Wednesday, June 04, 2014

APAC Training Trip 2014 Day 12 - Japan Day 12

I woke up a bit later than I had been because we were out late the night before but still with plenty of time to get ready and go.  Han and I made it to class at the same time as we had been without anything really different to report. Class started with lecture then a lab before lunch time which all appeared to go smoothly. The lunch started around noon. I had piece of fried chicken with what looked like an egg sauce on it along with some rice. It was reasonably good. After lunch we did lecture then lab then one more lecture which carried us to 5:30. During the course of the day I received an email from home that the USCIS had approved our petition for immigration and now the paperwork is moving on to the National Visa Center where we will be contacted for the consulate interview.  I was very happy for the fact that the case is moving forward finally.  The lawyer said we should be contacted for next steps in about 4-5 weeks, maybe less.  Han and I rode back to the hotel with the switch at Yashio.  I think we got back around 6:30.

Daniela and I left the hotel at about 7:30. She had it in her mind to try a restaurant called the Roast Chicken Restaurant because she was hoping it was like pollo a la brasas.  The restaurant was in the Maranouchi region very close to Tokyo Central Station.  We took the Ginza line to the Kyobashi stop and then walked to the restaurant in concept. However, it proved to be not so easy to find. She asked one Japanese man who pointed us in relatively the correct direction but we got ourselves screwed up and went to far. Another very nice Japanese man who had lived in the US in Chicago for 2 years and by coincidence also did a vacation in Peru before helped us. He walked us right up to the building. I still can't imagine that ever happening in NYC.

Inside the restaurant was bigger than we expected. At the bar some folks were singing karaoke when we got there.  We were seated in the back room at a large common table. The place looked very busy.  We ordered a pitcher of Heartland beer which was reasonably good. We ordered a half of the spicy herb version of their roast chicken and a half order of roast vegetables, fried potatoes and garlic bread. The food was good though the chicken was a tiny bit under-cooked in one piece which I ate. Daniela was not impressed as it was not pollo ala brasas. I think it was not rotisserie though and just oven roasted.  The sides were all very good though.  They came out at random times instead of all together or closer together which was odd. When we finished that Daniela got a panna cotta and a "rose hip tea" and I got a coffee and their strawberry "gelato" which was more like a sorbet.  Anyway it was good though the coffee was made espresso with extra water style which is not my favorite.

After we finished eating we found our way back to the subway station much easier than I expected and rode back to Asakusa and walked to the hotel and basically called it a night.

The pictures from Japan day 12 are found here.

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