144. Tokyo - Grubbin' on Gyoza at Tokyo Haneda Intl Airport / 羽田空港せたが屋の餃子

Instead of flying out from Narita International Airport (NRT), I chose a departure flight from Tokyo Haneda Airport (HND).  Haneda Airport is much closer to the city center, which shortens the time needed to get to/from the airport drastically.  I saved on the extra commute time, so I wandered up to Edo Market on the fourth floor to check out the airport's pre-security restaurant offerings.

I found a ramen shop called Setagaya (せたが屋) in the corner of Edo Market (江戸小路).  It is ideal for travelers flying individually or in small groups since it is a small space.  A ticket vending machine greets you to the right of the entrance.  This is where you are supposed to make your selection and pay.  As soon as you find a seat, you hand the ticket over to the server.  Their specialty is ramen, but I had not had any gyoza (餃子) in Japan during my six days there, so I knew I had to have some before I left the country.

For now, though, ikimasho... we gotta go! I'll try the noodles the next time I fly out of Haneda Airport.  There is also a Tsurutontan (つるとんたん), famous for their giant bowls of udon noodles in the Edo Market as well.  Until next time, let's all get S.O.F.A.T.

ML - 20130630

F.A.T. News 7: World's Largest Model Airport

I've been losing myself in this video of the model airplanes taking off and landing several times now, and around the one minute mark I start to believe that the model airplanes are real.

This trumps all childhood Lego sets:
World's largest model airport opens to rave reviews
article by Ben Mutzabaugh, USA TODAY



This is the coolest model I've ever seen in my life.  If I could have brought this home with me from Toys"R"Us as a child, I would have never asked for another toy or Lego set.  But then again the article says, the model airport took six years to build, and I'm sure I would not have had the patience or the attention span to build anything remotely similar to this back in the day.  That's major attention to detail... insane.  I'm going to click 'play' again now.  So cool.

ML - 20110506