Tokyo A Go-Go
Trip Start
Apr 20, 2007
1
6
Trip End
May 20, 2007
Tokyo,
Japan
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Unfortunately, my initial explorations were confined to Terminal 2 at Narita International. Since Nina had some time off, and a free pass on American Airlines, we recently determined that she should meet me in Japan for the week
A. Bathtub at the Mitsui Garden
. Though we tried to coordinate our arrivals, I was early and she was late. Thus I spent the better part of two hours slurping airport udon and looking at old magazines. Thankfully, I was in good spirits after an amazing flight on ANA and was happy to finally grab Nina's bags and head to the "Friendly Airport Limo". While this may sound like some cheeky Japanese take on the black stretch, it is actually a fleet of large orange buses that transport most Narita users into Tokyo. With taxis costing upwards of $200 for the 60km trip, it's no wonder people choose the "Friendly" or the train.
After nearly two hours (take the train if you pack light), the bus driver dropped us off in front of our hotel in the Ginza district. As is the norm in Japan, the Mitsui Garden Hotel was located on the top floors of an office building so we took the express straight to the 16th floor lobby. With sweeping views of Southern Tokyo, the stylish lobby immediately impressed. And while the room was Tokyo-tiny, its mix of design and comfort was the perfect formula for two picky but weary travelers. The wall mounted plasma and futuristic bedside control panel were nice touches, but it was ultimately the WC that sealed the deal. Nearly the size of the entire living quarters, it sported a luxury Japanese toilet and a steam room with shower and tub framed by a floor to ceiling window overlooking Tokyo Bay
A. View from the Lobby of the Mitsui Garden Hotel
. Very nice. With Nina completely exhausted from her lengthy flight, we decided to try for some relaxed sushi eating at a neighborhood joint. Unfortunately, since the address system in Tokyo is a seemingly random assignment of numbers that have no common connection to each other, most visitors (and locals) have no idea how to find anything. On this night (before we learned to have our destination fax us a map) we spent the better part of an hour walking around in a five block circle. After a series of failed scavengers hunts given by some extremely friendly local shopkeepers and waiters, we finally gave up and ducked into a busy sushi bar down the block. Here we ordered up some great scales and fins, downed a little Kirin and made it to the cash register without a single soy sauce stain. As I signed the credit card statement, I happened to notice the first English representation of the restaurant's name: "Midori"... it was the place we'd been looking for all along.
Arrigato Gozaimas and GOODNIGHT!
Saturday was a full day with the big names in Ginza and Maronouchi. By late afternoon, intense pavement pounding had lead to sore piggies and we came back to the hotel for a little R and R before a big night out with the team. Although only Christie and Meredith Southern showed up, we did it up with amusing "California" style sushi at the hilarious but excellent "Rainbow Roll". After some familiar maki and many rounds of Sake, the sushi pharaohs let my people go and we wandered like Israelites around Shimbashi station until we found the Japanese promised land: Karaoke.
Renting one of the private rooms in the enormous "Big Echo", we ordered up some Asahi, queued up the Devo and proceeded to Whip it Good well into the night
B. In Front of Big Echo
. After the third call from the all-Japanese speaking front desk, I interpreted that if we didn't exit the room soon we'd be charged another ten million yen. Time to hang up the mics.Exiting the building sometime in the single digit newness of the AM, we were surprised to find hundreds of young Japanese Salarymen and women engaged in drunken enjoyment of their Friday night. Skipping back toward the hotel, we were amused by the extreme level of inebriation surrounding us as each pack of friends invariably featured one highly schnockered member. As we walked through Shimbashi station, we saw our share of black tied dudes holding up wobbly-headed friends while the most strong willed of boyfriends dealt with their incoherent girlfriends. One such Romeo tried to comfort his lady who lay dramatically on the concrete alternating between deep sobs and flailing punches. Total comedy.
The next morning, Nina and I made our way through Aoyama - which was fantastic. With winding lanes and unique boutiques located just about everywhere, we enjoyed a day of true inspiration. Our favorite shops of the day included: The amazing Prada store, the sweetly designed ABA, and finally, Tab Device - a suburban house/meth lab that sold different clothing collections out of each room and included a full size metal horse in one of the bedrooms
C. Christie and Mr. Roboto
. For dinner, Nina went to bed and I went to the lobby for some decent J-italian food. Not bad actually.
