low price!!!
Then we toured around Sapporo city by bicycle in about an hour. Hokkaido's most famous landmark is its Clock Tower! It was the tallest building in Sapporo at the time of its construction in 1878, but these days it is dwarfed by the apartments and modern office buildings that have sprung up around it. Also, Sapporo TV Tower, 147.2 m in height, is a landmark at the east end of Odori Park.
Last but not least, the most popular souvenir from Hokkaido is 白い恋人 (Shiroi Koibito). It is a butter cookie with white chocolate in between. There is a factory 15 minutes by train away from Sapporo station, so we went there to see how they manufacture the cookies! There is a cookie-craft studio where you can make Shiroi Koibito cookies of your own!
