A 16.9 fl oz (500ml) bottle of water costs roughly ￥100. You'll notice immediately upon arriving in Tokyo that beverage vending machines are everywhere. They can be found near major buildings, inside train stations, and along busy residential streets. Cold and hot drinks from vending machines cost between ￥100 and ￥150. When it was especially cold during the winter months, I would buy a hot can of "creamy corn soup" for ￥130 to warm me up!
My most memorable meal this week was at Kalae-Ribs Kitchen, located near Enoshima Island. The shop interior theme and food is the owner's vision of Hawaiian-style Japanese fusion. For dinner, I ordered the "Ribs A plate," which came with beef steak, garlic shrimp, roast pork, salad, soup and a small shirasu (young anchovy) rice bowl. Besides being delicious, part of what made this meal special was the journey it took to find it. After an eventful day trip in Kamakura visiting several temples, shrines and the beach with friends, we were all tired and looking for a good place to eat dinner. There weren't many shops open at 9 p.m. in this small town, so we spent almost 20 minutes searching before settling on this restaurant. It was a great surprise and a perfect way to end the trip!
