Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Tokyo

Tokyo_20071024_0069

I am in Tokyo at the moment. To prove it, here is a picture (from my hotel room), of the Tokyo Municipal Government building, which is much more imposing than it is pretty. It's right outside my window. I have never been here before, so even though I have to work, it's been very interesting. The Japanese are extremely friendly, and to my surprise, despite its huge size, Tokyo is a pretty mellow city. Everyone seems to take their time and there are lots of people walking the streets and hanging out in the noodle shops and cafes - I was surprised, given their work culture is geared towards long hours. Surprised, too, are my Japanese colleagues when I told them I expected it to be more manic.

At lunch time today, one of my team members brought me to the Meiji Jingu Shinto shrine, which is near the office. It's a beautiful, peaceful place - you wouldn't believe that you are in the middle of a huge city, once inside the grounds. The temple is made of Japanese cyprus and then woodwork is stark, precise, and beautiful. Also, it seems like the Japanese gods like a good knees up, based on the size of the Sake offering below (one of several).

Tokyo_20071024_0045

As luck would have it, some of the company brass were also in town yesterday, and I was asked to tag along to a dinner at the top of the Park Hyatt hotel. If you have seen the movie Lost In Translation, you might recognise the restaurant. The characters were staying in the hotel. One of the scenes has Bill Murray and Scarlett Johanssen drinking in the restaurant, with spectacular night time views of Tokyo as the back drop. I actually didn't cop on about the movie myself until someone mentioned it to me. The food was amazing and the conversation interesting, and despite having my camera in my bag, I never took any pictures of the view. Doh! It only dawned on me when I got back to my hotel.

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7 Comments:

Blogger MairĂ©ad said...

Lucky you, John!

11:39 AM  
Blogger Sam, Problem-Child-Bride said...

You lucky swine, you!

A friend of mine is just back from 6 weeks in Japan. He used to live there years ago and said it was the place in the world where he felt the most foreign. He doesn't like noodles, fish or green tea, mind, so he was a bit stuck for grub choices and being light-heded with hunger all the time probably makes things seem a nit more other.

How very blimmin' cool too, to be staying in the Lost In Translation park Hyatt. Is it true that the Japanese are really into their whisky?

4:23 PM  
Blogger John Mc said...

Mairead - one of the few perks of working! I like traveling, as long as I don't do too much. Travel for work gets old. I'm lucky, I tend to only travel every few months, but it is to interesting places, London etc.

Sam

That is very true, it is a very unique place. I like the food, I am a most vegetarian, but I will eat fish when traveling, and I like sushi.My colleagues brought me to a local sushi restaurant, (not a place tourists would get too), last night. The food was great, (interesting great as opposed to something I would eat every day), and the atmosphere really mellow. We chatted, (through my workmates) with the sushi chef and he gave us different sake's to try.

BTW, I am not staying at the Park Hyatt, (it's $400 a night min), I was just there for dinner.

I am well into my whisky, ( a traitor to my home country I love Scotch, the peatier the better), but I haven't seen much imbibing here - yet!

5:57 PM  
Blogger Sam, Problem-Child-Bride said...

Is Japanese sushi like American sushi? I shunned it for the longest time - cold rice and raw fish for me tea? Gimme a break - but I'm slowly getting to like it because it's so ubiquitous here.

Have you tried the pufferfish? !

6:03 PM  
Blogger John Mc said...

Sam

It is more or less the same. Sushi is hugely popular in San Francisco, because fresh fish is readily available, and a large percentage of the population are of Asian extraction. Within a few blocks of my house there are easily 10 sushi places, and this is pretty typicial.

I took a long time to come around to Sushi, I HATED itthe first time I tried it, (with an ex, who actually returned to Ireland and opened a sushi restaurant!). It took me a few tries to really like it.

They don't seem to use as much soy sauce and wasabi in Japan, the sushi chef gives it as he sees fit. In the US we tend to mix the wasabi and soy and dip ever piece into it. I think I prefer the US method.

I was recently in an excellent SF sushi place, where the had a large selection of the vegetarian rolls which were delicious, although I am pretty sure the Japanese would see that as sushi!

6:39 PM  
Blogger The Hangar Queen said...

I spent some time in that part of Tokyo (I want to say Shinjuko?) in 2001.
Best.Holiday.Ever.

The food was a bit of a challenge at times but as soon as I figured out the Japanese for "Can I have a Japanese beer please?" I was sorted.

Beware of the breakfast pastries that look like doughnuts but have fish in the middle and if you can handle the noodle stands on the street at lunch/dinner time you'll never regret it.

8:27 PM  
Blogger John Mc said...

Yup Devin, I'm in Shinjuko - it's really more of a business area. We got lunch at one of the street noodle places yesterday. Mmmmmmmmm!

9:33 PM  

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