Arms Wide Open…
The ways in which Tokyo has changed in the past couple of years is quite something. A slew of international 5-star hotels have opened up – Mandarin, Ritz, Conrad, Grand Hyatt, and Peninsula (September) – and it seems that loads of gaijin are coming to town and paying the US$500-600/night fares. They’re finally getting their act together at the airport – I mentioned last week that almost all of the Immigration counters were staffed when I flew in. And there’s a lot more evident bling around Tokyo these days – I spotted two Hummers – one fully customized and pimp-ready – in a parking lot near Roppongi. In the ‘old days’ those weren’t around – you might see a candy-apple red Ferrari or the odd Lambo, but the typical auto was a boxy black sedan. Tokyo seems to be taking on a bit of Miami – not sure I’m happy about that.
Another thing I noticed is the rapid graying of the population. Tokyo isn’t too bad – but when you venture out to the countryside, as I did last weekend, it’s like seeing an ad for osteoporosis medication – the ‘before’ picture. I’m a lot more patient these days than I used to be, but I do find it aggravating to wait 15 minutes to get off a bus because a couple 90-year-old obaa-sans (grandmas) are pouring themselves down the steps. I write these words knowing full well that the tables will be turned on me in oh, say, 40-50 years…
On Thursday night I went out for dinner with Nishitani-san, who heads the Monitor Tokyo office. He and I used to be co-heads, and now that I’ve moved on he’s stepped up ably, as expected. He took me, and another colleague, Alberto, to a brilliant restaurant where we had our own little tatami mat room. Beer and sake flowed immediately and the meal ran well over 10 courses – exquisite little dishes, lots of seafood, with seasonal flavors. Kaiseki style, I suppose. We had good fun catching up and trading gossip about Monitor, Japan, the States, and baseball. Matsuzaka-san’s solid play for the Red Sox is making the Japanese pretty happy and I think it’s great for Boston to have a real Japanese connection, beyond the fine collection of Japanese paintings at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. Coincidentally, I heard that the MFA has an Edward Hopper exhibition running – I wouldn’t mind seeing that when in Boston in early August. Someone please remind me to go do that…
After dinner I had some emergy, so went to see Rob my bartender friend at Finn McCool’s and talk about weekend plans. More on that soon. Then I tracked down another bartender friend, the infamous Frenchman Cyril, who’s now tending bar (and God knows what else) at a weird ‘entertainment space’ in Roppongi. As he and I talked, a collection of oddballs wandered about – one Japanese fellow had on huge sunglasses and a porkpie hat. In the right context, anything can be fashionable…
Cyril used to manage the Hobgoblin Pub, my local back in the day. He then built and ran a brand-new pub called The Baron, in Nishi-Azabu. That seemed a good gig…but then Cyril ran into some marital issues and while he still turns up at The Baron, it’s not his place anymore. But he seems reasonably content and composed these days – good for him.
It strikes me that I’m very very busy this trip to Japan. I had thought that 10 days would be sufficient, but I’ve been booked every day lunch/dinner/drinks, and I think next time I’ll stick around for 3-4 weeks. That means, of course, that I’ll have to swallow at least 2-3 US$100 laundry bills – the Grand Hyatt nailed me with one, and I narrowly avoided having to do another load at the far more modest APA Hotel in Akasaka. Seems to be some kind of set price for hotel laundry here – washing a pair of trousers is 1,470 Yen – nearly US$12. That’s about two full loads of washing in the Philippines…
Part of the problem with being so busy is that I have little time to wander the streets and be amazed at the quirky bits of Japanese life. I have fond memories of getting myself lost in Harajuku or Ebisu and findings the oddest little shops, museums, bars, etc. This trip is much more purposeful and while it’s great seeing friends, I should have allotted a few days to aimless meanderings…
Back to weekend plans – when last weekend rolled around, the gameplan was to hook up with Rob and head down to Shimoda on the Izu Peninsula. It was his idea, and he had even mentioned bringing a couple females along – hopefully not both for him. That all sounded great so I was in. I hadn’t ever been to Izu and it was on my hit list. All systems were go. Then Rob got hit with a surprise local ward tax bill, to the tune of 800,000 Yen or so – that’s about US$6,500. Enjoy your weekend, sir. That removed Rob from the ranks of the fiscally liquid and left me temporarily high and dry. But I had armed myself with a backup plan, and had actually got that going before I knew for sure that Rob was screwed.
