Sushi Jiro
The time has come to eat at the famous Sukiyabashi Jiro, or more commonly, Sushi Jiro. Not only was the reservation hard to get, so was finding the restaurant. As usual in this city, locating the restaurant was a painful struggle…we rode the metro, went up skyscrapers, crossed overpasses, and asked directions multiple times, but we finally found the nearly unmarked restaurant. Unfortunately Jiro himself wasn’t there that day, but his son, who I immediately recognized from the movie, was. Close enough.
Inside the restaurant was very quiet but surprisingly the mood was relaxed. We were shown to our seats at the short counter, behind which stood Jiro, Jr. and his one helper, both busy toiling away in silence.
After months of anticipation I was finally here…and super nervous. But a few shots of sake later I was warmed up and ready for the show. Over the next hour and a half they proceeded to bring out piece after piece of meticulously prepared seafood. Fish comprised only about half the menu; the rest was other sea life such as scallops, octopus, eel, and clam. The sushi was…amazing. Fish were sliced just right, perfectly seasoned, tender, and without any tough bits. The rice was perfectly cooked and formed, dense enough to hold its shape but still light. Every piece was fresh and brightly colored and appetizing. Every piece also exceeded my expectations.
Equally impressive as the food was the impeccable service. We were watched the entire time, in front by Jiro, Jr. and helper, and from the back by the hostess. There was never a need to ask for anything, as they anticipated or knew our every need. If sauce spilled or sake was empty, they would quickly and quietly swoop in and take care of it without being asked. At one point my iPhone dropped to the floor and the hostess immediately rushed to pick it up…unfortunately, that delayed her a few seconds from seeing new customers at the door, which earned her a mouthful of scolding from the boss.
The only imperfection lay with one small component of the menu. I enjoyed every piece of sushi put in front of me except for one: sea urchin, or uni. Pictured below (bottom right), this squishy yellow blob had the consistency of curdled milk and the taste of fish guts. I faced the wall and spent several minutes chewing in silence, since I dared not look over at Jiro (who would have thrown me out) or my brother (who would have made me laugh and spit it up). In the end I finally swallowed but not without a few suppressed gag reflexes. I’m sure the urchin was of the highest quality and that it couldn’t have been better prepared, but even Jiro can’t make this disgusting sea creature taste good.
(The one other flaw was two guys sitting next to us who were brown-nosing Jiro the entire time. Back home I’d call them douchebags. Here in Tokyo…well, they’re still douchebags.)
Finally, my chopstick skills? On the ball. At one point I performed an elaborate move bringing a shrimp to my mouth then gracefully tearing off its tail right at the moment I put it in my mouth. Forget Jiro, they should make a documentary about me. (Just kidding Jiro, please let me eat there again.)
This was an amazing meal and experience, and worth all the hassle and effort (and money) to make it reality. Hopefully I’ll be back again in the future.
Ramen
While Japan’s sushi has been great, the dish that’s really surprised me here is ramen. Little did I expect these seemingly simple bowls of thin noodles to be so tasty and addictive. As I often do while traveling, I eat four meals a day. However, unlike other trips where this extra meal occurs spontaneously when I’d see an appetizing dish as I roam the streets, here I actively schedule an afternoon ramen into my daily meal plan. And I can’t wait long either…after lunch #1, I can only last about 30 minutes before I’m hunting for lunch #2.
After sampling multiple ramen houses, my favorite quickly became one named Ichiran. This chain has a unique feature whereby their counter is filled with vertical dividers separating every customer. Their intent is for you to focus on your food…and only on your food. Such solitary eating is certainly unusual, especially for Americans. Focus you will do, but it’s very anti-social. Actually, come to think of it, I don’t know why I’m complaining. (Which also makes me think, perhaps I finally should join Facebook…after all, I support anything that reduces human contact!)
The Ichiran experience starts with you paying for your meal beforehand at a machine, then specifying various aspects of your ramen (e.g. broth richness, noodle tenderness, spiciness, etc.), taking a seat in your stall, and then awaiting your bowl of personalized noodles to slurp.
Yes, your boy can read Japanese. Just kidding. I’ve eaten here so much that I’ve memorized the words on that card.
Hakone
We took a day trip to Hakone, a small city in the beautiful mountainside just outside of Tokyo. The region is filled with domestic and international visitors who want to escape bustling city life and enjoy one of the many hot springs there. Mt. Fuji is also visible in the distance, although we didn’t have time for it as our train was stuck for an extra hour because someone jumped onto the tracks (leave it to one person to ruin it for everyone.) But we did enjoy a nice meal…and, awkward as it was, we took a short dip in the hot springs. Unfortunately I was forced to abide by their rules, which meant no underwear while in the water.
So basically, I travelled four hours to eat a bowl of noodles and sit naked with some men.