Tom's posterous

Who Let the Bikes Out? Or, Three Generations of Drapeau

Some pictures from a fun weekend KidWonder and MomWonder and I spent with my Dad. We did the US Open (pics already posted!), KiddieLand (didn't take pics, but if my Dad's pics come out I'll share), and an afternoon at home testing out KidWonder's new Big Wheel. Of course, he was more interested in his Daddy's mountain bike.

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KidWonder Meets a B-24 Liberator

Thanks to @HarrisonPatch, we found out about WWII planes on display at Westchester County Airtport, courtesy of the Collings Foundation. KidWonder had a blast, and you can still see this B-24, a B-17 Flying Fortress and a P-51 Mustang until Wednesday:

http://harrison.patch.com/articles/world-war-ii-warbirds-rule-the-skies-of-th...

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Farewell Tokyo

These are my notes from Day 3 of a serendipitous trip to Tokyo from August 10-14, 2010:

Thursday evening in Tokyo ended quietly with a forgettable Korean dinner and a great video chat with Mom and KidWonder. Friday morning started early, as we left the hotel at 4:30am to have the best sushi in the world at Sushi Dai in the Tsukiji Fish Market. Here's a great report from another first timer to Sushi Dai:

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We got lost a few times in the market, but found our way by stopping people and saying "Sushi Dai" and making an eating gesture. It is pretty well known to the locals, and at 4:50am we were in line behind about 15 people for a sushi restaurant which opens at 5am! It is a definite tourist spot, as we saw plenty of people walk by with maps open looking for it, only to turn away dejectedly at the sight of the long line, but it is still a place Tokyoites wake up early to come to.

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We waited two hours to get in, and soon forgot the wait once we started eating. I'll spare all of the details (read the article linked above for the blow-by-blow), but will say that it was the best sushi I've ever had, I had them substitute the sea urchin and eel for other sushi, and the suzuki (sea bass) and Tai (red snapper) were oishi (very good)!

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After a short break at the hotel we set out on the JR Railway train to Akihabara, home of Electric Town, a major shopping area for electronics, games and anime. The anime is everywhere, from the bright colored shops, loud signs, and girls dressed in anime outfits handing out flyers. I felt like I was walking through a video game. We decided to follow up our stellar choice in breakfast cuisine by dining at McDonald's, a famous hamburger chain that is also in the US. If you haven't tried it, you should.

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We stopped in the Tokyo Anime Center, and at various hobby shops in the area, and finally found Astro-Boy figures! Credit Darren for the assist there, as he had a sixth sense telling him which hobby shop we should try. From there, one last round of souvenir shopping (no need to worry about exchanging my excess yen now!) at Asakusa, and then back to the hotel to rest up for the baseball game.

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We made it to the Tokyo-Dome just in time to watch the start of the Giants vs. BayStars. There was no playing of the national anthem or use of the phrase "Play Ball", although the mascots and dancing girls were more entertaining than their US equivalents. Baseball in Japan is a lot like the US, except the players take less chances on the field than US players would. So no excessive base stealing or trying to stretch a double into a triple. Much like with US Open tennis, our seats were in the very top section yet allowed for a full view of the play on the field.

So everything was great, play started to heat up in the second inning with the Giants hitting a home run, when both Darren and I finally hit the wall. Although this was a three day vacation for us, I had had nine hours sleep total and the lack of sleep finally hit. We left in the 5th inning with the BayStars in the lead, took the subway back to the hotel and I am now finishing this up so that I can get some sleep.

It has been a fun three days in Tokyo for me and I hope to come back when it is cooler and when Mt. Fuji tours are running again.

Oyasuminasai.

東京日2: 電気Boogaloo

These are my notes from Day 2 of a serendipitous trip to Tokyo from August 10-14, 2010:

Hey fight fans-

Last night Darren and I had a great traditional Japanese dinner--3 hours of food, and beer, and food, and beer, and sake (and sake). Our (until yesterday) business partners were gracious hosts and there was good conversation and no shoes (they have shoe lockers!) I ate octopus for the first time. It was boiled octopus, and it was... very chewy. The time it took to chew it gave me much too long to think about what I was eating.

This morning my company bought me steak for breakfast. Well, technically they don't *know* they bought it yet, but they are getting the bill. :-)

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This afternoon we went to the Edo-Tokyo museum, which was cool. We learned about kabuki (Japanese theater) and lots of aspects of Tokyo's history. Lots of cool models on display. We then went to the Sumo museum, which rocked. It is a small place (really one big room) and they show tapes of big sumo matches and have pictures on the wall describing the history of sumo. The grand sumo tournaments are held six times a year, three of them at Kokugikan, right next to the Sumo museum. I stopped in to the ticket office (alas, the next tournament isn't until September), and had a great two minute conversation with a guy who spoke absolutely no English. It was a festival of hand gestures!

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I'm typing this looking out my hotel room window at a typhoon that I hope is passing so that Darren and I can go out tonight. We've had a lot of misses in making plans due to places being closed/booked for the holiday. We struck out trying to get tickets to the Blue Note Tokyo and the Cotton Club--now thinking about backup plans. I'd love to do karaoke but here in Tokyo the karaoke places are all private rooms--no public bar area to sing at.

I haven't taken more then a few pictures--forgot the nice camera at home and the phone has been acting up. Darren took some that he'll forward to me, and I'll send the good ones over once I get them.

Hello from Tokyo!

