Jpop Summit 2016

Two years ago we went to Jpop Summit, then more commonly known as the Ramen Festival, in Japantown and it was a complete and utter disaster. What seemed like the entire bay area had shown up for this free event with the hopes of having the best ramen they’ve ever eaten. Instead they were met with four hour long lines and a venue as crowded as Shibuya station during rush hour (though far less orderly).

Lots of hangry people at Jpop Summit/Ramen Festival 2014

And so it was with much apprehension that Michael and I decided to get tickets to attend. It ended up being a much better event than what we experienced back in 2014. Turns out, charging $25 for admission into the Fort Mason venue is a great method of crowd control. We were never stuck in any lines for more than a few minutes, and the festival provided more than enough attractions to make the admission fee worth it.

New venue for Jpop Summit 2016

A few highlights…

Food: What’s a festival without food? There were two different food vendor areas within the festival, one outside and one inside the building. A few different ramen restaurants set up stands in the outside area (“Ramen Summit”) adjacent to a circle of Japanese cuisine inspired food trucks. Inside were snack vendors and lots of sake available for tasting (“Sake Summit”). Food in general was a little pricey as can be expected from these events, but there was a nice variety and everything was very tasty.

Wait time for ramen: less than five minutes

Cultural Exhibits: I was pleasantly surprised at how many interesting exhibits there were at the festival showcasing various facets of Japanese culture. Among my favorites were the capsule hotel booth where you could actually try going into a real full sized capsule, and the Ukiyo-e workshop where we had a chance to make our own woodblock prints of the famous piece of art.

Try out a capsule!

Ukiyo-e printing workshop

Concerts: The main attraction at Jpop Summit were, of course, the concerts. Saturday and Sunday each had three different artists performing in the evening. We were there on Sunday and got to see Yanakiku, Silent Siren, and our main reason for going in the first place, World Order. Each artist got about 40 minutes to perform, totaling more than two hours of music per night. For fans of Japanese music, the evening concerts themselves are worth the $25 admission. We had a great time seeing World Order perform live, and will likely be back next year if they have an equally good lineup.

Great performance from World Order and the rest of the artists

Did you attend Jpop Summit? Share your favorite moments in the comments below!

Journey to Wizard Island

My Oregon trip has come to an end and I’m back in the bay area again, but during the last weekend before I left, I decided to take one last adventure down to Crater Lake with M who was also visiting. Most people who visit the national park spend their time driving around the lake on the scenic Rim Drive. But we decided to try the road less traveled and take a boat out to Wizard Island, the small(er) volcanic mountain in the middle of the lake.

Wizard Island as seen from Crater Lake Rim Drive

Our day started with an early morning drive to Cleetwood Cove on the north side of the lake. We picked up our tickets the moment the ticketing office opened at 7:30, then started hiking down to the actual dock. The trail was pretty steep - makes sense considering it’s on the edge of a crater. We made good time going down and even had time to take some pictures before catching our boat at 8:30.

The dock at Wizard Island

The boat ride was wet and cold. A thick fog covered the entire lake, and the sun had not yet pierced through. As we kept going, a mountain suddenly materialized out of the darkness, and we were at Wizard Island.

On the way to the summit

There are two hiking trails on Wizard Island. We started with the summit hike, one mile of going straight to the top of the mountain, and then one mile back. 

Mini crater at the top of Wizard Island

It was a struggle up the steep trail with the oxygen deprived air at 7000 feet elevation, but we made it up right as the sun was just starting to peek through the clouds, making for some great photo opportunities.

View from the top of the island

After going back down, we had some extra time before the boat came back to pick us up, so we decided to take the other trail to Fumarole Bay. The trail was incredibly rugged. 

Look how rugged the trail was

We were basically walking on huge piles of volcanic rock, making it quite hard on the ankles. In order to preserve our joints, we just went to the first vista point of the bay and then turned back.

Beautiful Fumarole Bay

The boat ride back to Cleetwood Cove was a lot more pleasant than the journey out. By then the sun was completely out, turning the lake a brilliantly blue color.

We could actually see the island during the return ride

Despite having to wake up at the crack of dawn and make a final steep climb out of the crater at the end, it was totally worth seeing the amazing sights and getting to hike on trails orders of magnitude less crowded than those on the mainland. Wizard Island was definitely the highlight of our trip, and I would highly recommend it to anyone spending at least a full day at Crater Lake.

