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Kit Kat bar!

Kit Kat seems to be marketing all kinds of variations of their classic candy bar around Japan, which makes me wonder what goodies they’re distributing in other countries. Here are a few of the versions I came across in my travels.

Kit Kat Little

These were interesting. They were a little smaller than malt balls, with cherry or mango chocolate flavors. I opted to try the mango since it seemed the more strange of the two, but I wish I’d tried both because I never saw them again. I wasn’t a big fan of the mango, it had sort of a strange flavor that shouldn’t have been in chocolate form. But I ate all of them anyway because it was sweet, and I like the Kit Kat cookie center! Yea, lame reason.

Kit Kat Mini

I couldn’t read anything on the big packaging, but there was a picture of a strawberry and what looked like a cranberry! Anyway, these have the regular chocolate coating with a berry-flavored cookie center. It was pinkish on the inside. This one was a definite improvement from the mango.

Green Tea Kit Kat

OK, I know what you’re thinking…naaaaaaaaaaaasty!!! Right? Well, actually these ones are my favorite! Imagine green tea ice cream with little bits of Kit Kat cookie thrown up in the mix. Yuuup…these are pretty bomb. I’m bummed I only bought one package. I should’ve grabbed some more while I had the chance, but again, I only saw them in one location and never again. Have you guys seen other kinds of Kit Kat around the world? My local Japanese market has flan flavored Kit Kat that I saw a couple days ago…I haven’t been brave enough to try it yet but my guess is it probably tastes like caramel.

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While I was away I received a few emails congratulating me on making it on two lists of “top female bloggers.” I wanted to say “Thank you!” to those who’ve taken the time to name me and for acknowledging my little space in this blogosphere. Please visit these lists to see which female bloggers are being recognized, and find out why they matter! Girl powah!

NxE’s Fifty Most Influential ‘Female’ Bloggers

North X East has named me number 49 on their list — woohoo! Thanks guys! I’m rather speechless as I see my name listed among women such as Wendy Piersall, Tamar Weinberg, Lorelle VanFossen, Elizabeth Spears, Michelle Malkin, and Ariana Huffington, to name a few.

It’s humbling and also motivating, as I know I’ve let my blog lag somewhat this year due to a busier work schedule. However, I’m renewed after my trip back, and hope to continue to find inspiration in the world around me.

As for being named as an influential blogger, I can only attribute that acknowledgment to the fact that I made a great effort when I began blogging to integrate myself into the community and create a fabric of sorts, weaving together the little bits and pieces here and there from bloggers who I now consider friends and colleagues. We share ideas and check in on each other, give each other leads when we can, and look out for one another. I think to be influential can mean being a part of something and helping pave the way side by side with others, not just being the lone leader. Again, many thanks to North X East for including me on their list.

Enkay Blog’s Top 100 Female Bloggers

Enkay and I go way back to last year (That’s a lifetime for some in blogging…) Since then, Enkay’s blog has grown and developed and is still going strong in the community. Enkay originally included me on his Top 6 Female Bloggers list which grew to 50, and now the list had grown to 100. It goes to show that more and more women and starting to stand out in the blog crowd.

Thanks to Enkay for his support and always checking in to see how I’m doing. I recommend checking out his blog as well. He’s got a great writing style that I thoroughly enjoy reading, without any annoying typos. We’ve even challenged each other to find typos on our blogs — he caught two on mine, which I thought was a pretty low number! If you’re a female blogger and you’re reading this, feel free to shoot Enkay a message to be considered for his list.

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The obvious question here is, Why would you want to do Tokyo in one day!? I went to Japan on a family summer tour of a number of cities. The schedule was rapid-paced, covering numerous cities in the span of only seven days. Tokyo happened to be city number one. We didn’t plan to arrive in Tokyo early, but instead we opted to extend our stay at the end of the tour. If you find yourself in this type of situation (in Tokyo for only a day or two), here is what I did with my one day, along with some tips.

Start Your Day Early

I woke up at 5 am to ensure I’d be able to grab a quick snack and shower before meeting up with Ed Lau. Our plan was to head out to the Tsukiji Fish Market for a one-of-a-kind epic sushi breakfast.

