robyn

We have actually used a lot less cash than we thought we would (perhaps that is because we've been sticking pretty much to "contemporary Japan" - where credit cards are accepted almost everywhere). Robyn

We've been in Japan for almost a week now - Tokyo and Osaka. And I have some observations which might be useful if you're planning a trip to Japan. First - the major cities in Japan are really, really big. Osaka is perhaps the size of New York - but metro Tokyo - with a population of over 35 million - is huge. Travel distances can be formidable - and travel can be difficult during rush hours. So don't get your heart set on some restaurant you heard about that's on the other end of town from wherever you are. I've heard there are 100,000 restaurants in Tokyo. There are lots and lots of good ones - and quite a few great ones. Pick places that are close to where you are. Second - especially at the higher end - lunch is frequently a bargain compared to dinner. So look at lunches. Won't be a problem for most visitors from places like the east coast of the United States for the first week. You'll be starving at noon for a dinner-like meal - and asleep well before a fashionable dinner dining time. Third - for English speakers - there may be a beaten tourist path here - but we haven't found it yet. English isn't spoken at most of the restaurants we've dined at. My husband studied Japanese for a year before this trip (he's good at languages) - and I think it's a good investment of time to learn at least a bit before you go. Invest in a few books for eating - like Robb Satterwhite's "What's What in Japanese Restaurants" and Richard Hosking's "Dictionary of Japanese Food". And do not hesitate to take advantage of anyone you know - or think you might want to meet - when dining. Invite anyone and everyone who lives here to dine with you. You won't regret it. We've dined with many people. Including the son of a friend of ours who lives in northeast Tokyo (and his family). He took us to his "local" Chinese restaurant - owned by "Iron Chef Chinese" Chen. Great fun. If you guess a place like this would be a tourist place - guess again. I'm glad he and his wife spoke fluent Japanese. Fourth - I recommend the department store food basements for sampling various kinds of food. Although if you don't speak any Japanese - you probably won't be able to find out what you're eating unless you can identify it by sight. Fifth - we've encountered a huge number of incredibly friendly helpful people at restaurants (both chefs and staff). What we couldn't communicate in terms of spoken language - we did with hand signs (note that the latter is not recommended at high end restaurants when they're busy - we ran across an English speaking "foodie" in Japan who has been told by some higher end places that people who don't speak any Japanese simply aren't welcome at their establishments). But Japanese society is very polite - and relatively reserved. E.g., it is not a place where people eat in public (except at places like the cherry blossom festival in Osaka). It is not a place where one whips out his/her camera at dinner and starts clicking away during a meal. Even cooks at street fairs - like the cherry blossom festival in Osaka - didn't seem to want to have their pictures taken. However - they were willing to allow us to take pictures of their street food (after we'd bought some - and asked permission to take pictures). Like this. Anyone know what it is? I don't . Robyn

I'm in Japan now (Osaka - just spent almost a week in Tokyo) - and I doubt there are 100 people outside of the international restaurant community (people like Bruno Menard at L'Osier - who we ran into the other day) who have ever heard of Minibar or Jose Andres (of course - it's not exactly a household name in the United States either). I am far from an expert in Japanese intellectual property law - but I think if there were any intellectual property to protect here - the Japanese would protect it. Much more than it would be protected in the United States. From what I have seen so far - this is a country where every Louis Vuitton purse (and there are tens of thousands of them) is real - every Disney watch in the electronics stores is authentic - and every DVD is a licensed copy. A far cry from the United States and other places - where fakes and knockoffs of various items probably outnumber the originals by 100 to 1. So if there are any chefs who are aggrieved by anything they see happening in Japan - I suggest they contact a Japanese lawyer. Robyn

A restaurant that fits the bill is Bonefish Mac's - a little east of US1 on Sample Road. Not adventurous - but perfect for those family meals (and I ate a lot of them there). The fish sandwich platter is a bargain. Robyn

