This is an amazingly cute accessory you can get for certain cameras, namely Leica and Fuji. Sorry, Canon and Nikon are out of luck :( 

To find this was a typical Japanese odyssey, involving lots of helpful Japanese people, broken English, broken Japanese, hundreds of inscrutable signs, maze-like buildings, public transport, and nutty maps. Impressive feat!

Feast your eyes on the result of her quest. How cute is that?  

They are Brown Bunny brand boxer underwear :)

...only in some ways, perhaps better. Sushi Sawada has only 6 seats, at a small private counter. There is only one dinner seating per day. It is difficult to get reservations, and difficult to find. The restaurant is in the Ginza area, and there are no photos permitted whatsoever. So you'll have to use your imagination :)

One blogger wrote an excellent post here, and we used that post to learn about how to find the place and what to (not) do! To whet your appetite for bloggy details: 

"David Chang of Momofuku fame calls it “a breath of fresh air”, naming Sushi Sawada his favorite sushi restaurant in the world. The Michelin Guide has awarded it two stars. It is frequently uttered in the same breath as sushi giants Sushi Mizutani, Sukiyabashi Jiro, and Sushi Saito. Many consider it among the best in Tokyo."

The best parts for us:

• The husband and wife team do everything, food-prep, plating, service, everything. There is no staff. Adorable and romantic.
• Sawada-san explains what seasonings to use for what (e.g. wasabi and salt is ok, lime and soy is ok, etc...) for every bite.
• Crazy fresh ingredients! Sawada-san explains which fish are chosen and why (what the seasons are). Tea ground and brewed fresh for each cup. Holding coals over the sushi to sear right in front of you. The smells of the kitchen are right in front of you.
• Tolerant of ignorance, appreciative of any education you have, flexible about encore courses...the best of regimented traditional and yet flexible. I would be intimidated if the chef was staring me down like Jiro in the movie. Sawada-san is kinder, more talkative, and with a great sense of humor! 

Best sushi I had in my life, tied with chef Youji Iwakura's bespoke meals!!

Sawada-san knew I loved the Gooseberry for desert, and that Eva loved the micro-tomatoes, so they packed us this little surprise box...

If you've been following, then you know that I've been eating everything too slow or dumb to get out of my way. That includes family-style and local favorite places all over SE Asia. With extra-fastidious (obsessive compulsive) hand-washing and also sterilization of utensils (with anti-bacterial wipes), I've stayed healthier than ever before. Six weeks into the trip, I was fine. That's a new record, considering.

That streak ended after a few dozen rounds of "Taiwanese night market snack roulette", where I tempted fate a few (dozen) too many times. It's more fun than it sounds! There is no danger eating at Taiwan night markets, as long as you're eating well-cooked food. But it is fairly impossible to avoid coughing crowds and slightly unclean food and eating situations. I haven't posted the pics yet, but trust me, it was worth it!

The bug I got is basically a flu. I had my flu shot early this year, so it is not a super-strong flu at all. It's more of a respiratory bug. After a couple days of rest, a couple hours of walking per day, and some truly ridiculously spicy food, I'm feeling much better thanks! I can tell it will be with me for a while, but as long as I can clear my nose and taste the amazing food, I'm not going to resort to antibiotics or anything dumb like that.

Now to get some extra rest for mountain tea houses tomorrow...

The 11:36 am quake was "only" magnitude 3-4 here in Taipei. But it was magnitude over 5, in the interior of Taiwan. Here is the Taiwanese website which reported it. Don't worry, the interesting data is in English. :)

I wasted a few minutes going to the US Geological Service (USGS). They promise all sorts of live, real-time maps, data feeds, etc... They also have global coverage, for big enough foreign quakes. They had nothing. Nada. I just tried it again now, and all of earthquake.usgs.gov is down (but other sites are up). I guess we get to watch America increasingly suck at science, and become less and less relevant.

If you want timely earthquake info, look to the Euro and APAC services. They rattle and roll a lot more over here! Here is an example, showing that the internal USGS feed did notice the earthquake, about a second after the European source. It also turns out that Europeans will not bother to report US earthquakes, and vice-versa, as you can see from the creepily-themed Global Incident Map quake service, which also maps terrorism and other stuff in 1998 Geocities themes.