I had visited a small city called Hida Takayama 2-3 times over the years. It’s a few hours by bus or train from Tokyo, and it’s a real slice of ‘old Japan.’ And I don’t just mean the osteoporotic women shuffling around. The old section of town has some incredible old wooden houses, the forests surrounding the town are pristine and if not virgin, then a nice replacement, and the town hosts a popular festival twice a year with massive, intricate floats. The last time I visited Takayama was in 2003, with my girlfriend from Nagoya, and I had wanted to return since then. So I turned the Izu debacle into lemonade and decided to go back to Takayama.
I got some help making the bookings from a friend at Monitor – that was a huge help. Took the bus from Shinjuku – I had taken it years ago, but Shinjuku is a city unto itself and very confusing, so even with a map it took me 45 minutes to find the station. A bit of Japanese hell. Once I found it, I had some time so went for a nice curry tonkatsu (deep-fried pork – don’t knock it till you’ve tried it) lunch. And when I paid with a large bill – 10,000 Yen – the cashier not only didn’t complain, but she counted my change 3 times to be sure it was correct. Japanese heaven, indeed.
Got on the bus and had some time, finally, to reflect. It was July 6th. That’s always a tough day for my family – my mother died on July 6, 1995. Twelve years ago. Every July 6th, without fail, I experience a vast range of emotions – sadness, of course, and usually some tears; satisfaction or something like that, because I think my mother would be happy that things have turned out well for the rest of us; and anger, that she was taken from us at a relatively young age. I had brought a bunch of books and magazines to read on the bus; I didn’t get through much.
The Japanese countryside was soothing – near the coast it’s a concrete jungle, with nary an undeveloped stretch from Tokyo down the east coast of Honshu Island. But inland it’s a very different story – the old houses are simply classics, with gassho-zukiri (hands clasped in prayer) roofs, tidy little square rice paddy plots, tiny bridges over little creeks, and lots of forests. Japan has maintained 70% of its forest cover – it was well on its way to destroying its environment hundreds of years ago, but someone got wise and reversed the process. I think that Japan was held up as a success story in the Jared Diamond book Collapse, if my memory serves me.
As we neared Takayama I noticed a street sign – ‘Nippon Alps Salad Road.’ Huh?
I was the only foreigner on the bus. There were lots in Tokyo, but not now. And that was OK with me. I’m not hanging around Asia hoping to run into New Yorkers or Londoners. It occurs to me that perhaps the single largest US export is overweight biz execs – you see ‘em all round Tokyo, particularly in the lobby of the Imperial Hotel, and I had met my fill in Manila as well…
Reached Takayama – walked up the wonderfully-named Kokubunji-Dori, up to the inn I had booked. This place is the Rickshaw Inn, and is one of my favorite places to stay in the world. It’s probably the top reason I love Hida Takayama. The Rickshaw has all sorts of rooms – Japanese and Western, singles and larger – and always has a warm ambience that you just don’t get at the Best Western. I checked in, took a shower, and went out to enjoy the modest nightlife of Takayama.
Started out at an izakaya (eating bar) called Murasaki – ‘purple’ in Japanese. I’ve had some fun times there over the years, usually you’re adopted by locals who want to chat with a gaijin. And this time I met some local students who were half-cocked already and wanting to practice their English. Stayed there for an hour, trying various dishes (there’s nothing quite like kara-age – Japanese fried chicken) and cocktails. Then walked over to the Red Hill Pub, another great place. The first time I popped in there, in 2000 or so, there was a guitar hanging on the wall, and after a few beers I was nudged into taking it down and playing ‘When the Saints Come Marching In,’ perhaps the simplest guitar tune. Simple, but catchy, and the denizens of Red Hill seemed to love it. They do like their jazz in Japan.
This time the pub was a bit quiet, but that was all right. The bartender/proprietor is a funny, lively woman – she and her partner own a hair salon next door called Red Head – and their pub is Red Hill. Close enough. Sat there for a few beers, then took off as I wanted to check out one more place, a reggae-ish joint called Bagus. That was also good fun – the young guy tending the bar was curious about my travels and seemed eager to tag along. We were chatting, then my rental mobilephone rang. My sister was returning my earlier call – we try to talk on July 6th every year, as it’s important to share our thoughts and try to reflect together. We talked for a half hour or so, and I think we both felt better after that.
