This is the fourth update of this list. Three new entries have been added.
I’ll repeat the same pitch I give every year. If you are a fan of Tokyo, I urge you to buy this book. It has great reviews of some very fine restaurants in it. The hotel entries are a bonus in the back of the book.
This is a third update from two years ago of the 2009 Tokyo hotel ratings in the Michelin Guide. Notable changes are that there are no 5 red star hotels this year but I believe that is a typo in the book so I’ve listed them as 5 red-stars. 2009 is here and 2010 is here.
I’ll repeat the same pitch I gave last year. If you are a fan of Tokyo, I urge you to buy this book. It has great reviews of some very fine restaurants in it. The hotel entries are a bonus in the back of the book.
I was in Japan on 3/11/2011 at the Tesudo Hatsubutsukan (Omiya Train Museum) during the Tohoku Earthquake.  I was able to shoot video footage about 1 minute AFTER the shaking started.
I added this video to youtube if the above one is not working. Â You can view it here.
I visited the Tsunahachi tempura restaurant at the Daimaru food floor above Tokyo Station again but went there for dinner instead of lunch.  The price is a little higher than the lunch specials but well worth it.  I ordered one of the omakase seafood choices, about Y4000 plus beer and was not disappointed.  They have an English menu if you ask for it but I didn’t need it because I chose one of the specials from the window display at the entrance.  If you’re budget constrained you should try this restaurant at lunch time where it is positively a bargain.
Tempura, when prepared correctly is not greasy, heavy or overwhelming. Â It has a delicate taste and should be eaten immediately after leaving the oil. Â Sitting at the counter is optimal for the best eating experience.
Place Setting at the Bar
Appetizer Vegetable
Oroshi (grated daikon radish) and dipping sauce, absolutely delicious!
Shrimp out of the tank, hand-chosen by the diner (me)
The shrimp tank, jumbo shrimp, chosen and inspected by the diner prior to preparation
Hotate (giant scallops), I never saw such large scallops in the shell before!
Chef preparing the next course
Some vegetables, shishito (sweet pepper), broccoli, mushroom
Chef preparing the hotate
The giant scallop presented to to the diner, this is incredibly delicious!
I was shooting pictures on the bridge at Uguisudani in Tokyo and snagged some nice shots of a yellow E653 set used for the Fresh Hitachi service on the JR Joban Line. Â The cool thing about the Joban Line is that it is dual voltage with 1500V DC in the Tokyo area and 20,000V AC 50Hz in Ibaraki and northward.
There is a dead section of track between Toride and Fujishiro stations where the train must “coast” and switch over to the alternate voltage source. Â Power is temporarily interrupted, very similar to an airplane at the gate when it disconnects from airport power and switches to self-powered mode.
20+ years ago when I worked for LSI (Logic) our Tokyo office was in the heart of central Tokyo in an area called Akasaka. It was and is a very high-end area catering to business and politics. We were in the west wing of the Kokusai Shin Akasaka Building which is right on top of the Akasaka Subway Station on the Chiyoda Subway Line and directly across from the TBS (Tokyo Broadcasting System) complex.
It was during this time that I noticed an old, dark, traditional Japanese house directly across the street from the office building where I was working. Â I would ask my Japanese colleagues about this and they mostly shrugged their shoulders saying something about real estate investment during The Bubble.
Uncommon House in Akasaka
For some reason, this house stuck with me. Â Think about the Magnificent Mile on Michigan Ave. in Chicago or Rockefeller Center in midtown Manhattan. Â Then, think about what an old house sitting right in the midst of those areas would look like. Â I was in the area on a Saturday afternoon in January 2010 enjoying lunch at an old favorite restaurant and decided to walk over and take a look at this house again, this time I had my camera with me so I figured I’d make this blog entry someday to share with people.
This is a wider shot where you can see part of the TBS complex behind the house and one of the driveways leading into the main TBS lobby.
Driveway to TBS Complex in Akasaka
The only thing that I can think of that comes close to this is the former strawberry farm near Disneyland which was purchased for US$99.9 million in 2004.
Here are more shots of the house:
Front Facade of Home
Longer Shot From the East
Close-up of the House
One thing that struck me about this house is that it is not in disuse or disrepair. Â It is definitely occupied and it is well-maintained and all of the landscaping is tended to. Â While I was snooping around the left side I actually saw an elderly person in the backyard tending to the garden. Â Even though the vegetation looks thick and slightly overgrown I believe this is done intentionally for privacy, considering the 10′s of thousands of people who pass by on a normal weekday.