How to not spend all your time in line at Universal Studios Hollywood

Fellow Harry Potter fans have a new reason to visit Universal Studios Hollywood with the recent opening of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter within the park. It may not be as big as the Orlando version (not a new trend as far as theme parks go), but it’s a way for west coast Potter fans to enjoy drinking butterbeer, exploring Hogsmeade, and buying overpriced wizard robes without having to travel cross country. From my recent trip to the park, I’ve come up with a list of tips to help you maximize your time in the park.

Hogwarts, home of the most popular ride in the park

#1. Buy your tickets online

If you know what day you’re planning on going, there’s no reason not to buy them online in advance. This allows you to skip the lines at the ticket window. But more importantly, buying in advance gives you an hour early entry to the Harry Potter World section of the park. Which leads me to my next point…

#2. Be at the front gates before opening

If you followed step 1 you should have early entry - that’s 8am this time of year, but it could also be 9am or 7am depending on when you go, so make sure to check the calendar. The next step is to make sure to be there a little before that time. You wont be allowed into Harry Potter World until actual early entry time, but you want to be at the front of the mob crowd when they do open. Trust me on this.

Hippogriff on the hippogriff ride

#3. Target big attractions first

This means going for the 4D Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey ride at the castle first. We went for this first thing and waited about 25 minutes. Later in the day wait times were up to 120 minutes. After the 4D ride, we went for the hippogriff ride, which was a mistake. We should have went to Ollivanders next for the wand ceremony. By the time we got around to that wait times were up to 70 minutes, so we ended up waiting until later in the day to come back to that. After visiting Ollivanders, feel free to stop by Flight of the Hippogriffs. This is a low wait time ride, only going up to 35 minutes maximum on the day we went. 

Visit Ollivanders to see the popular wand choosing ceremony

Here are also a few more general tips for the rest of the park:

#4. Wait until you’re at the park to buy front-of-the-line passes

You can upgrade your pass at the park for the difference in price between the front-of-the-line tickets and regular tickets, so there’s no monetary incentive to getting them ahead of time. Depending on the day, you may find you don’t even need the FOTL passes, so you can save that money for buying more butterbeer. 

#5. Plan to see shows around the middle of the day

The park is fairly empty early in the morning, gets crowded starting late morning, and tapers off again right around dinnertime. Wait times for rides also increase and decrease correspondingly. To avoid wasting too much time in line, plan to see shows around midday to mid afternoon when lines for rides are the longest.

Go for the Studio Tour in the morning or late afternoon to avoid huge lines

#6. Go on a mildly drizzly day

If possible, try to visit on a day with some light rain, because most Los Angelenos are allergic to rain. At least that’s what it seems like - we visited on a day that had some occasional showers, and the park was much less crowded than usual. Just throw on a raincoat, wear some waterproof sandals, and go. You were going to get soaked on the Jurassic Park ride anyway.

Beer Tasting in Beertown

Before arriving in Portland, I’d already heard about the many microbreweries and local craft beer I was supposed to try when I got there. Having no idea where to even start, a friend and I decided to sign up for a brewery tour with an expert who could show us all the good places.

So these are what hops are 

We signed up for the tour with BeerQuest PDX, a three hour walking tour with 12 beer samples total from three different breweries included. The first stop was Rock Bottom Brewery in downtown, just a few blocks from Pioneer Square. Our tour guide started us off with one of their lighter beers, then brought us into Rock Bottom’s brewing room for a quick overview of the brewing process. There were several huge tanks, some of which were full of the various flavors of fermenting beer that we were going to try. 

Full of fermenting beer

We went back to our table and received five more samples in quick succession. My favorite beer from Rock Bottom was probably the “Dim Wit”, a white ale with “flavors of orange peel and coriander”. The samples went from light to dark, and towards the middle I rediscovered my dislike of IPAs. Some of our fellow tour-mates liked them, but I couldn’t handle the hoppiness. At that point I thought I was done with that brewery, but I was pleasantly surprised to find that I actually liked the “Rise and Shine”, a dark oatmeal stout with hints of chocolate flavor. 