Then I motored back to the inn – they threaten to lock the front door at midnight, and it was five past. Got there, door was open, and my key was on the front desk. Whew. That’s my only issue with the Rickshaw, it feels a bit like a Swiss youth hostel. Let adults be adults and give us a front-door key. But Takayama is a quiet enough place and if you go out around 8, you’ve generally had enough by midnight.
As I had walked to the inn I went by a dark building that seemed familiar. During my first trip to Takayama, 6-7 years earlier, I had gone there for dinner – it was a Swiss restaurant run by a personable Swiss expat named Marc, who had married a local girl and had named his place ‘Marc’s Bellgin Bells’ (don’t ask me). And it had excellent wine and fondue – Marc was a fine chef. As I sat at my table I was motivated enough to jot down a few haiku – that doesn’t happen too often.
By the time I returned to Takayama, a year or two later, it had closed, and I had heard that Marc had experience some difficulties – no specifics offered. Now I was back again, and the building was still standing, along with its iconic little sign: ‘I found my heart in Takayama.’ Five years, and the place was still there, the only difference was that the door was shut and locked. Seemed to be a light on upstairs – did Marc and his Japanese family live there? I hope things are OK with them, in any event.
The next day I was reading a newspaper story about Tony Blair stepping down, and his legacy. Was his loyalty to the US warranted, or misplaced? Time will tell on that. But it occurred to me that there have been instances when countries that opposed the US have emerged stronger from the struggle. Japan and Germany are the obvious examples…but even Great Britain came out of the American Revolution in solid shape, and in part because it decided to let its American colonies go it was soon able to recover, repair its finances, and go on to dominate the subcontinent and oceans for many, many years. I’m not saying that opposing the US is the way to go, particularly these days – but I did think it was interesting to ponder those cases…
I somehow doubt that George W. Bush does much of that sort of pondering…but I have heard that he’s now reading books. That’s nice. I imagine that his reading list is the standard fare designed to stiffen the resolve of the ‘wartime leader’ – so a steady diet of Churchill, FDR, maybe a bit of Lyndon Johnson, etc. Whatever he’s reading, it doesn’t seem to have enlightened his current posture, which centers around staying the course without using that term anymore. We’ve got another 18 months of this – with a steady trickle of Republican defections that may ‘alter the course’ but not ‘fix the course.’
I think the optimal outcome is for Bush to be handcuffed by Congress, and allowed to do no further harm. I tried the other day to come up with one positive aspect of this Administration, and the only thing that came to mind was the increase in aid for HIV/AIDS in Africa. Sure, there’s No Child Left Behind – but I’ve heard that’s been a stop-and-start affair. And the economy has done nicely in the past 4-5 years – but I don’t think the Bush tax cuts were the driver (my $300 tax refund didn’t exactly change my behavior), it’s more likely that 1) the military spending has primed the pump, and 2) the near-complete focus on the ‘war on terror’ (harrumph) has taken the Administration’s attention away from monkeying with the economy – and that’s a positive in my book. I can only hope that the deficits narrow and that we can somehow return to the days of actual surpluses…
The only decent people Bush picked have been Paulson in Treasury (Bush’s 3rd Treasury Secretary – the first two were clowns) and Gates in Defence – the latter forced on him by his daddy. The rest have been a bunch of hacks and an embarrassment to their offices and to the nation. Contrast them with Sarkozy’s selections in France – he chose Bernard Kouchner of Medecins Sans Frontieres as his Foreign Minister. Now there’s an inspired choice. Where are ours?
I spent Saturday morning walking around the old section, called Sanmachi Suji, and trying to escape the summer humidity. Spent an hour in the hall where they store some of the festival floats. The floats, as I mentioned, are incredibly intricate, with gold plating and amazing wood carvings. Some of them are worth well over US$10 million. I think there are a total of 20 or so floats, some are used in the spring festival, some in the fall. Here’s a shot of 4 of them now on display in the hall:
Walked around some more. Very nice views of the river and countryside. The major bridge over the river has two funny gargoyles – I don’t know what they represent, but they’re cool and here they are:
And a few shots of the town – it’s really quite scenic:
It was a hot day – I was exhausted. Tried to read a bit, about Cambodia, but fell asleep in a few minutes. Slept for a couple hours…got up and practiced yoga a bit…went for a run along the river which was peaceful…came back to the inn and took a warm bath. Hadn’t done that in ages. Japanese love baths and even the smallest hotel rooms tend to have a bath. It wasn’t that large, though, and I had to squeeze myself into the thing. Here’s a shot:
Went out that night for a bit of sushi. Had noticed a place near the inn, went there and found a seat at the sushi bar. I was a bit of a hit with the sushi chefs and patrons, they don’t get many foreigners in there. I knew my way around a sushi menu so started ordering – they couldn’t believe I could order in Japanese and found that pretty humorous. I was famished and ordered lots – uni (sea urchin), hamachi (yellowtail tuna), chu-toro (fatty tuna belly), etc. Had a couple beers, and the bill came to 4,000 Yen, about US$30. I wouldn’t have been surprised if they hit me with a bill twice that amount, or even more. I didn’t care, I was dying for sushi and this was excellent stuff. The chef nearest me even game me a few free nigiri as a going-away present. Quite a nice experience.
