Once Upon A Time In Tokyo

I lived and survived Tokyo. One of the most energetic cities in the world. I've worked on the grand stage in an Internationally renown city and worked in along side some of the world's greatest leaders in the Hotel business. It was an experience of extreme highs and lows--all of which brought some of the greatest experiences and life long lessons that I will cherish forever. Working there was by far the biggest challenge that I've ever faced. Not only having to adapt to a new work environment, but a new culture and language that I was completely unfamiliar with. No matter how much you prepare yourself or how many books you read on Japanese work culture, there is no better way to understand it than to experience it first hand.

I walk away 1 year later, humbled by what I've learned, with great new friends, and lessons that I will reflect upon for many years to come.

Thank you Conrad Tokyo!

Chef Shinya Maeda (Gordon Ramsay at Conrad Tokyo, Michelin Star Chef)

Edwin Adkins (Gordon Ramsay at Conrad Tokyo, Sous Chef)

Ito-san (Twenty-Eight Bar & Lounge)

My Japanese Teachers

Hamada-san (Sommelier) and a bottle of 1978 Romanee Conti

Japanese Culture and Service Teachers

Chef Albert Tse (China Blue, Michelin Star Chef)

Shibata-san

More Pictures of Sumo

Spinning a bow (traditional Sumo performance)

"Da Big Boys"

Kim pretending to be Japanese (peace)

Another nice picture of my butt (tap dat)

Maya-chan

The Amature Sumo Tournament

Sumo & Cirque du Soleil

It's summer time here in Nagoya. The rainy season is coming to an end which means that there are a lot of outdoor activities and festivals in town. Over the past couple of weeks, Kim and I have done a lot of things.

We met a couple that is from Hawaii and they are artists traveling and performing in Japan with the Cirque du Soleil. Tacia and Duke were kind enough to get us some amazing seats smack dab in the center of the stage ("Director's Seats"). Although it was not our first time seeing the show, it is always a fun experience. Kim was not suppose to take pictures but she turned off the flash and snuck a few shots :) We had a great time eating and drinking with them and wish them the best of luck as they move the show to Osaka!

The very next week, one of our friends entered a Sumo tournament hosted by the city of Nagoya and the Nagoya University. We went early as it was at the Nagoya Castle and wanted to enjoy the beautiful day. As we were waiting around, some people were trying to get more participants to fill in the extra spots. I of course had to consider the fact that "when in Japan, do as the Japanese do". So I signed up as well to participate in this unique experience.

I of course never did Sumo wrestling. I didn't even know the rules and still don't understand completely. The one Japanese guy that spoke English and coaxed me into signing up promised to teach me. Of course he disappeared somewhere and I never saw him again. I followed the crowd of participants, all of which ranged in size and age. There was an old Japanese man probably about 70 years old or so, wearing aviator sunglasses and a karate black belt. I thought he was the most intimating of the competition. He was like the old guy meditating on the mountain top and can kill you with his pinky finger.

Anyway, we headed to a tent were we were instructed to drop our shorts and put on the traditional Sumo attire called mawashi. I knew at this point that I was way in over my head. There were probably 300 or so people in the audience and I had to walk up on stage in a diaper with no shirt or shorts on.

There were 4 groups of wrestlers. I was in the armature division who went first. The winners wrestled by elimination and the last man standing won 2 tickets to Thailand and various other prizes like cases of sakes and beer.

When it was my turn to go, I was a bit nervous. There are a few traditional things that each Sumotori must do before entering and exiting the ring. We skipped the whole leg lifting and salt throwing part as that tradition is reserved for the professionals. My match lasted a whole 15 seconds. I ended up losing but I think I was robbed! Check it out...

The following weekend, was the Nagoya Sumo Basho. It comes to Nagoya once a year and is one of the 6 professional Sumo events through out Japan. We went on the first day which is one of the most exciting days to go. Sumo is interesting. It can take up to 4 minutes for a match to begin while each wrestler goes through a series of poses meant to intimidate his opponent. The tournament last for 15 days. Each day, begins at 8:00 in the morning and ends at 6:00 in the evening. The Sekitori are sumo wrestlers ranked in the top 2 divisions. They are dressed elaborately in silk embroidered garments that represent their character and name. More recently, they represent the wrestlers sponsor.

It was amazing that size really doesn't matter in Sumo. Smaller wrestlers were defeating larger wrestlers. There is a lot of strategy and technique that goes into this ancient Japanese sport. As the day progressed, Kim and I started to learn more and eventually picked our favorite wrestlers. Kim chose them mainly on the color they were wearing and how good their butts looked!

Overall, it was a fun experience. We learned a little more about Japanese culture and had fun cheering along with our friends.

Matsumoto Food

Matsumoto is known for a few different specialty dishes. We explored the city one night and found a restaurant that served "basashi" and "shinshu soba". Just a couple of examples of Matsumoto, Nagano cuisine. YUM!!!

"Basashi" - Raw Horse

"Shinshu Soba" - Matsumoto hand made buckwheat noodles

Monkey Style

Our recent trip to Nagano included an all day trip to the Jigokudani Yaen Koen (monkey park). This recluse destination spot is know for its vast population of macaca fuscata or commonly known as snow monkey. During the winter, these snow monkeys descend from the mountain tops to bask in the warmth of the famous Kanbayashi onsens. From Matsumoto, it was a beautiful 2 hour train ride to Kanbayashi station, a 20 minute bus ride to the park entrance, and a 30 minute hike to the monkey park.

