Strolling the streets of Tokyo...

Free of business today (as much as an assistant can be free, ha!) so I
enjoyed a day in the village of Harajuku. The area is known for great
street fashion. We shopped and took the culture in. It ended up being
a really nice day also, no rain... it's been wet since we arrived, but
no worries, Japan is the most unique place I've ever been.

Tokyo Imperial Palace grounds

This is the view from my hotel room overlooking the Tokyo Imperial
Palace. The slivers of light-whiteish color within the trees just
below the skyline are the roofs of buildings on the grounds. Amazing
history in this small area of Japan that during the height of the
1980s Japanese property bubble, the palace grounds were valued by some
as more than the value of all of the real estate in the state of
California.

Make.Believe

Sir Howard Stringer and Kenny Ortega launch Make.Believe for Sony in
Tokyo today. Inspirational! After press we met with Masahiro Nakai
from SMAP and had the most amazing sushi dinner with Masato Nakamura
and Miwa Yoshida of Dreams Come True... arigatoo everyone :)

Crossing the Pacific

Here in Tokyo now. Great ANA flight... 11 hours, wow! Happy to be
here, the culture is so amazing and the food is beyond! Enjoyed an
teppanyaki style dinner with amazing views 50 stories above the city
last night.

Just off the PCH...

Surfing just North of Malibu today, great spot, thanks Mike! Enjoyed a
great dinner with friends at Casa Vega last night. Glad to be back in
LA this weekend... off to Tokyo on Tuesday!

I'M IN MIAMI BLEEP!

Spent the last week in South Beach - Miami, Florida. This would be the most 'tropical' city in the continental US. As far as the food goes, don't miss the Green Eggs at The Front Porch Cafe, Prime 112 Steak House and the amazing Cuban food at Larios On The Beach, they also have the best Mojito in the city! For night life, Bongo's Cuban Cafe, the Nikki Beach Club on Sunday and LIV Night Club on Wednesday are the places to be. The Cordoza Hotel (pictured above) at 13th and Ocean Dr has been my home away from home. This Estefan-owned hotel is wonderfully located right in the middle of the action. I had an unforgettable evening on Star Island with some amazing people including a 7-course meal at a private residence where both Cher and De Niro, among others, have called home. Flying privately into Miami from Vegas on Ralph Lauren's old G5 was the icing on the cake!

JEFF & JAMES PHARES MAKE CNN HEADLINES

Yep, that's me and my Dad just behind Kenny Ortega and Paula Abdul at the MICHAEL JACKSON'S THIS IS IT movie premiere in Hollywood back in October 2009. This pic circulated the press about a month ago with rumors of an Ortega / Abdul TV project in the making. You can still find the article on The Marquee Blog on CNN.com - copy and paste the link below to see it online.

http://marquee.blogs.cnn.com/2010/03/23/yet-another-gig-in-play-for-paula-abdul/