When you’re on a fast-paced schedule, you can’t waste time lying around…er…sleeping! This was good too since Ed and I ended up getting slightly lost on our way there. Nothing we couldn’t handle. Besides, sometimes getting lost is the fun part! Just remember to give yourself enough time in case you do.

Research Your Transportation

The getting lost part leads to my next tip: make sure you research your transportation to your best ability. Some cities are walking-only cities, some are car-only cities (Los Angeles for the most part), some have good public transportation, and some have the most advanced public transportation you’ll ever see in your life (i.e. Japan!). Taking public transportation in Tokyo means you should know which train to get on, how to find your stop, which side of the station to exit, and which direction to head. The hardest part is finding the right train in which direction since there can be a number of different trains on different platforms leaving from any one station.

Ed and I had the problem of heading the wrong direction out of the station. This can be a problem if you’re not too keen on reading maps. The huge maps next to the train stations don’t always point North and South according to the top and the bottom of the map (North may be pointing 20 degrees to the left, for instance, which is indicated), so make sure you have a map on hand to compare direction.

I don’t know what I would’ve done without Ed. I definitely would have studied the system more, but I’m glad he had a few weeks to figure it out for me In Japan, however, once you’ve figured out the system it’s pretty much a piece of cake after that.

Create Your Game Plan

One of the biggest time savers is already having an idea of what you want to do or see when you’re in Tokyo. I don’t need to tell you that there are endless possibilities, so make your plan beforehand and commit to it.

As for myself, since I love food, my day mainly revolved around meals and filling in the time between meals with shopping. Therefore, I had to secure lunch and dinner and the rest was icing on the cake! Ed and I had planned to eat at Sushi Dai in the fish market (line in front of entrance shown left), which he heard was the best restaurant there, then head to Harajuku for some fun shopping. Sounded good to me. We got to the market by 9 am and waited in line for two hours. Feel free to read about the entire adventure here.

It was definitely worth the wait. Some of the items I’d never had before, like clam, uni (sea urchin), swordfish, and shiraebi (baby shrimp). Each one had a unique flavor and texture that I won’t be able to find here in terms of freshness, but that’s OK. This adventure hasn’t ruined sushi for me, just given me a newfound appreciation for it! If you find yourself at an amazing sushi restaurant, go ahead and let the chef choose the items if you feel up to it. We ordered the “Trust the chef” set, as it is actually called. Check out this video that Ed put together:

After our epic sushi adventure and Harajuku/Shibuya scramble (post and pictures to come), I headed back to my hotel to meet up with my college friend Asuka for dinner. Being from Japan, she was gracious enough to locate an izakaya for us called DDSK just a couple train stops from my hotel. Izakaya is basically a Japanese pub restaurant where you can drink and eat small plates, sort of like Spanish tapas but Japanese style.

How we ended up there was interesting. She chose two restaurants, both of which were full (remember, most of the good restaurants are pretty small). The second restaurant suggested we try their sister restaurant which was next door and down a stairwell. We were assured we could order their yakitori (grilled appetizers) from there. Awesome. And if you weren’t looking for it, you wouldn’t find it…my kind of place. We descended down the steep path to find a quaintly dark and narrow room. One table, a small bar, and a private room with space for a small dinner party. That’s it.

DDSK Tokyo, near Shimbashi Station

Variety of fresh sashimi

DDSK’s version of the “trust the chef” yakitori set, which Asuka requested. Grilled chicken parts: thigh, skin, gizzards, cartilage, breast, and liver. Oishi!

We ordered two additional dishes which I forgot to snap pictures of. The first was a tofu sample dish with two types of fresh tofu: regular and peanut. Yep, that’s right, peanut tofu is a regional specialty of Okinawa and is served up at DDSK. It had a sweet, pasty quality to it, sort of like peanut butter custard. It was outstanding. The regular tofu was so incredibly fresh, I would visit DDSK just for the tofu, it was that amazing. The second dish was a grilled cod, which was also cooked to perfection.

Be Adventurous About Food

When I travel, experiencing different cultures (even in different States) means trying new foods I hadn’t thought of trying before. Being closed off to another culture’s food means rejecting their most essential bond. I try to take an Andrew Zimmern approach when traveling (although I don’t seek out the bizarre) — trying everything at least twice before making my final judgment. My best tip when traveling is to try to be open when it comes to food. You never know, you just might end up loving chicken liver!