Popped into a classy little place, Tonio Pub, for a G&T. Pretty quiet, so went back to Red Hill for a couple drinks. Quiet there too – there was a blurry movie on the TV, I think it was something with Keanu Reeves, but they had dubbed it in Japanese so couldn’t tell. Then walked back to the inn to collapse and dream some dreams…
Early bus on Sunday, back to Tokyo. Read most of the way, wanted to prep a bit for my upcoming assault on Indochina, starting with Cambodia. Uneventful ride – got into Tokyo early afternoon, which gave me some time to check into the next hotel and walk around.
On the advice of friend Sean, checked into the APA Hotel Akasaka. APA is a large Japanese chain, and the room rates are fairly reasonable. And you can book in English on the Net, it’s an easy process. Checked in…went up to my room…which was fine but not large. My backpack took up 30% of the floor space…I imagine there are larger prison cells for individuals. Reminded me of going to Honolulu with my fraternity brother Bryan when we were at Tufts – our hotel room (a double) was so small we had to move a bed to open the door. And one night we came back from barhopping (Moose McGillicuddy’s – ‘Liquor in the Front, Poker in the Rear’) and a drunk vagrant was asleep on the ground in front of our room. We roused him, he leaped up, kicked Bryan in the nuts, and ran off. Good thing we were both drunk that night.
Anyway, the APA room was clean and amazingly efficient. There was a little fridge under the desk, a full shower/bath, a queen-sized bed, and a few hangers. And high-speed Internet. So no complaints whatsoever. And it’s right near all the action in Akasaka. Felt like a homecoming of sorts.
Walked around for an hour. Went over to my favorite local bookstore, Random Walk. Seemed kind of dead – then I figured out that it was having a going-out-of-business sale. Bummer. Random Walk is a reader’s type of bookstore – the books being displayed are not the usual Top Ten, they’re far more idiosynractic and I’ve had some pleasant surprises from the shop. Strange timing – here I was back in town, and Random Walk was about to go under. My sense of loss and sadness was heightened by the fact that the next shop over, a stripclub called ‘Badd Girls,’ is still in business and apparently going strong. Out with the books, in with the striptease…
Read the English city magazine Metropolis. There’s a story in there about the band Shonen Knife – two Japanese heavy metal chicks. I met them at Fuji Rock last year, one of the entries has a funny photo of the 3 of us backstage.
Spent a few minutes reading abou Cambodia before going to dinner. Looks like Cambodia either has no ATMs, or a few just got installed in major cities. Hmmm. I’m not looking forward to cash torture a la Burma…so will get a bunch of US$ just in case. The US$ is the major currency there, apparently holding a few riel is only good for tips, beggars, etc.
Took the subway over to Yoyogi-Uehara, a great neighborhood where my friends the Kohris live. You might recall that I stayed with Shin and Lisa last year…they just had a baby girl so it’s a bit too cozy these days. Baby Karen is a real cutie, big cheeks and a shock of black hair. I held her…she cried…I gave her back to Lisa. Then we drank beer and wine, and had dinner – they rolled out sushi, salad, couscous, and chicken. Bravo!
Donna, a mutual friend, was also there. Donna was on a program many years ago called JET – stands for Japan Exchange Training or something along those lines. Foreign students come over and work in Japan for 6-12 months, in a business or teaching English. Turns out Donna was in the same class as a few fraternity brothers of mine, and one of them introduced me to her in HKG years ago when we both lived there. Now Donna lives in Tokyo and has an incredible pad, with a huge deck, in the same ‘hood as the Kohris. She has BBQ parties there from time to time and they’re not to be missed.
