Greetings from Japan!
I arrived here in Tokyo Monday evening and it's been non-stop since! Lots of adventures already as I was able to bring some colleagues from the US to Japan with me to help with a week of training of the Japan and Korean teams as well as meetings with Finance partners. Since there are concentrated pockets of activity rather than scattered adventure, I'll provide a day-by-day recap vs. a play-by-play one. Enjoy!
Sunday/Monday -- departed/arrived on time, then spent two hours on the
Friendly Airport Limosine trying to get through the rain and traffic to our hotel. Enjoyed Beef Bawl (yes, not "Bowl") with Chris Kemp, Justin Bross and Tae Kyu Kim in Shinjuku whereby you order your meal from a vending machine, then get served inside the cafe. Love this concept. Crashed hard.
Tuesday -- excellent day of training followed by an evening of work. Went to the office @ 8AM Tuesday morning, ate lunch in, and was in meetings until 6PM. Made it back to the hotel, collaborated with
Justin,
Chris and Hillary until midnight, with only a slight break for a traditional Japanese dinner nearby. Crashed hard.
Wednesday -- excellent day of training followed by an evening out with the teams! Enjoyed GONPACHI in Roppongi, the restaurant that inspired the Crazy 8s fight scene in Kill Bill (yes, I've enjoyed it
before). Followed dinner with another adventure @
ICEBAR where we again donned our parkas, braved the -5 degree C bar, and enjoyed making a memory. Same as the first time, ICEBAR didn't disappoint and I think everyone had a great time! Oh yeah, crashed hard.
Oh yeah, and afterward on our way back through Shinjuku I also just happened to introduce
Justin & Gloria to the best thing on the planet:
PRINT CLUB!
Thursday -- Thursday was a split day for the US gang as I left
Justin &
Chris to work with the teams on functional training and met the finance teams -- seemlingly across all of Tokyo -- with Hillary. We met Mitsuaki and
Reiko at dinner later, however, at
Ninja Akasaka -- an excellent ninja-themed restaurant near the office. It was an awesome dinner altogether; I'm not going to lie. We had to trek through a maze, basically, to get in, and sat shoe-free on the floor to enjoy our evening. And did we ever! From
creative ways to enjoy numbchuck crackers to our drink package to Magic Ninjas, we had a blast altogether.
Oh, Avid Reader, but that was just the beginning of our evening! After Ninja dinner, we made our way to
Shidax in Shibuya to enjoy true Japanese-type,
private room KARAOKE! It may have been the
most fun evening in Japan I've had yet... and I've had some crazy fun adventures!
Toru was in a particularly festive mood and special shout-outs to
Justin who stole the show with his rendition of Lionel Richie and to
Hillary who demonstrated her mad Kanye West skillz.
And of course, being near the entertainment mecca of Tokyo, I couldn't help but drag everyone into
PRINT CLUB to memorialize the evening with more photographic evidence and neon pens! Last night, crashed hard.
So, all in all a great trip altogether. Today (Friday) was a good one as well, having wrapped up the week, spent some time enjoying Harajuku and Shibuya, getting some down time to catch up on email, and having just returned from a great yakisoba dinner with Hillary, Gloria and Justin. It's off to hit the hay now, however, as there's a weekend to enjoy starting tomorrow. So, crashing hard.
Best to you, Avid Reader. I apologize for the long delay since early September posts!
In honor of Jesse Paulson's birthday, the boys got together for Guy Night! And when I mean the boys, Jace John Paulson was also able to join! We gathered at the Paulsons for pizza, cake, and cards, and celebrated an amazing family, friend, and father as he journeyed into his late early 30s. Yes, Avid Reader. Jesse is now 33.
Happy Birthday, JP!
My friend Michelle can kick your ass.
I'll start with last night as I got to see 'Spring Awakening' again, this time at Seattle's Paramount Theater! I joined my friends John Barr, Arlene Martin and Charles Newton to revisit one of the most outstanding Broadway shows I've seen in years. It didn't disappoint -- and in many ways was better than the show on stage in NYC! A definite highlight... in addition to dinner at Six Arms and time with old friends.
As much as I enjoy adventures in Asia, it's just good to be home. While still fighting the effects of limited sleep from this past week as well as some jet lag, I've enjoyed a beautiful Seattle fall weekend and time with friends.
The Japanese are INCREDIBLE hosts. Tonight was no exception. I enjoyed dinner with a handful of DRIVE Japan colleagues at Hayashi, a family-owned sumiyaki (charcoal-baked) restaurant in the heart of Akasaka.
