If you haven't noticed, I've been doing a lot more work travel lately, and it sometimes has it's perks. For instance, I've never been to Japan, so I was psyched to hear that I had meetings in Tokyo in early February. The only downside is that I've been doing more travel on weekends, so I end up missing down time, but I guess things could be worse (at least I have a job!) .
I got on a plane on Saturday morning, and with the 10 hour flight and the time difference, I landed on Sunday afternoon.
SUNDAY (1/31)
I was traveling with my co-worker Vince, and as he was feeling under the weather, we ended up taking a cab to our hotel instead of the train (FYI, cabs are super expensive in Tokyo!). We were lucky to be staying at the schwanky Mandarin Oriental Hotel in the Marunouchi/Nihonbashi area of downtown Tokyo (business district). The hotel is on the upper floors of the massive Mitsui Tower (also the location of the company we were meeting with...how very convenient...)
After checking in and cleaning up after the flight, Vince and I took a recommendation for dinner and headed to Ginza, a district just south of Nihonbashi. We went to a restaurant called Gonpachi in G-Zone Ginza, and it was an awesome. According to one website:
After checking in and cleaning up after the flight, Vince and I took a recommendation for dinner and headed to Ginza, a district just south of Nihonbashi. We went to a restaurant called Gonpachi in G-Zone Ginza, and it was an awesome. According to one website: Gonpachi has a chain of five restaurants in Tokyo. Its claim to fame is founded on stronger reasons than George Bush having dined in one of its restaurants. Each of the Gonpachi restaurants stands unique in its individuality. A feature common to all the Gonpachi restaurants is the ease with which they blend the old and the new. This merging of two worlds- otherwise sundered by temporal space- is reflected not only in the interior of the restaurants but also in the menu.
We chose the kushiyaki (skewers) part of the restaurant, and shared several small dishes:
After dinner, Vince and I were falling into food and jet-lag coma, so we happily went back to the hotel to enjoy the nice, comfy rooms.
After dinner, Vince and I were falling into food and jet-lag coma, so we happily went back to the hotel to enjoy the nice, comfy rooms. MONDAY (2/1)
On Monday morning, I got up pretty early (trying to adjust to Tokyo time as soon as possible) and hit the gym to try to quell the jet-lag. The gym was on the 38th floor, so there was a pretty inspiring view to entertain me, despite my hatred for the treadmill.
I had work meetings with our Japanese regulatory collaborators in the afternoon, and then my hosts took me out for a lovely traditional dinner at a restaurant named Uruwashi Kanda, within walking distance in Nihonbashi.
It was a fantastic meal and it was so nice to get to know these colleagues in a social setting. I was really impressed with their language skills and fluency in English (I would've been in trouble because my Japanese is limited to "konichiwa" and "domo").
TUESDAY (2/2)
It was a fantastic meal and it was so nice to get to know these colleagues in a social setting. I was really impressed with their language skills and fluency in English (I would've been in trouble because my Japanese is limited to "konichiwa" and "domo").TUESDAY (2/2)
On Tuesday morning, I was up early to start the full day of meetings with the entire global team and the full Japanese team.
Members of the global team:
After all our meetings, we went for a great buffet dinner at a nearby restaurant, where we were able to be social and mingle amongst everyone.
After dinner, a few of us headed out to check out the Shinjuku neighborhood of Tokyo and the nightlife:
It was interesting exploring the bar scene, with small bars stacked on top of each other in these massive buildings. We briefly wandered into what might have been the "red light" area of Shinjuku, but quickly found ourselves back on the path to a good bar for some cocktails before catching some deep zzz's...
WEDNESDAY (2/3)
Members of the global team:
After all our meetings, we went for a great buffet dinner at a nearby restaurant, where we were able to be social and mingle amongst everyone.
After dinner, a few of us headed out to check out the Shinjuku neighborhood of Tokyo and the nightlife:
It was interesting exploring the bar scene, with small bars stacked on top of each other in these massive buildings. We briefly wandered into what might have been the "red light" area of Shinjuku, but quickly found ourselves back on the path to a good bar for some cocktails before catching some deep zzz's...WEDNESDAY (2/3)
On Wednesday morning, we had early meetings, and we wrapped up all the business meetings by 3 PM. Most of the team headed out, but two of my team members (Tom and Jakob), were with me for another night, so we headed out immediately for some sightseeing.
For the rest of the trip, we stuck mainly to the highly efficient and well-organized subway system:
We headed out to the famous Harajuku neighborhood in the Shibuya district, where we got some great touristy gifts:
Across the main street from Harajuku is the beautiful Yoyogi Park, where the famous Meiji-Jingu shrine is located. The park is incredibly peaceful (very big contrast to the outrageous Harajuku area...thanks for the recommendation, Arissa!).
Back to Harajuku...
We headed back to the hotel for a little rest before heading out for the night. Tom had a friend named Matt who was working and living in Tokyo, and who was meeting us for dinner/drinks.
One of the areas that I hadn't been to yet is the tourist-friendly and night-life famous Roppongi area. Matt was kind to oblige us, so he took us there for drinks and dinner.
Our first stop was a ex-pat famous bar called Geronimo!, known for their shot menu, and their famous "Shot Hall of Fame" (Drink 15 different shots from the shot menu in one night and you will receive a free T-shirt and your name immortalized on the Shot Hall of Fame). Ick.
