What do you say to a free trip to Tokyo for a week? The Oakland A’s played 2 exhibition games against Japanese teams and 2 season games against the Seattle Mariners in the Tokyo Dome. Evidently, the Japanese watch more American Baseball than their local Japanese games. It was supposed to be a match up with Ishiro versus Matsui, but that would involve re-signing the latter. Would have created more buzz, but Billy had his own ideas.
Stephanie and John move in for the 12 hour flight
Chartered all-business class flight from Phoenix (everyone else was at Spring Training) to Narita Airport, 12 short hours later, 2 hour bus ride, and we’re here! Our home away from home, the New Otani Hotel. I feel like I am transparent, invisible. All eyes are on the players, any chance for a photo or autograph, and all ancillary personnel and guests just muck up the sight lines to their intended prey.
The players display athletic might on the field. The wives and girlfriends display their athleticism everywhere else. How else can you accomplish walking down sidewalks with 6 inch platform heels?
The 16 hour time difference means I am in a constant state of stupor. Is it too early or too late? And which day is it, by the way? We arrived on a cold rainy blustery day. The next day, just as cold, more windy but no rain. What do 35 million Tokyoites do on a Saturday? They try to get out of town and see some greenery. So we joined the thousands exiting the city, at 12 miles an hour average speed on the elevated highway, to Hakune, an area with a caldera lake and viewing of the beautiful snow covered Mt Fugi. The 60 mile per hour gusts of wind did not dissuade us from going up on the gondola to see steam vents spewing instantly condensed water on the inner walls of the ancient volcano. One youngster was brave enough to ask me in English where I was from. All his buddies hid behind him and giggled, but he did a nice job.
Mt Fugi with cap cloud
The evening’s challenge is to walk around the hotel’s immediate neighborhood and pick a restaurant, from hundreds of choices. We wanted to try a different style every evening, that night was Shabu shabu, kind of like Japanese fondue with meat and vegetables cooked at the table in a bubbling broth. A dunk in either a sesame sauce or ponzu sauce made it really delicious. Green tea ice cream provided a refreshing finish.
The next day, we enjoyed to company of a local expert, Mika Takaki. Her web site, for those Tokyo bound, is www.tokyofoodtour.com. She is a chef and catering manager for a restaurant chain. She went to cooking school with Lisa Fleming who made the connection. We dined in another new (for us) Japanese style restaurant with skewers fried sequentially during the meal (dieters order 8 sticks, normal people 10, us 12!), then dipped in either a brown sauce or, guess what, ponzu sauce. Boy, that stuff is good. Miso soup and salad, delicious meal. Then we wandered the Ginza district and inspected the food items at the fancy department store. 200 dollar cantaloupes make the investment in the farm in Petaluma more logical. Desserts are seasonal, and March means cherry blossoms. We had bean paste embellished with a pickled cherry blossom wrapped in a pickled cherry leaf, you eat the whole thing, blossom, leaf and all. A funny combination of sweet and slightly salty. As in everything in Japan, the wrapping of even the smallest purchase is purposeful. The box with the 2 bonbons included a thin envelope with 3 bamboo toothpicks, the outer skin of the bamboo still on and decorative.
But you can’t just scarf down edibles anywhere you want, special seating areas for nibbling are provided, or take home to imbibe. There is no one eating while walking on the street or riding on the subway, ever! Except Allan.
Walking the streets can be a balletic experience. At the corner, you are among 200 people, facing another two hundred people. The light changes to green and all proceed paced and unhurried. All intersect like a 400 person marching band and no one even brushes a shoulder. Similarly, this unhurried polite pace is maintained in other venues as well. One ducks into a small restaurant and is ushered to a table. Your order is taken, food served, and no hit of hurry or impatience on the staff’s part.
The next free day, we took the train 25 miles south of Tokyo to Kamakura. Home of beautiful temples, this is the Japan of posters (when they are not showing Kyoto, that is). Every cherry blossom tree had its admirers snapping away, iPhones, cameras, anything to keep the image of spring alive longer that the actual bloom on the tree. Evidently, they are not a fruiting variety so sidewalks are not like roller derby skate halls at fruit drop.
Final day, off to the Tokyp Dome, saw an exciting baseball game and then headed immediately for the airport and home. Just as if the team were in Seattle or Dallas. But slightly longer flight. Ambein better kick some serious insomnia butt tonight.
A sweet win, quick flight home, and editing blog at 3 am because of jet lag. Great trip.
