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- [00:00]
A
The following podcast is a dear media production. Welcome to the Absolutely Not Podcast where we do the most and the least at the same damn time. I'm your host, Heather McMahon. I want to start a fire. Hello, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to another episode of the Absolutely not podcast. I'm your host, Heather McMahon. Welcome to the bonus episode, best episode always. Jeff, can you look up real quick? Look to the camera.
- [00:42]
B
Hi.
- [00:42]
A
Okay, Jeff, I'm getting a list together. Oh, my God, you're screaming at me.
- [00:47]
B
Sorry.
- [00:48]
A
It's okay. I love you.
- [00:49]
B
I don't do this every week.
- [00:50]
A
I know you don't. I'm here having a matcha that will absolutely send my eyebrows ablaze. Jeff brought the girls coffee to the office and we are doing the damn thing. This is a really highly requested episode. Everyone wanted me to, you know, take 45 minutes to break down everything we did in Japan. And you know, I know you missed the stallion for a minute. So it's King Kong and Godzilla reporting live from the studio. And this is a bonus all about Japan. I feel like this is where we cue a song like do do do do do do do do. Jeff, how are you feeling? How's the jet lag? How was your Asia experience?
- [01:27]
B
The jet lag was non existent, which was really surprising. Got some good sleep on that Delta plane on the way home and fell back into the routine as soon as we got back. Went to bed at like midnight. So got my eight hours of sleep
- [01:39]
A
and back on schedule, Back on schedule. And I, I said this this morning. And then obviously since I've said it, of course so many things have popped off. But going to Asia almost reset my central nervous system. Tina said something to me yesterday as we were doing our walkthrough for the special. She said when you shut down, you kind of run away and just completely disassociate. But that's how. So I apologize to the people in my life who think that I just run away from them, but it is truly the only way I can reset my central nervous system is to go to the other side of the planet. And doing so, going to Asia really set me right in a good way. And I feel like I've come back a better person, a more well rounded person. And that is why I am so passionate about travel. And we love to give you guys the tips and tricks of what we do. And also I feel like, Jeff, we're fairly good guinea pigs. Like we, we are good travel buddies. As complicated as you are in day to day life and as complicated as I am as well. In the 9 to 5 grind. When we are abroad, would you say hold my hand. We are a team.
- [02:42]
B
We're a team domestically and abroad.
- [02:45]
A
Mostly abroad. But anywho. So here we are to do a recap. Now, I would would like to pick your brain, Jeff. Do you have any apprehensions going that far across the planet? Now, you've been in New Zealand, you've been to Australia, but you've never really popped your Asian cherry. What was your first reaction, touching down in Tokyo?
- [03:06]
B
I wasn't hesitant to go that far considering we've already done New Zealand and Australia. So I knew it would be fine. Not a nervous flyer, but just more of, like, antsy. Being on a plane that long.
- [03:17]
A
How does one take a dump on an airplane for 13 hours?
- [03:20]
B
You know, you always need to know where a clean bathroom is. That's why Asia was so great. We'll get into that. But that was one of my apprehensions, was just travel, getting there, and the language barrier, because most of the places that we've been to together, English is a very predominant part of the experience, whereas I wasn't sure that Japan that was going to be. But it was really shocking to me as to how many people at least spoke a little bit of English, obviously, because we speak very minimal Japanese. So that was a concern.
- [03:48]
A
But if we didn't give it a good, hearty fucking try. And that's one thing you need to know about the McDaniels family right here. We will always try and assimilate. We're chameleon. We are not going to show up. Yes, we are physically larger than almost every single person in the entire country of Japan, but we showed up with our arigato gozaimasu.
- [04:06]
B
Everything ended with an arigato gozamasu. We may speak to you in English for 99% of the sentence, but we always ended it with a arigato gozaimasu,
- [04:16]
A
which just means thank you very much. And you will say arigato gozaimasu 65 times in a sentence to a wonderful Japanese birthday.
- [04:24]
B
It's kind of like a greeting and a farewell because you would walk into a store and they would say it to you as you walk in, and they would also say to you as you left.
- [04:31]
A
It's like an Italian ciao pronto. Yeah, like, pronto means hello. It means goodbye. It means get the fuck out of here. It means like, what's up? That's how I digested it. You feel that's accurate?
- [04:41]
B
Yes, it was. It was one of Those phrases that kind of served a multitude of purposes.
- [04:46]
A
Now, one thing, culturally, that was definitely a shock. I mean, you kind of think, all right, this is. Is a stereotypical. But they really do bow. Everywhere you go, you're bowing. You're bowing at the 7:11. You're bowing as you walk into your hot. Such a nice. I just felt like it was such a wonderful way to greet people. Right. I'm bowing to the chef. Thank you so much. Arigato gaizamasu. He's bowing to me. It's just like we had this magical community moment, and it just felt so. So kind and wonderful and warm. How did you feel about the bowing, Jeff?
- [05:17]
B
Japan really prioritizes respect, which was very shocking and eye opening coming from America. There were a lot of instances where I think we looked at each other over meals or something and said, you know, could you ever imag. What we do in America going over well in Japan? And we both vehemently said, no.
- [05:35]
A
No. I mean, even, you know, people know
- [05:37]
B
how to behave in Japan.
- [05:38]
A
They know how to behave. And we are essentially feral caged animals. Obviously, you go to. You learn about other cultures. And I had heard so much about the Japanese people and how respectful they were and how they kind of. I. I don't want to say fall in line. Cause it's not that there's tons. Like, everybody has a very unique sense of who, but it is just a cultural understanding.
- [06:05]
B
There's a hierarchy and a cultural agreement that everybody is going to behave a certain way.
- [06:10]
A
So I think the best way to bring us into the behavioral psychology of Japanese folks is walk us through what happened at the fabulous baseball game. We were so excited to see Ohtani play for team Japan. You know, I'm very horny for Ohtani. You can quote me on that. He is married, and all due respect, to his beautiful bride. But walk us through the culture at the Japanese baseball game.
- [06:35]
B
Well, let's. Let's set the scene first, that everywhere you go in Japan, you could be in a men's restroom, you could be in a department store, you could be in a 7:11. You will see Ohtani's face somewhere.
- [06:45]
A
And he is.
- [06:46]
B
He is truly. I mean, whatever he makes in Major league baseball pales in comparison to whoever's setting up his brand deals in Japan. Because that guy is endorsing everything from, you know, toothpaste. Yeah. To.
- [06:58]
A
To. To hemorrhoid cream.
- [07:00]
B
Yeah.
- [07:00]
A
To your grandmother's favorite, a brand of green tea.
- [07:04]
B
I mean, I have never seen a celebrity endorse as many Products as that guy does.
- [07:08]
A
Matthew McConaughey thinks that he has his finger on the pulse of American marketing. He doesn't stand a fucking chance against Ohtani.
- [07:16]
B
Ohtani is contributing at least 10% of Japanese GDP to the economy, at least.
- [07:21]
A
So we get to the baseball game, and we were excited. Now, this was a night where we ditched a Michelin star Wagyu experience. Now we'll get into the pricing of food. But this. I did not realize how expensive our little schedule change had cost us. Yeah, just break it down, Jeff.
- [07:38]
B
So we had a very nice dinner planned out that we were very excited for, and it was one of the places that I was looking forward to going. It is a beef place that they serve one type of beef that is exclusive to their restaurant. Raised on their family farm.
- [07:51]
A
Yeah.
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B
And it is not available anywhere else.