Traded stories about a few fraternity brothers…discussed the Red Sox and Matsuzaka-san (Shin is Japanese, but grew up near Boston), and shared travel tips. Strolled out of there around 10:30 p.m. and felt good about the world and my place in it…
My reading on Indochina made me realize that you need visas to enter all the countries. Some are offered on the spot, others need to be applied for in advance. Not a real issue – but I also realized that the visas could be of the full-page variety, and my passport only had 3-4 empty pages remaining. Why do the smallest, least powerful countries (or is it more a case of repressive countries, a la Burma?) require full-page visas? Is it a display of national pride?
So I went to the US Embassy, a real fortress near Tameike-Sanno Station. Showed my ID about 10 times, got in, and they told me they could add a set of pages within 24 hours. That was OK – I had half-feared that the passport would need to go to the States…new passports are all issued there these days. But they can still add pages in local ambassies, thankfully.
Saw a currency exchange place nearby. Had a wad of South African Rands from years ago, and wanted to unload those and not carry ‘em around anymore. The place did accept Rand, so changed those at a decent rate. It’s funny…for years I’d carry a set of different currencies when I was at Monitor, so that when I landed somewhere I wouldn’t have to wait at an ATM or at the currency exchange. Since I left, I’ve been unwinding those positions (not that they’re large), and have come to recognize something: holding currencies (notes, that is) is like running the ball in American football – it can result in 3 things, 2 of them bad: you can lose value, or the currency can be eliminated/changed. I noticed last year that I had a wad of Spanish Pesetas and French Francs. Oh well. And I wasn’t too sure my Rands were still current – the woman working at the exchange had never actually seen a Rand, but they were in good shape (almost as if I had encased them in amber for 5 years) and she took them. I was pleased about that.
On the football analogy – if you run the ball, you can lose yardage, fumble the ball, or gain yardage. The first two are the bad outcomes and that’s what I was getting at with my obscure reference above…
Sat down to do some emails, noticed that friends Alan & Janine, from Coron in the RP, had updated their blog. Read the latest entries – they really do a nice job with both text and photos, you can find their blog at: http://kingmackay05.blogspot.com. They recently left the RP after 4 months there, and are now in Malaysia. Was hoping to meet them in Sipadan for some diving (man, I miss diving), but decided to stick with my original Indochina plans.
Another good blog is at www.talesofasia.com. The guy lives in Siem Reap, Cambodia and is an old Asia hand.
Was running out of clean trousers, so zipped on the pant legs of my ‘sahara pants.’ I haven’t worn the leg parts much at all – and now I noticed that they were significantly darker/newer-looking than the shorts which I wear all the time. Oh well. I do need a new pair anyway…but must keep in mind that it’s probably best to wash the entire thing so that I don’t look like a two-tone weirdo…
Went for a run around my old course – started in Kioichi, in front of my former apartment, then down to the Imperial Palace park. Ran by the British Embassy – lots of security there, too. Had a good run and went back to the hotel, had to get ready for another dinner, this time with a former client of mine. Aki’s an old friend too, we’ve known each other for 6-7 years and have had some laughs, as well as knock-down drag-out meetings, over that period. We went to my favorite kushiage place, Rokuhara – some of you reading this have been there and will get a laugh out of my repeated journeys there. Was good catching up with Aki, he seems to be in better spirits these days. His perception of how his company is performing is a bit different from those of other ex-clients I’ve seen lately – goes to show you how many opinions there are in a large company.
Took it easy after dinner – since I turned 40 I’ve been around lots of friends, and one implication is that I’ve had some very late nights filled with food and drink. Have felt slightly worn-out lately. Might actually be good to get to a place like Cambodia, where I don’t know a soul and where I can take a nap if I want. Literally haven’t had a moment to do so in Japan. As expected, I suppose.
On Tuesday morning I got around to ordering a new laptop and camera from Sony.com. Will pick those up in Boston in a few weeks. Will be good to upgrade my stuff and ‘start from scratch.’ I also carefully checked last year’s blog entries for any incriminating links between my name and invective against the Burmese government. I may revisit Burma later this year, and I’ve heard that they Google you when you apply for a visa. I Googled myself and didn’t come up with anything that really linked my name to my criticism, which was hard-hitting. So I left the entries as is and we’ll see what happens…
Had lunch with a B-school classmate, Nao. When we were in school Nao was a quiet guy and barely said a word. His English didn’t seem that great and my sense was that he wanted to guard his dignity. But he and I have become pretty good friends over the years, and his English is quite good. Afterward, I sent him an email and the link to this blog, and said I enjoyed seeing him again. His reply began with ‘Ditto.’ That made me laugh.
