After taking in the view from the towers we descended and something bizarre happened. Ai received a crank phone call from someone in Japanese on her cell phone. They knew her name and where she lived so that really scared her. I advised her to call her boyfriend
which she did, and then she corrupted me ... She said she needed some coffee for her nerves so we went to a nearby Starbucks -- My first time ever, since I do not drink coffee or tea. I had a cup of hot caramel cider. During my trip I wound up going to Starbucks maybe a total of 6 times. I think / hope that I put her mind at ease as we sat talking for 1 hour or so. I advised her to see if anything happens again since this was the first time, before she changes her Phone number and moves to somewhere new because of this incident (although she was considering moving in with Nathan previously anyways). we talked about the differences between Japanese men and American men she obviously prefers Americans. She asked me if I wanted to visit Rypongi the area where many westerners congregate. she said many of the westerners there tend to be arrogant jerks though, I said that I prefered to stay away from this type of scene and let's do something else instead.
After she relaxed a little we went walking around the area and went shopping -- hunting for the allusive English book on Japanese boats that my brother wanted -- Good Luck finding any books in English in general. Even at the very big bookstores the selections were very limited. I couldn’t even find the boat book in Japanese. Well I assured Ai that if it were a stalker who crank called her he wouldn’t have been able to follow us wherever we went that afternoon. Ai also introduced me to the wonder of Depato's Department stores with alltypes of goodies in the food areas in the Basements. That night we called and made arrangements to have dinner together with Kumika another friend from the Internet who could only meet me that night with my tight schedule.
So the 3 of us met and we went to a nice Italian restaurant for a good meal. It was a package deal that we got a lot of food - 4 courses for 5400 yen ( $ 47 ) . I liked the Rice Croquette -- a Giant rice ball a little bit bigger than the size of a soft ball. inside was melted cheese and it was breaded and covered in Marinara sauce. It was a good filling meal and it only cost us 1800 - 2000 yen each. We all had a nice time talking and maybe Ai and Kumika might even become friends in the future too. I had a very nice day with Ai and a nice evening with Kumica also too.
I took the train back to Mejiro Station and I walked back to the hotel with my coat off and possibly even my sweater too to try to air out my clothes. Though it was not as cold
as I grew up in NY it was still chilly at the high 30’s F at night. But that is one of the downsides of Japan. many more people smoke there than in the States maybe 40 %. I
came back from the restaurant smelling like an ashtray. maybe I am ovely sensitive but I am a chef and I think I have an acute sence of taste and smell more defined than the average person possibly. You don’t realize how well we have it in New York state and Massachusetts, and California with the no smoking laws until you experience this. My eyes started to hurt and I got a headache from the smoke. It was a long day and I was ready to crash after hoofing it around Tokyo.
Thursday Jan 23, 2003 ....
Today I had the day basically for myself and I had fun in my own bizarre way. I woke up and I had made an appointment to meet with the pastry Chef of the hotel. I had a very nice tour and discussion for about an hour and we basically discussed shop and
compared our respective hotels and the business we do. I think that my opportunities to transfer to this hotel are probably slim however. due to the language barrier and especially visa restrictions. But the Pastry chef (Japanese) was a very nice man and we had a good discussion through the secretary interpreter.
After I changed back into street clothes I talked with the Concierge’s -- an excellent staff and the women were cute and very helpful too. They help me make plans and advised
me where to go that afternoon. I handed out many a business card to the staff and many people I met on my trip. but I have not really heard anything from any one yet. Maybe it
is against the rules to contact the guests even is they want to -- not surprising as I have heard stories that one needs to get permission from their superiors in many Japanese
businesses to socialize with clients / customers even outside of work on your own time.
The Concierges directed me to a whole street in Tokyo that specializes in Restaurant supplies and equipment. The doorman lent me an umbrella as it was raining and I walked to the mejiro station again. I took the train and then transfered to the subway (living in Boston sure helped me out) I found the 800 meter street with stores on both sides of the street with the map with not too much difficulty. I had fun and I went shopping. I bought $ 200 of tools for myself. yes maybe I could have ordered the tools from a French catalog but here was the equipment in my hands and I went for it if it was a good deal. There were stores selling ceramic ware, stores selling signs, stores selling cutlery, uniform shops,
and you gotta love the stores the stores that sell the plastic food for window displays. It looks so realistic but Each piece was quite expensive. Of Course I found 1 or 2 stores that specialized in Bakery items too. So that took about 4 - 5 hours to cover the whole street. I could communicate well enough with the merchants over all. I bought so many items from one merchant that they gave me a cloth bag to hold all of my goodies. I was tired afterwards and hungry so I just settled to comfort food quick and easy and I did McDonalds again.
I took the train back to the station and I walked back to the hotel stopping at convenience stores on the route home for a chocolate drink. Then I was like a kid on Halloween /
Christmas and I laid out my pastry goodies on the bed and I examined them again. Tim Allen’s tool time in a bizarre sort of way Arrr Arr Arrrr!