- [07:54]
A
Truly farm to table experience.
- [07:55]
B
Very farm to table. We ended up eating there, thank God, on our last day. So it all worked out in the end. But we threw a little audible into the plans because Ohtani was playing baseball at home in Tokyo in the World Baseball Classic. And we thought, you know, why the fuck not?
- [08:10]
A
Why the fuck not?
- [08:11]
B
It is a once in a lifetime experience to see him in Tokyo in front of his home fans. Do the damn thing. And we paid out the ass for tickets to go to that experience.
- [08:19]
A
Out the ass.
- [08:20]
B
Not to mention our cancellation fee for our reservation that we had secured.
- [08:24]
A
Turns out when you decide to reschedule Wagu, they fuck you.
- [08:28]
B
Yeah. Japan doesn't care. When you. When you commit to something, they're going to hold you to it.
- [08:33]
A
And let's do a quick timeout before we continue about the baseball. This is the one tip you need to learn. You cannot be late to meals. You cannot cancel dinner reservations. And every hotel that you stay at, if they make a reservation for you, they will make you sign a piece of paper, a waiver that says we're not going to fuck around and find out and bring shame and embarrassment to this hotel concierge by making a dinner reservation for a fat American who gets greedy and decides I'm just gonna be a no show. There is. There's no idea of no showing or canceling or being 20 minutes late to a dinner reservation. So just so you know, when you make the reservations, you're locked in. Continue, Jeffrey.
- [09:13]
B
So we decide to jump on this opportunity. I go on StubHub, I pay out the ask for these tickets. We get great seats, about 10 rows behind home plate.
- [09:20]
A
Beautiful.
- [09:21]
B
And we show up to the very historical Tokyo Dome, which is home of the Tokyo Giants, which is like their New York Yankees of the Japanese Baseball League.
- [09:31]
A
Yeah.
- [09:31]
B
So it was a very cool experience. And Japanese baseball is different than American baseball in the sense that they have, like, organized cheering sections and fan bases. And, you know, it's. It's really a fun experience to go to, but our main reason for going was to see Ohtani.
- [09:45]
A
Yeah.
- [09:46]
B
And we show up and they're announcing the starting lineups, and Heather and I, at this point, had just gotten some food and squeezed into the seats. And that when I tell you, are half the size of maybe a Yankee Stadium seat, Heather and I are looking, sitting next to each other, and the Japanese man that is to the left of me is so squished up against me that he asks his wife to change seats with him, and they do a little switch. And so she now has to sit next to King Kong for the entirety of the baseball game. But, you know, she's smaller, so it works out. But we show up and we're sitting there, and as we're shoving our bento boxes in our face, they're rolling out the starting lineups. And so they, you know, they announced the reserves first, and then they announced the starting lineup. Well, who's running out in the reserve list? Shohei Ohtani. So I look at Heather and I go, fuck. Japan already secured their bid to the next round. They're not going to play him. Maybe he'll get one at bat during this game. And so it became literally, you know, we're pissed off and disappointed from the jump.
- [10:46]
A
We're also sweating. I'm in a Shohei Ohtani kimono.
- [10:50]
B
We're both in Ohtani jerseys.
- [10:52]
A
We're in jerseys. Now, mind you, everybody else in the stadium is all also repping Otani. So that's what was.
- [10:57]
B
Oh, they all. They all paid out the ass to see him, too.
- [10:59]
A
They all paid out the ass.
- [11:00]
B
I can't understand how they set him.
- [11:01]
A
But now I will say one thing that was very cool and cultural was the concession stands at the Tokyo Dome. Now, you should go to a game. It's an absolute otherworldly experience that I think you should experience. I mean, you want octopus balls, you want soybean paste and some sort of lemon yuzu curd latte. They got it. Yeah, they're.
- [11:20]
B
They're not serving you just like a dog and, like a soggy burger.
- [11:23]
A
No, no. Okay. I. When I heard dog, I didn't know where you. Yeah, a hot dog. Yes, a hot dog. They're not serving you A hot dog and a shitty burger and a McUltra, which we shout out to McUltra, which. Whom we love. But it is gourmet. And everywhere you go in Japan, you're getting a bento box. Whether it's a 7 11, whether it's the Lawsons or the Family Mart. These are all convenience stores that you could lick off the bottom of the floor. Even the bathrooms at the Tokyo Dome have heated toilets. I'm talking Toto. Your tush is warm. It is clean, it is bidet. It is fresh. Everybody in Japan. Japan is walking with a little extra pep in their stuff because they don't have doo doo butts. And that's a fantastic place to be a part of. I'm. I'm so happy to give back to that community. But we are in the Dome. We are eating our little bento boxes. And they have these women who are drink girls, if you will. It's kind of like, you know, at a. At a US game, you'll have the guys going, what do you have? What do you have? Who wants a cold beer? Yeah, cold beer.
- [12:19]
B
But it's kind of cool because instead of them carrying around trays of, like, canned beer, they have kegs. They have a mini keg on their back.
- [12:26]
A
And they run up and down. They're silent. They're. They're in hot pink, like, tall baseball socks. These girls have pink.
- [12:32]
B
They're. They're like anime girls with, like, mini kegs on their back.
- [12:34]
A
Yeah, it's kind of sexy. Anime girls. And they run up and down every aisle, and they don't scream it. They're not like, you know, Asahi. Asahi.
- [12:42]
B
They, like, giggle.
- [12:43]
A
They, like, giggle. And then they throw up, like, how expensive the drink is. They're like, $4. $4, 4 yen. And you're. I mean, I. I got, like, six beers, and I was having the time of my life because of the jet lag was kicking in. I'm like, let's go. But it was oddly cool. Quiet. So that's the thing when you go to the game, it's oddly quiet. People are obviously cheering and get excited, but they have the cheering squad in the outfield. And then every other player that came to bat for the Czech Republic team, because this was the world classic. Everybody clear cheered for him. I'm like, if we were in America, nobody would fucking cheer for, like, I don't know, Uzbekistan. As they come up to the. To the plate. It was so bizarre. Everyone's bowing to them. They're bowing to us. I'm like, why are we rooting for the enemy?
- [13:24]
B
Yeah. The two things that I took away from that experience were I had been to rowdier volleyball games than that baseball game for being a home game for the Japanese fans. And can we address the infamous Tokyo Dome ice cream sandwich that went viral? Because that may have been the most disappointing thing that we experienced in all of our Japan travels.
- [13:45]
A
And how did it go viral and what was disappointing?
- [13:48]
B
You know, it's got the little indentation of the Tokyo Dome on it and everybody's like, this is the best ice cream sandwich that you're ever gonna have. And they're wrong. They're. They're just flat out wrong.
- [13:58]
A
It was a thin, crisp soy wafer on the outside that didn't really give
- [14:01]
B
much, but it wasn't crisp. It was like a soggy wafer. It was, it was a crisp looking wafer, but it was soggy when it got in your mouth. And I mean the ice cream was good, but the stuff at 7:11 blows it out of the water.
- [14:14]
A
Let's talk about 7:11 real quick. I've never been a 7:11 fan. I'm not a convenience store gal. I mean I love to go get a little diet Mountain Dew every now and then at a quick trip when I'm really feeling it and edgy. But going to a 7 11, they're on every corner. And I've seen a couple documentaries on the seven elevens in Japan. They basically have a. It's such a well oiled machine. It's such a unique system because however many like pieces of sushi they sell for the day as they ring them out, they got a fresh truck bringing 30 more like they have a very interesting, what would you say, like a backstock system, Some sort of technology, whatever
- [14:53]
B
POS system that they're using is, you know, far away and above what we have. Better than what we have here.
