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 17, 2013: Tokyo Day #12! Doggy Daikanyama! Sushi Kanesaka! Dominique Bouchet!
Tokyo is a vibrant metropolis of neon lights and raucous party districts, 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. work days and all night manga cafes were salarymen who have missed the last subway home can catch a few hours sleep before sunrise. It's can be chaotic and crowded... And yet, there are parts of Tokyo that…
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 10, 2013: Tokyo Day #5! Shaky shaky! Pork and promenades! Dinner at L’Effervesence!
We sure are experiencing a lot of turbulence, I thought to myself in my sleep-addled state. Suddenly, I stopped brushing. Wait a minute. I'm in my hotel room. "Did you feel the earthquake?"asked Akemi as I stepped out of the bathroom. The national news was already reporting on the 4.0 quake, a relatively minor that,…
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 8, 2013: Tokyo Day #2! Quest for the elusive Lawsons fried chicken! The Tokyo underground! Sushi Sawada! And more!
Our Tokyo trip got off to a rainy start. But that didn't temper our enthusiasm. We were up and out at 8:30 a.m., on a quest to track down some convenience store heat lamp spicy chicken nuggets for my breakfast. We were in search of the ubiquitous Lawsons, the one stop shop for everything from…
November 7, 2013: Tokyo Day #1! Arrival! Sans Applause! Robot Girlfriend!
Hello, from the future! November 7th here in Tokyo; November 6th back home for most of you. Having advance knowledge of the day ahead, I wish I could tell you all what is in store for you but, alas, like most travelers to Asia, I had to sign a non-disclosure form while going through customs…
November 10, 2012: Sayanora Tokyo! Dai San Harumi!
There are a grand total of three possible sleeping positions on an airplane seat and I exhausted all three today. I quite like the timing of the flights both to and from Tokyo. On the way there, the flight departs in the mid-afternoon, giving you plenty of time to sleep in and do your last…
November 9, 2012: Last full day in Tokyo! Restaurant Esquisse! Chez Tomo!
My friend Moro-san suggested we go to lunch at Restaurant Esquisse, a relatively new addition to the Ginza dining scene. It has only been open for about four months now and yet, in that short time, garnered some great word of mouth. Always up to trying something new, I booked us a table. I arrived…
November 8, 2012: The return of The Weird Food Purchase of the Day! Gyoza Stadium! Ice Cream City! Nodaiwa!
Today, Akemi and I headed over to Ikebukuro's Sunshine City Mall, home to Namco Namja Town's Gyoza Stadium and Ice Cream City. It's been some five years since my last visit to Ice Cream City (I still flashback to the aftertaste of that squid ice cream) and I was looking forward to the return trip.…