We spent the early part of the day getting our final soaks in at the onsen, and then we were off to taste the famous Yonezawa Ramen. Actually I don't know if it is famous, but Ryo's dad goes out of his way to eat at this place. We got there right at noon and got the last table available. Pretty soon the place was packed with people waiting in the doorway. It was great to see all the locals, families, business people, retired folks all come out to this place.
This bowl of ramen was seriously near perfect. Very simple, light soup, great crinkly noodles with perfect width and texture. 
After ramen, we went to a shaved ice parlor, the same store which Ryo's mother used frequent as a child. Back then, ices cost a mere 5 yen.
Now, the prices reflect the times, but the method of making the ice remains the same.
This old lady hand-shaves the ice. That piece of wood with small spikes in it is used to grip the ice as she slides over the shaver. She also hand-makes the syrup, and mixes the ingredients before your eyes.
Voila! This is Irwin's fresh lemon ice.
I don't think anyone could finish the ice. Then it was time to get on the shinkansen back to Tokyo. So sad to leave... Ryo and Mari looking at chotchkies at the train station kiosk before we got on the train.
Goodbye Yamagata! Thank you Ryo-chan!
It was a very nice surprise that my brother was spending the whole day at Narita (to pick up Ed Norton and Liv Tyler for promo for The Hulk) so I got to have a quick bite to eat with him.
It's hard to believe how much happened in two weeks. And now that I'm back in NY, I'm having seriously vacation withdrawal. It's hard to really give a shit about all the BS in regular life when you've been away for a while...
1 comment:
Aya! I am glad that you got home safe. I wish we could have hung out more in Tokyo. Your trip looked like ultimate awesomeness. More fun than I've had in the three years I've been here!!!
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