- [15:00]
A
Describe the snacks and the atmosphere at a 7 11. A Lawson's or a family mart? Now you're probably like, what is the difference? It's like a quick trip is to a raceway is to a buc EE's kind of.
- [15:11]
B
Kind of. But I mean I'd say they're all pretty similar in quality. I never thought anything would ever blow me away more than an autogrill.
- [15:18]
A
Yeah.
- [15:18]
B
Which is our Italian, you know, basically 711 rest stop on our, you know, road journeys.
- [15:24]
A
But those are when you're on the Highway 711 Lawson's and is all within the city center. Yeah, everywhere.
- [15:30]
B
But when I tell you whatever that little choco mocha ice cream waffle bar was that everybody raves about. I mean, I could have had six of those a day.
- [15:40]
A
So that was. So. Because you didn't enjoy the waffle ice cream at the Tokyo Dome, it made up for it at the 7:11.
- [15:49]
B
I mean, it was literally.
- [15:49]
A
Can you describe what the ice cream was like?
- [15:52]
B
It was like a crisp, hardened Belgian waffle that enveloped the best vanilla ice cream that you've ever had in your life.
- [16:01]
A
Oh, and was there.
- [16:02]
B
And there was like a thin. There was like a thin, like the thinnest little layer of like, chocolate Hershey bar in between all of that.
- [16:09]
A
Oh, okay. Now, here's one thing that you will experience when you get to Asia for the first couple days, just from the travel. And I feel like the kind of the. The way your body, like your organs squish together when you're flying 13 hours. You're not gonna. You're not gonna go to the bathroom for a coup. They have all these different elixirs at the 711 and Lawson's, and they have one particular. It's got, like a c. It's called, like, Sapporo something. It is not an actual. It has nothing to do, I believe, with the alcohol brand. There's no alcohol in it. Tastes like a very sweet lemon lime little elixir. And then you get this gooey, almost boba, like grape jelly. You get a cup of ice, you put that elixir, the grape jelly, you twirl it up, and you have the most delicious, delicious, effervescent, sweet, kind of savory, a little salty. Tastes like an electrolyte. Little fun packet. You suck that down and baby, if you aren't regular right as rain eight hours later, truly, what. And you can look it up on TikTok and Instagram. They'll tell you, like, what to take to go to the bathroom. But 10 out of 10 experience at the. The Seven Elevens. Now, Seven Eleven is also known for their egg salad sandwich. I don't like egg salad. So, Jeff, walk them through the egg salad.
- [17:21]
B
I don't care if you don't like eggs.
- [17:23]
A
I do not like them.
- [17:24]
B
The egg salad sandwich. There is one very infamous egg salad sandwich that shall not be named that a lot of people talk about every single year around springtime. But this egg salad sandwich blew that one out of the water. And you know, if you. If you really know what you're doing, you go ahead and you get a little chicken strip and you throw it in between the two buns, make yourself a little Sando. And I mean, when I tell you that that was one of the best things we ate in Japan.
- [17:52]
A
Unbelievable.
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B
Unbelievable.
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A
Jeff really thrived.
- [17:55]
B
Light effervescent. The bread was perfect.
- [17:57]
A
10 out of 10.
- [17:58]
B
The bread was perfect. 10 out of 10. No notes.
- [18:01]
A
I never really go for these light, fluffy sandwiches because I don't like white bread and mushy things in the middle.
- [18:06]
B
It wasn't mushy. It was. It wasn't mushy. It wasn't hard. It was, like the perfect consistency.
- [18:11]
A
I think we could really speak on the fact that the Japanese culture, whether it be just who they are as
- [18:18]
B
people, they're dialed with everything that they do. They're dialed with everything they do.
- [18:22]
A
They are known for taking the best things from all over the world and perfecting them, whether it be just through sheer discipline, respect for whatever that dish is or technology. They will take my favorite, amatriciana from Rome, and they'll do it 10 times better. And I hate to say it, but we were absolutely. Tits blown off, knocked out of the park, could not believe the level of pizza we were eating in Japan. Talk about it, babe.
- [18:51]
B
I think the perfect example of it is so when. So Japanese culture really incorporates egg into a lot of their dishes that they do. And so I think they call it tamago is their version for egg. So when you work at, like, a ramen place as one of these chefs, or even a sushi place, because there's eggs incorporated with a lot of the sushi. Some of these chefs, like Stodge, for, like, three years, just making the egg.
- [19:16]
A
Yeah.
- [19:16]
B
So that level of attention to detail, if you're going to focus on just something as simple as the egg, you can only imagine how much detail and attention goes into perfecting the rest of their craft. And when I tell you that these people don't overlook anything, everything is treated as if it's like the end of the world. That's how much passion is put into
- [19:39]
A
what they do, and that's what we love. See, at the end of the day, I'm passionate about a lot things, but when I am passionate about the things that I am passionate about, I'm passionate. You know what I'm saying? Great. So we went to this place called Pizza Studio Tamaki, Pst. And if you get a chance, they have a multiple locations, you have to go. And apparently there's about to be a pop up in New York City. And I'm actually kind of pissed about it because here's the thing, all right. I don't want to get Ahead of myself, but I'll explain the beats in a second. But I'm actually kind of pissed how all of these Japanese stores are opening up in the States and how these restaurants are coming and opening up. And I know that sounds fucked up because obviously you want their businesses to thrive and you want more people to experience how wonderful this is.
- [20:22]
B
But will the quality stay the same when it comes here?
- [20:24]
A
Will the quality stay the same when it comes here? Because you're hiring Americans to help you. But also I just feel like I want people to go there and support them there. Like get your ass on an airplane and go support. Yeah.
- [20:35]
B
You have to work for it.
- [20:36]
A
You gotta work for.
- [20:37]
B
Go there.
- [20:37]
A
Yeah. In order for you to be able to enjoy the. The most wonderful pizza you'll ever have in your life, you need to get your fat ass on a plane and go to Japan and support the experience
- [20:46]
B
is getting on the plane and going there to go do it. Now anybody can go to New York. That feels like the. The easy way out.
- [20:52]
A
So we go to this place called Pizza Studio Tamaki. And this is another thing you need to know about every restaurant. They have like eight seats in every restaurant. That's why it's so impossible to get a reservation. If you are not planning three months out to get reservations at some of these places, good fucking luck to you.
- [21:07]
B
And they don't, they don't do that by design. Japan is like one of the most densely populated areas in the world. So their space is inherently small, so they make the best use of what they have.
- [21:18]
A
But we never had a dining experience except the place we went to in Kyoto on my birthday where it was like loud and boisterous. And we heard people like, partying. You're not going to like a giant restaurant. And sitting at a table around 45 other tables and, and having that kind of like communal experience. Everything is kind of very private. Yeah.
- [21:38]
B
You'll never. You'll be hard pressed to walk into a Japanese restaurant and have that, you know, typical American experience where you walk into a restaurant and you're shouting at each other from across the table because you can't hear each other.
- [21:48]
A
Yeah. So this Pizza Studio Tamaki, there's a line out the door. But somehow he snagged a reservation. We're sitting at the pizza bar right in front of the. The piece Pizza Master Chef. And one of the differences in Tokyo or Japanese pizza is they add a lot more oil and salt. So when they take the Neapolitan style pizza and they put it in the oven it comes out with, like this thick sea salt, maldon sea salt crust on the bottom of the pizza. And it is the saltiest, most umami, most decadent, delicious. We ordered five pies and we ate them all.
