The old adage is true. You never truly appreciate something until it's gone. Like, say, your appetite. Or even the ability to eat something without having it transform your stomach in a raging maelstrom. At the beginning of this trip, I was on the top of the world, assuming I'd get to try anything and…
November 19, 2013: Tokyo Day #14! Back on the horse! Oden! A return to an old favorite! And, of course, desserts!
I think I actually put on some weight on this trip. No. Really. Upon my arrival in Tokyo, I had a choice between two notches on my belt - the first, a little tight; the second, a little loose. I opted for the latter and, fourteen days later, that loose notch is actually kind of…
November 18, 2013: Tokyo Day #13! The Fine Art of Ramen! H.H. Giger prepares my meal at Chikuyotei! I finally pay the price!
Nobody appreciates the fine arts like I do and it should come as no surprise that there's nothing I enjoy more than hitting the local museums whenever I visit a foreign city. Such was the case yesterday when Akemi and I woke up early so that we could catch the bullet train to Yokohama and…
November 16, 2013: Tokyo Day #11! Esquisse! Kushiage! Star Bar!
I have at least one revelatory dining experience every time I visit Tokyo and, on this trip, it was the dinner I had at Esquisse, Tokyo's hottest French restaurant. Located on the 9th floor of the Royal Crystal Ginza, Esquisse has only been open a year and a half but, in that short time, under…
November 15, 2013: Tokyo Day #10! Line-ups, Geek Central, and Chicken Sashimi!
If there's one thing the Japanese love, it's a line-up. And this fact was reinforced as we strolled through Ometasando yesterday where we noted not one, not two, but THREE line-ups. The first for a newly opened popcorn shop (?), the second for some other presumably new shop of indeterminate nature, and the third...for a…
November 14, 2013: Tokyo Day #9! Wherein we check out Akemi’s old neighborhood and I eat way too much. Again!
Yesterday, we took a day trip to Akemi's old stomping grounds, catching the Chiyoda line from Hibiya station to Yoyogi Uehara where we transferred to the Odakyu line and finally arrived in Seijogakuen-mae. In short, just a little easier to get there than it is to pronounce... Once we arrived the first thing we…
November 13, 2013: Tokyo Day #8! A day packed full of jam! And whisky!
Akemi: When I was a kid, I had big eyes. Like everyone in my family. Me: Why? Akemi: I'm not sure. Maybe because we eat a lot of meat. Well, just a little meat for me yesterday - but a lot of whisky. We joined Akemi's family for lunch at one of my favorite restaurants…
November 9, 2013: Tokyo Day #4! Japanese convenience store breakfast! Kaiseki at Kurogi! Rustic and Raucous at Kabuto! Eel-gutting 101!
Yesterday, Akemi and I did breakfast Tokyo Convenience Style, sitting down to a lovely spread: spicy orange-hued chicken nuggets devoid of any real chicken taste or texture, a soggy pork bun, another much better barbecued pork bun we received instead of the actual pizza bun we had ordered, an alarmingly runny aloe yogurt (with the fruit…
November 2, 2012: Tokyo Day #5! Actually, Yokohama Day #1!
Yesterday, I ended up going to Yokohama for the day. It was my first visit to the area and I was wowed. It's absolutely beautiful, alternately reminding me of New York in parts, Paris in others, and even San Diego at times. My friend, Moro-san, was my tour guide for the day, taking me absolutely…