Car Show Mecca

All car enthusiasts know that when it comes to the ultimate import car show, nothing beats the one and only Tokyo Auto Salon. It's a three day event held every January in the town of Chiba at the Makuhari Messe Convention Center, which is about 40 minutes east of Tokyo. Ted and I had were thrilled to check out the show for the first time two weeks ago.

We decided to spend two days at the event to make sure we didn't miss anything which turned out to be a smart idea because there was just so many things to see. Here's a photo recap of this awesome car show:

Just to give you an idea of what the Tokyo Auto Salon show floor looked like...this was just one of four huge exhibit halls:

A number of vendors and car manufacturers where present showing off all their new products for 2015:

 

Now for the cars... there were just so many vehicles on display so instead of just bombarding you with the hundreds of photos I took over the weekend, I decided to break it down into certain categories. Of course no Japanese car show is complete without the infamous Nissan Skyline GTR, and man did the T.A.S. have a lot of these beauties:

Also a great mixture of old school & new school cars like the Toyota Corolla (hatchi-roku) & the new 86:

 

 

Full out race and drift cars:

 

 

Concept cars like this BMW:

 

 

Exotic and high-end cars like the Lexus LFA, Audi R8, Lamborghini & Ferrari's :

 

 

Everyday cars like the Toyota Prius, SUV's like the Lexus Harrier (Lexus RX), mini-vans and wagons:

 

 

And perhaps my favorite style of Japanese cars are the VIP style; it's when a luxury vehicle is equipped with air ride suspension allowing the height of the car to be adjusted...which is usually lowered to the ground. The new Lexus RC, Lexus LS, and the Toyota Crown (Avalon) are great examples of this popular Japanese VIP  style:

 

 

So if you are a big fan of the import scene, highly encourage you to come out here in January and we'll go to the Mecca of car shows, The Tokyo Auto Salon! 

We wish you a "Happy" Christmas and a Happy New Year

Season Greetings everyone! As with every passing year, we look back and think about the year that was and certainly 2014 was an exciting one for both Bern and myself. Obviously moving to Japan was huge and it has provided us with some fun opportunities we never before would have imagined. Although it is difficult being away from our loved ones for the first time in our lives, it has also made us realize just how truly blessed we are. Sometimes in life, the things that mean the most to us (family, friends, In-&-out burger, Carne Asada Fries, Carl's Jr, etc... haha) we take for granted. Certainly being able to step away for a bit puts everything into perspective and we are so thankful for everything!

Bern and I were very surprised to find out that Christmas was actually celebrated here in Japan! The Christmas spirit was alive and well evident by all the lights, Christmas trees, and holiday deals at the local malls. Yet, there were some differences I noticed for example, there really wasn't a huge presence of good ol' St. Nick or the real reason for the season; the birth of Jesus. I'm thinking maybe this has to do with the fact that Japanese people are predominantly either Buddhist or Shinto, but still have an affinity for Western culture. Also, instead of saying "Merry Christmas," Japanese prefer to say "Happy Christmas!"

Our first Christmas here in Japan started with Bern and I going to midnight mass on base where we got to hear Ted sing his first solo (Oh Holy Night). During his performance, I couldn't even look at him because he actually took the shape of a unicorn; it was that good! haha (Step Brothers movie) After church, we came home where we ate some arroz caldo (Filipino Congee) that Bern had cooked for the very first time ever. It didn't turn out quite the way she had anticipated but it was a good first attempt nonetheless. Then we opened up some presents and finally went to bed around 4:30am. Thank you once again to everyone for all the Christmas gifts, cards, and well-wishes! We hope you had a wonderful Christmas too!    

The following day, we headed over to the Cariaga's place where we basically ate all day, sang karaoke, and danced! It's true what they say that sometimes the best things in life are free; just hanging out with our family here in Japan was a blast.

 

 

Another interesting fact I learned is that while Christmas is usually a time for family and New Year's a time to go out, it's the total opposite here in Japan. Christmas is typically spent going out with friends while New Years is a time to spend with the family. In fact, many businesses are closed for 3-5 days and some public services (i.e. mail & garbage collection) are stopped in order for people to ring in the year and pay their respects/ pray at the shrines & temples. For our New Year's celebration, Bern cooked up some amazing pancit and an oxtail stew dish that we brought over to the Cariaga's to compliment the de-rishous crab-bake that Ted had made up which consisted of king crab, snow crab, shrimp, sausage, & corn (crab hut style). 