- [22:24]
B
Oh, we did. We did half and half.
- [22:25]
A
Yeah, we did half and half. Now we were sitting kind of catty cornered to these two fabulous gay guys from Italy. They're speaking full Italian and they were so appalled at the level of salt. They were like, this is good, but the next one. And no salt. We want it to be more balanced. Jeff and I are like, more as.
- [22:40]
B
As the pizzaiola who's making it is literally looking at them and like, yeah, sure, no salt. And he's just throwing salt in the oven. He's like, yeah, no problem.
- [22:46]
A
Yeah. These Italians were trying to be purists, and, you know, Jeff and I spend plenty of time in Italy every year, and we have traveled to the. The ends of the earth for the best slice of pie. And this was truly, without a doubt, the best pizza I have ever had in my life.
- [23:00]
B
Yeah, it. It's hard for me coming from New York, because we're kind of known for our pizza, and I take a lot of pride in being a New Yorker, but when I tell you this, this was at least the best Neapolitan pizza I've ever had in my life, whether it be Italy, America, wherever. It was truly a flavor that I can't describe. The salt really brought everything else out. What was the pizza that we got? We got a diavola.
- [23:23]
A
We got a diavolo.
- [23:24]
B
We had that pizza that had the egg on it that. I mean, this thing. I think they call it the Bismarck. It was like mushrooms, sausage, and runny egg.
- [23:32]
A
That's.
- [23:32]
B
That's what I want for breakfast every morning.
- [23:34]
A
We got a. What was it, a four fromagi or a five fromagi?
- [23:36]
B
Five. Five Cheese. Oh, my God.
- [23:39]
A
It was incredible.
- [23:39]
B
They did quattro and just.
- [23:41]
A
Yeah, they. They bumped it up a notch. That was truly one of our best meals. And so just word to the wise, everywhere you go, you're gonna have to do a little recon and make a reservation. Now, there is. There are multiple reservation platforms and apps.
- [23:56]
B
None of them work.
- [23:57]
A
None of them work. I just want you to know as well, for being such a technologically savvy country, I don't understand why they can't figure out open table or resi.
- [24:05]
B
What was the name? So. So Table log. Table log, that's right. So Table log. And then there's another one. It's J Something. Whatever it was. But it's kind of like Ticketmaster where it's like, oh, this is in your cart and you're ready to check out. And they're like, sorry, go yourself. Like, we didn't mean that. Because every time that we would try and make a reservation, it would say it was available and then we would click on it and then you go check out. And they'd be like, oh, there's not another reservation for three weeks.
- [24:29]
A
Yeah.
- [24:29]
B
I'd be like, well, why did you tell me it was available?
- [24:32]
A
So there were a lot of highs, highs and lows, lows, trying to make reservations.
- [24:35]
B
But even, even the concierge said they're like, we don't use those things because they're not reliable.
- [24:39]
A
Yeah. They're like, if you don't know somebody's grandfather, you're not getting in. Like, like, good luck to you.
- [24:44]
B
Yeah. Your. Your best bet is. So a lot of these restaurants, they open up reservations, you know, 30 days in advance, 60 days in advance, whatever it is. And you're going to have to set an alarm on your, on your iPhone, wherever you are located, to wake up to that, whatever the time is in Japan to get on the actual restaurant website to book a reservation because so when Heather and I travel, we are very fly by the seat of our pants. And like we said, there's eight seats in most restaurants in Japan. Eight to maybe 15. So you cannot just be like, oh, I don't know where we want to go tonight. We'll figure it out. That's not the way. Japan.
- [25:21]
A
In Italy, we're able to be fly by the seat of our pants because we know so many people in Italy and like, we know we're going to our spots and even we're trying something new. I'm never worried, like, Italians are kind of laissez faire about just like, yes, you have.
- [25:32]
B
Yeah. They'd be like, oh, your reservation was at 9, you're here at 11. You're. You're on time.
- [25:35]
A
Yeah. They're like, you spend the night, it's fine. But in Japan, you are on a schedule. You better stick to it. Do not show up 10 minutes late. And you better bow and say, arigato, masu.
- [25:45]
B
Arigato.
- [25:47]
A
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- [27:56]
B
Small, intimate.
- [27:58]
A
Intimate. And we barely even feel like we cracked the surface. I mean, on any of it.
- [28:02]
B
Eight days in Japan and I feel like we didn't even scratch the surface.
- [28:05]
A
Did not. I said crack the surface. I guess you could crack or scratch. Yeah. And we went to this place called. It was called Badoo, right?
- [28:15]
B
Yes. Oh, the.
- [28:16]
A
The. Or Badu.
- [28:17]
B
It was Badu. I think the first night that was. That was the, like, Michelin kind of experience.
- [28:23]
A
So I obviously watched Chef's Table and all these different food programs, and they had a Special episode on the chef's table pizza season about this chef who has a place called Monk. Monk M O N K. We could not get into Monk, which was this specialty pizza place in Kyoto, but they had a sister restaurant. And I'm like, hey, are you down to do a Michelin tasting?
- [28:44]
B
Always.
- [28:45]
A
And, you know, obviously an omakase is what they call when the chef picks the menu. It doesn't just pertain to, like, sushi. So when people are like, do you wanna do an omakase? It just means chef's tasting, Chef special. So we show up to this house. It's in a residential neighborhood, a really nice place off the Philosopher's Path in kyoto. It's a 4pm reservation, which we're already like, this is bizarre. That's another thing. You're not getting an 8:39pm reservation anywhere in Japan. There's like two seatings. You're either eating at 4 or 7 or maybe midnight because it's some weird, like, brothel bar in a basement. Okay. We roll up and Jeff and I are like whispering outside because it has very clear directions. You pull up, you, you have the taxi drop you off at the end of the street. It's a residential neighborhood. Don't you dare even say a word or fart on the street. And we roll up and I'm like, you, Jeff. The place is closed. I don't even see anybody. And then this handsome man greets us. He's like, come on in. And the place is quiet except nice cocktail chest playing in the background. We sit at a chef's table. How would you describe the inside, the decor of this place, this restaurant?
- [29:48]
B
It felt like we were sitting in somebody's personal kitchen.
- [29:51]
A
Yes.
- [29:51]
B
There were maybe 10, 12 seats in there. It was very clearly a former residence that they converted into a high end, intimate dining experience. And I think one of the most interesting things about eating at these kind of places in Japan is that because it's so tiny and intimate, obviously you can't have a lot of staff.
- [30:12]
A
Yeah.
- [30:12]
B
So there were three guys working there. And when I tell you they were cooking, they were serving, they were busing, you know, they did it all.
- [30:21]
A
And that it was like that in a lot of restaurants you would have four people working.
- [30:26]
B
You were jack of all trades.
- [30:27]
A
If you were the executive chef, the master sushi chef, you were also the hostess and washing the dishes, which is
- [30:36]
B
kind of cool because. And, you know, we, we had this meal and it was fantastic. And we'll go into the details of that because we were sitting Right there at the counter. We got to talking with one of the. One of the chefs, and he was from Philadelphia, and we had said that, you know, you should think about bringing. He. He was saying that he had wanted to get back home at some point. And we said, you know, this would be a great concept in America, but I accept. But I said to him, I said, you know, I hope that I don't know anything about the financials of restaurants. I know that margins are small and stuff like that. But I said to him, I said, I hope if you do it in America, you don't change the concept in the sense that, like, you have a staff of 30 working in a restaurant and you have this massive space, because what made it special was that it was so small and intimate and that there were only three people working the place.
