A couple weeks ago, Dan and I flew to Las Vegas for a 3-day weekend with some of my college friends! It was the first time being in Sin City for both Dan and myself, so everything was new to us! We got to eat some good food, watch the Cirque du Soleil show KA (the highlight of the trip for me!) and even I dabbled in some gambling…!
Here are some photos:
Arriving in Vegas.
We all stayed in a suite together at the Luxor.
Richard, Dan, and I were the first ones to get there! Here are the guys playing with their Android phones at lunch... so nerdy.
For dinner, we went to RM Seafood at Mandalay Bay
They had some delicious sustainable seafood. Thanks for the recommendation, Jenn! 🙂
I played the slots, and won 5 times what I put in! (I put in $2, came out with $10.)
The Strip at night.
Waiting to see KA at the MGM Grand.
The gentlemen before the show.
Waiting for pho lunch the next day at Treasure Island.
Outside of Treasure Island with some of my favorite Hokies! I missed them a lot!
Ice cream floats at Burger Bar for lunch the next day...
All of us at the Luxor.
Dan and I at the Flamingo hotel before leaving for the airport.
I was feeling under the weather much of the weekend, so I feel like I wasn’t able to fully enjoy Vegas, but it was nice to be able to see some of my college friends again. Next weekend, we’ll be flying to Phoenix to visit my cousin’s family for Labor Day Weekend, but after that, we’ll be done with jetsetting for a while….
My family was in town a couple weeks ago, and we got to spend some quality time together. It was the first time that all of us Yokoyama’s were together since New Years, so I was ecstatic to see them all again! I took a Friday off to spend a day with them in San Francisco, and then we drove to South Lake Tahoe for the weekend. Here are some photos from the Yokoyama reunion! 😀
My family making their way down the steps of Lombard Street
Me with my mother and siblings.
Ramen lunch at Tanpopo in Japantown.
For dinner, we went to Zabu Zabu in Berkeley, a shabu shabu restaurant.
Dan and I treated the family to a delicious shabu shabu all-you-can-eat dinner.
On Saturday morning, we headed out in the morning to drive to South Lake Tahoe. I’ve been to Tahoe before, but it was in the winter when there was snow, and it was the northern side at Northstar, so this was a whole new experience to visit the southern side and in the summertime!
My parents with the mountains in South Lake Tahoe.
Dan's got the blues
Miwa advertising her canned green tea.
I love my parents!
At night, the siblings came together for game night in our hotel room.
The next morning, at Heavenly Ski Resort.
The Yokoyama ladies
Miwa and I with our parents.
After breakfast, we rode the gondolas up to the lookout point.
Me with my sister and brother on the gondola.
Arriving at the lookout point.
The Yokoyamas at South Lake Tahoe
A gorgeous view of Lake Tahoe!
We ended our weekend in Tahoe with mini golf, a Yokoyama family tradition.
It was really hot in Tahoe, so we cooled down with some shaved ice. (They claimed it was Hawaiian style, but it just didn't compare....)
I had a wonderful time with the family, but as always, I wish I could have made it longer! It’s so hard when you live across the country from your family and loved ones. I can’t wait until the holidays, when we can go visit them back East! 🙂
Today marks 65 years since the atomic bomb was dropped on the city of Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. The aftermath of the nuclear attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were horrific, and the lives lost can only be estimated but it numbers in the hundred thousands. The attacks over sixty years were the first and only instances thusfar in which nuclear weapons have been used offensively in warfare.
As the granddaughter of a Hiroshima survivor (hibakusha), I’ve heard firsthand stories from my grandmother about the atrocity that befell the city that day. Her father was killed, along with many of her family members and friends. The atomic bomb not only took away countless lives, but it continues to have long-lasting effects… some genetic, that are passed on through the generations. Even I myself am not completely free from risk of unforeseen radiation effects, as the blood of a survivor runs through my veins.
Still, the constant message that is central at the Hiroshima Peace Park and at its yearly memorial services on August 6 is not that of bitterness, but of the city’s unending hope for world peace. Hiroshima is an important reminder that the world should never have to experience such a nuclear nightmare ever again.
As we mentioned earlier, we had the opportunity to take some Japanese-style wedding portraits in kimono while we were in Honolulu. I’d grown up seeing various cousins’ wedding photos from Japan, and my relatives always urged us to take some, but we never had the opportunity until this summer. Masako Formals in Honolulu is a bridal boutique that specializes in wedding dresses, tuxedos, and other formalwear, but they also offer photography packages in which you can take portraits in traditional Japanese wedding kimonos. It includes the kimono rental (in my case both shiromuku and iro-uchikake), makeup and hair for the bride, and dressing assistance. They did a wonderful job, and both Dan and I were very impressed! Here are some of the photos!
The female staff were especially taken with Dan during the photoshoot, squealing that he looked like Tom Cruise (I perosnally don’t see it!), and were snapping a bunch of personal photos on their cell phones… lol. You can see us featured on their blog as well. A huge thanks to our friend Yumi who referred us to Masako Formals! ã¨ã£ã¦ã‚‚ã„ã„記念ã«ãªã‚Šã¾ã—ãŸâ™ª ã‚ã‚ŠãŒã¨ã†ï¼:D
This past weekend, I flew down to Los Angeles to spend the weekend with a couple of my close college friends! Ryosuke had been in SoCal for a week for a business trip, and Mariko was very gracious to host us again and drive us around everywhere. We had a memorable, fun-filled weekend together!