It's really not "cook it yourself" - but most Chinese buffet restaurants where I live have "Japanese style" grills. You pick the stuff you want - chicken - beef - bean sprouts - eggs - noodles - etc. - then the chef grills everything for you - and it is topped by a mayonnaise based sauce. I really don't care for it at all (especially don't like the mayo sauce) - but is it something that corresponds to any type of authentic Japanese cooking? Robyn

Perhaps I will get more into the swing of "cooking things for myself" after we arrive and have gotten over the worst of our jet lag. After years of not being able to take a long trip abroad - I had forgotten how difficult the planning is. Both in terms of making sure things at home are taken care of - and things abroad go smoothly (never thought I'd have to spend a lot of time locating an ATM card that has an excellent chance of working in Japan). At this point - a glass of champagne in an onsen sounds good to me . Robyn

Torakris did direct us to your message. We too will be staying at the Granvia in Kyoto. I understand that it has some good restaurants - but I think we will be able to get out and explore a bit during our 5 days there. Quite frankly - I haven't even started to read about restaurants in Kyoto yet - I am kind of bogged down learning about Tokyo restaurants. Robyn

You are right about the food - too much that looks terrific. I'm afraid I really won't get into full eating mode until we're in Osaka a week after we arrive due to jet lag. We have a bed & breakfast rate at the hotel - so we will be able to eat a full Japanese breakfast every day. At about our normal dinner time. I really like Japanese breakfast although it is usually too filling for me at breakfast time. Will probably be able to do justice to it at my normal dinner time. I wouldn't expect the concierge staff at a high end hotel to give "official recommendations" of holes-in-the-wall or places off the beaten path. For those - I will usually try to bend the ear of other staff people (like the bartenders). Or talk to people I know or meet who are familiar with the area. And - like I've said before in some other threads - my husband and I are pretty ignorant of Japanese food in general. We have had high end sushi in LA - Vancouver - and Hawaii. And one kaiseki meal in Hawaii. And we recently ate at an excellent Japanese restaurant in Orlando - Ran-Get-Su (which is a branch of a restaurant in Ginza). But we've never had soba - or udon - or ramen (we did have a Japanese noodle dish once in Wagamama in London - but I can't remember what it was). So we are pretty much a clean slate with an undiscerning palate. We may like things that aren't technically very good - or dislike things that are technically very good. About all we plan to do because of our ignorance is avoid things we know we won't like. Like okonomiyaki restaurants where you make your own - if we wanted to make our own - we would stay home . Or very expensive restaurants where there is a huge emphasis on texture as opposed to taste (I read one review of Kozue which dwelt on that aspect of the chef's cuisine). There is nothing wrong with this type of cuisine in my opinion. It's just that I don't think that one can learn to appreciate it enough in a short trip to justify a very expensive meal. Or chicken sashimi (don't think I'd appreciate it enough to make me comfortable in terms of potential GI problems). But other than the few things like that - we're open to just about anything. And I definitely want to do some things that I won't find anywhere else in the world - like a vegetarian kaiseki restaurant (best place to do that is probably in Kyoto). Or yuba. I just hope everyone else in the restaurant doesn't fall over laughing when I try to eat a fresh tofu skin with chopsticks. Robyn

My taste in decor is similar to yours. But - as long as a room is comfortable - decor isn't a high priority in terms of my planning where to stay. And - unfortunately - in the United States - contemporary decor frequently equates with snobby or non-existent service (the hotels are supposed to be "hip" - so why should they bother with service ). One hotel you might like a lot is the Peninsula hotel in Chicago - which manages to combine elegant contemporary decor (think Barbara Barry) and excellent service. Robyn

My husband dislikes heights. So the Four Seasons is perfect for him. Last time we were in a really tall hotel (40th floor) was in New York on 9/11. I like views - but that scared the heck out of me too. Don't know how you can say you aren't a Four Seasons fan if you've never stayed in one (think that's what your message said unless I misread it). On my part - I've stayed in many. Some are better (especially the newer properties like Miami) - some aren't so hot. Since none of the luxury hotel chains has a frequent stayer program - I pretty much choose the properties on a case-by-case - city-by-city basis. When I was in Cairo - I stayed at the Mena House - in a room with a view of the pyramids . Of course - that was a long time before any luxury chain hotel existed there. Robyn