- [31:20]
A
Yeah, you knew everybody by the end. You had an intimate relationship with the people that were serving you and cooking the food, and you could watch it. Everything was such an attention to detail and an experience and they truly believe in. You're gonna sit down and you're gonna have this experience. It was unbelievable. Just the best cabbage I have ever had in my entire life was at Badu. So if you go to Kyoto, you have to go to this restaurant. It was unbelievable. So we were drunk and happy and full by, like, 6pm And I'm like, well, what do we do now? I mean, that was the weird thing. The timings of all these restaurants were definitely. It was odd.
- [31:53]
B
Yeah. You know, we had fabulous meals, and I don't think we really went hard at all at night. We were kind of back at the hotel by 11 and relaxing. But, I mean, that was the experience was going out to these places and, you know, having those meals and meeting these people and, you know, that was your evening.
- [32:12]
A
So for the day. Night of my birthday in Kyoto, we. I was very stressed about getting a reservation anywhere. And the hotel that we stayed at, we stayed at the Six Senses, which was an incredible property.
- [32:22]
B
Our third time at a Six Senses. And if you haven't been and you're loved at, like, like health and wellness kind of aspect of a. A hotel, they crush it.
- [32:31]
A
I mean, the breakfast I've ever had,
- [32:33]
B
the one in Rome was amazing. The one in Portugal was amazing. And this is our third one now, and we swear by Six Senses.
- [32:38]
A
Yeah. And I knew when we went to Kyoto because we were going to slow down a little bit. I wanted to do this spa. I wanted to have a health and wellness. They have an onsen, which is that what they call like their onsens are just their version of a spa. It's like they're, they're hot springs.
- [32:51]
B
But it's like gender segregated.
- [32:53]
A
It's gender segregated. So you can be Bush out in the onsen with all the broth odds.
- [32:57]
B
Yeah, you, you are very separated and it's like, you know, they want you to get naked and get relaxed, get,
- [33:04]
A
that's what vacation's all about. Get naked, get relaxed. But truly, we've really enjoyed the Six Senses. So everyone said, oh, stay at the Four Seasons, stay here, stay there. And we were, stay at the Amman. I was like, that's fucking insane and expensive. And we stayed at the Six Senses. It was unbelievable. But we ended up going to this restaurant the night of my birthday and that's one of the first places where we walked in. We had a 9pm reservation on a Sunday. We sat at the chef's table, you know, it was just the bar. And you walked in and there was a small room upstairs. You could hear people having like a Sunday party. And I said, Jeff, this is the first restaurant we've been in where like it's loud music and like people are just like, like truly having a giggle. Loud experience. It was weird.
- [33:44]
B
Yeah. Out of all the meals that we ate in Japan, that was literally the only one that resembled anything closely to
- [33:50]
A
like a night out.
- [33:51]
B
Like an American dining experience.
- [33:53]
A
Yeah, a night out. And it was still a very intimate restaurant and the language barrier was pretty thick at that restaurant. This truly was one of the best meals I've ever had in my life. And here's the wild thing. Other than the wagyu meal where we got fucked and it was going to be crazy expensive. Every other omakase and chef driven experience was like a hundred dollars for two people. Whereas a hundred dollars, I mean if you're trying to do us sit at a two star Michelin in New York City, it's gonna be a thousand dollars. It was outrageously, outrageously expensive to do any of these experiences anywhere other than Japan. I mean you could have the best omakase experience of your life. And it's like $30. So I found the food to be very affordable, drinks very affordable. The place that we went to is called Sumi Zumido Kyoto.
- [34:41]
B
That's right.
- [34:41]
A
S U M I Z U M I D O Kyoto. Another place that has their own organic farm. And you don't even have to say everything's fucking organic in Japan. It's all fresh.
- [34:52]
B
Yeah. There's no alternative. Everything is fresh.
- [34:54]
A
You can drink the water out of the toto toilets. Like, it is just a clean vibe. Truly one of the best meals we have ever had. Now, another incredible thing to just touch on is the cleanliness of the country in general. There was not a tumbleweed, a hair, a cigarette butt, a vermin, a bug, a firefly. There was nothing on the streets. Now, of course, I said this on my regular episode this week. Yes, there's probably a dark underbelly of every society and every culture, but guess what? But if there is, they did a great job of hiding it.
- [35:21]
B
Yeah, they hide it from the tourists really well.
- [35:24]
A
I mean, and I never had a single experience where I didn't feel safe.
- [35:30]
B
No. Oh, God, no.
- [35:32]
A
Unbelievably safe, unbelievably family friendly.
- [35:35]
B
They really cater to tourists.
- [35:37]
A
Yeah, but we had a real magical night. I mean, we had a great time in Kyoto. We had a great time in Tokyo. But I do think that there's so much more I want to do. I want to go back and ski. I want to go down to Okinawa. That's the beaches that literally look like the Caribbean Ocean, like crystal blue water. There was just so much more in the culture that I wanted to tap in. Now, we could continue to talk about specific details the whole time, but what would you say was your train experience, Jeff? Give me descriptors, Jeff.
- [36:04]
B
Oh, the Shinjen. The Shin Jenkin, or whatever the hell it's called.
- [36:07]
A
Sure, Shen.
- [36:08]
B
Yeah. No, I mean, unbelievable. Amtrak. Whatever you're doing, you need to start doing that because you're charging the same prices that they are, and the experience is not even within the same zip code.
- [36:19]
A
Now, the difference between an Italian train and a Japanese train, everybody lines up by their cabin, right? So it's your train number.
- [36:28]
B
You do that in Italy, too. But it's not. It's not as well organized as it is.
- [36:31]
A
But it's not like people are standing there quietly with their snacks in their hand and their bento box, and they don't bum rush. Everyone walks on an orderly fashion.
- [36:39]
B
Very organized.
- [36:40]
A
Very organized. When you're at the train station in Italy, you gotta hold your bag and pray that somebody's not gonna try and rob you blind.
- [36:48]
B
Yes, you are smoking cigarettes on the platform, screaming at each other. You know, there's gypsies running around. It's. It's. It's a lot. I mean, we drive in Italy now, but we have had the full, full monty train experience. But Japan, I mean, like everything else, it's orderly. People are respectful.
- [37:04]
A
How about just the seats, you're not getting in an you foot rest.
- [37:08]
B
They give you a foot rest.
- [37:09]
A
You get a foot rest, you're in a captain's seat. Whether you're on a train or you're in an Uber, it is the most comfortable chair you have ever sat.
- [37:17]
B
The outlets actually worked.
- [37:18]
A
Oh, the outlets worked.
- [37:20]
B
They had WI fi.
- [37:21]
A
They have WI fi.
- [37:22]
B
And it was fast.
- [37:23]
A
And it was fast. I mean, I know these are. Is probably the most boring podcast we've ever done, but truly, just the way things were efficient was what blew me out of the water. Just, just couldn't. I couldn't wrap my brain around the efficiency of the country and the kindness of people. Now, we do want to give you some very specific tips and tricks about how to hit some of the tourist spots. Spots. Now you got to go to the fish markets whether you're in Kyoto or Tokyo. But the key to the Tokyo fish market experience is what, my love?
