Thermal Eye on America

Ok, look, I like odd variations on common snacks as much as the next person.  In fact, I could make a pretty strong argument for me liking them more than most of the next people.  But still, Nestle needs to be stopped.  Specifically, Im referring her to the KitKat.  In America, we mostly have just the normal chocolate KitKat, with a couple of minor variations (one with caramel, one giant variation, and maybe one more).  I suspect this is because, due to a licensing agreement that predates Nestle purchasing the inventor of the KitKat, the U.S. is the one place that Hershey makes and sells the KitKat.  Apparently, Hershey has a much better idea than Nestle when to leave well-enough alone.  Nestle, on the other hand, doesn’t seem to know when to stop.  

    I first became aware of the problem when I saw a post on Peter Lynn’s blog Man vs. Clown.  I’ve followed his blog for a while, and find him one of the more entertaining writers out there; I was therefore quite happy to see him writing from China about trying a few of the foods I know quite well, such as Pocari sweat, and okonomiyaki-flavored potato chips.  Then, later in that post, he said “green-tea Kit Kat really just tasted like a regular Kit Kat, except a little more synthetic.”  As it happened, I’d bought some green-tea KitKats at the airport in Tokyo the night before (green tea outside, red bean inside), and that hadn’t been my impression at all.  Still, realizing I could have just been uncritical due to my hunger at the time, I tried some again, and did find them significantly different, at least in aftertaste.  I posted a comment to this effect, then walked to the zoo (but that is a story for another time….).  On my way back, I stopped in a convenience store, and looking through the odd snacks I found the chocolate-outside, green tea inside ones he had been referring to (and yeah, they didn’t taste very different at all).  I also picked up some chocolate outside-apple inside ones which I haven’t tried yet.  I then went to a site listed on the side of the package, www.breaktown.com, and got a glimpse of some of the variety available (I have also gotten the 3rd variety of green tea KitKat, green tea both outside and inside - definitely the best of the three).  Then, here in Australia, I picked up a giant KitKat, of the “Cookie Dough” variety.  And yes, granted, it was one of the best candies I’ve ever tasted (thick wafers, cookie dough and caramel, coated in chocolate), but honestly, there’s such a thing as trying too hard.

  (anyone interested in even more varieties of KitKat can check the Wikipedia entry on them. Personally, I think that would just be encouraging them) 

As I sit here waiting for the steam to dissipate so I can finish my shaving touch-up, I miss my heated bathroom mirrors.

Good sightseeing day yesterday, will write about it (and everything else I haven’t written about) later, probably on my flight to Sydney.  Checking out of the hotel soon, though, so wanted to get one quick one in.  I leave Japan tonight on the red eye to Sydney, getting in sometime in the morning, at which point I’ll get a flight to Melbourne, where I’ll be until Wednesday morning.  I’m starting to get pretty sick of going from place to place, but am looking forward to getting to Australia for the first time.  I still need to figure out what touristy things I’m going to do once I finish work.  Please send suggestions.

Sightseeing day today, off to visit some temples, and see the third largest Buddha statue in Japan.  It looks like uploads are working at this hotel, so I should have some pictures up before I leave for Australia tomorrow.

Dave, Jay, and Rich:  For dinner last night, I had CoCo Curry, 400g rice, spice 3, with tonkatsu.Neener neener neener. (Dave, can you please forward this link to Jay and Rich, I don’t think I ever sent it to them)For the rest of you: CoCo Curry is the name of a chain in Japan that sells, unsurprisingly*, curry.   It was the first place I ever had Japanese curry, and one of the first places I ever ate in Japan (I think we went there on my second night in the country or so).  There was also one in walking distance from my apartment, so it was a pretty common offering for me.  For ordering, they have a baseline price, which then gets altered with the volume of rice, the spice level, and the extras chosen.  *Yes, I do of course mean that they sell it in an unsurprising manner.  I will go on record here as saying they’ve never once snuck up behind me an gone “boo” while shoving a plate of curry I never ordered at me. 

Fine, whatever.  For the next few days, I will be at:35 degrees 16′53.24″ N  139 degrees  40′00.79 No missiles, please.  (Booger, I’m looking in your direction) 

So, I’ve now left Okinawa and travelled back to Tokyo, only this time getting in to the city, not just in the airport area, and I finally actually feel like I’m in Japan.  Remember earlier, when I mentioned the excitement I’d felt on the train from the airport as soon as I’d arrived?  Well, I was on the same train, and I had that “hay, I’m in Japan!” feel once more.  I think I know what the difference was, too: rice fields.  In Okinawa, I didn’t see any rice fields (nor was I on any trains, which I also associate with Japan).  last night, though, something about seeing rice fields from a train that instantly snapped me back to that Japan state of mind.

For those of you who have the tools to get some meaning out of this (for the rest of you, try earth.google.com), I’m at: 26º 18′ 54.79″ N, 127º 48′ 39.40″ 

Well, food at least.  Sorry I haven’t posted in a couple days, two days ago was an exploration day, and yesterday was the recuperation day.  I’m working on a boring, long-winded post about all of that, but I’ll finish that later.  Right now, it occurs to me that I haven’t really spoken about food at all on this trip.  Mostly this is due to the fact that at the time of my last posting, I hadn’t really eaten much on this trip (airplane food not being all that worth writing about).  Fortunately, I’ve since had a chance to fix that somewhat.
First off, at the Hilton near the airport, they had something that I can’t believe I’ve never seen before.  In many ways, it is the ultimate breakfast option - bacon loaf.  It was a multi-headed baguette (perfect for breaking off individual rolls), with a hollow channel down the middle that had strips of bacon (very thinly sliced, and perfectly cooked, with just enough of the fat left behind to keep it supple, but still easy to break off the portion for the corresponding bit of bread)  (photos for all of these will come later, but at my current hotel ftp doesn’t seem to be getting through).  The bread itself was perfect, too, with a good crunchy crust and a light, airy yet somewhat chewy interior.
For lunch I had sushi at the place in the airport.  Nothing to write home about (I don’t technically consider this writing home), but not bad for sushi in an airport (please don’t freak) (sorry, anytime I encounter the phrasing â��two-syllable noun â�� participle  â�� ‘the’ â�� two-syllable nounâ��, I hear it being sung by the English Beat).  After lunch, though, I had a lot of time to kill, and that’s when I found a few of the favorites I had been searching for since my last trip.  The first of these (and I do wish I could upload the photos) were the â��fried butterâ�� potato chips.  In the full spectrum of snack options, I consider these pure genius, on the â��fuck it, I give upâ�� level.  Just the image of the product design meeting where people are sitting around a table brainstorming about what options are left for the potato chip, and the knowledge that â��coat them in butterâ�� no doubt beat out â��fry them in bacon greaseâ��after three tied votes (and a bit of backroom negotiation).  As far as I can tell, the only thing left is to take the butter-flavored potato chips and dip them in mayonnaise.
More meals and snacks described tomorrow.  As a preview though, I offer: takoyaki, tiki bars, and pigs’ ears with peanut.

Figured if I posted at least that much it would make me feel good about posting just about anything next, no matter how weak an entry.Sometimes that’s what you need.But that’s just for me.  For you, here’s Iron Maiden’s “Die With Your Boots On”.  It’s been stuck in my head for the past week, so by hearing it, it’s almost like you’re momentarily becoming me.     

(Ok, it’s not really that much like you’re me, but trust me, it’s as close as you’d want to get)