Local Weekend

Hashirimizu

This weekend started on Thursday, which feels like a very college thing to say!  We went out to dinner with our friend Melinda to a Neapolitan pizza place in Yokosuka called Piacere.  SMS and I had been there before and were impressed although our favorite pizza place is still the one in Zushi.  SMS and I split a sausage pizza and completely oishii (tasty) pasta carbonara. I don't eat a lot of pasta dishes anymore but this was absolutely incredible.  Also, the dinner set menu is Y1500 between 1700-1900 which is a pretty awesome deal.  We watched the open kitchen and caught up with our friend before parting ways.  SMS and I went over to a roller derby team member's house where people were busy with improv games and drinking up the rest of her liquor collection, which made for some eclectic drinks.  The improv games were a lot of fun and SMS and I did a pretty good one together where we made fun of one of the best player/coach on the team since she's pretty intense and has a few imitable mannerisms (mostly being really tough and scary!).

On Friday, SMS and I went to Hotaru for a welcome back party for one of our friends who was an embedded alternate to deploy but ended up not being picked up.  The food was delicious and at some point, I'd like to go back with SMS and eat off the a la carte menu.  The group was smaller this time and it was nice to hang out with our friends here but whom we don't see enough since people frequently have travel plans.  This weekend, for example, several friends went down to Kyoto for the sakura (cherry blossoms).

Walking in Yokosuka

Saturday was a mellow day and SMS and I lazed around in the morning before deciding to go out for lunch and bouldering at a local climbing gym.  We went to a Chinese place with delicious mabo tofu, although neither of us got it this time.  I got a similar tofu dish but it also contained seafood such as shrimp and calamari in addition to tofu and pork.  SMS got a ramen and ginger pork & rice dish.  Both were good and maybe a little heavy before climbing but we persevered through any food coma temptation and bouldered for a few hours at Zig-Zag.

Afterwards, we walked to the Yokosuka Central Park to see some cherry blossoms.  There, we ran into a friend of mine from the Kitty Hawk and he walked with us for a bit.  We saw his amazing customized home and then he walked a bit into town with us, showing some of his favorite shops and highlights.  We saw a antique shop, croquette shop that one FujiTV announcer said was the best in Japan and a delicious looking soba shop.  We also saw a building that was more than 100 years old that was very beautiful.  It now houses a store that sells all accessories for participating in a Mikoshi parade.  We will have to go back and check it out!

Hashirimizu

Hashirimizu

On Sunday, I went for a run and wandered through the cherry blossoms of Hashirimizu.  They were gorgeous and the noontime sun made the trees look spectacular.  I finished my run and SMS and I headed out to have a little picnic.  Well, unfortunately, the clouds rolled in with rain so it was still pretty but not picnic-able weather.  We went to Kamakura for dinner that night and had great sushi, a oden-like soup with a fish head, tofu with tripe (mistake and not really eaten) and calamari.

View from the cove.  SMS got a much better picture based on locals' advice!

Monday was a full day of clinic followed by a trip to Hiyama for dinner.  SMS and I hung out on the terrace near Restaurant Don and SMS made friends with the local photographers.  They told him they were there for a photo around 7 p.m. with long exposure times that would make the little cove look spectacular.  They were right!  SMS took a wonderful photo then it was off to The Gazebo for fish and chips.  The Gazebo is absolutely delicious and has wonderful fish and chips.  The "standard" fish is a white, flounder-like fish while the "special" varies on what they've bought.  We've had mahimahi and salmon in the past.  On Monday, they only had their standard and it was delicious.  We also had fried gobo/burdock root.  It was a lot of fun to go out for a photo shoot and an "out-of-town" dinner on a work night.