Some of the beers we tried at Rock Bottom

After the six samples, we set off towards the next brewery, my Asian glow already shining strong. On the way to our next watering hole, our tour guide showed us a couple notable sights as we walked north into Old Town. We stopped by one of the “Benson Bubblers”, a drinking fountain with water bubbling out of four separate spouts. The bubblers were apparently constructed in an effort to curb Portland’s drinking problem. It’s debatable how successful it was. 

The Benson Bubblers

We also stopped by Huber’s, one of Portland’s oldest bars. Back in the day, they would attract customers by giving free turkey sandwiches to anyone drinking there. During the prohibition they stayed open by continuing to sell sandwiches. Today, Huber’s is a great place for both a drink and a meal. 

Huber's, remodeled but still recognizable

The second part of our tasting took place at Kell’s. Ground floor looked like a perfectly normal establishment, but the basement, where we did our tasting, looked almost like a dungeon. We tried three more beers there, once again ranging from light to dark. I actually liked the stout there the best. It had an interesting creamy feel to it, and had a taste similar to what I imagine coffee would taste like. 

We finished our tour at Pints, a newer looking bar with an appropriately hipster feel. There we tried some of the strangest beers of the day. There was a maple flavor beer that was just weird and I wasn’t a fan of. I did really like the chocolate orange candy beer though, with its festive taste. 

Vats on display at Pints

Overall I had a great experience on my first ever brewery tour. Our tour guide did a great job exposing us to a wide variety of beers and brewpubs. I, personally, learned about a whole other kind of beer that I never knew I liked, and have a greater appreciation for beer in general and respect for the people honing their craft of drink. To anyone visiting Portland with even a mild interest in beer, take a brewery tour! It’s an excellent way to see the city while getting to know the beers of Beertown, USA. 

The North Oregon Coast

After a short three months at home, I’m off on another work trip again, this time to the greater Portland area. So far the transition has been pretty smooth. Portland actually seems very similar to the bay area, in that there’s lots of great food, a relatively diverse population, and debilitating traffic during rush hour. Just like home.

Hello Portland!

Last weekend my parents came up for a brief visit, and we decided to take a day trip outside of the city. There’s a charming little town on the coast that several people had recommended called Astoria, just under a two hour drive from the Portland area. Situated right next to the Columbia river and present day Oregon-Washington border, Astoria is where Lewis and Clark ended their journey and search for the fabled Northwest Passage. 

Lewis and Clark with their dog and a friendly Native American

The first place we visited was Fort Clatsop, part of the Lewis and Clark National Historic Park. There was a nice little visitor center with exhibits and videos telling the story of Lewis and Clark’s travels, and a life-size replica of Fort Clatsop. Many hiking trails also extend out from the visitor center. One of the trails was the Fort to Sea Trail, starting at the fort and leading to the sea unsurprisingly. The entire trail was six miles one way, so we decided to just do two miles up to Clatsop Ridge and turn back from there. It was a pleasant trail, but the view at the ridge was a little underwhelming. There were probably nice views at the end of the trail, but not sure I would recommend going to the ridge in particular. 

In line for fish and chips

For lunch we went to the highest rated place in the area on Yelp, Bowpicker Fish and Chips. The restaurant is actually just a foodboat (as opposed to a foodtruck) - a boat parked in the middle of a dirt lot repurposed to serve fish and chips. The line was pretty impressive; we ended up waiting an hour before we got our food. 

Freshly fried fish and chips

But with all the locals in line raving about how good this place was, the wait didn’t feel too bad. When we finally got our food everything was freshly fried and crispy. The fish was nicely textured, and the freshest fish I’ve ever had for fish and chips. Definitely worth a try despite the wait.

Visited this ship next to the Maritime Musem

After lunch we visited the Columbia River Maritime Museum before making a stop at the Astoria Column. The museum had some interesting exhibits about all the shipwrecks around the mouth of the Columbia - apparently it’s one of the most dangerous rivers in the world to boat on - and we also got to walk around on a ship as part of admission. But I think the highlight of the day was the Astoria Column. 

The Astoria Column

Built on the highest hill in the city, the Astoria Column features the best view of the surrounding water and land at the observation deck on top. With the great panoramic views, it’s the perfect place to pause and appreciate the beauty of the northwest coast. 

View from the top of the column

New places to explore, new experiences to be had. Looking forward to seeing what else Oregon has to offer!