- [37:54]
B
So nothing really opens until, like, this is something we have to touch into. The one thing that threw us off as a tourist in Japan is nothing opens up until 11:00am yeah, the Japanese, I don't know if it's like, maybe some parts of their culture, they're early risers, but if you run a coffee shop or like a food stand or, or whatever you're doing in the hospitality space, you don't open till 11. It's shocking that you cannot get a coffee anywhere but your hotel until before 11:00am I mean, you go to a
- [38:22]
A
Lawson's, you, those 7, 11, those are 24 hours.
- [38:24]
B
Stores are 24 hours. But if you're looking for like a curated coffee experience, they don't open until
- [38:29]
A
11am they don't open. And that's a good work life balance.
- [38:32]
B
And it kind of screws up your day when you know you're too hungry Americans. And your day is based around food and the places that you want to hit. And you have to waste the first four hours of your day because you're on jet lag time, kind of putzing around the hotel, waiting for stuff to open.
- [38:47]
A
But what you can do is go to the fish market your first day.
- [38:51]
B
It is very important that you do it your first day because when you get off the plane and you are jet lag, you're going to wake up at what, 3, 4am Anyway, like we did. So the fish market, if you want to see the actual live market experience, I think they moved it to another place. It's like two blocks away where you can actually see the fish auction where they, you know, bid on and buy giant tunas. Giant tunas. We didn't do that.
- [39:13]
A
But no, we were just there to grub.
- [39:14]
B
Yeah, we were just there to grub. But these food stalls at the Sujiki Market open around like 8:00am the really popular ones open at like 9. So we were there at what, like 7:45? So we hit a few of them. But the one that you need to go to, the absolute. There's two. You need to go to the tuna spot. You've all seen it on Instagram. Yeah, I don't know the name of it.
- [39:35]
A
It.
- [39:35]
B
You guys can find it. Everybody's made a video about this place.
- [39:38]
A
Uhhuh.
- [39:39]
B
But when I tell you it was the best tuna I've ever had. I've ever had, I don't think anything will ever beat that. And we were there at maybe like 8:30 ish outside while they started setting up, like their stand and everything.
- [39:51]
A
We were hovering. We were hovering flies to a mayonnaise.
- [39:54]
B
And we were, we were truly the first ones there. And then people started seeing us, like, hovering, and then they started hovering. And when I tell you, this guy pulled back the little sliding rope for the, for the access at literally 9 on the dot, and there were already 20 people in front of us.
- [40:10]
A
We panicked.
- [40:11]
B
This, we panicked. This, this line filled up so fast that finally it started wrapping around towards another person's stall. And then like, somebody had to come out and be like, hey, you're blocking their stall. Like, we have to like, they, they literally cut off the line. They're like, you have to wait until this line filters through in order to get online to buy more for tuna.
- [40:30]
A
So if the place opened up by 9, at 9, by 9:45, they were sold out.
- [40:34]
B
Sold out. That good. But so, so we got what we, what we went there for. We went for the tuna. And then they have these little, like, tables where you can stand. And you know what was the best? Do you think the tuna was better or what blew you away more? The tuna or the soy sauce?
- [40:49]
A
The soy sauce was a thick. They had a thickness, a sweetness to it that I had never experienced. I mean, the tuna, of course, was incredible, but it was the combination of the both. And then they give you a little cup of hot green tea because we were standing out there freezing. And it was just such a magical, cleansing experience. I don't think I can ever top that level of fresh fish. It was orgasmic.
- [41:12]
B
Yeah. If you like soy sauce, once you have this soy sauce, you'll never want to Use any other soy sauce. Again, it's like a. It was almost like a balsamic consistency.
- [41:22]
A
Thick, like a glaze. Yeah, it was a glaze. We did that. We hit the egg.
- [41:28]
B
The wagyu place.
- [41:29]
A
We hit the wagyu place. We hit the egg tamaki place. Jeff was so inspired after going to all of these different little stands. And the. And I will say the fish market in Kyoto is also incredible. I mean, it's like miles long of all these different stands where you can try anything from grilled meats to a barbecued eel to the best matcha you've ever had, to tempura shrimp and giant king crab legs. Just completely overwhelming. But you kept watching all these che running these stands and decided you wanted to go to the restaurant warehouse district in Kyoto to buy all the pans and all the different accoutrements, the tools you needed to. To recreate this at home.
- [42:04]
B
We. We. We bought this new house, so we
- [42:06]
A
have to furnish it and what pans
- [42:08]
B
we're gonna need to. We need kitchen stuff. And there were a few items I knew going to Japan that, you know, I needed to get, and one of them was Japanese knives, which are world renowned. And I really wanted the egg pan that they make the tamago in because it's. It's kind of like flat and square, and it's just. It's different than making it in, like, a cast iron, which is what I usually do every morning. So that was a priority. So one of the days where you went out and you were shopping until you dropped, I was like, you know what, Deuces? I'm gonna go do this. And we kind of separated for the day, and I got done what I needed to get done. But we got some beautiful knives. We got some beautiful. We got knives, and, you know, we were those people.
- [42:47]
A
Now, there is a store called Don Quixote, which is the best way to describe this store, is an arcade meets hello Kitty headquarters meets a vape shop meets a vintage store meets a Costco meets a Target meets a place you do angel dust in. And it is the most well organized, cleanest store you've ever been into. But when I say, like, all of those descriptors is because they. That's the. The feelings and sensations you get when you go into the store.
- [43:14]
B
The. The only thing I can compare to is it was a BUC EE's without the. It was a Bucky's on overdrive without the, like, gas station experience. You know what I mean? Like, the amount of variety and just over the topness to Don Quixote. And I mean what you went to one that was like seven floors, right?
- [43:35]
A
Yeah. So like you, you're walking through, you're getting the most delicious snacks you've ever seen. If you need electronics, it's on the fourth floor. A vape, a vintage bag. You need to get Korean skincare, Japanese skin care batteries, car batteries.
- [43:48]
B
Literally everything you can think of was in this store.
- [43:50]
A
And I spent $200 and got the best treats I you could ever imagine it. Truly an otherworldly experience. You have to go to the Don Quiote when you go there. I've tried a lot of things that claim to make life easier. But Nyx is one of the only brands that truly delivers their leak proof underwear. I will never go back. Their leak proof technology looks, feels and washes like normal undies, but have a range of absorbencies for your lightest to heaviest days. Up to six super tampons worth. So you are totally covered. That's a lot of tampon worth. Plus Nyx has patent bonded edges that prevent side leaks. And with buttery, soft, stretchy fabrics and cuts like thong bikini boy short high rise and more, you'll find just the right fit. I had the thongs for day boy short for overnight and Nyx has great colors too so you'll always feel fun and confident. I got the boy shorts and I love to sleep in them because I definitely want to feel like I'm waking up fresh and also protected when I'm on my period. And I absolutely love, love, love the boy shorts. All you got to do is head to nyx.com and you'll see why I love Nyx. Don't forget to use code. Absolutely. For 15% off your order, get leak proof undies, amazing bras and more. That's kn I x.com code absolutely. Nyx.com you're going to thank me again. That's k n ix.com nyx.com you are going to thank me. Get 15% off your order. You'll really want the leak proof underwear. And trust me, when you are traveling and you want to feel like you're protected or you're sleeping or you're just, you know, want to be running around living your life and not pause your day because you're under period. Well then you need to try Nicks again. K n I x.com but I'm. I'm curious honey. You know we could break down. I mean even just what the sheets felt like, what the chairs felt like, what a Japanese Breakfast tastes like. Which, you know, I eventually could do. But what would you say, traveling with me? What were the highs and lows and the. And the rose and thorn of your trip?
