Birthday! 誕生日！

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Joe's birthday was at the begining of July, a few weeks before he moved up to Yokohama permanently, so he came up for a birthday weekend visit. He arrived on Thursday night and spent Friday wandering the record shops of Shibuya while I was in class. Each Friday afternoon I have a field trip, and on this particular Friday I was in Tokyo to see kabuki at the National Theatre. Unfortunately, photography wasn't allowed in the theatre, but the performance included an instructional 'Kabuki for Beginers' lecture, showing the tricks of the theatre, and a performance of the beautiful Fuji Musume. After the theater performance, I met up with Joe and we wandered around Shibuya together for a while. Above is the famous intersection near Shibuya 109, where a few streets meet in a maze of pedestrian traffic, it's in lots of travel videos and movies, and quite an iconic Tokyo image.
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On our way back home we stopped near Yokohama Station (above) for a while, mostly so Joe could wander around Yodobashi Camera.
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Most of Saturday was spent studying and reading, but in the evening we walked around near Minato Mirai in Yokohama as the weather was perfect, and the breeze from the bay was lovely.
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For dinner we decided to try Bubby's, an outpost of the New York restaurant. We were not dissapointed! Much of the Western or American food in Japan is the reverse of Japanese food in America, kind of authentic, loosely based on the original, but catered for the palette of the country in which the food is being served. Bubby's was actually American food, but with smaller portions. Joe had the Salmon Pot Pie with Hush Puppies and Mashed Potatoes, and I had the Fish and Chips with Sauteed Spinach and Onion Crisps (of course we shared, as usual). We also had the Nachos, which came with actual tortilla chips, black beans, and salsa, heavenly!
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For dessert, of course, it was pie- Chocolate Cream for me and Chocolate Bananna for Joe. Yum! In the U.S. I would probably yelp Bubby's with 4 stars, the service was good, the location lovely and the food was fantastic, but considering it is in Japan, absolutely 5 stars. Next time I feel a longing for home, Bubby's it is.
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