Something Fishy Going On

Due to jetlag and the time zone difference, we had no difficulty in being out the door by 6am. We walked to the Tsukiji fish market, which is a massive complex where fishermen show up to auction off giant tuna, octopus, or anything else found in the sea. It was supposed to have shut down last spring, but it's still ticking due to logistical issues with the proposed new location. Since I was here back in 2001, the rules have somewhat changed. The public is no longer allowed onto the premises until 10am, so we were a bit early. We walked around Ginza and back to the hotel where we napped and tried again.



As you can see from my video, it's a bit congested, even after all the auctions have taken place. I can understand why they wouldn't want just any person roaming around and taking up space when everyone is trying to work.

We returned to Ginza to look for a christmas ornament. We are attempting to find an ornament from every place we visit together and we missed out on Japan last time. Luckily we are ridiculous people and are back in the same year. One of the main streets in the Ginza district was closed off to cars, so it was a bit more relaxing than dodging bikes and carts inside the fish market.

Unfortunately, we were unsuccessful with the ornament hunting. We did see some, but there was nothing distinctly Japanese about them. In fact one of them had the stars and stripes on it. No good. I ate some sort of chicken katsu-esque thing from 7-11 for lunch and then we checked out the Sony building.

Sony had redesigned the exhibits since our May visit as a sort of history museum starting in the 1940s. As we progressed through time, we saw betamax tapes, walkmans, discmans, digital cameras that recorded to 3.5" diskettes, and this little gem here -- the Sony airboard. It was in the Sony showroom during my visit back in 2001 as the next big thing, a portable TV for businessmen or students. So, it was interesting to see it displayed again as a piece of Sony's history.

Then we began the slow walk back to our hotel. Our progress, however, was foiled by a protest and counter-protest taking place on the streets. Not knowing any Japanese, we were at a loss to try and figure out who we would be more likely to support. One group was all elderly folk, who presumably had more conservative ideals. Across the street was a group of young people waving imperial Japanese flags, so who knows.

Not knowing the language is difficult. The protests could have been about anything from concerns about pensions to blaming Mexicans for stealing jobs. Either scenario is equally as likely given my knowledge of the Japanese language.

Now we are going to try to find a good ramen place for dinner. There are probably 500 within a mile of our hotel, so it shouldn't be too difficult. What will be difficult is adapting to is the business culture of eating rapidly and bolting. The idea of loitering in a restaurant or cafe is more an American or European idea. Ready set eat!

And the Great Adventure Begins!

Bricole, everyone's favorite celebrity couple, are on a great journey around the world. It didn't start out that way. We were trying to arrange some kind of India/Sri Lanka/Maldives trip, but it was too expensive and the flights were . . . complicated to say the least. It's not easy going to the complete opposite side of the world. Flying east or west made little difference. Having previously had good luck on Delta going from LAX to Tokyo in business class, we decided to try that route again on our way to India. Initially we had intended to just stay in Tokyo for one night as an extended layover, but then the airline gave me an extra day off prior to my vacation days, so I suggested we make it two nights. Then I was able to pawn off one of my standups (quick overnight flights) to another pilot and the loads on Friday weren't looking good, and just like that, we decided to make it three nights in Tokyo.

The seating arrangement was a bit unique. It was a 777 and despite having seats next to each other, Nicole and I couldn't really see each other since the seats were arranged diagonally away from each other. But it could certainly be worse. In fact, I feel a bit guilty on how lucky we are to even be doing this trip. We are going to Japan for the second time in just over six months for an extended layover. Upon landing, this foreign land was oddly familiar to us. Nicole had eyes like a hawk when spotting our stop on the metro map.

We arrived at our Tokyu Stay Hotel in the Shimbashi district. The Tokyu Stay chain is intended primarily for business travelers who require a sort of home away from home (albeit a really small home). The Shimbashi neighborhood we are staying in this time is significantly different from Shinjuku. When we walked outside to get food, the sidewalks were packed, and we counted two people out of 1,000 that weren't Japanese. We bought some dinner at 7-11 and ate it back in our tiny room.

