3 Days in Tokyo

Spent good part of last week in Tokyo with wife since I was there for business. Arrived Tues night and Narita is the usual painful experience to get through. Japan is an amazing country with beautiful scenery (think temples in Kyoto or Shiretoko in Hokkaido), wonderful food and friendly people but it is so inefficient! The other observation about Japan is that it might be advanced in certain areas, with 3G cell phone, automated bathrooms and the like, but it is more an exception to the rule. The companies that I have seen might be large but they certainly are not technologically savvy. After so many years in reverse gear, can Japan really salvage itself?

Wind up taking a bus and then taxi to the Ritz Carlton. Have tried most of the top end hotels in Tokyo except the Ritz since it just opened recently and I got a good rate here. Located on the top floors of the tallest building in Tokyo in the Tokyo Midtown development, it is steps away from Roppongi. The hotel itself is quite nice though I think the lobby, public spaces and rooms at the Conrad are better. Ritz has a better location and pool than the others and given a choice, I would stay here again just because it is so close to all the reataurants and action in Roppongi. The pool is worth a mention since it is located on the top floors with a good view and is unusually large for a hotel pool. Think it is 20m long and at least wide enough to accomodate 3 to 4 lanes.

We arrived just in time to have dinner with a good friend. We tried out Ryugin which is a recommendation from Chowhound and what a recommendation! It is new style Japanese kaiseki with beautiful presentation (think Alinea or WD 50) and solid food. Not all of the courses are spectacular but I still remember the taste of the foie gras with fresh fig! It is a bit expensive at 15,000 yen per person just for food but probably worth it as a splurge once in awhile.

On Thurs, went to Harumi sushi for lunch which is the fav of my sushi-loving wife! Excellent as usual except for the otoro since they gave us the frozen type. Last time we were here for dinner, they taught us to eat otoro sashimi with salt and wasabi and it is a combination we have never forgotten about. This time, they have Asakusa sea weed which is supposed to have been resurrected after being almost extinct. Can't really tell the difference and I think the previous sea weed might even be better.

Thurs night was our first time to Birdland in Ginza for yakitori. Can't believe it is right across from Sukiyabashi Jiro and both located in the basement of a non-descript building. Birdland is supposedly one of the best yakitori restaurants in Tokyo. The decor is like any other modern izakaya and I was surprised that it didn't look more special. Would have thought it is either darker in a romantic mood or more opulent but it looks just like an ordinary modern yakitori place. Food is not that expensive with a full course at 8,000 yen. The food was very good especially the "butt" of the chicken and the chicken egg rice. Wouldn't say it was a wow experience though. For yakitori, think Isehiro is better. Paired with a Moss Wood Amy's Blend which is a good wine at reasonable price.

Walked around Tokyo Midtown for a couple hours and didn't see anything interesting. A big and beautiful mall but nothing stands out.