We tried the "Kill Bill", with a dab of wasabi on your hand, followed by a shot of tequila and a chaser of tomoto juice...pretty tasty, actually:
For dinner, we went to an amazing place called Inakaya Roppongi, a famous robatayaki restaurant. According to one website: "Robatayaki's origin leads back to Miyagi Prefecture, city of Sendai. Sendai is the largest city in the Tohoku (northeast) region of Japan, founded in 1,600 by the daimyo Date Masamune. Robatayaki is the original traditional Japanese barbecue cooked in front of customers and served direct, similar to the style of sushi. The chefs sit on a deck surrounded by carefully selected ingredients on display. The atmosphere is a recreation of a traditional farmhouse and one is seated around the open hearth, counter seats. To order, just get the chef's attention and point at what you want for him to scoop up your choice on a huge wooden paddle and cook it right before your eyes and is served back to you on the same paddle. Very lively setting and exciting once in a lifetime experience to come in contact with the Japanese staff as well as meeting others enjoying the evening."
Yes, that's kobe beef:
That meal was, by far, one of the best meals I've ever had, both on an entertainment level and a food quality level. I tried some interesting food (squid intestines) and tried genuine kobe beef in Tokyo. Fantasmic.
We headed out to the famous Harajuku neighborhood in the Shibuya district, where we got some great touristy gifts:
Across the main street from Harajuku is the beautiful Yoyogi Park, where the famous Meiji-Jingu shrine is located. The park is incredibly peaceful (very big contrast to the outrageous Harajuku area...thanks for the recommendation, Arissa!).
Back to Harajuku...
We headed back to the hotel for a little rest before heading out for the night. Tom had a friend named Matt who was working and living in Tokyo, and who was meeting us for dinner/drinks.
One of the areas that I hadn't been to yet is the tourist-friendly and night-life famous Roppongi area. Matt was kind to oblige us, so he took us there for drinks and dinner.
Our first stop was a ex-pat famous bar called Geronimo!, known for their shot menu, and their famous "Shot Hall of Fame" (Drink 15 different shots from the shot menu in one night and you will receive a free T-shirt and your name immortalized on the Shot Hall of Fame). Ick.
We tried the "Kill Bill", with a dab of wasabi on your hand, followed by a shot of tequila and a chaser of tomoto juice...pretty tasty, actually:
For dinner, we went to an amazing place called Inakaya Roppongi, a famous robatayaki restaurant. According to one website: "Robatayaki's origin leads back to Miyagi Prefecture, city of Sendai. Sendai is the largest city in the Tohoku (northeast) region of Japan, founded in 1,600 by the daimyo Date Masamune. Robatayaki is the original traditional Japanese barbecue cooked in front of customers and served direct, similar to the style of sushi. The chefs sit on a deck surrounded by carefully selected ingredients on display. The atmosphere is a recreation of a traditional farmhouse and one is seated around the open hearth, counter seats. To order, just get the chef's attention and point at what you want for him to scoop up your choice on a huge wooden paddle and cook it right before your eyes and is served back to you on the same paddle. Very lively setting and exciting once in a lifetime experience to come in contact with the Japanese staff as well as meeting others enjoying the evening."
Yes, that's kobe beef:
That meal was, by far, one of the best meals I've ever had, both on an entertainment level and a food quality level. I tried some interesting food (squid intestines) and tried genuine kobe beef in Tokyo. Fantasmic.From dinner, we hit the schmancy Oak Door bar in the Roppongi Grand Hyatt (where they also apparently filmed some scenes for "Lost in Translation"). We didn't last there long, it was filled with Americans and was a little sad with all the cougars.
Instead, we hopped a subway train (before it closed) and headed to the Ebisu neighborhood of Shibuya to a tiny sake bar called Buri. Buri is famous for serving up "magical series" sake, which feature 20 different kinds of sake in distinct sake cups, which when shaken, turns into a "sake slushie". It was very interesting, a sure path to a sake hangover.
You can probably guess that it was a late night for us. Huge thanks to Matt, who was a wonderful host in Tokyo and showed us a phenomenal time!THURSDAY (2/4)
One of the things that was on my definite to-do list in Tokyo was a trip to the famous Tsukiji Fish Market. The biggest attraction is the fish auction, which start around 5:20 a.m. and the bidders include intermediate wholesalers who operate stalls in the marketplace and other licensed buyers who are agents for restaurants, food processing companies, and large retailers. After being sold, the seafood is immediately taken away, cut up and shipped off to the various locations in the world.
I only got about 3 hours of sleep before dragging my butt out of bed to go to the Tsukiji auction (only because it was my last day in Tokyo could I get out of bed). Jakob didn't make it, but Tom and I made it by 5:40 AM, and caught the exciting action.
Back at the hotel, we got breakfast, and it was such a clear day (it was so cold when I was there), that you could see Mt. Fuji:
Our flight wasn't until early evening, so we squeezed in some more sightseeing before taking the train to the airport. We decided to take the subway to check out the very traditional neighborhood of Asakusa. Asakusa is famous for the Senso-ji Buddhist temple and several shrines.
Udon!:
It was a great trip to Tokyo, I was happy to have squeezed in so much in such a short amount of time. It's a great city to visit, I hope to make it back to Japan sometime in the near future to see more of this amazing country. Domo!