We are on the top floor of the hotel, so we have a nice view of the intersection and train tracks below. It's nice being in a new part of the city. We feel more immersed than before when we stayed in a more touristy area. I even used one of five Japanese words that I know when I had to get the attention of a businessman in front of me who accidentally dropped his glasses onto the escalator. "Sumimasen!" I was helpful. Who knows what we'll do tomorrow. I look forward to just taking it easy, despite the hustle and bustle going on below us.

Last Day in the Great Plains

It was drizzly today. It was in the 30s pretty much all day, so time outside was limited. As we drove back into South Dakota, we made a stop in Deadwood, the town known for its lawlessness -- now home to tacky tourist shops selling confederate flags and t-shirts with Donald Trump riding a motorcycle. We plugged a meter for 45 minutes, and this was ample to explore the town. As previously mentioned, it was also rather cold, so we didn't feel like lingering too long outside in the elements.

After arriving back in Rapid City and checking in to our hotel, we made a brief stop near Ellsworth AFB to visit the free air & space museum. As it was free, there wasn't a lot to it, but they did have some aircraft parked outside. By now, it felt like the temperature was in the 20s since the wind had really picked up. We went to the movies to get out of the elements for a couple hours. After that we had some fine Italian dining at some place called the Olive Garden. After stepping back outside into the cold, we debated whether we should go check out Mt. Rushmore at night.

This was, after all, an outdoor activity. After a brief discussion, we decided to do it. We were the only ones there and it was almost a little eerie. Snow had started to fall. I attempted to catch some of it in the spotlights as it fell onto the monument when all of a sudden the lights went out. Now we were looking out into a black void. I fiddled with my camera settings to work some magic. Unfortunately the sky was a thick overcast, so the prospect of getting the monument with stars was not in the cards, but I did get this bizarre shot of the monument.

Yes, this was taken at night despite appearing to have been taken during the day. The weird scratchy texture is from the snow streaking over the image during my long exposure. It's lucky we showed up when we did, so we saw it illuminated for a few minutes. And that was that. As we returned to the car and headed back into town, our random trip to South Dakota had drawn to a close.

Off to Wyoming!

We woke up this morning in our cabin in the middle of the Badlands. I did a little research on visiting an old ICBM launch facility and found out tickets were first come first serve, so we drove just outside of the park to get our tickets for the afternoon, and then headed back into the park to do some exploring. We drove west a few miles and stopped of at a few viewpoints and did a couple hikes. It was very nice weather. Clear skies, 70 degrees, light breeze. This would all change drastically later in the day.

After feeling we had adequately explored the Badlands, we drove down a dirt road toward Delta-01, the missile launch facility. We weren't entirely sure if we had reached the facility when Google maps said we had arrived at our destination. It was very unassuming from the outside, which I guess is the point. It looked like an average ranch house, other than the chain link fence going around the area. The ranger showed us around the facility, which they tried to showcase as it would have looked when it closed in 1993 -- a People magazine sitting on an old coffee table with Princess Diana on the cover.

Once we passed the crew facilities, we reached an elevator that descended thirty feet underground to a massive concrete and steel door that separated the control room from the outside world. The crew room was actually suspended in a way so that it could move several feet in either direction if it took a hit from a Soviet missile. The two-man crew who would be stationed inside did not have much in the form of entertainment. They would typically be in here for 24 hours straight. After exiting the facility we drove to an old missile silo, which was several miles down the road. We could just look down some plexiglass into the ground to see the missile (now a dud obviously). Despite more than half of America's nuclear missile arsenal being decommissioned, there are still over 450 missile launch sites in existence around the U.S. -- primarily in states with low populations like North Dakota, Wyoming, etc... On our way out of the visitor's center, there was a guestbook where people were supposed to share their thoughts about the prospects of nuclear war and multiple people had trolled the guestbook with things like, "Build a wall!" "Trump!" Disconcerting stuff if you consider that the order to launch comes directly from the President of the United States.