I am going to Japan for the first time next week for 3 weeks. I am simply overwhelmed by the number of restaurants (there are about 100,000 just in the Tokyo area). So I think no matter where you stay - you will have many excellent choices. Also - it is probably not a bad strategy to plan some days around visiting a particular restaurant in a particular neighborhood - and then exploring the neighborhood either before dinner or after lunch. No matter where you stay - you won't want to stay in that neighborhood for a whole week. We are staying at the Four Seasons Marunouchi because: 1) it is near Ginza; 2) it is near the main rail station; 3) it is supposed to have excellent service and an excellent concierge staff; 4) the rooms are large; and 5) it has a "meet and greet" service at Narita. I have exchanged email with the hotel - and if the email is any indication - I think the service will be excellent. It is also supposed to have an excellent restaurant - but that isn't the main reason I chose it. Since you have already been to Tokyo twice - and stayed in the Ginza area twice - I guess the simple question is do you want to stay in the Ginza area again - or try someplace else? Apart from the Four Seasons - there is a very new MO in the Ginza area. It is a bit wet behind the ears in terms of service now (based on what I've read). By November - perhaps it will be working on all 8 cylinders. Since eGullet really isn't a place to discuss hotels per se - I would suggest taking a look at the numerous discussions of Tokyo hotels in the Flyertalk Japan forum. There are people there who think the Park Hyatt is out of the way - and others who like where it's located. There are also discussions of the hotels in Roppongi Hills (I might be wrong - but I think the Grand Hyatt is perhaps the best in that area). Read the discussions and decide for yourself. The one thing I would definitely want in a hotel if you are interested in high end dining is an excellent concierge staff. A fair number of high end restaurants - especially traditional Japanese ones - are selective about their clients. Some do not accept non-Japanese patrons. Others do not care to have people who can't speak Japanese. At a minimum - at certain places you would want to have an "introduction" from someone. In my case - that "someone" has to be a concierge. Even though my husband has learned passable Japanese - and I have spent some time studying what one should or shouldn't do when dining in Japan - I don't think I'd care to spend $500+ for dinner and not be able to understand the meal because the staff can't deal with our poor Japanese or has no patience in dealing with us because we are somewhat ignorant (I know the Japanese have a reputation for being polite - but I suspect even they have their limits ). A good concierge can go a long way in terms of seeing that the patrons and the restaurant are a good fit. By the way - my husband and I intend to concentrate almost exclusively on this trip on traditional and contemporary Japanese and Japanese fusion cuisine. We are not interested in exploring the "clones" of high end restaurants from other countries (like Nobu or Robuchon). I suspect the "clone" restaurants cater to a more international clientele than most of the Japanese restaurants I am considering - and might be easier to deal with. What kind of food are you interested in eating in Tokyo? Robyn

I like Micanopy - it's good for about an hour. Not sure about Mt. Dora (haven't been there since they were hit a few years ago by - I think - a tornado - that ripped through downtown - but it was nice before then). Wouldn't bet on food being a highlight though - unless you are extremely lucky. You used to be able to find pleasant "meat and three" places in most of these towns - but the vast majority have given way to chains. Some of the sexier towns have newer restaurants with grander aspirations - but they generally are - at best - adequate. My favorite places in this part of the state are on the west coast - places like Cedar Key and Manatee Springs state park. But they are pretty much places to overnight - do some canoeing and the like - eat in a fried fish place - not places you'd detour to on your way from Orlando to Gainesville. Robyn

I assume you'll be taking I-75 - so you won't be talking about much. Rather than go on a food hunt - I'd try stopping at someplace like the Marjorie Rawlings house in Cross Creek - it's an interesting state park and worth a stop - and see if anything looks interesting in the Cross Creek area. The Yearling is about the most famous place in the area - but I haven't been there for ages - and haven't read too much that's good about the food. So I'd just eyeball places and try one that looks ok. If you travel in this part of Florida - Cracker Barrel starts to look pretty good for lunch most of the time . Robyn