This is an update to my post last year of the 2009 Tokyo hotel ratings in the Michelin Guide.  Notable changes are the Shangri-La displaced the Conrad for #5 in the top tier.  The Nikko moved up to four red (from four black).
I’ll repeat the same pitch I gave last year.  If you are a fan of Tokyo, I urge you to buy this book. It has great reviews of some very fine restaurants in it. The hotel entries are a bonus in the back of the book.
One menacing characteristic (from a macroeconomic viewpoint) of the Japanese economy now is deflation. It’s evident at izakaya (watering holes) everywhere in Japan. Y300 plates (or less). Food has really come down in price since the heady Bubble years and it is really nice to enjoy a few beers and tapas for a little bit of money.
People frequently ask me about navigating the trains and subways in Tokyo. It can be a daunting task. The important thing to do is to prepare properly. First, you should know the area you are interested in, you should know which train or subway lines are in the area and what the stations are called. You should have a map or atlas of the area or at least an idea of where you’re at.
In this example, I took some shots in the underground Ueno-Hirokoji and Ueno-Okachimachi station complex. One common thing to all underground station areas in Tokyo are the signs. Most signs in the Tokyo area are bilingual so you can usually read them without difficulty, as you can see from these examples.
It is important to look for the yellow (and sometimes white) sign-age in any station once you emerge from a train or subway. In bigger stations they usually have a neighborhood map. The signs will usually designate points of interest, landmarks, neighborhood names and in the case of subway or train platforms, the distance in meters.
Typical sign-age in the subway. In this case, I was directly below Kasuga Dori between Matsuzakaya and Yoshiike department stores, near the south end of Ameyoko.
Moving closer to Okachimachi, this area intersects more passageways to other exits.
This is a very typical underground passageway that is connecting various subway lines.
This is something I have never seen before. It’s a light bar on top of a police car that extends upward for better visibility. I saw this in Ryogoku after a sumo tournament while I was walking back to the station. Â Very clever, but I’m not sure how useful it might be.
Note: This is from a series of trip reports from my January 2010 Tokyo Trip. They are random musings about whatever seems interesting for that day.
On day 13, my getaway day, I left my bags at Keisei Nippori and headed to Akihabara for lunch and some final omiyage (souvenir) shopping. In the passage way between JR Akihabara Station and Showa Dori (on the way to Yodobashi Camera under the Sobu Line tracks) I spotted this 100-yen shop and picked up a few small things including some Japanese candy, office supplies and some handkerchiefs. I then headed to up to the restaurant floor inside of Yodobashi Camera and enjoyed sushi for lunch (subject of another post).
This is the underground passage way below Showa Dori between JR Akihabara Station and the east side of Showa Dori leading to the main entrance of the new Yodobashi Akiba store.
Note: This is from a series of trip reports from my January 2010 Tokyo Trip. They are random musings about whatever seems interesting for that day.
On Day 12 I went to the family compound in Torisawa which is near Otsuki in Yamanashi Prefecture. Torisawa Station on the Chuo Line is a destination for many mountain climbers. They are all ages but the one consistency is that they are decked out with the latest gear and clothing, many US and European branded gear and extremely well prepared for any sudden changes of weather (hardly a threat at this low altitude, though). I’m very impressed with their focus and devotion to their hobby.
Some climbers exiting the train.
Climbers crossing over the tracks at the station to the exit.
Day 11 Post Note: This is from a series of trip reports from my January 2010 Tokyo Trip. They are random musings about whatever seems interesting for that day.
Seems like an annual event now but on day 11 I went to Akasaka to visit my second favorite tonkatsu restaurant in the world (Katsuretsu-an being my favorite). I posted a mention of this restaurant here last year. Sueyoshi is a local institution. One of my oldest co-workers who first brought me to this shop about 25 years ago was amazed that it is still open given the turnover of restaurants after The Bubble burst. This one does it the same way that Katsuretsu-an does it. Offer a fine product at a fair price, provide stellar service and be 100% consistent from day to day. I had the Y1100 lunch special (good on Saturdays) and with it two extra heaps of cabbage and one extra bowl of rice. I walked out of there stuffed to the gills, especially from the three servings of cabbage. There was a guy in there earlier who had four servings of cabbage. He was amazing.
Entrance to the restaurant.
Counter decorations.
Long time chef.
The lunch special, unlimited cabbage and rice, Y1100. Gochiso sama deshita.
Day 10 Post
Note: This is from a series of trip reports from my January 2010 Tokyo Trip. They are random musings about whatever seems interesting for that day.