Waking up on Sunday, we grabbed a subway and burrowed over to Naka Meguro where we found a fantastic collection of lowrise shops and restaurants huddled around a lush green canal. With cool clothing and hip home goods, you could have easily mistaken the area for Abbot Kinney Street in Venice Beach. Needlesss to say. I loved it.
For the next few hours, we wandered through back alleys and sides streets, visiting the most unique collection of outposts I have ever seen. While everything was superb, we did have a few favorites... "Baja": a Mexican grub shack where we sat outside and enjoyed respectable baja fish tacos and cold coronas ...and ...Madeline: a mobile coffee shop located inside an old citroen hatch back. Perring inside, one could watch the coffee master as he sat crouched in the trunk, manually pumping espresso and hand frothing the best espresso drinks we have ever tasted.
As the suns rays began to stretch out, we trudged back along the district's main road and walked along Meguro Dori, known in Tokyo as "the furniture Street"
D. Even Buddha dresses well in Aoyama
. Though we were quite tired at this point, we did manage to visit some more great shops, including Zakka, who did a fantastic job of mixing minimalist modern with Japanese Shabby Chic. Before leaving the small shop, I picked up a 230 Yen catalog for my designer friends to drool over back in Brooklyn. Walking further along Meguro Dori, we finally landed at the uber cool Claska hotel, which has quietly earned a reputation as the world's premier urban design hotel. Sitting in the Lobby café and enjoying Green Tea infused with Brown Rice along with some tasty chocolate cake, I was extremely impressed with what I saw...and ate.
Returning to the Mitsui Garden, Nina collapsed into the King Size while I began to think about my next meal. With deep breaths and fluttering eyes, she was not close to coherent when I finally decided that I couldn't wait any longer for dinner. Walking out into Ginza, I confidently headed toward Midori Sushi only to find that it had closed 5 minutes prior. After an entertaining conversation with one of the restaurant's employees, I was pointed around the corner to their own favorite neighborhood sushi spot. And although I never learned the name of the joint I finally landed in, I will never forget a great night of Solo Sushi underneath the Metro tracks. Mas Toro Por Favor. Arigato Gozaimas!
On Monday, Nina and I spent the morning wandering around the lush grounds of Tokyo's Meiji shrine. Aside from the occasional run in with groups of fellow whities, we were left pretty much alone to explore a beautiful monument quietly resting in the heart of Tokyo. In the evening, we met Christie and Meredith for dinner in Aoyama, at yet another impossible to find restaurant
E. Prada building in Aoyama
. As before, we wound up asking for help at another restaurant, where one of the waiters called our destination and then personally walked us over. Would that ever happen in New York?Finally sitting down at Rakusho Kushu Maru we were treated to a phenomenal series of inventive yet authentic Kyoto dishes. With stylish décor, great service and delicious food, it was one of the best dining experiences of the trip. If you can find the restaurant, it's not to be missed.
Waking up on Tuesday, Nina and I motored over to the Tsukiji Fish market for what is widely noted as the top fish in the world. Having already experienced the seafood market on our last trip, we headed straight for Sushi Dai, popularly recognized as the best of the best. After waiting outside for 2 of the 12 counter seats to open, I was excited to sit down and proclaim "Omakase"....chef's choice. For the next 30 minutes, I was treated to an exotic course of beautiful fresh nigiri. It was the best sushi I have ever tasted.
In the afternoon, we said bye bye to the corporate digs and moved to our new home in the Ebisu district. Though the Westin was a very nice hotel, it looked like any other Westin, and lacked any real Japanese character....especially the toilet! What a letdown.
Not wanting to spend a moment longer than necessary in the hotel, we threw on our walking shoes and headed to the Daikanyama district. Arriving by foot some 30 minutes later, we were once again pleasantly surprised by another incredible neighborhood
F. Canal in Naka Meguro
. While the architecture and design felt more like Aoyama, the shopping was on par with Naka Meguro and we were kept more than busy by scores of cool shops. Upon finding "Okura" Nina and I almost dropped to our knees in praise of Japanese Fashion. Here was perfectly constructed men's and women's clothing featuring modern takes on traditional pattern and styling. The fit was phenomenal...the washes were wonderful. Best Store Ever.Dizzy from such a fantastic shopping experience, we wound our way down a long hill and found ourselves back in Naka Meguro where we enjoyed a Hawaiian dinner at one of the canal front restaurants. A great end to a great day.
