October 30, 2023: Tokyo Two in Ginza

 

Night time streets and alleys of Ginza

"Money cannot buy happiness. But it can buy you an airline ticket to Japan."  Anonymous

Paul and I lost an entire  day on the way, but arrived in Tokyo right on time. Thank you, Delta. I was born at the US Naval Hospital in Yokohama an undisclosed "while back" and although I have visited Kyoto and Kobe a few years ago, I haven't been back to Tokyo until now. 

 

Happy (jetlagged)  hikers converge on Haneda Airport. Yep, Paul Parris IS smiling!

We "touristed out" and got a car service to meet us in Haneda. We heard taxi rides were $100 but we got this from Tokyo Cheapo for $50 and an extra $10 if you want them to come inside and rescue you. Probably worth the ten bucks! Although they kindly place many English signs, it is still a bit daunting and disorienting the first crack out of the box.  The driver spoke some English and did a great job getting us to the hotel, the Millenium Mitsui Garden near the Imperial Palace in the heart of Ginza.    

   

The hotel is located in Ginza, or "downtown Tokyo."  We heard it was important to be near a major train station on the "circle" that connects most of Tokyo.

We heard the rooms were "crackerbox" size, but this one is a reasonable room without any wasted space and it was no worse price than staying in NYC or San Francisco. Very clean and quiet. NO talking in the elevators. No eating food while walking or standing around.

One standout feature of Tokyo is the toilets. There is a URL on the toilet in case you need help getting our butt wiped (or whatever it is they do in the stall.) 

Looks humble but is actually a rocket ship. 

These are all the settings. The one in our hotel room is even more complicated. This was the public bathroom at the Imperial Hotel. There is even an emergency button... Front wash, back wash, pulsations, pressure settings, toggles to adjust the strength and pressure.  It's a wonder anyone ever leaves the toilet to see the city.  

We arrived late afternoon and felt pretty good but decided to "take it easy" and unpack, etc. until dinner time.  We had dinner at the Imperial Hotel at the Kamon restaurant. A bit like Benihana only definitely more elegant and less shenanigans.  Food porn alert. 

The tappanyaki chef made this beautiful lotus pancake to top our delicious grouper in champagne sauce. 

Assorted grilled veggies

Our chef prepared our meal right in front of us. One very different thing about "fine dining" Japan-style is whereas the US has one waiter for 5-6 tables, the Japanese have 4-5 waitstaff for each table. Paul and I never suffered for water or anything. They did everything but wipe our butt---but they have fancy toilets for that. 

Amuse bouche. Tuna mousse

Kamon is on the top floor of the Imperial Hotel so in addition to getting a nice drink, we could look out on the lights of Tokyo. 

They "bibbed us." Paul says he was channeling his dearly departed friend, Cy Anders.  Since I was here as a baby, I'm used to wearing a bib in Tokyo. 

The Imperial Hotel, by the way, was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright (little did we know when we went there!) We almost didn't make it to dinner because the hotel is pretty massive and finding the elevator is a challenge. Obviously we overcame the obstacle.  The lobby is impressively large. 

Floor arrangement in the lobby.  Flowers are a Japanese specialty. 

Apparently, Frank Lloyd Wright, one of my favorite architects, but not necessarily my favorite human, designed the Imperial Hotel during a "mid-life crisis." During the years from  1905 to 1923, as Wright struggled to maintain relationships with the women in his life, so Japan acted as a refuge, a safe haven to his conflict-drenched life. All told, according to scholar Kathryn Smith, Wright spent a total of four chaotic, chopped-up years in Japan, eventually building the Imperial Hotel, one of his most impressive works.

So, it was a really nice first afternoon/evening back in Tokyo for me and we enjoyed our adventure walking the streets and not being able to read street signs, but it's a good city to get lost in.

“I love Tokyo. If I had to eat only in one city for the rest of my life, Tokyo would be it. Most chefs I know would agree with me.” – Joel Robuchon.

Paul's Ponderings:  Depending on how you travel, it can be a bit of a journey to get to Tokyo -- we went through Atlanta and Los Angeles, then it was about 12 hours from there after a short overnight stay.    For fans of air travel, we tried out the new Delta "Premium Select" seating, which is between Delta Comfort and Delta One (international first class).    I would compare it to a domestic first class seat, but with more amenities.   It worked out pretty well for us.     It was about 45 minutes from Haneda airport into Ginza.    

Our hotel is nicely located about 25 feet from a metro entrance.    We managed to get to the Imperial Hotel with our phone maps and had a great dinner looking out over part of the city.

Some first impressions:  So far, no problems with language, although we aren't doing anything complex here at this point.   The driver spoke almost no English for example, but worked out fine.   Lots of signs are in English, but not all of them, particularly street signs.   There was a LOT less traffic coming into town, but I think it's expensive to own and park a car and public transport is ubiquitous and widespread.   Ginza is a pretty upscale place, but also full of tiny restaurants and stairs that go down to the same and various tiny bars.   Tiny equates to maybe eight seats in a noodle place (which might  have a line to enter) or bar down some steep stairs.   Obviously there are larger places that are upscale and so on.    We haven't tried the metro system yet, but hopeully tomorrow.    

After our dinner and a walk up and down some of the Ginza side streets, we were pretty grateful to get some sleep.    Tokyo is 11 hours plus from eastern US time, so it's pretty noticeable.   Tomorrow it's onward to a sort of tour that's not a tour -- meet up with someone who lives locally and they show you around to whatever you want and answer questions about hanging around Tokyo.