 

Since we didn't have the Dick Clark New Years Eve celebration countdown on TV, we went outside to their balcony ten minutes before midnight to get a birds-eye view of the bay where the fireworks presentation was being held. As we were taking pictures, the fireworks started going off which signified the official start of 2015.

 

On January 1, New Year's Day, we witnessed something totally strange for us native San Dieagans...SNOW! For the first time this year, Yokosuka got it's first snow storm and even though it was short-lived, it was still a pretty cool sight to see. We hope you have a year full of 1st's in 2015...Happy New Year everyone! Love Mark & Bern  

 

  

  

Kali-fornia love

When I first got to Japan, I was taking Aikido classes because I was so intrigued by the beauty & flow of this Japanese martial art. But as I was progressing, I didn't see how Aikido could be useful in real-life situations when the danger is at an all-time high. Kali is more of a practical combat application that focuses on offensive & counter-offensive tactics with triangular movements. It is indigenous to the Philippines that dates back to pre-Spanish colonization around the 16th century. The main focus is on blade (knife) work but also utilizes the baston (stick). By learning how to use the knife and the stick correctly, empty hand fighting is easier because it's the same techniques...basically, your hands act as the blade/stick. The popularity of Kali is growing, especially in more action movies like the Bourne Identity that use kali techniques in their knife fighting scenes. Luckily, there was a Filipino Kali group on base so I decided to check out a class back in July and fell in love with it ever since.

Shin-Kali is the name of my group....we are the official Pekiti-Tirsia Kali training group in Japan but also incorporate some jiu-jitsu into our program. Pekiti-Tirsia Kali is the only system of Kali that the Filipino military uses as well as the military forces in India. There are several Shin-Kali groups spread throughout Japan (Tokyo, Roppongi, Osaka, Saitama) but I am a member of the school in Yokohama which is headed by Sensei Satoshi. He is full Japanese but grew up in the Philippines so he is way more Filipino than I am. In addition to Sensei Satoshi, Yoko is a senior student that helps Sensei Satoshi run the business side of the school, and Lakan Guro (high-rank) Vince who is a Filipino-American who ran the Yokosuka training group. LG Vince is in the Navy who recently got stationed in the Bay Area so he is busy trying to get Shin-Kali going in the states. We all miss LG Vince but Ben (who I recently went to dinner with at the Lockup restaurant) is now leading the group in Yokosuka.

Satoshi Sensei, LG Vince, Yoko

   

The techniques we learn in class are used in occasional sparring sessions where we really get to test our skills. We only use a fencing helmet and lacrosse gloves but everything else is fair game. Trust me when I say that during this short time, I've had my share of cuts & bruises. But it's totally worth it because it gives me an opportunity to see what areas I need to work on using the stick & practice knife.

About a month or so into joining Yokohama, I had my official "initiation" which consisted of me sparring everyone from white belt to Sensei for one minute rounds and only about a 30 second break in-between to catch my breathe. After getting my finger nail broken off and getting back kicked in the stomach by LG Vince, I was now a part of the Yokohama family. I say family because
we train hard, fight hard, and sometimes get into each other's faces but at the end of the day, we still care about each other and like to have fun over a few drinks.

Back in October, we had a Shin-Kali gathering where all the schools around Japan came to Yokohama for the day to participate in some really cool Kali-related scenarios like gang war, man-down, blind-kali, & escape from North Korea. All the sensei's were keeping tabs of the stand-outs of each game and were going to hand out prizes accordingly. Although I didn't excel in one particular game, me and LG Nikko did get honorable mention for our fighting throughout the entire gathering and got awarded training bastons (sticks) which we were really happy about.

 

 

I am so glad that my cousin Merve, who also trains in a different style of Kali (Sayoc & Atienza Kali)in Los Angeles, insisted I at least try out a class and see how I like it. Shin-Kali has given me the opportunity to learn more about myself, learn how to protect loved-ones, & make new friends. 

