where's wolmut?: tokyo gogo

laurel and emil after all their sushi dinners

upon learning the tuna auction was cancelled

fish monger

imperial palace

laurel says:

see ya, beijing. this girl is firmly on team tokyo. what is there not to love about this city? (oh yeah, besides the outrageous costs!) the food is next level a-mazing. the fashion is fierce. and each neighborhood oozes its own unique personality. full disclosure, i am obsessed with tokyo! let's start with the cuisine. i think i should probably have my mercury levels checked because consuming this much sushi simply can not be good for you. i am talking morning, noon and night. even this self proclaimed sushi addict never thought of raw fish as a breakfast food. but when you are at the tsukiji fish market, how can you deny eating the freshest sushi in the world, even if it is only 8am? and for the perfect dessert, you can get green tea flavored anything in this city. lattes, ice cream, kit kat bars. you name it, they've matcha flavored it. then there is the fashion. from the fifth avenue vibe of ginza to the soho feel of harajuku the shopping here is unreal. and the japanese have got it dialed in- impeccable customer service, exquisite packaging and gorgeous store design. it is retail heaven. but the best part of tokyo for me is just walking thru each neighborhood and soaking up the energy. you can go from cutting edge modern to old school in one subway hop. showcasing the modern side of tokyo is shinjuku (where lost in translation was set) and its sea of neon flashing lights. then there is shibuya where the main intersection sees an estimated 100,000 pedestrians passing thru every hour. (side note, this is where the highest grossing starbuck's in the world is- and they only serve tall sizes to discourage loitering) on the flip side, the older neighborhoods like asakusa have retained much of their old charms despite the modernity surrounding them. i was shocked to see women in full kimono plodding down the streets in their wooden sandals, dodging the traffic swarming by. and zen gardens and temples mingling amongst the sky scrapers. tokyo is a chirashi bowl full of flavor and i am it's #1 fan.

asakusa market

30 foot lantern

view from our hotel

streets of shinjuku

wall of sake

emil says:

tokyo takes the cake as best city we have visited on the trip thus far. i don't see some everlasting recession here as the economic data describes. folks look fly. 9 out of 10 dudes are in sharp looking suits. women look as cute as can be with short skirts and long stockings, and multiple shopping bags in each manicured hand. malls are full. cranes seem to be swinging around ala shanghai. i don't see a down economy here, nor ill effects from the devastating earthquake and tsunami at all. only negative from a business perspective is the fact that in this hotel i see 6 guys approach each other, all of them bow, all of them hold their business cards in both hands, and all of them bow again, and then they try to push their business cards forward and then each of them is loathe to be the first to take the other persons card as if it were the last pepperidge farm milano cookie on the platter. by this point i think most business types would be on their second deal, but in japan its courtesy and respect first, business seems a distant third. japan is just super clean and super hip. the subway is clean. the sidewalks are clean. here in japan they care to a fault. the amount of care and attention to detail by a sushi chef is almost humbling. everything seems done with tremendous personal passion and pride. some would say the japanese are too reserved, conforming, too calm, and i thought i would be the first to dislike this as a backdrop for a collective psyche but honestly this place and its people are just awesomely spirited but inwardly. people are calm but they care intensely and are proud of being japanese like i have not seen another culture be proud. i love the freedom of expression and individualism in america but lets be honest usually that means one has to deal with a bunch of punks on the subway blaring terrible tunes and numerous other negative anxt ridden expressionism thats not really standing or representing much of anything other than personal discontent. the japanese seem mellow and sometimes docile but this manifests itself in a public harmony that at first can be misconstrued as sterile but peel back some of the onion and its gloriously kind, warm, generous and super passionate. i love it here. japan is uber urban and beyond tech savvy but its equally ancient and steeped in tradition. hong kong was east meets west. but tokyo is ancient tradition meets urban realism and the combustion is pretty delicious. laurel and i look forward to making visiting japan a part of our future in the years to come.