The Art of Eating is by subscription only - but you can obtain single issues of the publication at its website. Robyn

← I haven't read the book either - but your message was rather timely for me. I am contemplating 3 weeks of eating in Japan - a country about which I know next to nothing. I have been reading - and reading - and reading - trying to be a "good restaurant patron" - and nothing is registering. Except that this restaurant seems to be close to our hotel - and that one isn't. How can anything register - when a metro area like Tokyo has about 100,000 restaurants! The western media tends to pay attention to about a dozen places in Tokyo (although none of the readily available information is very timely) - which doesn't surprise me - since even the NY media tends to pay most of its attention to perhaps 50 places in NY. So how to decide - what's a girl to do? I've just decided to play it by ear. About the only thing I'd add to the article cited is that in Japan - it's up to the customer to figure out where the restaurant is - since most streets don't have names - and street numbering is kind of weird (the first building on the block is #1 - the second #2 - etc. - so the numbers can go 2 - 47 - 23) - and to learn whether or not a restaurant accepts credit cards - and to bring enough cash if plastic isn't accepted. By the way - I think I know what you mean by "restaurant trainspotting" - converting the peculiar English obsession of watching trains for hours - days - weeks - to observe their comings and goings and various characteristics - down to the teeny weeny details - to the restaurant scene. But I'm not sure. If I'm not right about this - please correct me. Or feel free to amplify on this definition. Robyn

One thing I've read about dining in Japan is that some of the best eating *is* in hotel restaurants. Which is very different than what one would expect in the United States. So I will have to get over my prejudices. Kozue was one of the restaurants featured in "Twelve Restaurants in Tokyo" published in the Art of Eating. Very interesting writeup. So it is definitely on my radar screen. Robyn

Thanks. I had actually found Kitcho on my own. Seems like the Kitcho in Arashimaya is kind of like The French Laundry of Japan (very very famous). I will probably ask the concierge about it when I get the hotel in Tokyo. Robyn

Thanks very much NickLam. And if you are in Tokyo when we are there - get in touch. Robyn

I would be interested - but it will have to be a "summer project". We're getting ready to go to Japan now - will be back in late April - and I'm sure by the time we've caught up once we get home - we'll be talking near end of May. I'll be taking lots of pictures in Japan - and if I wind up with anything worth while - I'll post them here. Right now - I am working on the pictures I took last week at The Players Championship. Wish golfers would stay put like food! Robyn

Since I'm very interested in food - I would like to have some "kaiseki" meals in Japan for a few reasons (among them - the meal's historical significance in terms of influencing European and US chefs to develop the concept of tasting menus). I understand that many of these restaurants are quite traditional - and that presents 2 problems. First - my husband wears a huge knee brace (his knee is shot after years of running) - and there is no way he can sit cross-legged on the floor. Second - I am very nervous about going to any expensive restaurant which only takes cash (will spend all afternoon worrying how much I should take - I am not used to thinking about carrying cash). We will be in Tokyo and Osaka and Kyoto and I wonder if there are any excellent kaiseki restaurants you can recommend where we can sit "western style" and use credit cards? Robyn

We'll be in Japan in April too - and chocolate is high on my list of activities as well. Could I volunteer to be one of your tasters ? If you need to calibrate my palate - my favorite is Maison du Chocolate (which I have to order on line and have delivered by fedex to my house). I've never tried many other high end brands - like Pierre Herme - but am looking forward to it . Would you be so kind as to tell me the sections of Tokyo where these places are located (or if they're in a city other than Tokyo). No need for the precise address - I will ask the concierge for maps if we'll be in those parts of the city. Also - here's an article in Gridskipper you might find interesting. If you're interested in design - you might take a look at Mocoloco. I've not used the Tokyo part of the website before - but I have used other parts in other cities and found some interesting things. Gridskipper also has some interesting design commentary. If I run across anything else - I will let you know (I've been spending time doing more mundane trip planning - like figuring out how to get an ATM card that works in Japan!). There seems to be some interesting contemporary architecture in Tokyo - but some of it - like Omotesando Hills - has not received very favorable reviews. Guess there's only so much you can do with a shopping mall even if you're a famous architect. By the way - if you will be alone - and would like some company to pound a lot of pavement and explore these things - please PM or email me. We will be in Tokyo 4/12-4/18. Robyn

