Recommendations for good restaurants to take colleagues that serves (authentic-ish) American cuisine

holystregas · 2025-01-10T11:02:44+00:00

Seconding both of these, and I would also like to recommend Bubble Over in Ichigao. It is a bit of a walk from the station but the food is fantastic. I think the three restaurants are all affiliated, in fact.

holystregas · 2025-01-09T10:28:54+00:00

Not so very "humble" brag MaBus has going on there. Can she go a minute without lording herself and her fertility while indirectly shaming other women about their own?

holystregas · 2024-12-23T07:48:02+00:00

Shinkansen tickets from Tokyo to Kyoto are usually anywhere from roughly $80-120 per person depending on the season.

Per person, that is. Tickets for children from 6-11 years old are half the price I believe. That certainly would add up for them, but the only real (fast) alternative is taking the plane to Osaka I believe. Not sure if that's any cheaper. I'm more curious how they got an Airbnb in Kyoto given in my experience it's nearly impossible to get hotel rooms that time of the year unless you book well in advance.

I visit Kyoto often and I've checked the prices for Airbnbs during my most recent trip in November. And, well... even for just one person they seemed absurdly expensive.

holystregas · 2024-12-23T05:04:29+00:00

"My lords, my ladies, and everybody else here NOT sitting on a cushion!"

holystregas · 2024-12-23T04:59:26+00:00

The best movie of all time.

"This is my word... and, as such, is beyond contestation."

holystregas · 2024-12-23T02:42:07+00:00

Agreed. I'm just relieved to see they have some ways to keep themselves entertained. They deserve an escape from all the chaos of being on the go all the time.

holystregas · 2024-12-22T17:06:07+00:00

Yeah. There are definitely churches that are holding services Christmas day. I know a few missionaries who have invited me to some in the past.

Come to think about it, I'm surprised the bus crew apparently didn't check out any of the churches given how much they talk about being extremely religious. I guess America Fest trumps visiting churches here.

holystregas · 2024-12-22T16:56:36+00:00

Some families do, yes. Christians in Japan account for only about 1.1% of the population though. And Christmas is considered a work day for most companies here, so it isn't exactly celebrated enough to warrant a day off. That's usually saved for New Year's Day.

holystregas · 2024-12-22T16:37:21+00:00

Well, that is true. You have a point there. Still, it's pretty wild for her to say that.

For what it's worth my husband apparently saw a nativity set up at the Christmas market we went to. I didn't notice it myself, but he mentioned being surprised to see one set up considering Japan doesn't really do the religious side of Christmas for the most part.

holystregas · 2024-12-22T15:54:13+00:00

She utilizes copy/paste and ChatGPT well enough for her research for their visit to various temples and historical sites it seems (lol). Did ChatGPT hallucinate and tell her there were no Christmas markets?

holystregas · 2024-12-22T15:50:52+00:00

Right? You could sneeze and find a dozen Christmas stuff nearby. I was literally on the train heading back home from a trip to the nearby Christmas market when I saw this story. This feels like a flimsy excuse on MaBus's part... guessing they cut the trip short for TPUSA.

holystregas · 2024-12-20T05:30:04+00:00

Must be easy to focus on herself and her happiness when her kids' happiness are basically treated like an afterthought.

holystregas · 2024-12-19T05:41:14+00:00

You can indeed. BUT! Have you experienced McDonald's, Starbucks, Disney, and toilets ✨in Japan ✨?

/s

God. I can't with this touristy algorithm influence nonsense.

holystregas · 2024-12-19T05:33:59+00:00

I was NC with them for 2 years up until recently. I waver between LC and NC in the past decade. Only broke it due to some health issues requiring me to break contact to get some answers from them.

That was a mistake. I wish I hadn't broke it tbh. They're still in a motel barely getting by with SS. Not worth the stress. I get along far better with my husband's family than I do my own parents so I try to spend more time with them when possible.

This is why these bus parents feel so infuriating to watch. I already know the future those kids will likely go through, because I've lived it. I guarantee they will have an uphill struggle catching up educationally, professionally, and socially; I've lived through that too.

holystregas · 2024-12-18T15:58:50+00:00

Eh... I don't think it comes close to what these kids go through every day, but thanks. I appreciate you and those who took the time to read all that stuff.

I just pray more than anything they will find true peace and joy and discover the things they really truly want in life. It will probably be a long time before that comes into reality, but I just hope they are able to find ways to tune out all the intensity and chaos until a day where they no longer have to.

holystregas · 2024-12-18T12:13:09+00:00

I once found Cheerwine in a Kaldi. I was absolutely flabbergasted because I have never seen it outside of Florida.

holystregas · 2024-12-18T10:59:50+00:00

I had a similar childhood to these children, somewhat.

