One last night and one last goodbye...

One last night equals one more night at Bassanova. This time I chose to end my trip with the Tom Yum Ramen. Nontraditional but perfect for the occasion. Thanks go out to Brian for hangin' out. Spain Bar rocks!


This should hold me over for the next few months. And maybe, if you're lucky (or if I'm lucky), I'll share some with you.


But I'm really looking forward to this fresh chashu I picked up. Doesn't it look so good??


The angel was gone so I was forced to say goodbye to this funky robot instead. Bye!


この一週間はすごい楽しかった。ありがとう。絶対に忘れない。

The rest of the week went sort of like this...

I went to Hiroshima and ate this.


And this.


Then I went to Onomichi to eat this.


And this.


Then I enjoyed the view from my hotel.


And met an angel.


Then I ate Sapporo ramen in Mihara...go figure.


And some more.


Back in Tokyo, I added some noodles to my motsu nabe.


Then ate some cheese bacon yakitori.


Then sang with two beautiful girls.


Afterwards, we ate Bassanova!


Yes!!


Oh yeah!!


Another visit to the Shinyokohama Raumen Museum for Ide Shoten.


And Ramen No Eki.


And just because my brother said "Dude, how come you don't put any pictures of me on your blog?" Well, here you go.


...at least this is how I remember it. See you back in LA!

Speed-slurping in Tsuruga and robot ramen in Nagoya

Day 2 turned out to be more hectic than I planned. On my way to Hiroshima from Tokyo, I decided to stop at Tsuruga, for some real Ichiriki, and Nagoya, for some ramen robot action. The chashu wonton men at Ichiriki was great! It had two types of chashu and fresh little wontons that blasted off in a galactic sea of pepper and spice. Unfortunately, I had to speed-slurp it in 3 minutes otherwise I wouldn't have made it on time to Hiroshima. I literally sprinted like Usain Bolt to catch my bus back to Tsuruga Station. Luckily, the bus driver let me hop on while the bus was moving.


The ramen robots at Fa-Men in Nagoya were fun to watch, but the ramen they make is disappointingly sub par. The best part is when the robots converse with each other and do stand-up comedy. It's hilarious.


Anyway, I made it to Hiroshima barely in time for dinner with friends. Now if only I can figure out where in Hiroshima I am...haha.

Fresh off the plane and chillin' with Ivan...in Japan!

I made it back! Yes, I'll be in Japan for the next 8 days traveling from Tokyo to Hiroshima and stopping wherever I can to find good ramen. But before I could officially get things started, I had to make a beeline from Narita to Setagaya-ku and say hello to Ivan of Ivan Ramen. He's the guy on the left down below (I'm not sure who the other guy is). Brian from Ramen Adventures was also able to join us tonight. Well, I won't ramble on too much cuz I need more sleep than THE Bruce Dickinson needs more cowbell. (See, I told you.)


I've definitely been craving Ivan's Zembu Nose Shio Ramen since the last time I ate it. Craving fulfilled! (for now)


Brian got the Spicy Red Chile Mazemen. How good does that look?! (damn good!)


Alright, I kept it short and sweet as promised. I probably won't be able to post every night like I did on my last trip, but I'll be sure to update as often as I can. Or you can always follow me on Twitter! See you in Hiroshima!