When in Japan...

Eat what the Japanese eat!

Tonight, the MSN Team launching DRIVE in Japan took me out to a famous restaurant that allegedly specializes in chicken dishes: Akasaka Umaya. However, we enjoyed the spectrum of specialties beyond chicken into some of the most interesting foods I've put in my mouth: basashi (raw horse meat) and manta ray (I'll call it fish jerky).

The restaurant is owned by a famous Japanese stage actor, so I had to get in my chops as well. It was a fun night where we renamed the Director of Ad Planning "Henry" as he wanted a more simple 'english' nickname (from Hidenari), watched the American eat nutty foods, and played the 'have-the-American-guess-what-we're-saying-by-our-body-language' game (note: Japanese don't gesture much, save to when Japense women giggle). In short, good times all around!

I'm back at the hotel now, having nearly fallen asleep at the end of dinner, but also having successfully navigated both the (packed!) subway home as well as the emergence from the subway system without having gotten lost. A good night indeed.

More to come, including photos and a Japanese baseball adventure tomorrow night!