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One my first impressions in Japan was on the highway from Narita airport to the Hotel Pacific in Tokyo. Dog-tired, I looked out my window and to my right was a little blue car that looked very familiar — a Volkswagen R32. Whaaaaaaat…! That really boosted my excitement level. Immediately I looked around the road to see what other cars were familiar — not many, to say the least.

Hmmm…that one looks sort of like a Scion xB. Hmmm…is that a Mini-Cooper? Nope. Just a tiny car.

One thing many of the cars had in common: size. These were some of the cutest, tiniest cars I’ve ever witnessed in my life. Most looked like some variation of a Scion xA or xB, or a Smart Car — the body type being either very squarish with a low front hood, or very round and stocky. Others resembled passenger vans that had been shrunken down and compressed from the sides. Some looked very similar to the Mini-Cooper. But all in all, many were very, very compact with very small tires. Some of these cars made my Scion xA look like an SUV!

Here are some pictures:

Check out how the car in the background is parked!

You can find the “Midget II Classic” on Shodo Island. There were two smaller-sized seats in this car:

The Suzuki Lapin:

My personal favorite: the Daihatsu Trevis. I would totally buy this car if it was sold here! Too bad the Daihatsu brand died in the States. Here is a picture of an older model:

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I’ve been home for nearly two whole days now and one thing I’ve realized is I miss eating Japanese food everyday. Two weeks may not be enough time to get supremely home sick, but every time my belly tells me it’s time to eat, I find myself longing for rice and umeboshi (pickled apricot), onigiri (rice ball with seaweed), or a big bowl of tempura soba (buckwheat noodle soup with tempura). Not once during my two week trip did I long for a carne asada burrito or an In-n-Out double-double.

I also miss the politeness of the people I came across during my trip. People treating people with respect. I would secretly catch women bowing to each other from across the street upon recognition of one another…a deeply patient, respectful bow. What a contrast it is to find yourself deliriously exhausted after a 9 1/2 hour flight in the middle of Los Angeles International Airport, fighting to find the Super Shuttle amongst the heavy traffic, shouting, and beeping horns. Attitude to the left. Attitude to the right. Sigh…

I’ll be updating my blog with pictures and stories of my adventures. My family and I covered a lot of ground in our 12-day trip, visiting cities such as Tokyo, Hiroshima, Kyoto, Osaka, and Shodoshima (Shodo Island), to name a few. It was a fast-paced trip for the first 7 days, and relaxing in Kyoto and Osaka during the last portion. You can catch my updates here in the next few days.

Special thanks go out to my buddy Ed Lau who so graciously woke up at 5 am to meet me at my hotel at 7 am for our Tokyo scramble. Feel free to check out our epic sushi adventure here. I only had one day in Tokyo, and my main priority of course, was food. Special thanks also go to my college friend, Asuka, who I had dinner with that same night. Pictures to come.

Thank you to all of you who also sent well wishes and inquiries about my trip. I hope you’ll enjoy my pictures and stories as they develop in the days to come!

[Picture: The famous Shibuya Station Crossing, Tokyo]

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In less than two weeks I’ll be on a plane headed for Tokyo! What a crazy thought. I’ve never been to Japan before, surprisingly, since about 90% of my friends have (and I don’t have many Japanese friends). It’ll be mid-summer and I can’t wait for the hot, humid climate that awaits. I won’t mind the approximately 14 hour flight from Los Angeles, seeing as how the trek to Bali was an excruciatingly disorienting 22 hours.

What do I plan to do on my trip, you ask? First and foremost, eat. I plan to eat my way all the way through Japan, from Tokyo to Osaka. I have two weeks to consume as many delectable delights as my stomach can manage. I’m also going to try to document as much as I can, since well, who cares if I look like a tourist. I am a tourist, and I’m Japanese so it’s OK if I take my camera everywhere. Gives me something to post here on my blog.

I’m also looking forward to visiting the amazing temples and beautiful scenery of the countryside. While I plan to do these things, I really have no idea what to expect. Each time I travel it’s such a huge learning experience. It’s humbling, educating, motivating, and just fun!