I flew down to LAX on Friday morning, and after Mari picked me up at the airport, we went to Il Chianti, an Italian restaurant in Lomita. But this is not just any Italian food — it’s Italian food that is tailored to Japanese tastes, so it was very light yet flavorful, and it doesn’t leave you with the heavy feeling that a lot of other traditional Italian restaurants leave you with.
Il Chianti in Lomita
We got to the restaurant a little early, so we caught up on a bench outside while we waited for it to open.
Manila clam pasta with herbs
Afterwards, we went shopping to get a joint birthday present for Ryosuke, and waited for him to get out of work….
Boba Loca
Mari and I shared a watermelon slushy.
Cute Mari with our boba.
We took a walk around Charles H. Wilson Park in Torrance.
Ryosuke finally got off of work, so we picked him up at his hotel in Hawthorne and after wandering around Book Off and Marukai in Gardena, we headed over to dinner in Koreatown, at Honey Pig. My coworker Estella repeatedly recommended it, saying it was some of the best Korean BBQ in LA, so I’d been really wanting to try it!
Me at Honey Pig in Koreatown!
Mari and Richard at dinner
Doesn't it look delicious? It was a little different from the typical Korean BBQ I was used to from Annandale Koreatown.
Mari and I are ready to eat!
The service was great, and our waitress was very friendly and knew some Japanese. She showed us how to eat everything since it was our first time at Honey Pig. They even gave us some complimentary octopus to grill along with the amazing galbi and samgyeopsal that we’d ordered.
At the end, they added rice and lettuce to the leftover meat to make "bibimbap."
After stuffing ourselves to satisfaction at Honey Pig, we drove to Max Karaoke to spend a couple hours singing our hearts out! When the three of us would hang out back in Northern Virginia, we always went karaoke, so we decided to stay true to tradition! 🙂
Mariko and I at karaoke
They had a book of Glee songs!
We tried to get a photo of the three of us together with a timer, but it didn't work as well as we'd hoped... the base ended up being too reflective.
Ryosuke sang an impressive rendition of Jason DeRulo’s “Whatcha Say” at my request. (I have been loving all the covers of that song on YouTube — they’re even better than the original!) He should be one of those YouTube celebrities that do cover songs! 😛
The next day, we headed over to Orange County and stopped at Mitsuwa’s food court for lunch.
Mitsuwa Marketplace in Costa Mesa.
Santouka Ramen -- it was very popular, and the line was pretty long!
Everything looks so good!
My shoyu ramen from Santouka.
Mari enjoying her ramen!
The ramen was well worth the wait! Sooooo good!
After finishing our lunch and hanging around Mitsuwa for a while, we drove to the OC Fair in Orange County!
Walking from the car to the OC Fair.
Mari and I at the OC Fair, having some shaved ice.
Shaved ice... very sweet! Unfortunately not as good as Hawaii's.
These turkey legs reminded us of our football games from back at school! We were too full to get any though...
Mari with the pugs!
Ryosuke and Mari waiting for the ferris wheel ride.
Ryosuke and I patiently waiting...
Mari and I, finally on the ferris wheel!
We were a little alarmed by how shaky the ride was.
Our view overlooking the OC Fair from the ferris wheel.
The three of us on the ferris wheel!
The Ice Museum at the OC Fair - some very detailed ice sculptures!
I think it was a Chinese lion...?
Angel carved out of ice.
Mari and I by the ice dragon, in the blankets they provided us.
An ice version of Rodin's "The Thinker"
At the photography exhibition at the OC Fair. We played around with the color isolation (color accent?) settings on my camera.
Mari at the photo exhibit.
highlighted oranges
The green stripes in Richard's shirt didn't really show up, but the green in the background did!
A stylish Mari among the photographs
Lots of orange showing up!
Peeking out from behind the walls.
Mari and I with the giant camera at the exhibit.
Ryosuke and I at the exhibit
We spotted these performers on stilts. Amazing how they can walk so well in them!
Taking a break to enjoy some Dippin' Dots.
Rainbow Ice Dippin' Dots!
Mari and Ryo went on the rollercoaster, but I decided to sit it out...
Ryosuke at the end of the ride.
I played a game to use up my tickets, and ended up winning this ugly little bear doll. The pattern makes it look diseased... gross! haha*
We left the fair in the late afternoon to catch a showing of Inception. It was my second time seeing it, but it was still really enjoyable to watch and I was able to pick up on more of the details of the film. Definitely got me thinking all over again. What a great movie! I don’t think I will ever get sick of it! We enjoyed a late Japanese dinner at Sanuki no Sato back in Gardena. They are known for their udon and soba noodles, as well as their great izakaya food.
buta no kakuni
I ordered tempura with zaru-soba!
Ryosuke's sanshoku wariko soba.
A delicious dinner to end an eventful day!
The next day, after we dropped Ryosuke off at LAX for him to catch his morning flight back to Tennessee, I went to church with Mariko. Her father is a pastor and gave a very intriguing and inspiring message. 🙂 It’s interesting to attend a service in Japanese, because it’s so foreign to me since I never had the experience growing up — any and all services I’ve gone to were always in English. Afterwards, we had some delicious cake at Patisserie Chantilly before heading over to the airport for me to catch my flight.
Patisserie Chantilly in Lomita
I had the Chantilly Fromage, their signature cheesecake with a creamy cheese filling, baked on a buttery honey graham cracker crust
It was really nice to kick back and relax with old college friends again, since the opportunity is so rare these days, living all the way on the other side of the country from most of them. A huge thanks to Mariko for being such a gracious hostess as usual, driving us all over the megalopolis that is LA… and to Ryosuke for extending his stay in California so we could all hang out for a couple days! 😀 Looking forward to another reunion, hopefully in the near future!