Hiking and spelunking at Pinnacles

Last week was National Parks week, meaning free admission at all parks. Taking advantage of the event, I went with a group of friends to Pinnacles National Park for a day hike. We decided to start out at Old Pinnacles trailhead, which was just as well because the Bear Gulch trailhead had just run out of parking by the time we got to the park (note for the future - 10am is not early enough to get a parking spot at the Bear Gulch day use area). 

View of Balconies Cliffs from the trail

Rockier terrain closer to the cave

We followed the Old Pinnacles Trail for a couple miles through relatively flat terrain. Several creek crossings later, we finally reached the entrance to Balconies Cave. 

Last bit of light before entering the dark cave

Flashlights were very much needed in the pitch black first section of the cave. We scrambled over and under fallen rocks and squeezed through tight crevices and eventually got to the other side of the cave.

Fallen rocks in the caves to crawl under

On the way back we took the Balconies Cliff Trail to see some different scenery. 

View of the high peaks over the ridge

We got a great view of Machete Ridge on the right, and watched a couple hardcore rock climbers scaling Balconies Cliffs to our left. After a little less than a mile, the Cliff Trail merged back with the Old Pinnacles Trail which we followed back to the trailhead.

I think this is Machete Ridge

This was my first time going to Pinnacles, and was a great introduction to the park I had heard so many good things about. I look forward to coming back sometime to explore the whole south side of the park and high peaks!

A Night Under the Stars at Fremont Peak

A few months back, M had bought a tent on a whim. With ski season and weekend Tahoe trips coming to an end, we decided to finally put the tent into use with an inaugural camping trip. Now as most bay area outdoor enthusiasts would know, it’s nearly impossible to get a campsite reservations at the big parks like Yosemite and Big Sur without booking months in advance, so we settled on the lesser known Fremont Peak State Park, a little over an hour southeast of southbay. Though it lacks the big name appeal, Fremont Peak was a nice place for a weekend camping getaway with great views of both the surrounding landscape and the stars.

Fremont Peak, a park above the clouds

We stayed at campsite 8 in the Valley View campground. The campsite was small, but had more than enough room for a single large tent. It was a little inconvenient not having a water spigot or trashcan in our site, but both were just a short walk away, and in exchange we had probably the best view of the valley out of all the campsites there. 

View of sunset from our campsite

Fremont Peak is a relatively small state park. We spent the afternoon hiking the only loop trail (~4-5 miles) around the park with an offshoot going up to the summit. The landscape actually changes rather dramatically from one side of the park to the other. On the west side we hiked through mostly dense woodland (despite the segment being called the Valley View Trail, it had the least view out of all the trail segments), to the north was more dry and sparse, and the southeast part of the trail was on the edge of a steep incline, covered in green grass and blooming purple flowers. 

Hills full of flowers

The actual peak summit was definitely the highlight of the hike. The ascent started off fairly moderate, but by the end we were scrambling over large rocks to get to the top. The weather was great the day we went, and we could see for miles in all directions. You could see Monterey bay, a lot of the central valley, and even a little bit of Silicon Valley peeking from behind the Santa Cruz mountains to the north. The descent was a bit precarious - there were a lot of people at the summit who we thought were just chilling up there, but we suspect they were just stuck and not sure how to get down because a large group left right after seeing us make our way down - but we eventually made it down and back to the campsite.

View from the summit

Aside from the great views, one of the biggest defining features of Fremont Peak is the observatory. A group of friendly volunteers work at the observatory and hold astronomy talks and viewings every Saturday afternoon and evening without a full moon. We stopped by in the afternoon in the middle of the hike to peek through some of the telescopes they had set up to see prominences and sunspots on the sun. Later that evening, we returned to attend the talk on solar eclipses. It was a little cloudy that night, but we were still able to spot multiple constellations, the International Space Station, and galaxies much farther away. My favorites of the night were the views of Jupiter and a few of its moons and the globular cluster M3. 

Fremont Peak observatory at night

Before deciding to make this trip, I had never even heard of Fremont Peak, and most other people I talked to hadn’t either (“Is that in Fremont?”). It’s definitely a hidden gem in the increasingly overcrowded bay area, and a great place to go for some peace and quiet in the wilderness.