On our way out of South Dakota, we made a stop in Wall for some gas and continued our journey into Wyoming. After checking in to tiny Hulett, Wyoming (pop: 384), we witnessed the temperature plummet about 30 degrees in about an hour. We brought our jackets with us when we drove 20 mins over to Devil's Tower.  The wind had really kicked up and the unseasonably warm and pleasant weather we had experienced thusfar abruptly ended once the region realized it was, in fact, October.  We did a perimeter walk around the tower that was about a mile and a half.

The weather was beginning to seem actually quite ominous. We drove back into the booming metropolis of Hulett and had dinner at a place called the Ponderosa Cafe. The town is about two blocks long, so we walked there from our hotel. People we had seen at Devil's Tower were also at Ponderosa. We saw them again back at the hotel. It's crazy for me to think that people actually live here -- all 383 of them. Though to be fair, we passed through a town called Aladdin on the way in. There were mile distance signs for a ways, but when we drove through we discovered it had a population of 15 (yes, one five). Welcome to Wyoming.

Wait . . . You're Going Where?

After an uneventful flight up to gloomy Seattle and back, I was overdue for another quick vacation. South Dakota it is! Most people did not readily understand this decision. The Uber driver taking us to LAX was a bit confused. The fact of the matter is, the area around Rapid City has a surprising amount of things to do. Also, the weather elsewhere is not exactly ideal. In what became one of the easiest nonrev trips to date, Nicole and I easily got on a half empty flight to Denver and the regional jet connection to Rapid City. The only issue was food upon our arrival. Everything was closed, so we ended up buying snacks at a gas station and that became our dinner.

The following morning, we drove about 20 minutes into the Black Hills to Mt Rushmore. I can't really think of anything to say about it because it's pretty self-explanatory. It's stone heads of presidents. The fall colors were just barely starting to show themselves. The temperature in the morning was about 40, but within a few hours it would be over 70. Confusing weather. After about an hour at the site, we continued on to Custer State Park. The ranger at the gate pointed out where we should see some bison since they hadn't been "worked" yet. Neither Nicole or I had any idea what this meant.

The bison were all corralled behind fences, so it wasn't some kind of majestic migration across the plains we were hoping for, but we did see plenty of antelope roaming the hills. It was a long, winding drive around the park. Eventually we stopped to get some lunch, where I ordered a buffalo burger. One would assume it would be fresh, but the place overcooked it until it was dry and void of taste. Following our exit from the park, we drove back through Rapid City making a quick stop at Dinosaur Park with very natural-looking green dinosaur sculptures and then hit the road toward Wall.

Perhaps you have heard of Wall Drug before. It is the stuff of western legend. Whether you want to buy a dreamcatcher, some fudge, a new pair of spurs, or some pepto-bismol, Wall Drug is your stop. It's also virtually the only thing in existence between Rapid City and Sioux Falls unless you count the Corn Palace in Mitchell (and who wouldn't). Nicole and I stocked up on merchandise -- t-shirts, bottles of water, a magnet, a christmas ornament, and a donut. The creature you see here is a jackalope, half-antelope, half-jack rabbit. Yep.

After departing Wall with a few sandwiches for dinner later, we entered the Badlands National Park. The sun was working its way down on the horizon and the temperature was actually above 80. We stopped off at an overlook and did a few short hikes as well. It's a really interesting topography to see sprout up out of nowhere in the middle of the prairie. As the sun set, we ate our sandwiches and went back out to try our hand at some star photography. Despite being a long way from the nearest town, it was still a bit bright from the waxing moon in the sky overhead.

This created an interesting effect with shadows showing up in our long exposure shots. It was fair to say that Nicole and I were the only people out and about within the park at this hour. In fact, the lodge that we are staying at inside the park closes next week until May or something like that. It's the quiet season in South Dakota. While it has been a challenge to acquire food, it's nice to get away from the crowds. We don't really have any plans for tomorrow as of yet, so stay tuned for further adventures.

Surprisingly No Rain Today

We were expecting today to to be a complete washout, so when we woke up to the natural light seeping in through the window around 7:30 this morning, we bounced out of bed and went out to take advantage of it. We weren't sure if it would soon storm again or not, so we figured every minute was precious. We walked down to the old pier again, since Nicole didn't have her nice camera last time. While the water is always a nice color, the pickings are slim for actual photogenic scenery since it's just you know . . . a beach.

