The second issue of my comic book series, Dark Matter, hits the shelves soon (February 8th last I heard). If you haven’t picked up the first issue yet, I strongly urge you to do so as reports have it selling out. This, of course, means it is a sought-after collectible no doubt destined to be worth A LOT some day. Squirrel away a few copies under your mattress now and the lie back on your nest egg and prepare to enjoy your early retirement later!
In Dark Matter-related news…
My full podcast interview with SciFiTalk is up. You can find it here: Joe Mallozzi | Sci-Fi Talk Podcast
Also up is an early, spoiler-free review of Dark Matter #2 here: Dark Matter #2 Spoiler Free Review by Ryan Porter – The Pop …
One of the main reasons we’re here in Japan is so that Akemi can visit with her mother who has made the trip over from Osaka. Yesterday, they had a girl’s night out. Today, all three of us hit Tokyo. We had a big day ahead of us so we wasted no time gathering down in the lobby (after I’d finished updating my blog of course) and headed out to brave the blustery late January weather. For a single block anyway after which we ducked into the entrance to the Hibiya subway station and made the underground walk over to the Peninsula Hotel where Akemi and her mother intended to pick up some treats. Unfortunately, the shops wouldn’t be open for another hour, so we had to settle for what may have been…
I’ve been toying with the idea of making the move to Tokyo. Of course, there are things to consider (ie. getting the dogs over and what the hell I’ll actually be doing here beside browsing that big anime complex in Akihabara) before I pull the trigger. First and foremost however – I’ll have to decide where I want to live. I’ve narrowed it down to Roppongi or Aoyama, but am leaning toward the latter because the former, while a beautiful neighborhood, is full of henna gaijin (translation: weird foreigners. “Like you,”Akemi helpfully reminded me.). Well, it just so happens that we were in Roppongi today, strolling the streets of my potential future hood.
I’ve been meaning to check out local chocolate shop Le Chocolate De H for a while now, always missing out on my previous visits. Well, not this time. We were there when the doors open, snapped up some outstanding yuzu macarons and a chocolate assortment. Akemi was especially satisfied as she has been trying to track this place down since our arrival.
For lunch, we headed over to Roppongi Hills for lunch at L’Atelier de Robuchon. Akemi was a little leery after our last Robuchon experience – a stupendous feast comprised of 16 courses at the Joel Robuchon in Vegas (where we were joined by Golden Boy Martin Gero). Yes, it was a lot and it’s understandable that Akemi felt stuffed – especially when you consider that, upon our return to our hotel room at the Venetian, she also polished off the entire top of the complimentary pistachio cake we were gifted after our meal.
Anyway, I’m pleased to report that – for Akemi’s sake – our lunch was comparatively modest…yet just as wonderful. And the restaurant itself…absolutely gorgeous.
We were seated at the long counter that runs the length of the room…
The lunch at L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon is a terrific deal. Head on over and try one of the set menus.
We skipped the dessert at Robuchon so we could head on over to the famed Toshi Yoroizuka instead. In retrospect, I should have gone with Robuchon.
For some reason, they were only offering a scaled-down version of the dessert menu. The varied cakes, normally on display, were not to be seen. And so, we ordered from the menu.
Not bad. Good. But all I could think of was heading over to Jean-Paul Hevin and sampling about a half-dozen of their chocolate desserts.
Which, by the way, I fully intend to do before week’s end.
Then, we were off for a little more strolling in another neighborhood…
We stopped by the Isetan (sight of the Salon de Chocolat) where I picked up a couple of treats from the Sebastien Bouillet boutique: pistachio and cotton candy macarons for me, and a chocolate lipstick for Akemi. Yes, you heard correctly.
We returned to the hotel for some R&R, then headed over to the big seven-floor toy store in Ginza where I tried, in vain, to locate a new Evangelion phone cover for my new 4S, and some anime t-shirts. Maybe I’ll have better success at Kiddyland.
We took the metro over to Kagurazaka and, for the third time in as many years, I enjoyed a memorable kaiseki dinner at Ishikawa…
We had a private room.
Our nine course meal was designed to show off Japanese seasonal offerings, from fish and veggies to fresh fruit and herbs….
We enjoyed two bottles of sake with our meal and Akemi was absolutely toasted by her second glass. The service was top-notch – professional and pleasant. No sooner did we finish one course than the door to our private room would slide open and our server would sweep in and clear away the dishes. In less than a minute, she would return with our next course. It was a nicely paced meal that covered a quick two and a half hours.
We returned to our hotel room where I uploaded by blog pictures and watched a tipsy Akemi struggle to dry her hair after her shower.
I received a call this morning informing me that Maximus’s ashes were ready to be picked up. Not a day goes by that I don’t think about him and merely having him come up in conversation is enough to start me tearing up (as was the case at dinner last night when I had to use the “I’ve got something in my eyes – both of them” dodge). While I appreciate everyone’s support concerning my decision, I’ll always have my doubts about certain things.
Last night, I dreamt that I was grocery shopping with my late father who bought me an enormous bag of ripe persimmons. Okay all you dream analysts, what does it mean?
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