I was headed to Yokohama on day 10 to visit a friend. The following message popped up on the display. Chuo Line “Delay” due to “clearing tracks.” Ome Line “direct operation suspended” due to “clearing tracks.” “Clearing tracks” is code for a suicide on the line. Luckily I was not affected by this but my friends in Japan who use the Chuo and Ome lines complain that this seems to happen every day now.
Day 9 Post
Note: This is from a series of trip reports from my January 2010 Tokyo Trip. They are random musings about whatever seems interesting for that day.
On Day 9 I went on the Toyota Factory Tour. Prior to the tour I went through the museum and found that they are still displaying last year’s F1 car even though Toyota has exited the series. I found it interesting that they let me shoot the rear diffuser so closely. I was guessing that it might be obliterated or obfuscated but I guess there is no more need to keep this stuff secret anymore. I also included an impressive shot of an F1 steering wheel.
Note: This is from a series of trip reports from my January 2010 Tokyo Trip. They are random musings about whatever seems interesting for that day.
On day 8 I made a side trip to Nara. This entry focuses on the deer. The Todaiji and the Buddha is pretty spectactular but the deer are really something that people from the US and other western countries can’t quite get used to. Deer where I come from won’t get within 100 meters of a human being. The deer in Nara actually started biting the back of my legs looking for food. I had to hit them and kick them to get them away. It’s a friendly attack but the pinches were painful just the same.
The deer are ubiquitous as you enter the park.
There are a few senbei (crackers) sellers around the park. The deer know this and they are like birds at a park waiting for bread crumbs.
These deer are incredibly tame. You can walk right up to them and pet them on the head. They are not always happy about this but I never saw one run away, even from noisy children who tried to scare them. They are simply at peace with themselves here.
Day 7 Post
Note: This is from a series of trip reports from my January 2010 Tokyo Trip. They are random musings about whatever seems interesting for that day.
On Day 7 I visited Osaka Castle. I didn’t pay to go up to the top because I was told it’s a concrete replica and not very interesting. The thing that really impressed me was the number of arborists around trimming the trees. I watched them work for quite some time and couldn’t figure out what they were doing but the end result is beautiful.
View of Osaka Castle from the main courtyard.
View of the castle keep and moat.
The moat was undergoing maintenance when I was there. There was actually a team of maintenance workers rappelling up and down the keep, cleaning out the clutter and overgrowth.
I mentioned the arborists trimming the trees. They do a spectacular job, working quickly and making it look easy.
Day 6 Post
Note: This is from a series of trip reports from my January 2010 Tokyo Trip. They are random musings about whatever seems interesting for that day.
On day 6 I visited Kagoshima. The goal was to ride the Kyushu Shinkansen and to see Sakurajima. The day was a little hazy so the views were not spectacular but once on the island you can see lava dust everywhere which looks like fine black sand. The ferry runs continuously was not very heavily used on the Monday morning when I was there. Since the primary goal was to ride the Kyushu Shinkansen and the secondary goal was to see Sakurajima I didn’t spend much time there before heading to Osaka after a stop in Hiroshima.
This post is about the south entrance/exit at JR Shinjuku Station in Tokyo. This is the entrance sometimes referred to as “Lumine 2″
This is looking directly east with your back facing the station. The bridge on the right side is Koshu Kaido. The exact location of these first two shots is here.
This is looking slightly to the southeast towards Takashimaya Times Square. You can’t see Takashimaya Times Square because it is obscured by other buildings. See the google maps link above for a better perspective.
This is the south (or southeast) entrance to JR Shinjuku Station, also known as Lumine 2. I believe the “real” south entrance is around the corner from this small entrance along Koshu Kaido, however, I’m highlighting this south entrance because of the proximity to the elevator going to the NEX platform, the coin lockers and Lumine 2. If you tell someone you need to get to “Lumine 2″ it will probably be much more clear than telling them you need to get to the south exit.
This is just inside the wickets facing towards the west side of JR Shinjuku Station.
This last shot is the most important. It’s from inside facing out towards where the first two shots were taken. Notice the elevator straight ahead. That’s how you get down to the NEX platform. Additionally, notice the coin lockers just to the right of the elevator. Those are very useful for stashing luggage prior to departure on the NEX. I’ve used those lockers three different times when departing from Shinjuku and they always seem to be free in the morning whenever I need them. This shot was taken late Saturday morning after 11:00 according to the clock and there were still lockers available. I don’t think this is a popular place for locals to leave their stuff.
