My eight minutes of fame…

Although it wasn’t the most illustrious debut in history, I can now say that I have entered the international speaking circuit. :) My friend Will was laughing at me because this was only an 8 minute presentation (with an additional 4 minutes for questions) but I was ridiculously excited about the opportunity. But you see…speaking to an international audience has been a lifetime career goal of mine, and now I can check that box.

The presentation went pretty well, although I certainly could have used a bit more practice. I’m very comfortable with public speaking, but that sometimes leads to laziness on the preparation front! Samia caught a couple of minutes of video on my phone, but I haven’t had the guts to watch it yet.

The best part about the speaking panel was the opportunity to meet the other panelists. They were all such interesting and accomplished people—hailing from Japan, India, Canada, the U.S., Thailand, and Tobago! I had a great time chatting with them before and after the session, and plan to keep in touch with a couple of them. Actually, the girl who spoke right after me was a Japanese RD that I had met at ADA last year—it was fun to reconnect and feel like I had a real-life international network. :)

Oh…there was one bit of excitement/intrigue surrounding the presentation. Since I was still updating my slides until the last moment, I had to use the hotel computer to print my notes pages. The public computer cost 100 Yen for five minutes of time, which masochistically ticked away at the top of the screen as I scrambled to complete my task in the only five minutes that I had enough coins to complete. Unfortunately for me, however, all of the computer menus were in Japanese. :) Through the blessings of icons, as well as my Power Point memory ("Print what? Slides. Handouts. Notes Pages…"), I finally figured out how to get what I needed (after accidentally re-booting the computer AND viewing the contents of all other drives) with only a few seconds remaining. I knew the presentation was destined for greatness at that point…haha.

Reason #872 why I love Japan:

"Bubbly Wine" – sparkling chardonnay sold in individual 250ml CANS. :)

I’m on the train back to Tokyo (from Kyoto) right now, enjoying my can of bubbly wine, some yummy cheese with almonds embedded in it, and some fresh baked bread as the sun sets behind me. Life couldn’t get much better at this moment.

The Dancing Queen...

I'm totally behind on posting our adventures, but I had to get this one up, even if it is out of order. We just got home from a night on the town in Kyoto, and it was absolutely fantastic. :)

We decided to spend the evening in the Gion district, which is the entertainment district famous for geisha. Rachael, Samia & I made our way over there, took some photos with all of the hanging lanterns in the background, then quickly settled on a tasty Filipino restaurant for dinner (which happened to be showing some kind of really cheesy Asian soap opera on a big screen TV, to add to the ambiance :)).

After dinner, we meandered around the seemingly endless Gion district, our senses overloaded with stimuli. While waiting for a crosswalk signal, I happened to look over my shoulder & spot two adorable guys that we had noticed on our tour of the Imperial Palace earlier in the day. Once I pointed them out, Samia didn't hesitate to approach one of them and say, "Hey, you were on our tour today!" Long story short...we ended up grabbing drinks with them (plum wine with bartlett pear juice, just in case you were wondering), and THEN decided that the next logical step would be to hit one of the legendary Japanese karoake bars! :)

Karaoke in Japan is not like karaoke in America. In Japan, you rent private, soundproof rooms for up to eight people by the hour, and you have your own little karaoke party! They stocked us up with sake, and away we went! It was hysterical! One of the guys was totally into it, and of course we were, too. At one point, Samia and I looked at each other and marveled at the fact that we were in the middle of Japan's ancient capital, drinking sake with a couple of Canadians, and singing our hearts out to Lynrd Sknyrd in a private karaoke room. :)

This trip is exactly what I needed.

Testing our will to succeed...

This is a long one...but I felt that every painful detail was necessary to paint the full picture. :)

The 15th International Congress of Dietetics drew to a close, and we hightailed it out of Yokohama in search of a taste of Old Japan in Kyoto. Kyoto is about a 2.5 hour bullet-train (super high-speed) ride away from Yokohama, so we assumed we could leave the conference around 5pm and easily arrive by 8pm. "HaHa, suckers! We'll see about that," responded the travel gods.

In fact, we left the conference facility around 5:00pm and in hopes of catching a 5:50 train. "Plenty of time!" we thought. And the travel gods laughed heartily.

