So many travel books and so many online resources. So much to get educated on!
So far, my favorite travel guides are Lonely Planet Japan and Fodor’s Tokyo. Mainly, I like the layout of the information contained within these books.
Two pictures I wanted to share from the 2017 Iolani Fair. While walking by the swing ride at night, I spontaneously took a picture of it illuminating the area. After looking at the picture more carefully, I noticed the dude standing cross armed aligned with the center of the ride. He almost looks purposefully posed for the pic.
Here’s a shot at the wiffle ball booth where one tossed ball in a colored ringed hole wins a prize. While not running the school, Mr. Cottrell is just another wiffle ball player who succumbed to the deceptive difficulty of this game of luck.
Kinda odd seeing a party bus headed towards you on a narrow residential street.
I think I was wrong. The “B” in B. Patisserie may not stand for “box” but rather “bucks” as in we spend big bucks whenever we pay a visit.
Who did the dad helping his son fish better, USAA or Costco?
Apparently, banana snacks are a thing in Japan. I was introduced to the Tokyo Banana but then was told that the Osaka Banana was better. After wrapping my head around the concept of these banana-based concoctions, I was fortunate enough to sample both. They weren’t the freshest samples but well within the alloted expiration date.
Many flavors are available, each with its own visual design. The Tokyo Banana feels more playful with its designs and multitude of variations.
The inside is more like a banana cream filling with a Twinkie outside.
The Osaka counterpart, on the other hand, comes from a refined point of view. It’s packaging is more sophisticated, void of the playful Tokyo patterns.
The confection itself is partitioned in indivdual containers that keep the Osaka Banana in its sliced form. The banana is sandwiched in between soft sponge cake.
Personally, I gotta give the nod to the Tokyo Banana. I like the overall execution of this treat. I’m not a fan of bananas to begin with, and both Osaka and Tokyo Bananas didn’t really get the banana flavor quite right. The Osaka Banana flavor was more realistic but not real enough. Because the authenticity of a banana was lost at this point, the cream filling of the Tokyo Banana appealed to me more since it was like eating a banana cream pie. And for me, I didn’t mind that the design pattern was actually emblazoned on the cake.
Alright, a Girl Scout troop in Hawaii needs to find a way to bring in the other Smores cookies. Sourced from two different bakeries, there are differences in Girl Scout cookies throughout America as described by the L.A. Times.
Personally, I think these chocolate-covered graham cracker cookies are way better than the sandwich version sold by Hawaii-based Girl Scouts. The sandwich version tastes like any other sandwich cookies available at grocers. If both types of Smores could be brought to Hawaii, they could to be sold regionally, like an “east side” and “west side” Smore. That’ll provide a distinguishing characteristic for the cookie and maybe stir up some preference tiffs (like the argument about who makes the best malasada). I’d definitely go for this “east side” Smore.
What, really?!? This guy is the most popular Sanrio character since Hello Kitty? Gudetama? The lazy egg?
I can’t even imagine the appeal of this non-cutesy character that doesn’t seem like a creation from Sanrio that spawned Kerokeroppi and the Twin Stars. And Gudetama is a real downer, seemingly unable to cope and deal with the real world.
Oh well, now I’m educated about this “unstoppable cultural phenomenon.”
Obviously my fashion sense is flawed, especially when Target is involved. Here I thought the Victoria Beckham collaboration with Target would be very popular. But judging from the inventory currently available, it appears that this Spice Girl-turned-designer collection isn’t doing that well.
After looking through the line, yeah, I’m not won over. Maybe it’s just a Hawaii-thing, but I can’t picture the locals outfitted in these pieces.
That’s too bad since Target was ready to handle the (potential) sales by installing even more self checkout counters.
I guess after a one-year learning session with these self checkout counters at Target Kailua, the time to expand was right. Now the self checkout counters have about doubled with the installation of another row.
Amazingly, the traditional checkout counters manned by employees still have long queues. I guess business must be good?
I never did learn the reason why several Hawaii Costco locations were without caffeineated varieties of their signature Seattle Mountain Coffee whole coffee beans. But rest assured the caffeine is back in stock.