Kim and I were very excited about this trip. We've heard so much about this place and have seen many pictures online. This website provides a live camera of the monkey park. During the winter, this onsen is surrounded by snow and filled with monkeys basking in the warm water. Typically the monkeys go about minding their own business. It is encouraged that tourist don't feed the monkeys and making direct eye contact with them can be a form of aggression. The monkeys do the same as they walk by you on the paths, they will turn their head the other way to avoid making eye contact with humans. They are not threatened by the camera but if you notice in the pictures below, none of the monkeys ever look directly at the camera.

Kim and I did encounter one brave little monkey. He first came up to me while I was sitting on the park bench. Not knowing what it was doing, I remained still and waited for the monkey to make first contact. Sure enough, the little guy put his hand on me and picked the scab off my knee and ate it. After that, it turned around and proceeded to try and climb on Kim's back. I was trying to take a picture of it but Kim kept screaming and shaking the monkey off before I could get the camera focused. The picture to the left is my knee and the monkey looking at my scab and contemplating whether to eat it or not. After our long travels and adventures in the monkey park, we decided to relax at one of the famous Kanbayashi onsens. There are several different hotels and ryokans where you pay 1000 yen to use their onsen facilities. We found a nice hotel near the bus stop and decided to take a quick bath in one of these soothing natural hot springs. A highly recommended day trip...

Kim makes a new friend

Mama San

Monkeys on the rocks!

"Beam me up Scotty..."

Monkey massage pallor

Matsumoto Castle

Kim had some work in Nagano so we decided to make a short trip together to the former site of the 1998 Winter Olympics. We ventured to the city of Matsumoto which is a 2+ hour train ride full of spectacular views through the mountains of rural Japan.

I was excited to go to Nagano as it is home to one of the 4 original standing castles (Matsumoto-Jo). Kim and I arrived in Matsumoto around 2:00 on Sunday afternoon. It was an overcast day with light rain (relative to typical Seattle) and a bit chilly. We checked into our hotel and had to make a quick dash for the castle as it closed at 4:30 PM. It is not necessary to catch a taxi and walking to the castle from the hotel takes about 20 minutes. Taxi service in this small city starts off at 700 yen but being that we were pressed for time and the poor weather, we decided to take a taxi.

Matsumoto-Jo is very flat. Unlike most (or all) of the other castles that we've visited, Matsumoto-Jo does not sit high on a hill. A moat filled with large grey koi and swans surrounds the castle. The castle is also know as the "Crow Castle" because of it's black exterior. It's design is simple as it is one of the older castles built in the Sengoku period (early 1500).

The castle has 6 floors but looks like 5 floors from the outside. The 6th floor is would act as the headquarters for the castle's "war lord" if the castle was under attack. Enshrined on the 6th floor is the Goddess Nijuroku-yashin (26 night goddess of the month). Legend has it that on the night of January 26, 1618, a servant of the castle saw a woman dressed in a beautiful kimono. She told the servant that "If the lord of this castle enshrines me with 600kg of rice on the 26th of each month, I will protect the castle from fire and enemy". It is believed that because the bag was deified, the castle was protected and has survived to be the oldest Japanese castle in original form.

Kyoto In The Spring Time

Our friend Eric Dunham came to Japan and invited us to a wine dinner he was hosting at the Kobe Bay Sheraton. Kim and I decided to make a little trip out of it and headed off to Kansai for the weekend. We got to Kobe on Wednesday evening where we met up with Eric and his fiance Luana for cocktails before the dinner. Dinner was exceptional with Eric talking about each of his wines that was paired by the chef and sommelier. It was unique to me because the wine was paired with Japanese inspired dishes. I found it fun and enlightening. My favorite was a fried foie gras paired with Riesling? I thought it was going to be impossible to enjoy together but I was proven wrong. We finished off the night in the lounge over some nice champagne and conversation.

The next day Kim and I were off to Kyoto. There we booked a room at a traditional Japanese ryokan. Being one of the busiest seasons in Kyoto, Kim found a little place called Ryokan Izuyasu online which the price included a traditional Japanese dinner and breakfast. It is located down a small side street and does not look like much from the outside. I would highly recommend it as it is close to the train station, clean, family operated (which made it genuinely pleasant), and an overall fun experience. We got to Kyoto around noon and check in was not until 4:00 in the afternoon. We dropped our bags off and headed out for some sight seeing.

First let me preface this by saying that the purpose of going to Kyoto (again) was to see the cherry blossoms which were forecast to bloom that week. Kyoto is the most spectacular place to see the cherry blossoms for several reasons: 1) there are many of them 2) you can visit many of the temples and gardens which are amazing when the blossoms are in full bloom 3) you can see many women dressed in traditional kimono walking around (if you are lucky as we were, you might even see maiko with their geisha).

We bought city bus passes which are 500 yen/day (or $5.00). We decided to head to Kiyomizu-Dera first. Because it is the busy season, the buses were packed, but for the price vs. a cab or train, it was bearable. When we finally got to Kiyomizu-Dera, it was already obvious that we were too early for the blossoms. It looked like we arrived a few days too soon... only a few trees bloomed and the rest seemed like they were about to. We made the best of it by taking pictures in front of only the trees with flowers.

Although the cherry blossoms were almost non-existent, the feeling of being in Kyoto during hanami was amazing. The weather was not particularly great as it was cold and did rain a bit, but you could tell that there was a buzz in the air. Japanese get really excited during this time as they have big celebrations in the parks around the city. As I mentioned before, Kyoto can be a very traditional city with many women wearing kimono. Kim and I were fortunate to run into some maiko and of course I had to take a photo with them!

I have to say that it looks like a pain in the ass to get into one of these things... not only are their layers of clothing to wear, but I can't imagine the time it takes to do their hair and put on all that makeup which runs down their back (I only know cause I took a picture... I don't know how far down it goes).

After Kiyomizu-Dera, it started to rain and we had to get back to the hotel for dinner. We walked down some side streets and found a few more trees with flowers. Then called it a day.