June 5th...

Day 1310:

One last ramen for the road at Yoroku (らーめん与六) in the airport.

Shoyu Ramen and Mabo-don.

Big mistake.

At least I won't be travelling alone.

Hello Times Square.

Let the fun begin!

Airbound...

Day 1224:

In a rush, I almost missed my flight.

Ironically, one of the movies on the plane was about a big wave. Thoughts and prayers go out to those who were affected from the earthquake and tsunami two years ago. Man, those were some crazy times.

Hello again, New York.

Hello Brooklyn Lager.

George Motz!

Alright, time to get down to business...

The color of the sky...

Day 717:

The color of the sky...is the color of my mood. But to one ramen chef, Sora No Iro (ソラノイロ)...

Looks like this.

With ties to Ippudo, this new shop is experiencing a hype that is hard to describe.

For me, the fried onion was too strong. And, the impact was a tad weak. But, all in all, I enjoyed it. I think. For this would be our last bowl together for another....7 months???!

I really hate this part. There's just no getting used to it.

Enough time for one more bowl...

But time just needs to stop...NOW!

Yes, the color of the sky is blue..dark blue. 待ってるよ！

Homeward soul...

Day 623:

The typhoon was beginning to wreak havoc and I was starting to worry about my flight home. But before I headed to the airport I needed to say bye to gramps.

I told him I was leaving for three weeks and he cooked me up a special Umani Ramen so I wouldn't forget him. Don't worry gramps, you'll never be forgotten.

I seem to have the most interesting luck when it comes to travelling. When I tried to call a taxi to pick me up and give me a ride to Shinjuku Station, the phones were all busy because of the damn typhoon. So without any other choice I walked to the nearest busy street in pourrrring rain with my luggage in tow and finally hailed a taxi after getting drenched from head-to-toe. I was soaking wet, but that wasn't what I was worried about. Due to this delay, I missed my train. And since the express trains weren't functioning normally cuz of the typhoon, I had to take the local ones. Needless to say, I was cutting it close.

But I made it...barely. C'mon let's get this plane in the air! A typhoon is coming!!

Okay, please get me off this plane.

After a short flight, I had a 6-hour layover in South Korea. Is that a spaceship? I tried to go to Seoul city but the lady at the information desk advised me not to. It was 8pm and the buses and trains would all end in the next two hours, making it difficult for me to return to the airport for my 1am flight. Alright, let's go get some ramen.

Unfortunately, the only ramen (or should I say ramyun) in Incheon International Airport were lining the shelves of 7-11. Nevermind the ramen, time to hang out in the lounge.

The regular lounge was under construction so they let me into the first class lounge. Woo! After a few beers I just fell asleep.

Until it was time for my 11-hour flight.

Are we there yet?

LAX!!

Well hello there assistant...

久しぶりだね。