- [45:52]
B
The rose of the trip was. And it's the same rose on every trip is the quality time that we get to spend together. The thorn.
- [46:01]
A
Hmm.
- [46:02]
B
I mean, the thorn right off the top of the head was that Tokyo Dome ice cream was very, very disappointing. But the thorn was your anxiety. Probably you. You get. You get. You get a little anxious sometimes traveling.
- [46:14]
A
Where did I have anxiety?
- [46:16]
B
Just, you know, trying to squeeze so much into the abbreviated time that we had there.
- [46:21]
A
I did. It wasn't nervous anxiety. It was excited anxiety.
- [46:25]
B
Yeah. Yeah. You don't get nervous anxiety. You get like. Like, we're going to miss things.
- [46:29]
A
Yes. I. I really get fomo. When I go to a new place, I'm like, they're showing a list. If we don't get up at 5am we're going to miss a bamboo forest. And. And I think that's why eventually, like, a quarter into the trip, I just relinquished control and said, it's not worth it. Like, I got so overwhelmed with all these vintage shops of having to buy the bag and having to, like, over consumerism kind of took over my brain in a weird way, and I finally just, like, released it.
- [46:54]
B
There were deals to be had.
- [46:55]
A
There were deals to be had, and the shopping is so incredible. And I finally was like, why am I getting so bent out of shape over a Louis Vuitton speedy bag that I don't even want? Like, it became where I was. It was all consuming. Right. Yeah.
- [47:10]
B
I. I think you went in there with a lot more, like, save tik tok things and stuff. You've done a lot more research. I basically went to Japan knowing I wanted, like, three or four things, but you kind of got the glitz and glam, like the, you know, you were on sensory overload.
- [47:24]
A
I was on sensory overload. And one thing that Jeff did say trying, he needed a laser pointer. Because watching me p from store to store was like chasing, like a cat chasing a ball of yarn.
- [47:34]
B
Yeah. Your head was constantly on a swivel, and it was hard to kind of just keep you on a single track mind. And.
- [47:40]
A
And Jeff is so organized, and he's a triple Virgo, so he has a. There's a bunch of apps you can download, but he had a detailed map of an exact, like, Google map location of all the stores he wanted to hit. And I do think that you could say that a Lot of the golf stores were a disappointment.
- [47:55]
B
There was one store in particular that was amazing. The Divot store.
- [47:57]
A
Shout out to Divot.
- [47:58]
B
They were, they were absolutely amazing. They really blew it out of the park. They're like a Vint golf store. Very cool, very retro. We made friends with them and can't wait to see them when they come our way in another couple weeks.
- [48:11]
A
Yeah.
- [48:11]
B
But other than that, it was really like, you know, as a massive golfer, you always hear about how Japan is, you know, a obsessed golf culture. And a lot of the other stores were kind of like, you know, PGA superstores or secondhand club stores. It's your run of the mill stuff that you can find, you know, in America. It wasn't, it wasn't worth me spending all the, all the uber money that I did to kind of make sure I checked out the places. But the Divot was definitely one that I would recommend that people go check out.
- [48:36]
A
And you could start at the Divot. It's this tiny little hole in the wall store. And then you could work your way down to Shibuya and Harajuku and all the fabulous shops. Like, you could shop for and walk for six hours and never, never get bored.
- [48:49]
B
Yeah. Watch. Shopping did not disappoint. The golf shopping was a little, was a underwhelming.
- [48:54]
A
And also, listen, I'm going to tell you right now, you're not buying clothes over, over there. I mean, maybe like Muji. I tried to buy a couple things in the Uniqlo store and I got home the men's extra large T shirts and none of them fit. So you're not gonna. If you're, if you're like me and Jeff, King Kong and Godzilla, you're not buying anything. But I did have to finally just say, you know what? There's so much to choose from. There's so much to shop. Why am I buying this? Am I buying this because I actually want it? Is because I have saved 6,000 TikTok videos on what to buy? Or am I buying this because.
- [49:26]
B
Is it because I don't understand the conversion of yen? And I think I'm getting a great deal?
- [49:30]
A
I never could figure it out with my converter. I was just always like, this is a great deal and it's tax free. It's a great deal, It's a great deal. But I finally had to just give this up and be like, I, I'm here, I'm on this trip, I'm with my honey, we are eating, like, calm the down and everybody take a Breath and a beat. And that's when I finally calmed down. My rose of the trip was having all these cool dining experiences and obviously being with my stallion. My th is how selfish I realize my husband is. And it's not a selfishness. It's just. And. And I talk about this with some of my girlfriends. Men are always going to do what they want to do. And we have had arguments before on other trips. I'm like, jeff, we did everything you wanted to do today. Where's what I wanted to do? And the only way we do what I want to do is if Jeff separates from me for the day. And you know what? You have yet to take me to a wine tasting experience in Italy. I always say, you know, this is the year we're going to go out to a vineyard and we're just going to do a whole day there. No, no, no. We go to 16 fucking churches with Jeff's go taped his forehead.
- [50:29]
B
I haven't done that in years in Italy.
- [50:31]
A
No, but, Jeff, you are. And it's a man thing. You have your list of things that you want to do, and you're inherently selfish. You're like, we'll do what you want to do, but we're still going to do what I want to do before.
- [50:40]
B
I think it's because I actually have a list planned out, and you're kind of like, all over the place.
- [50:46]
A
So that's gaslighting.
- [50:47]
B
That's not.
- [50:49]
A
I'm a free spirit. I like to walk out of the.
- [50:51]
B
You are a free spirit. But if you were a little more organized and said, hey, these are three things that I definitely want to see to today. We can incorporate those into the schedule.
- [50:58]
A
I. I did. I sent you a list. I had. I had Google notes. I had a drive.
- [51:04]
B
We did. We incorporated your stuff. Every single night when we got back to the hotel, we would sit down and we would put together, like, 10 places that we wanted to see the next day, and I literally dragged them around Google Maps to make the most efficient walking route possible.
- [51:17]
A
But I will say I don't like shopping with you, because when I would go in stores with you, well, you would. You would shut the fuck up and let me finish. You would go get.
- [51:25]
B
You would get really weirded out about the fact that sometimes I wouldn't walk into a store with you, and I would stand outside. There was. That wasn't me, like, pressuring you. That wasn't me judging you. That was me just saying, I'm comfortable. Go do your thing. And you. And like, I Noticed. I noticed the sales associates, too, would come outside and, like, try and grab me, but, hey, come in. And I'd be like, why are these people so nervous that I'm standing outside? Like, I'm perfectly fine. I got my freaking little Bluetooth in. I'm listening to my podcast. I'm relaxing on the street.
- [51:48]
A
Because every sales associate. Now, if you're standing outside, I feel rushed. Jeff, I would go into the stores with you, into these golf stores, where I know everything's an extra small, and I would say, honey, how about this sweatshirt? Oh, my God, look at this hat. Those are cool socks. What about this? Do you need a new golf bag? And I participated in the shopping experiences so that it was a team effort.
- [52:11]
B
You wanted participation, Jeff, I have.
- [52:15]
A
You know, I have analysis paralysis. I have decision fatigue. I wanted you to come in and go, babe, that bag in the corner, that's the one.
- [52:22]
B
You were an independent woman that. That could just, you know, make decisions on her own, and I kind of let you. I let the. I'll let you fly free from the nest.
- [52:31]
A
No, you standing back outside listening to your podcast on the streets of Tokyo stressed me out more. Even if you would have come in and be like, those pants, they're not. You could come in and be like, you're a fat whore. Those pants are going to.
