Tokyo4me

Tokyo was made for me! Not only have I not had a bad meal, there are public restrooms every 500 feet.

I'm sure we've all heard about how Japanese restrooms are bastions of privacy and the users would never want to reveal they have bodily functions. It's true. Every toilet is a new experience. The doors and walls are floor to ceiling. Either there is a toilet seat cover or sanitizer to wash the seat. Once seated, one may be surprised to learn the seat has been electronically warmed. Buttons to the side offer flushing noises or the cleaning of various nether regions. The final step is the most challenging. The flushing device may be on the back of the toilet or it's automated, but it may be a lever in the wall or a button on the floor.

There are always a lot of instructions as this is a rules and order loving country. Occasionally, there is a button I really want to try but am worried it will cause someone to come rushing to my aid. Squat toilets add even more variety. I've even seen a stall with a child seat where your youngster is trapped while you take care of business. The possibilities are seemingly endless.

I know I shouldn't talk about food in the same breath as toilets, but it just seems to work well this way. The food here is amazing and they serve it the way I like it; small portions of lots of different goodies. I don't always know what I'm eating, but it's usually good.

So far, there's been ramen, eggy noodles in a salty pork broth with hunks of tender roast pork and seaweed. The only polite way to eat this is with a slurp. Then all you can eat shabu shabu, thin sliced Kobe beef and veggies you cook in a broth at your table then garnish with a sesame sauce and another slightly sweet and briny sauce. Bento, a little box of treasures with various salads, flavored rices, protein source like fish or meatballs, something pickled and something sweet. Tonkatsu, a breaded and fried pork cutlet.

Yakitori, the businessman's happy hour with skewered something: chicken, pork, liver, brains, leeks, shiitake, etc. and a cold glass of Asahi, Kiran or Sapporo. To experience yakitori, it's best to visit the Golden Gai, a narrow alley in the Shinbuku part of Tokyo where 10 seater establishments are crammed side by side behind corrugated metal doors and smoke from the grill and cigarettes fills the walkway. A yakitori joint can be identified by the red lantern hanging outside and the businessmen crammed inside.

You may have noticed the ubiquitous sushi missing from this list. Besides a dabble in grocery store sushi, I have yet to divine this delicacy. I'll get there. AmPm and 7-11 are great for a quick seaweed salad or rice ball. Rice balls are triangular wrapped in nori seaweed and filled with either salmon, tuna, roe, fermented soybeans or another treat. It's like a little surprise every time I bite inside. The selection process is based on the color of the label and how many are left in the case. Fortunately, I have yet to cross paths with the fermented soybeans. For dessert, there's basically mochi, pounded rice, with adzuki bean filling. There are variations on this combination, but Asia is not known for it's fabulous desserts.