Grabbed a cup of coffee at McDonald’s in Akasaka. Noticed yet another way Japan seems to be changing. The counter seats used to be fixed in place…and years ago I’d really have to squeeze in there. The assumption: all Japanese are the same size. Now the seats are ‘loose’ and you can move them. I may be reading too much into this, but I think I’m onto something…
Got a fax at the hotel, with directions to (yet another) dinner. They brought the fax up to my room, but I was out, so they slide it under the door, with a cover note which made me laugh so hard I also hurt myself. Here’s the note:
I love Japanese English. Really I do.
Had dinner with ex-colleague Junko, she used to be an assistant at Monitor and I always thought she was cool. We had drinks at the Hobgoblin, then went over to Luis for Spanish food. Was happy to have the chance to go there this time – it’s a superb place and one of my top 5. I should perhaps diversify more aggressively (restaurants, that is), but I do love the places on my short list. The only one I missed this time was the sake bar/izakaya Sasano, near Nogizaka Station. Miss it at your own peril…
Next morning, read a few private equity docs (boring), sent those along to friends for comments (in lieue of my own), did some emails, sent some photos to friends in Europe and the RP, and then went to have lunch with old friend Miho. Met at Akasaka Station, went for Japanese food neaby. Had some unagi (eel), simply delicious. Miho just started a new job in magazine sales, so chatted about that for a while. I was finally getting to the end of my ‘friends list’ in Tokyo – it was longer than I recalled and I’d be up against the wire in seeing everyone…
Finally, dinner that night with Sumie and some other old colleagues from the Monitor Tokyo office. I was Sumie’s advisor at Monitor, and helped hire her away from another consulting firm. One of our best hires ever in Japan – she’s very capable and a good role model around the office. One of the more upbeat consultants I’ve met, too – not too consumed by angst / guilt / self-doubt. Had a few beers and some creative little dishes of food, then they had to return to the office for calls and other work. I remember the days…seemed like there weren’t any firm stoppages to the work, just breaks for dinner and for a bit of sleep. That does catch up with you after a few years, methinks…
After they went back to work, I went to Finn’s to see Rob one more time. He’s still shaking his head about the surprise tax bill…but recovering slowly. Convinced him to come to the Hobgoblin for a final drink with me, and called B-school friend Miho (not the aforementioned lunch date) who was in for a drink too. Met at the Hob at 11 p.m., stayed till 1:30 a.m., and had a good chat. Miho used to sit right next to me in first year of B-school – and we were good friends back then. But I either had forgotten her backstory or never really knew it – it’s quite something. She had gone to junior college in Japan, and then gone to work as a secretary. She motivated herself to break out of that path, got together some money, and went to University of Virginia where she graduated in 3 years, using some Japan credits. Then she went on to Darden. Afterward, she worked at Coke for many years, Starbucks for a ‘cup of coffee’ so to speak, and now works for herself. Very cool tale – I find it inspiring. She could have kept her head down and stayed an assistant, now she’s a high-powered marketing consultant and doing really well. Good for her.
Had a 5 a.m. bell this morning for the Narita Express Train. Crazy bad memories came flooding back. While waiting for the train, a beggar came up and held out his gnarled hand. I gave him some change. First beggar to approach me here, at least this trip. It made me think that we’re somehow all the same, all together, even if we often show a different face or mood. And with that I boarded the train…full of so many memories of this strange and beautiful land, and headed to Narita, from where I’d fly on to Bangkok and Indochina. I used to whinge a bit when I worked in Tokyo, but realize now that it had little to do with Japan itself, it was more that my circumstances made me a bit crazy. And I plan to return to Japan soon, and often. I urge you to check it out sometime, gentle readers. Over and out.
Tags: Travel
mbsloney
took a train to hakone hot springs. indeed, the countryside and outer suburbs are interesting.
of course, i had severe digestive tract issues that day after a mega sushi breakfast feast (6 AM) at that early morning fish market…a bit too authentic for me i’m afraid.
fortunately, things “solidified” by the time a dipped into the hot springs…
I can not imagine how much Tokyo has changed since I have been there…. Love reading about it!
Love the way you are comparing and contrasting life in US vs Asia – and thoughts on family.