Tokyo Ramen Show 2009

We decided to check out the Tokyo Ramen Show 2009...West of Shibuya on the Hanzomon Line, about 4 stops. First, you wait in line for about 25 minutes to buy your tickets (pic with the guy in the purple shirt) from machines, like the ones outside Ramen shops. Each ticket is 750 and gets you a bowl of ramen. You can buy multiple.

Next, you have to wait in line again for each different vendor, so you need to wait another 20-few hours, depending on the popularity of the vendor.

I chose R-14, which had Tonkatsu ramen, and a moderate line.

• Soup base was tasty. It was probably pork fat, judging from the foaming layer of grease on top, and the amount of burnage my face experienced when collaterally caught by flying drops of it while slurping noodles
• 2-3 slices of fatty pork was of good quality, good balance of pork and fat
• Noodles had good bounce
• The egg was the most disappointing ingredient. In fact, it was the most disappointing egg I've had in Japan to date. Mainly due to it being hard boiled - I've gotten used to eating soft boiled eggs here...
  

A "Cool" idea that just wasn't...

As I ran out of contact lens solution late one evening in Tokyo, I was forced to settle for what the local Konbini (Convenience store) had. They actually carried a well-regarded lens care brand, "Rohto". I'd used their eye drops for a few years while I was in Hong Kong.

However, the only type of lens solution they had was called "Soft one Cool". I knew it was probably different than regular solution, but had no choice. After soaking the lenses for the night, putting them in my eyes was anything but Cool. It BURNED!!! Maybe my eyes weren't used to this sensation, but I'm a bit too paranoid to leave them in my eyes for a few minutes to "see how it goes". Therefore, I just wore glasses the whole day and bought my normal Renu/ Optifree solution later.

Motanaiyi!!
Here it is for sale online.