2 Days in Tokyo

Quick trip to Tokyo for a new project. Am staying at the Peninsula this time and took some pictures. Fabulous hotel in a good location. The Ritz and this is my current favourite in Tokyo right now. Kind of a toss up between the two but for some reason, I have not slept well in my past two trips at the Pen. Maybe retry the Ritz next time.

Lo por is a sushi fan and I have been looking all over for the best sushi in Tokyo for her. Since I am here, am continuing that quest. So far, have tried Jiro in Roppongi Hills, Kyubei in Okura, Harumi in Shinbashi and Sushi Dai in Tsukiji. Got a recommendation for Uogashi Senryou in Tsukiji and have decided to head out for a quick lunch. Senryou is located right outside the Tsukiji market and right next to, or in the middle of, a dry goods store. When I first saw it, I have to recheck the address to make sure that this is the restaurant I am looking for. Definitely not what I expected but this has "local" spelt all over it. I think just the set up is worth seeing. As for the food, I ordered the 3,900 nigiri set. Disappointingly, it was not served one piece at a time even though I was the only customer in the restaurant and seated at the sushi bar table. Included in the set are beef, otoro, otoro aburi, aji, anago, ikura, uni and a tuna maki. All the pieces are quite small though a good size for eating. The uni was heavenly, both creamy and a slightly salty taste. The other pieces are OK though nothing special. Since the pieces are quite small, I also tried the nama saba, chu toro and another piece of uni. As I was ordering, a younger and more junior chef just got in and started serving me. Not sure if this is because of the change in chef but the second piece of uni is definitely not that good. This is a great place to be once to soak in the atmosphere. This must be what it feels like when you visited Tsukiji in the old days, eating at a tiny sushi shop right next to a dry goods store. But would I go back? Probably not.

Pics from Hokkaido trip

Took our first long trip with baby daughter to Hokkaido and it is our most memorable ever! We all had a great time and the most scenic part of the trip was definitely Utoro and Shiretoko on the eastern tip of Hokkaido. Here are some of the beautiful pictures:

Beautiful Abe

You are Prime Minister of a power country and your party has just suffered a crushing defeat in the upper house of parliament. Not just a crushing defeat but the worst ever in the history of your party. The last guy who suffered such a defeat resigned within weeks. What is your strategy to pull you and your party out of this problem?

"Make [Japan] a beautiful country"

What the hell does it mean anyway? And what does one achieve by making a country "beautiful"? No wonder the economic recovery is short lived.

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.