As the sun rose on our last day in Tokyo, embarked on what would be the best day of the entire trip. Starting with a visit to Ebisu's best known Tonkatsu restaurant, we happily plowed through a set lunch of delicately fried pork, cabbage salad, white rice and miso soup. Yum!
Jumping on the subway, we made our way all the way to the Ryogoku stop where we approached Tokyo's grand Sumo stadium. Lucky enough to be in the city during one of it's three annual pro tournaments, we were able to secure floor seats to day three of the 15 day long event.
Like seeing a soccer match in Brazil, attending a Japanese Sumo tournament is an amazing experience that cannot be duplicated anywhere else on Earth. For those who are not Sumo Savvy, the rules are fairly simple. Two very large men try to either push each other out of the 15 meter diameter ring or knock the other man to the ground
G. Baja Fish Tacos in Tokyo!
. A wrestler loses when any part of his body, touches outside the ring or hits the floor. While many matches last less than a minute, the ceremony, pomp and circumstance of each wrestler's entrance and fight preparation can last a long while and is quite beautiful to watch. During the tournament , each "rishiki" battles a different warrior during each of the 15 days. There is no weight class, so he may find himself lining up against a wrestler who is much bigger and stronger. To begin each match, the wrestlers approach the ring, wash their hands and rinse their mouths out before climbing onto the elevated mat. Once there, they go through up to four minutes of ceremony, throwing massive handfuls of Salt to purify the ring and raising their legs high in the air before stomping on the mat to scare away any demons. During this time, much machismo is put into crouching in front of one another as the rishiki attempt to psych each other out. Only when both wrestlers place both fists on the mat does the battle begin.
The typical tournament day begins around 10AM with matches involving the lower level wrestlers who grunt and push until lunch time. After lunch, the top two divisions, Jurya and Makuchi, are finally featured. Before each of these divisions begin, there is a beautiful ceremony where two "teams" of rishiki come to the ring and are presented to the crowd. The most elaborate part ceremony occurs just before the highest division begins it's matches when the Yokozuna (grand champions) are brought forth to do their own solo calls to the Shinto Gods.
The matches were extremely entertaining to watch and the atmosphere in the stadium was electric
H. Nina + Madeline = BFF
. It was especially exciting to watch the top tiers of rishiki do battle. We saw most of the Ozeki (second highest Sumo distinction) successfully defeat their opponents, but did witness a handful of great upsets. Asashoryu, the only current Yokozuna, was as dominant as ever and we enjoyed watching him in the last match of the day as he craftily defeated a rishiki who had given him a rare defeat at the most recent tournament. All said, it was a fantastic experience and I would highly recommend to anyone visiting japan.
For our final dinner of the trip, we rode the metro over to Daikanyama and strolled through the back alleyways until we came upon Nawa, a tiny local spot recommended by a friend of Christie's who is a Tokyo Native. I know that I have raved about a lot of meals on this trip, and have been especially gushing about my culinary capers in Tokyo...but this was definitely my favorite meal of the trip. With modern takes on traditional Japanese dishes like soy seared tuna served along side Western style fresh herb salads, the food was eclectic without being too obscure. Even inventive dishes like fried pumpkin balls sat beautifully with traditional Japanese pan fried chicken and melted in your mouth leaving the potent glasses of Sochu to the task of warming your bellly. As the night wore on. the perfectly done adobe style décor glowed softly as it wrapped around a small courtyard that featured a full sized tipi. Looking in with much jealousy, I watched as the fortunate reservationists savored their share of four private seats and enjoyed Nawa's finest while huddled around a small ceramic lantern. So Cool.
The next morning, I awoke to my last day in Asia
I. The Coffee Master at Work
. After nearly 1 month on the road, I was surely beginning to feel the fatigue of life on the road. Still...I was not at all ready to go home and could have easily spent another month traveling. While I know that I am prone to hyperbole, I must say that this trip was truly amazing. Spending time in Asia is always a life changing experience, and this trip only doubled my love for this continent.
I've had a great run these past few years, but now I'll be hanging up my wings for a while. Once I am ready to take to the skies again, you can bet that I'll be back on Travelpod with a full account of all my adventures.
Thanks again for being a part of the fun!
-Ari