 

Thanksgiving & Getting Locked Up

Can't believe that it's already that time of year for the holiday season to begin. Hope everyone had an awesome Thanksgiving! Bern and I spent our first Thanksgiving here in Japan with our family away from home, The Cariaga's. We all decided to try out the Thanksgiving Day buffet at the New Sanno Hotel in Tokyo. Reservations were for 5:30pm so we thought this would be a great opportunity for us to do some sightseeing beforehand. Since J.R. is a huge anime fan, Bern and I took them to Akihabara which is the anime capital of Japan. He was so excited to see all the shops filled with Pokémon trading cards and anime figurines! After walking around for a few hours, we grabbed a quick Italian lunch and then headed to the Honey Toast Café for dessert. There are similar cafes in San Diego that serve these delectable treats but nothing to this scale. Bern and I tried their chocolate banana honey toast with vanilla ice cream...one of the best desserts I've ever had, no doubt! Really glad Kristine spotted this place as we were walking around Akihabara because now we can take visitors there to try it out for themselves.

After our time in Akihabara, we then boarded a train and headed towards the other side of town to the New Sanno Hotel. This is a hotel only for U.S. Military personnel so they had a special Thanksgiving Day buffet with over fifty American-style items on the menu....everything from the turkey, ham, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, & pumpkin pie was on point. Even though we miss all of our family & friends back home in SD, Bern and I are extremely thankful for having the Cariaga's with us in Japan. Our time here has brought us closer and made this experience even that much better. Happy Thanksgiving 2014!

 

 

The weekend before Thanksgiving, Bern and I got "locked up" at one of Yokosuka's newest restaurants The Lockup. It's a scary-jail themed restaurant that my friend, Ben (one of the guys in my Kali group) invited us out to.

 

 

 

This place carried the whole scary-jail theme to the T... Our table was in a jail cell with steel bar doors at the entrance, the wait staff were all dressed up as cops, and even the menu had some really cool science-themed drinks & food. It was all you can drink so we tried a whole bunch of these cool drinks. Thank goodness that Ben's girlfriend, Yugumi, is Japanese or else we would have been so lost in trying to understand everything. Had a great time and hope we get to hang out again soon outside of kali class!

 

 

     

  

A Special Surprise for Bern's Birthday

There's no doubt that Bern will forever remember what happened for her birthday this year...and it's all thanks to Bern's sister Beverly! Bev found out that Bern's favorite singer, Jason Mraz, was going to be performing in Tokyo on November 14 (which is only three days before Bern's actual birthday). Bern actually knew about the concert a few weeks prior but found out a little late as tickets were already sold out. Luckily, Bev worked her connections and managed to get us tickets to the show. We wanted to keep this a complete surprise so all I told Bern was that we were going to Tokyo and that's it; she had no idea whatsoever what was going on. When we arrived at the Tokyo International Forum that night, I told her to wait outside while I got the tickets at will call. Luckily, there were no big signs or posters marketing the event. As I was picking up the tickets, the representative asked me if I knew anyone in the band because the tickets also came with two backstage passes. This completely caught me off-guard because I thought I was just getting tickets. At that moment, I knew Bern would freak-out even more knowing that she would actually get the opportunity to meet Jason Mraz after the concert...and boy was I right! I went back outside to tell Bern the good news and she was absolutely shocked.

This was actually our third time seeing Jason Mraz live in concert, the first two were back in San Diego at The Spreckles Theater & The Coors Amphitheatre. The performance included songs off his newest album as well as some of his past hits; a very entertaining show overall!

After the show, we went backstage and were anxiously awaiting for Jason Mraz to arrive. Bern had the biggest smile on her face.

I actually met Jason Mraz briefly when I was working for the Padres. He sang the National Anthem for Opening Day one season and I happened to be near the suite elevator as he was heading up after his performance. But Bern getting to meet Jason Mraz was like a dream come true for her! When he finally got out, I thought Bern would go crazy but she played it cool surprisingly. I mentioned to him that it was her birthday and so he signed our ticket stub as well as taking a few photos. It really made me happy to see her filled with such excitement. What a wonderful moment, Thank You again Bev for making it possible! 