- [52:43]
B
You wanted me to give you the Robin McMahon experience? Yes, I kind of wanted me to kind of like. Like, neg you a little bit as you were trying everything on.
- [52:49]
A
I needed feedback, and I wasn't getting feedback. Of course I'm getting feedback from the sales associates, but I needed immediate feedback. I wanted you to walk in and go, green sweater. You love it. Get it. And instead, I would come out.
- [53:02]
B
I think. I think I did that with a few of your purchases. As I push you across the line. We're not going to speak about them, but I think. I think I gave you some reassurances to. To buy some things.
- [53:11]
A
And Jeff's reassurances are just being like, why are you waffling? Make a fucking decision.
- [53:16]
B
Because. Because we were. You were there for an hour, and you're good. Literally, you will get in your own head about things and go back and forth 10 times and ask the same question. And finally, by the seventh time that I gave you the same answer when he asked me the eighth time, I'm like, you've said you wanted it. Just get it.
- [53:32]
A
But I'm also such a giving, selfless, humble person that it's hard for me to buy nice Things for myself.
- [53:38]
B
That's very true.
- [53:39]
A
Which I know that's gonna sound weird, odd, but I. I always. I don't like. As somebody who likes nice things, I really. Very, very often. They're very seldom.
- [53:49]
B
You have a very high bar for pushing yourself across the threshold to buy nice things. I constantly tell you that, you know, you work really hard and you deserve it, and sometimes that's not enough for you to give yourself that grace to. To get what you want, which I don't understand.
- [54:05]
A
Meanwhile, Jeff's lighting up a cigar in a watch shop going, put it in the bag. No. But I think I figured it out. The psychology of why I would get so I'd start sweating through my T shirt when you wouldn't come in the store. And I understand from your point of view, we're doing a little marriage counseling here. It was respect of being like, babe, you go do your thing. I'm out here.
- [54:27]
B
Give you space.
- [54:28]
A
Give me. I don't want space. I want you so far up my ass, Jeff, you know this. I want you.
- [54:32]
B
You heard it here first.
- [54:33]
A
Yeah. Okay. Hey, watch out. I wanted you breathing down my neck going, oh, I love. Love those socks. Because I was engaged in your experience. Even if we were looking at knives and I didn't really care, I was like, babe, I love those knives. Those are fun. How many times did I say in stores I didn't want to be in going, that's fun.
- [54:49]
B
Knife store in Tokyo. Dashi. I think they're called A plus.
- [54:53]
A
A plus. We bought knives. We did the things. But I just think I needed a little more enthusiasm. You know, I'm a number seven. Enneagram.
- [55:01]
B
I don't know what any of it.
- [55:03]
A
That's a cheerleader. I enjoy getting people excited. I love being a part of other people's large purchases. But I'm a. When it comes to.
- [55:10]
B
You're seven, what am I, like, a two?
- [55:11]
A
I don't know, Jeff. I think that you're not even on the scale. I think that we'll probably find out that you're actually a sociopath. But you're one that I love, and you're one that I love to travel.
- [55:22]
B
Sociopath.
- [55:23]
A
You are a lovable sociopath when it comes to traveling in general. You know, we have a lot of other trips planned on the books. We might even be doing an Africa trip because Marie and Olivia just texted us and they want to go. And we said, zanzibar, here we come. But here is what I will say for the overall theme of going to Asia. You can always DM Jeff or I. And we will give you all of our tips and tricks. And I plan on doing a full recap on Instagram with locations, names of restaurants, you know, Instagram TikTok handles so you can actually find them. But we hope at any point that this has been informative but really, truly the biggest joy about traveling for me is getting to spend time with my honey and getting to go explore the world and meet these characters and just see how truly backwards the United States is all I think, honey, what is your favorite part about traveling and what keeps you motivated, pushing you forward to try new places and new things?
- [56:13]
B
Everything's new experience. It really does broaden your horizons and open your mind to how the rest of the world, that there are people in the world other than your day to day experiences and that they also, you know, have lives and cultures and experiences that, you know, are different than yours. And it kind of. Of makes you appreciate the intricacies of all that, you know, how, how th. How the differences and the similarities and, you know, you learn something new every time you get out of your bubble.
- [56:45]
A
And what was the biggest thing that you learned after breaking the threshold into Asia? Because I've loved Asia for a really long time and I do think if you've never been to Asia, Japan is the perfect first step because it is just insane.
- [56:59]
B
It's not going to be as jarring as going to some other places. Yeah, it really is the most. It's not similar to a western lifestyle, but you will not feel like it's totally different either. You won't.
- [57:14]
A
They have a Zara.
- [57:15]
B
It won't be so jarring that you're like, oh my God, I'm totally on the other side of the world. You're kind of like, yeah, I'm on the other side of the world. But it's. It seems familiar.
- [57:22]
A
It seems familiar. My favorite part about traveling is spending all this quality time with Jeff. And then really slowly, just like when we're sitting on a train and I kind of stare at him and I'm eating my bento box and. And I look at him and he's falling asleep with his mouth open, listening to his golf podcast. And I look at him, I go, I'm sweating in this T shirt right now. He ate half my bento boxes. But I love him. And that's what it is. It's the quality time. And one day when we have children, we will look back and be like, mommy and daddy want to take you back to Japan because we had so much fun there. I just really enjoy spending time.
- [57:55]
B
I also love making memories with you.
- [57:57]
A
Making memories with Godzilla and King Kong. But where are we going this year? You got a golf tournament in France.
- [58:05]
B
Yeah. Yeah.
- [58:06]
A
He thinks he's on the tour.
- [58:07]
B
You know, Brent got that new job, and we're gonna go check it out. Hopefully you and Angelique come with.
- [58:11]
A
Yeah, we're gonna be doing a little Loir valley this summer. Obviously, we haven't been to Italy in a moment, so we're gonna Italy this year. And I don't. I don't want to hear you're like, oh, Heather, how you traveling? I. You understand the amount of credit card points that I have from being on tour for the last four years. We're zip zap, zopping around. And then once, eventually I have to pay for furniture for my new home.
- [58:28]
B
I will be locked inside that house.
- [58:31]
A
Be locked inside that house. And I. Because again, I. I don't like buying nice things for myself, so it'll be very hard for me to spend any money outside of the Shay's lounge that I'm gonna have to purchase or the Ames chair that I want for the living room. But in the meantime, between time, we will keep you in the loop with everywhere we're going. And we appreciate that anybody even gives a but I hope you enjoyed this bonus episode. I don't really know what I'm saying anymore. What do you think, honey? Any last final of words?
- [58:56]
B
No, Love you. Love traveling with you and, you know, let's keep doing it for the rest of our lives.
- [59:01]
A
Keep doing it for the rest of our lives. All right, if you have any more questions, you can always slide my DMS and I again will make a full travel guide for this. We love you. We mean it. Jeff, thanks for being here. What are you doing the rest of the day? Everybody wants to know.
- [59:11]
B
Member guess a tree for him this weekend. So we are going to the range to go grind.
- [59:15]
A
Go into the range to go grind. And I'm taking my mom for her pre op for her surgery, so. All right, I love you guys. I'll see you on the next episode. Ciao, bella. Or river de. Thanks so much for listening to today's episode. Don't forget to subscribe, rate us and leave a review and as always, follow me on Instagram at heatherkmcmahon. See you guys soon. For me, I can hear it instantly. Can.