After returning to our hotel, we had breakfast and went for a swim. Sea life is very sparse since there's no reef, but I did spot a crab and a starfish, as you see here. After spending a decent amount of time at the beach, where Nicole finished her thriller novel and I continued reading a thriller of my own -- the trials and tribulations of an American contract pilot flying in China. Scary stuff! After beach time, we walked toward the "town" to do some shopping. Almost everything was closed. Many had signs that said, "Reopening in November." Apparently we are here in the offseason. I got a deal on our hotel (relatively speaking) since it normally goes for well over $300 a night.

And that's the crazy thing about these islands. Who has the money to afford places like this during the "on" season? We walked through a few other resorts which go from $600-$800/nt (during offseason). And yes, they look really nice, but I'm not sure how one can really justify that price in exchange for some more topiaries and a nicer pool. But I suppose some folks like to go big or go home when they go on vacation. Now the bizarre complaints to staff about the rain make a bit more sense. I can picture some big wig from New Jersey yelling, "I just paid $800 a night for this! Can't you make the rain go away?!?!"

We thought we might find an alternate place to get lunch, but everything was closed. We ended up reversing course back to a place called Seven Stars, the same resort we had lunch at a few days ago. If we're going to pay $50 for lunch, we better at least get friendly service. I suggested a boycott of our hotel's restaurant/bar since they always seem to either lie or have attitude. After lunch, we discovered that that the Seven Stars had a bocce ball court and nobody really enforces or restricts access to such things (take that $500/nt hotel!). Nicole, being the Italian that she is, was drawn to it like a bee to a flower. Next I knew we were tossing large balls toward a small ball. A simple game, indeed. The sun was still shining, so now we proceeded back to our hotel and decided to check out a standup paddle board. Neither of us have ever done standup paddle boarding before despite it being quite popular in our area. And you can't beat free, so it was the perfect time to try it out. The people who checked it out before us were struggling, so we thought perhaps it was more difficult than it appeared.

Now not to toot our horns, but both Nicole and I were able to stand up immediately without incident. Perhaps our backgrounds in skating or surfing helped. It was a fairly relaxing activity as well, though I couldn't really get anywhere fast. You are sort at the mercy of the waves/current. I was trying to take pictures of Nicole doing it and she just sort of sailed away to the west in search of new trade routes or something. Tomorrow we face the daunting task of flying American Airlines through Miami to get back to LA. Wish us luck.

Well at Least We Have Yesterday . . .

Today was overcast and rainy the entire day. You can't win them all, though. We were fortunate to have some unexpected sun throughout most of yesterday, so I suppose it's fair. It wasn't particularly rainy in the morning -- just very grey, so we borrowed some bikes from the hotel and rode over to the eastern edge of the island which took less than 15 minutes. We locked the bikes up at a resort nearby and walked around. The place was virtually deserted. We bought a few food items at a nearby market and biked back to our place. We went to the beach (also deserted as you see here).

We did some reading and crosswords even as the rain began to pound down hard. We had an umbrella open over our loungers, so it really made no difference to us. Eventually the wind started pushing the rain into us despite the umbrella, so we sprinted back to our room where we continued our reading and I did one of my training modules for the airline until it was time for dinner. With some bagels and a can of soup on deck, we thought we'd try the happy hour downstairs believing that they had 2-for-1 appetizers and drinks. When we went down, we inquired to confirm that this applied to appetizers and the man nodded.

But as seems to be the case everywhere on this island, people like to say what they think we want to hear until we get the bill and feel like we've been swindled realizing that this 2-for-1 appetizers deal is nonexistent. So we ended up paying $40 for a couple appetizers, a beer, and a bottle of water. We knew the island was going to be expensive before we got here since it's like the playground for A-list celebrities. (After all, we are Bricole, everyone's favorite celebrity couple, but even we try to live like the commoners to keep ourselves grounded). Oh well. It is what it is. It looks like tomorrow we will have that soup and bagel after all.