These are my notes from Day 1 of a serendipitous trip to Tokyo from August 10-14, 2010:

Hi everyone-my first day and a half in Tokyo has been anything but normal. I thought I would drop everyone a line and say first of all, I made it here safe and sound, and secondly, if you need to reach me, email is the best way, as my phone isn't working here in Tokyo.

First off, due to this being a business trip, Darren (my boss) and I got the CEO treatment. The British Airways waiting area that my business class ticket allowed me access to was swank. A full bar, all the drinks and snacks you want, with about 100 plush chairs, many of which recline. Oh, and a shower area and a spa too.

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We flew ANA (All Nippon Airways) on one of their brand new Boeing 777-300ERs--where in business class you essentially get a cubicle, a full fledged entertainment center, and your chair flattens to make a bed. Plus the flight attendants come around whenever you want with food, drink and advice. If you have to fly somewhere 13 hours away, this is the way to do it!

After getting off the plane, we took a "limousine bus", which is Japanese for "bus". 2 hours later we checked into the Conrad Tokyo hotel, owned by the Hilton chain and one of only 3 5-star hotels in the Tokyo area. I got a room with a king sized bed on the 33rd floor overlooking the city. The room would best be described as sumptuous, with the best shower I've ever used and the staff has been tremendously nice and helpful.

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We told one of the concierges that we wanted to eat where the normal people eat for dinner, and were told to visit a ramen restaurant in the Roppongi area. In so doing, we mastered the Tokyo subway, managing to buy a ticket and go 5 stops in the right direction, then leaving from the right entrance. As veteran NYC commuters, we shouldn't have been all that surprised to figure it out, but I was tinged with pride when we made it to the ramen restaurant without asking for directions.

Roppongi is a bit like Times Square--lots of shops and lots of seedy guys trying to explain to you why the strip club they are inviting you to is "a really nice place" and "totally not a strip club". So we felt pretty much at home. The name of the ramen restaurant escapes me. The fact that the ramen noodles most of us ex-college kids know is a cheap imitation of actual ramen noodles is both unsurprising and true. The restaurant was no nonsense--a row of single seat booths standing side by side, a machine where you punch buttons and get a ticket which contains your order details i.e. did you want the noodles thick or thin, spicy or mild, stiff or mushy. You sit down, push a button, the cook comes by and takes your ticket and makes the dish. You can't see the cook's face, all you see is the hand sticking out to accept the ticket. The noodles were spicy and delicious. The seedy strip club pushers were not as enjoyable, so after the noodles we blew out of the neighborhood and headed back to the hotel.

A 13 hour time difference is pretty disorienting, although once you've adjusted to local time (takes me about a day) it is only disorienting when you are trying to figure out if people on the East Coast are asleep when you want to call them.

I woke up this morning, got to work out in the gym, took a shower and got ready for the first of three days of nonstop meetings--only to get an urgent instant message to call the office back in NY. It turns out that the project we were here in Tokyo to discuss isn't going to happen after all, as the big cheese who was going to pay for it decided at the last minute (after we traveled all the way here) to go with a different company. So, after traveling all this way, and before we had done a minute of work here in Tokyo, the 4 day business trip turned into a 4 day vacation in Tokyo, all expenses paid. I was actually told "go have some sushi on us" by the head of the company.

Needless to say I thought I was dreaming all this, and pinched myself. And yet, it was all true. So I raced down to the concierge's desk to see what we could do in Japan. Naturally, the first thing I checked was sumo wrestling. Then a day trip to Mt. Fuji. Then a day trip to Edo, where I could dress up as a samurai. Then to Nikki where they GIVE NINJA LESSONS. I am not shitting you. They are giving ninja lessons. Alas, none of those options were viable. We are not in one of the six weeks a year where they have big sumo tournaments, and this week is a holiday week in Japan, so even the small sumo clubs as well as the tour companies are closed for the holiday.

So I have to mention that the concierge told me that authorities are cracking down on the sumo wrestling scene because of "some trouble with betting and the mafia". Yakuza! Seriously? I didn't bring this up, I promise, the guy just volunteered the bit about the mafia.

We did walk through the beautiful Hama-rikyu Gardens and took a tour boat to Asakusa, which is the Tokyo old town. There we walked through the shopping area, bought my Godzilla (you know I bought one), and stopped at the Senso-ji template, the oldest Buddhist temple in Tokyo. I put 100 yen in a box, shook a metal cylinder full of wooden sticks, and took one out that corresponded to my fortune:

No. 12 Best Fortune
When spring comes, willows are in bud. Just like flowers bloom on old branches, something happy will come. There is still frost and snow, but brilliant happiness is in it. Your fortune is always good, never be destroyed.
-Your wishes will be realized
-A sick person will recover
-The lost article will be found
-The person you are waiting will come but late
-Building a new house and removal are good
-Making a trip has no problem
-Marriage and employment are all good

So, bam.

From there we took the G subway line to Ginza, which is a bit like 5th avenue or Rodeo Drive. We stopped in to the toy store there and bought some goodies. We caught a cab back to the hotel and now I'm typing this letter, which I have to finish as I'm heading to a traditional Japanese dinner with the folks we were going to do business with.

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Tomorrow I'm not sure what we'll do. It is hot as fried balls out here (try 100 degrees every day before 9am on for size). Friday night we're going to the Tokyo-Dome to see a Japanese baseball game. Giants vs. the Paysers. Giants are the Yankees of Japanese baseball, and we have probably the worst seats in the house. But not to worry, there's always beer. Kampai!