Hot 'cakes in Zushi

Monday, even though it was a holiday, we were up and at 'em early for a morning trip to Zushi. We were tagging along with our Aussie friends, Alex and Linda, to their favorite spot, Bill's, owned and operated by Sydney celebrity chef/cooking show host/cookbook author, Bill Granger. As they explained to us, in Sydney, much to the credit of Bill Granger's restaurants, Sunday breakfast is the new "Saturday dinner" where friends meet for very long meals to catch up and socialize. Alex and Linda are both members of the Royal Australian miltary (Alex is Navy, Linda is Army) doing an 'exchange' program with the US Navy - and just "good blokes."

Zushi is a beach/resort town about 20 miles away (on the "ocean side" of our little inlet of land - we live on the "Tokyo Bay side" for those interested in Japanese geography...), Zushi is home to surfers, scuba divers and summer homes - including an Imperial Family summer home not far away. Obviously, this time of year, it is quiet on the beach with the exception of a handful of surfers who were enjoying the good waves. For some reason, surfing has been a theme of the weekend... hmmm...

Our breakfast was delicious - ricotta pancakes with honeycomb butter and bananas with maple syrup and outstanding fruit drinks. Tasty! Bill's has a great view of the surf and was a great way to start the day.

Life, Love and Laughter at Shibuya O-East

After fighting the crush of Tokyo rush hour commuters, eating on the fly and getting lost because someone (that would be me) forgot to bring the map to the club, J. and I made it to Shibuya O-East in plenty of time for the Donovan Frankenreiter show. It was awesome!

If you aren't familiar with him, Donovan Frankenreiter is NOT a Munich symphony conductor - despite that name. In fact, quite the opposite - he is a Hawaiian surfer-musician who plays funky, upbeat music that is the cure for any winter blues. Special thanks to our friend, Kerry, a former resident of the Islands, for insisting we catch this show. It was a fun time and without sounding overly corny, you can't help but be in a good mood after seeing him. And we all have to be a little envious of a guy whose found a way to make a very solid living through surfing and music. I expect him to live until he's 180 years old because he seems to have mastered the "good life"...

Here's a video clip from his prior visit to Shibuya/Tokyo/Japan performing "It Don't Matter"...