But I have a question - do you think I should bring my laptop? I know, pretty lame question right? Well, I’m not sure I want to carry it with me, or worry about it. But you never know when it might come in handy, plus I could put all of my pictures onto my hard drive. Again, I know, lame, but let me know what you think. I’m not always going to be in the city, so I don’t know if I’ll have access to communication. The flip argument is that I’m on vacation, and I shouldn’t worry about the rest of the world. LOL

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As for myself, Yes. Some people can juggle 20 million things and not be distracted while tending to any one particular thing. That’s not me. Let me tell you why.

When I was a kid, I was a pretty good student. For the most part, I got A’s, but it wasn’t easy for me. I tried very hard to study the lessons I was given and finish my homework so I wouldn’t get stink-eye from my mom. I’d read chapters three…four…five times over just to remember the basic information I needed to pass whatever test I was taking the next week. I tried and tried and tried to battle the distractions of the tv, radio, phone calls, and whatever else generated the slightest bit of noise so as to not sacrifice my studies.

Meanwhile my brother would breeze through text books with the tv on, in the middle of the living room, answering the phone and eating all at the same time…and still pass with flying colors. What am I doing wrong? I need to study harder…

Little did I know that I probably had ADHD. During class I’d be the kid with her head in the flip-top desk, rummaging around for something to scribble on, listening to the teacher, and talking to my desk-mate all at once. Really. And when someone walked in the door, it didn’t matter who, I had to look and see who it was. It’s like someone was waving a shiny coin in front of me and I had to look. (If you have ADD tendencies, you know exactly what I’m talking about.) Thinking back on these instances, I was the only one in class that would look up, even if it was during a test. If something or someone was moving, I was immediately distracted. This continued through high school.

Twitter is the mystery person walking through the door. More specifically, the little Twitterrific window that pops open every so often…. Who is it? Why are you here? What do you have to say? Are you here for me? Why won’t you let me finish my test?!

I resisted joining Twitter for a long time and I had a feeling this would happen. It’s so distracting, but I just can’t lock the door. What if they have something really important to say, and they have to say it to me? I want to know. I need to know. I have to know.

Have you unlocked the door for Twitter?

[This has been a dramatization by your friendly neighborhood marketer, MsDanielle. Follow MsDanielle on Twitter at your own risk.]

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Today I turn 31. Yep, it’s been a whole year since I joined the club. Thirty was a pretty milestone year for me (for many reasons too long to list), but there’s not much about 31 that screams “milestone.” It’s sort of “30 again” in my opinion. The crazy thing is knowing the next huge milestone is 40. Yikes! How would (or did) you celebrate 31?

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Here’s something you don’t see everyday — Prince getting down on the dance floor in Hollywood. I hit up Deep last night at Vanguard and there he was, gettin his groove on. I snapped one pic and his bodyguard yelled at me, “No pictures!” He looked like he was going to pound me straight into the floor. OK.

He was in town for this past weekend’s Coachella music festival. Here’s the picture I took. Do you see him? I’m not sure who the beautiful curvy woman was though.

Here’s a short video clip I took of him. You can’t really see him, just his long sleeve white shirt bouncing around. It’s loud and distorted so turn the music down if you’re at work or have your headphones on. Just another random night in Hollywood.

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Do you guys recall the criticism Tracking202 originally received regarding their free pay-per-click ad tracking tool? If not, you can read up on it here. Essentially, their mistake was not that they created a poorly designed PPC tracking tool (offered to PPC managers and affiliate marketers), but that the data managed was to be hosted on their site. Questions of data privacy quickly arose. Without prior trust in the advertising and online marketing community, they were quickly written off by many.

However, Wes Mahler listened to the criticisms (with which I agreed) and they’ve announced the launch of Prosper202, the self-hosted version of Tracking202. You can now download and host the application on your own server without compromising your data. I plan on checking it out very soon, and commend Wes and his team on stepping up and working toward creating a trust in the community.

If any of you try it out, let me know how it goes. I’m interested to hear your feedback. Feel free to send Wes feedback as well, as I know he will appreciate it. [Download Prosper202 here]

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