Although we had 7-day rail pass vouchers, we needed to exchange them for actual seat assignments on the bullet-train. We made sure to get directions and instructions from a native Japanese friend (who now lives in the U.S.), and away we went. Rachael with her two suitcases, Samia with her one jumbo (i.e. ridiculously heavy) suitcase and her overstuffed backpack, and me with the world's largest and heaviest expandable carry-on, plus a heavy shoulder bag, plus a bag of food. In other words, we were not traveling light. :) And since we were not traveling light, we opted to take a taxi to the subway station, per our friend's recommendation. As it turns out, we could have walked there more quickly...it was only two blocks away, and the poor driver & hotel concierge spent at least the time it would have taken us to walk that short distance trying to Tetris-fit our massive amount of luggage into the small cab. "Gee whiz. Aren't we silly for this little time waster?" we thought. "Just wait," responded the travel gods.

Upon our arrival at the station, we immediately spotted the Japan Rail (JR) office, and confidently stepped inside to exchange our rail pass vouchers. But wait! For some reason, this particular office does not complete voucher exchanges! We were told that we needed to go to another JR office in a subway station several stops away before we could hop on the Kyoto train. "OK...not a big deal," we thought. And they laughed again.

We made our way to the recommended Yokohama Station, and were happy to think that we were actually just a little closer to Kyoto. From the directions we had received, we were to pass through Yokohama station, anyway. So, no big loss of time! A collective sigh of relief followed. But the travel gods laughed some more.

We disembarked the subway train with our bags in tow and quickly realized that we were in the throws of rush hour within the main city terminal...in the second largest city in Japan. All three of us live in major U.S. cities, so we're no strangers to crowds...but the sheer volume of people moving through that station at lightning speed was an unbelievable sight, and moving through them with our luggage in tow was truly a test of fortitude. We walked and walked and walked, but we had no idea of where the JR office was located within this large, crowded station. We were also moving less than efficiently with our luggage. Rachael stepped up to the plate and volunteered to find the office while Samia and I waited with the bags. About a half hour later, when we assumed that Rachael was lost in Japan forever, she came running back to us, out of breath and covered in sweat. "Follow me!" she said, while grabbing her bag and taking off in a full sprint...dodging in and out of the rush hour crowd with amazing agility and lightning reflexes! Since the maps were all written in Japanese the the crowds didn't allow for stopping and contemplating, Samia and I trusted her lead and attempted to follow suit...oh, and speaking of suit...did I mention that I was still in my presentation suit and heels??? And the travel gods laughed heartily again.

We ran until we were honestly panting, and arrived at the JR office literally the same moment that our number (that Rachael had cleverly picked up) was called. We rushed up to the counter, knowing that our window of time before departure was narrowing, and proceeded to be waited on by the most meticulous, precise, S-L-O-W hand-writer that I have ever seen. He got the job done, but with only five minutes to spare before our train's departure time! When we asked which track we should run toward, he looked at us as if we were beyond crazy. The lady next to him, who was more confident with her English skills, explained that we couldn't possibly make that train because it departed from SHIN-YOKOHAMA station, not YOKOHAMA station. Rachael, with a look of pure defeat, walked over to the water cooler for a sip of cool rejuvenation...and it was empty. :) So the travel gods laughed again.

We forged ahead through the crowds once again, made our way onto another subway line, and headed toward Shin-Yokohama station, our oasis. This required a transfer to yet another line. :) We had already missed our initially-intended train, but now had ticketed reservations for the 6:50 departure. And the travel gods giggled shamelessly.

Upon our arrival at Shin-Yokohama, we were once again thrust into a rush hour crowd as we maneuvered our way from the subway area to our JR train platform as deftly as possible. We took escalators, elevators and short stairs on our path to the upper level platform...as a reminder, with our luggage in tow, and me in a suit & heels. We got to the final point of ascension to Track 10, and gaped at the 40+ stairs separating us from our train. We stood, dumbfounded and defeated at the base of the staircase, searching for an elusive escalator, and dodging the crowds spilling around us. Then Rachael saved the day!! She spotted a slightly hidden elevator on the opposite wall, and we scurried toward it with a sense of final victory! She pressed the "up" button (written in Japanse, of course), the doors opened, and we started to move inside...only to get stopped in our tracks by the realization that it was a BATHROOM. :) This time, we belly-laughed along with the travel gods...it was the only way to maintain our sanity at that point.

We had three minutes before the bullet train departed, just above us. With a final push of strong will, we took a deep breath and lugged our bags step-by-step up to the platform. A very kind Japanese gentleman helped me with mine, and I will be forever grateful. Just as we reached the top, the train arrived; we sprinted (once again) to the "ordinary" (i.e. not first-class) cars & got on just in time for the doors to close behind us.

Deep breaths, cold beverages, and we were on our way...

Evening at The Manyo Club, Part II: When in Rome...