Robyn, While for the most part, I agree with you that warning labels are going overboard, I completely disagree about peanuts/tree nuts and other foods that can cause anaphylaxis (seafood, etc.). Even a trace of these foods can cause death in a matter of minutes to someone who is highly allergic. My daughter's school is a "peanut free" zone because one of the children is deathly allergic. And I'm happy to comply with the voluntary "rules" by not sending her to school with PB&J sandwiches, granola bars, peanut candies, and the like. Why would I want to risk being responsible for the death of someone else's child, who could go into anaphylactic shock if he sits down at a table where someone sitting there before him had peanuts??? Same with the airlines. I like peanuts, but I don't mind it the airlines no longer serve them because I know that someone who is highly allergic could go into medical emergency or even die if s/he breathed the peanut dust. Yes, there are more people who die from hypertension. But it's not from immediate, one-time exposure to salt. ← Not to put too fine a point on it - but I think a whole peanut-free school is dumb. There are people who suffer from similar problems when stung by certain insects. Does that mean that no school should have a butterfly garden (as an avid gardener - I know that those gardens attract lots of bees and other stinging insects too)? I'm sure there are similar examples - but this was the first one that came to mind (I actually have someone who works in my yard who has to carry epinephrin syringes in case he gets bitten by certain bugs). Robyn

I got it from a discussion of the FDA rules - not from the FDA website. Robyn

That is a big relief about being left-handed. I don't know where the stir-fry on top on the rice comes from - the "shovel" method. Whether it is Chinese - or just something I've seen in Chinese restaurants in the US. Whatever - I have no problems eating stir-frys with chopsticks - and I generally don't eat that much rice. So doing them separately will work fine for me. What are "furikake, natto, ochazuke, etc."? I live in northeast Florida - which is not exactly a place where one learns a lot about Japanese food. We do have a lot of new Japanese restaurants here - but they are mostly owned/operated by people from China. I think some of the "problems" I worry about won't really be problems. When I first read about tonkatsu restaurants - I asked myself - how do you eat porkchops with chopsticks? Then I saw that they are cut into pieces before they're served . I am ok with that. I guess worse comes to worse - I will watch what other people are doing - and try to do the same. It is very hard learning about the "rules" in a country which seems to have a lot of rules. I was reading about shopping today - and learned that in general - I shouldn't pull something like a sweater over my head if I'm trying on clothes - and that - if I do - I should use a hairnet (supplied by store). Also that I should take off my shoes when entering a dressing room in a store. But I guess if I read enough - I will not make too many mistakes . Robyn

Just reviewing this thread - and I want to make sure. Is it ok to eat with your left hand in Japan (I am a lefty and I know there are some countries where it is a cultural "no-no")? I shudder at the thought of having to learn to use chopsticks in my right hand. Also - I am somewhat used to the Chinese (Chinese/American?) way of eating some things (a small amount of food placed on top of a rice bowl - and you bring the bowl near your mouth). Is that done in Japan? I can handle a single grain of cooked rice with chopsticks from the plate to my mouth - and somewhat larger amounts - but it's very slow going in terms of eating . Although I am ok with chopsticks - sometimes I am stumped (doubt I could do a hard boiled egg and I have no idea how I'll do with the fresh tofu skin). I've been told that it's a cultural "no-no" to stick one chopstick through the middle of something to get some leverage - and then use the other to hold it steady (apparently it has something to do with customs relating to death). If I run into any problems - what is the least offensive way from a cultural point of view to get the food into my mouth (fingers - ask for spoon - something else? - I would rather people make fun of me than to offend them culturally)? Finally - and only somewhat related to chopsticks. I prefer sashimi and my husband prefers sushi. Sometimes we order the right amounts of each - but sometimes we don't. Is it unacceptable to pick the fish off a piece of sushi with your chopsticks - and leave the rice on your plate? Robyn