Still shocked from the meet 'n greet, all Bern wanted to do on her actual birthday was have a nice & relaxing day. So we just stayed home while she cooked Filipino spaghetti (which is sweeter than normal spaghetti & includes pieces of hot dogs) and I baked her a strawberry cake. Bern wanted to see the romantic movie The Best of Me which was playing on base so that's the only time we left the house.

 

Overall, I truly believe that this was one of Bern's most memorable birthdays. The 17th of November was just another ordinary day in the calendar before meeting her, but now it means everything to me. Hope you had an amazing birthday Beautiful! Love You!        
     

The goddess of mercy of the white robe in Ofuna

Recently, Bern and I went to Ofuna to check out the beautiful statue of the goddess of mercy. Bern's been wanting to visit this statue for a while now because it reminded her of a gift that her father gave to her as a little girl. Construction on the statue began in 1929 and was nearly completed in 1934; but work stopped due to the outbreak of WWII in the Pacific. Due to the extensive damage of the war, work halted on the statue for the next 20 years but was finally completed in 1960. The goddess of mercy carries the prayers for peace on Earth.

We were both in awe while standing in front of this majestic statue. It was a very calming, almost soothing feeling just to be in her presence. Bern was very happy to finally get to see this statue which made this a very worthwhile trip!

 

 

 

 

        

The arrival of the Cariaga Family & Mark's Birthday

Hello readers! Hope all is well!

So much as happened since the last time I updated this blog.... Bern and I experienced two serious typhoons, I stopped taking Aikido in order to train in Pekiti Tirsia Kali, which is a Filipino combat system (another blog on this to follow), but more importantly we welcomed our friends to Yokosuka, The Cariaga Family; Ted & Kristine, along with their two boys J.R. & Kristian. Bern and Kristine used to work together back in San Diego and I knew Kit from high school. Ted also worked with my Mom at Paradise Valley Hospital so there was definitely a six degrees of seperation going on here. When a HR position became available, we were glad to hear that Kristine had applied and actually got the job! Since their arrival at the beginning of September, we've been showing them around town and trying to get them acclimated to their new life here in Japan. Needless to say, it's been really nice having them here with us!

They recently moved to an awesome apartment about two train stops away so Bern and I thought this would be a great opportunity to kill two birds with one stone...show them how to get to Tokyo by train and to celebrate my birthday.

The day beforehand though, Bern treated me out to a nice steak house called Station Grill. We both feasted on American-style prime rib which was absolutely amazing; the meat was cooked just right and was soaking in au-jus sauce. Afterwards, we decided to go for a night-cap and check out a chu-hi bar. Chu-Hi's are basically flavored shoju and carbonated water. There are tasty but very potent...so much so that Bern started feeling the effects halfway through her drink! We then went home to eat the chocolate cake she had made me for dessert; a perfect way to end my birthday night.

Oishi Ne!

 

Outside the Chu-Hi stand 

 

 

 

On to Tokyo....

Bern suggested we go to Hooters from my birthday which I had no problem with! haha But another good reason too is because it's located in heart of Shibuya, not far from the famous Shibuya Crossing. We thought this would be a cool thing to see for the Cariaga's first time in Tokyo. Even though Bern and I had been here before at night, there was a totally different vibe during the day so it was nice we got to experience both.

The Shibuya Crossing, Hachiko the Dog, & Mark City

Just like home

After our Hooter-rific lunch, we wanted to check out the Harajuku district of Tokyo which was only one stop away from Shibuya. The main focal point of Harajuku is Takeshita Dori, it's a long and narrow street where Japanese fashion & culture collide. On Sundays, people like to dress up as their favorite characters which is commonly referred to as "Cos-Play" (costume play). Not sure exactly why, but we didn't see too many people dressed up that day. Whatever the case may be, this whole area was just oozing with Japanese pop-culture...a must see for visitors!



Walking through this crowd was crazy!

   
I had a great time turning 33 this year! I want to take this opportunity to say Thank You to my wife, The Cariaga Family, & to all my family and friends back home for the birthday wishes. I definitely felt the love and can't tell you enough how much it means to me!