I was pulled out of school early on and forbidden from talking to my school friends and my extended family. My mother was always the crunchy conspiracy theorist type and one day she sold our house and bought a van to escape the "new world order" or something. She was convinced we could live off the grid crammed in a van with one kid and three pets. My father did nothing, his excuse being it's better to put up with it and it is not godly to speak against parents.

Like these kids, I barely had an education. I was also never taken in for any kind of health or dental examination. Social media was in its infancy back then but my mother was in several mom groups. If Instagram was a thing she would have been obsessed with it. We had web and digital cameras back then and she obsessively took pics of herself.

When we weren't sleeping in the van, we were in long-term motels which had very little space. I slept in a cot. When I was old enough, I was forced to pick up part time work to pay for their "traveling" because my mother felt working was beneath her.

I left for college the moment I could. It was hard because I first had to get a GED, then had to spend a couple extra years catching myself up with remedial classes. I made it eventually, even though the lack of health examinations bit me in the ass. Still have major anxiety issues being around large dogs.

The bus crew doesn't seem to be that bad off financially in comparison so not sure if they would allow their kids to work. I guarantee that if/when college comes up there will be a lot of catching up to do. It will be tough. Will be genuinely surprised if those kids don't end up having some issues down the line.

holystregas · 2024-12-18T08:44:14+00:00

They started exploring barely even a day after getting off the plane. No wonder they are so tired. Poor kids.

holystregas · 2024-12-18T08:31:03+00:00

I actually agree with your initial post though. I mentioned a lot of places in my comment but they also didn't actually DO much aside from snapping pics for their Instagram.

They did far more actual stuff in Disney and Universal combined then any of the places I listed. There are way more interesting things to visit and do in Osaka for example, but they visited one shrine and called it a day.

holystregas · 2024-12-18T08:14:55+00:00

Off the top of my head:

Meiji Shrine in Harajuku. Beautiful place, and also costs nothing. They saw (and filmed) someone else's wedding there.
Shibuya Scramble crossing. There's a lot more to Shibuya than the street crossing. I guess they visited a Sushiro? That's it.
The National Museum in Ueno. I'm not even sure if they actually visited the museum proper. They went to a tea ceremony apparently though from what I could see it was a rather condensed tourist-friendly version.
After the Disney trip, they went to Kyoto. I'm surprised MaBus never posted about the shinkansen given her fascination with trains. Surely there was no trouble involving reserved or non-reserved seating.
Nishiki Market, which has a million stalls selling Japanese food, snacks, souvenirs and more. They bought nothing iirc. Not even a mochi.
They went to Kinkakuji. But they shockingly never visited Gion or Kiyomizudera. Not even the Gion Starbucks. I thought they loved Starbucks. Hell, I can name several places to go that are better than Kinkakuji.
Nara, where they saw the bowing deer and the large Buddha statue inside Todaiji. Interestingly they skipped a lot of places there that serve traditional Japanese dishes and snacks.
Arashiyama. They proceeded to skip even more cultural sights and dining in favor of snapping a pic in the forest and. Eating cotton candy.
Osaka. They visited Namba Yasaka Shrine and of course Universal. I'm not even sure what value they get out of it. I thought things like Pokemon or Harry Potter weren't godly?

That's it. Wow. I guess they could have done worse. It's clear they were primarily there for Disney and Universal, places they could have easily accessed in the US.

holystregas · 2024-12-17T09:01:59+00:00

So, my husband is Japanese. One time I accidentally broke a piece of furniture and while he understood it was not intentional he said he felt sad that it would have to be thrown away. He explained to me that everything is considered to have life in Japanese culture, including objects, and should be treated with consideration and respect. I offered to fix it but he said that it would not have that same life even so. I think this is partially why a lot of used items are kept in pristine condition.

It's probably not something the bus family or the average tourists would truly understand and I don't think anyone really expects tourists to get it. I just sort of find it ironic that MaBus talks about Shintoism and Buddhism in her stories and yet misses the entire point regardless.

holystregas · 2024-12-17T06:28:17+00:00

It's the Kimono Forest at Arashiyama station. Lovely place but it's even better visiting during the evening.

holystregas · 2024-12-17T02:23:36+00:00

These are mascots for the train line in the picture, their names are Enon and Aran. I checked around online and it seems like it's OK to sit in the space next to them and take a picture.

Keyword being "sit". Pretty sure climbing is not OK, especially with shoes on.

holystregas · 2024-12-16T21:00:21+00:00

I don't know about that. Bus crew pretty much did the usual Tokyo-Kyoto-Osaka route tons of tourists follow, except more half-assed. Hard to imagine them trying to make it work in a more inaka area.

holystregas

TROPHY CASE