Our Seattle-based crew got up this morning and ventured to the heart of the Japanese economy: Ginza! Known for high-end department stores and fashion boutiques, we meandered up & down the streets of Ginza and enjoyed handbags and stationery and $1.2M watches! We enjoyed them within touching distance, but really enjoyed getting hands-on with the pastries we sat in the middle of the then-closed street to eat!
Sadly, our morning quickly turned to afternoon, and we had to say farewell to one of our own: Hillary Greene. Hillary's adventure in Japan came to a sad end today as she was whisked to the airport in an orange cruiser bus. BUT, Avid Reader, not before a killer PRINT CLUB-like photo shoot in the Tokyo subway! Hillary Greene, you were a Tokyo RockStar this week! Thank you for steering the finance ship in Japan and for being such a willing partner in PCC*!!
Similar to the last time I saw a game there, I was fascinated by the completely engaged, chanting, dancing crowd, and the beer girls. This time, I was even more impressed by the former as the place was PACKED; we were three & four deep in Standing Room Only. It was pleasing to have Justin & Gloria experience it as well, though I'm unsure if the beer girls drew as much fascination from those two as it has with me each time (I mean, seriously, flourescent uniforms, beer kegs and bobby-pinned baseball caps? COME ON, you two! That just CrAzY!).
With Justin, Gloria and Hillary still in town, we all slept in this morning after a wacky work week, then ventured NE to Asakusa to see some sights. We enjoyed the 7th century SensÅ-ji and had Hillary bathe in incense, cleanse her hands, toss in an offering, and bow & pray before the shrine. We all had our fortunes read -- Justin & I turned out to be the luckiest of the bunch. Sadly, things aren't so awesome just now for Gloria & Hillary. Sorry, ladies!
Nearby, we also shopped Kasra Bashi dori(sp), the area of Tokyo that supplies restaurants with their wares. Flatware, serveware, glasses, condiment containers, appliances, chop sticks, signs, lights, and acrylic foods(!)... you name it, we saw it today. I was on the market for new bowls to replace my IKEA blues, but wasn't able to find just the right ones. Alas.
Avid Reader, I will never see something like NamjaTown again. Unless I go to NamjaTown again, of course. It was NUTSO!
Hillary & Gloria enjoyed massages (NamjaTown is a food, entertainment, AND relaxation mecca afterall), and we also discovered Ice Cream City... an entire world dedicated to various forms of ice creams and toppings. Or, more broadly, a world of ice cream and interesting amusement park arcade games! Crackers anyone? Chewing gum? Hillary tried desperately to score the large bags of chips. Justin tried relentlessly to get his entry card accepted at machines. I snuck away secretly to find PRINT CLUB booths and to force the others to enjoy PRINT CLUB yet again! And if you're dying to find out? Yes, oh yes! More success!
Sunday/Monday -- departed/arrived on time, then spent two hours on the Friendly Airport Limosine trying to get through the rain and traffic to our hotel. Enjoyed Beef Bawl (yes, not "Bowl") with Chris Kemp, Justin Bross and Tae Kyu Kim in Shinjuku whereby you order your meal from a vending machine, then get served inside the cafe. Love this concept. Crashed hard.
Wednesday -- excellent day of training followed by an evening out with the teams! Enjoyed GONPACHI in Roppongi, the restaurant that inspired the Crazy 8s fight scene in Kill Bill (yes, I've enjoyed it before). Followed dinner with another adventure @ ICEBAR where we again donned our parkas, braved the -5 degree C bar, and enjoyed making a memory. Same as the first time, ICEBAR didn't disappoint and I think everyone had a great time! Oh yeah, crashed hard.
Thursday -- Thursday was a split day for the US gang as I left Justin & Chris to work with the teams on functional training and met the finance teams -- seemlingly across all of Tokyo -- with Hillary. We met Mitsuaki and Reiko at dinner later, however, at Ninja Akasaka -- an excellent ninja-themed restaurant near the office. It was an awesome dinner altogether; I'm not going to lie. We had to trek through a maze, basically, to get in, and sat shoe-free on the floor to enjoy our evening. And did we ever! From creative ways to enjoy numbchuck crackers to our drink package to Magic Ninjas, we had a blast altogether.
Oh, Avid Reader, but that was just the beginning of our evening! After Ninja dinner, we made our way to Shidax in Shibuya to enjoy true Japanese-type, private room KARAOKE! It may have been the most fun evening in Japan I've had yet... and I've had some crazy fun adventures! Toru was in a particularly festive mood and special shout-outs to Justin who stole the show with his rendition of Lionel Richie and to Hillary who demonstrated her mad Kanye West skillz.
Today is my dear Mother's 60th birthday!