So...after the hilarious but oh-so-relaxing massage (and after marveling at the dexterity of the masseuse's toes for a few minutes afterward), I was eager to explore the rest of the 8-story spa. While waiting for Samia's massage appointment to wrap up, I strolled through the posh, quiet, dimly-lit building barefoot in my yukata, surrounded by other women & men in similar ensembles. I explored the relaxation room, the observation deck, and the arcade (??). Once Samia was finished, we geared up for the big finale...the hot spring baths.

In Japan, public bath houses are a long-standing tradition. But the baths aren't used for bathing...they're used for soaking/relaxing/curing one's ails/rejuvenating one's spirits. In fact, before entering one of the public baths, you must completely clean yourself...publicly. :) After shyly disrobing, Samia and I made our way (carefully avoiding any glimpses at one other--just not the mental image either of us would prefer to have of the other!) to the rows of bathing stalls to make ourselves suitable for entering the baths. The stalls have short (maybe 3 ft) walls in-between each, but the rows face one another, and each stall has a jumbo mirror...so essentially, at any moment, you can see multiple others "bathing" unless you actively try to avoid it. :) A stool is provided (everyone sits while doing this), as well as a little bucket, a shower hose, and several types of sudsy products. I did my best. :)

From that point, we took our clean selves out into the bath area. This particular spa had at least six baths, and I was determined to try them all...in baby steps. I have to admit that I was a little freaked out by all of the completely naked women walking around as if they were fully confident and fully dressed. :) I guess I have a little more puritan in me than I ever imagined. A couple of the baths were inside...those were nice. However, once I set foot outside into the open air rooftop baths, with their perfectly-temperatured steamy water, their perfectly pressured jets, and their perfectly situated view of Yokohama by night, I finally understood what all of the fuss was about. It was AMAZING. I no longer cared that I was in my birthday suit for dozens of women (and anyone with a camera pointed to this rooftop) to see. I no longer cared that I would be giving a presentation (that was not quite finished) the next day, or that I was still oddly jetlagged, or that my life isn't necessarily what I thought it would be at 32. The moment was dedicated to relaxation, and I was fully living in it.

Did I mention that I love this country?

After the full baths, Samia and I returned to our yukatas and spent the next hour soaking our calves/feet in the hot rooftop footbath, which looked directly out at the Yokohama ferris wheel, lit up beautifully at night. We finally wrapped up our spa visit around 1:00am...six hours after we had first entered for dinner. We kept reminding ourselves of what we would be doing if we were at home right then...and were thankful for every moment that we had at the Manyo Club, instead, that evening.

Evening at The Manyo Club, Part I: The Foot Massage

A while back, our friend Olivia had told us about a spa/Japanese bath house called The Manyo Club (http://www.manyo.co.jp/mm21/yu/) , which was right down the street from our Yokohama hotel. Although the website was exclusively in Japanese, enough photos were included to convince Samia & I to be totally on board with the idea of spending an evening there. We agreed to join Olivia & her husband for dinner there on Tuesday night, with the promise of massage appointments and hot spring tubs to follow. Did I mention that the spa only closes one hour per day (I think from 4-5am)? Awesome. I'm sold.

The four of us enjoyed a great dinner, and did so in a traditional Japanese style (at least what I think of as traditional Japanese, based on American TV :) ) by sitting on our knees at a low table. One of my legs fell asleep, but it was otherwise quite comfortable. My fellow diners all enjoyed Asian delicacies, but I was positively jumping for joy at the chance to eat watermelon and broccoli for dinner (from the small salad bar...a welcome oasis of fruits and veggies that I had been desperately seeking since arriving in Japan). :) Oh, and I enjoyed some cantaloupe ice cream for dessert, just for good measure...tasty stuff.

After dinner, we went to the check-in desk and were allowed to choose our yukata (casual/summer kimono-like robe & sash) for the evening. Fantastic! We quickly changed into the VERY comfortable Japanese get-up (no shoes allowed, by the way!) & strolled downstairs to choose our respective massages from the massive spa menu. Samia chose the traditional shiatsu massage, while I (in typical form) decided to do something a little "different." I chose a "relaxing foot massage" which sounds straightforward enough, right? Well, instead of the reflexology-type focus on my feet that one might imagine, I was instead instructed to lay down on my stomach (on a tatami mat on the floor), and proceeded to receive a full-body massage from the masseuse's toes. :) And I have to say that it was NICE. Thankfully I'm not one of those people that is freaked out by feet, and I just had to trust that hers were clean since this is her livelihood. :) It was incredibly relaxing, although I was giggling in my head for the entire 45 minutes. But that wasn't all that the evening had to offer...

Instructions...

Saw this sign in a public restroom yesterday...and thank goodness! :)