The First Month and a Bit

Ohayooo everyone!

It seems that I gave most people the impression that I would be making blog entries weekly (probably from titling the first entry “The First Week”). I was thinking it would be more of a monthly thing.

Things have been busy over the past month. In mid-October I went on a little business trip with my colleagues Anthony and Bertram to visit some of our operators here.

We went to Nagasaki, Kagoshima and Okinawa. On this trip, I:

• was charmed by our small, island-hopping operators who are proud to be flying our planes.


• inadvertently ate whale (INADVERTENTLY! I was told before I ate it that it was “some kind of fish”).


• choked (for real!) on a piece of steak at a Teppanyaki restaurant, obliging Bertram to perform the Heimlich manoeuvre on me (for real!)
  

After that I was very excited to head back to Toronto to see everyone and to retrieve some more of our personal effects. It was a bit of a whirlwind visit but I managed to see ALMOST everybody and to stock up on the few things that are difficult to find in Tokyo (Mitchum deodorant, clothes that fit me, etc.).

I returned to Tokyo to find things in good order. Ross had achieved some significant technological advancements in the apartment, and had become an expert on the offerings of the food hall level of our Mitsukoshi department store (prepared salads and pasta, “Kono Pizza”, which makes pizza in the form of a cone, discount sushi at the end of the day, “Tokyo Soup Stock”, with its many varieties of delicious soups, etc.)

WORK

Work is good. My visit to Toronto helped me to connect with my new “team” and gave me a better sense of direction. It was a bit strange staying at the Holiday Inn at Yorkdale Mall for two weeks, but it proved to be an excellent location for hobnobbing, as all the customers (most of whom were in town for the same event I was) were there.

During my second week in Toronto I was pleased to get in quite a bit of flying, ranging from production testing to flying our corporate shuttle to (and from) Montreal. It will be quite strange to not be flying regularly, as my new position is pretty much a “desk job”. Hopefully I can sneak into the simulator now and then, or maybe I can find a realistic flight simulator in an entertainment arcade somewhere. Ross can play that bongo drum game while I keep my chops up.

HOME

Thanks to Ross’s diligence and ingenuity, our home Internet service has been upgraded to proper Tokyo standards. Now the VOIP phone is working quite well, so you are able to call us at our old Toronto number (but please keep the time difference in mind!). Other than the discovery that occasionally the delivered breakfast buns are pre-injected with a pat of butter, there is not much else new on the home front.

ENTERTAINMENT


We have been THOROUGHLY enjoying the local restaurants. We went to an awesome little Mexican place that makes great (but small and expensive) margaritas and fish tacos etc. It is on the third floor of a small and irregularly shaped building that somehow houses five restaurants/bars. The Mexican restaurant apparently also has “tepee seating” on the roof top terrace. We were able to glimpse the tepee from a nearby building, but it remains a bit mysterious. We’ll check it out next time.

A major discovery is a nice “Californian” restaurant nearby that serves weekend brunch, including Eggs Benedict. The coffee is at the usual Tokyo coffee prices- 5 bucks for a cup! (the same as the wine!) I don’t know why coffee is so expensive here, but I am adjusting my consumption habits accordingly.

On weekends we continue to explore different areas of the city. On one of our recent excursions we went to Asakasa, an area evocative of “Old Tokyo” with a big temple, Senso-ji, and lots of old fashioned shops.

Nearby is Kappabashi, the area with many restaurant supply stores. We resisted buying any plastic display food, opting instead for a proper chef’s knife (not that we are proper chefs, but whatever). Another happy discovery was a Mister Donut, which unfortunately doesn’t seem to be as common in Tokyo as in other parts of Japan. Our favourite is the “pon de ring”, a pleasingly knobby ring of moist, chewy deliciousness.

This past week my Toronto colleagues Ben and Manny were in town. It was exciting to have the number of people we know in Tokyo temporarily increase by 50%! We had a DELICIOUS Teppanyaki meal. I chewed very carefully. This weekend it is a bit rainy, so I think our pursuits will be indoors. There is a vast and architecturally significant entertainment and shopping complex called Roppongi Hills that I have been meaning to get to. I think we'll check it out.