Japan: Day 5 – Still Drifting

After roaming the streets alone this morning, we met with Naoki again for lunch and our first ride on the Tokyo subway. Just one stop over from our Ginza district hotel was a completely different landscape. Following alongside (and underneath) the overhead train tracks was one of Tokyo's most-frequented night life regions; albeit we were there in the late morning.

Everywhere you looked were the remnants and reminders of a wild Friday night; from the recycling collections full of empty sake bottles, to the guys stumbling by, still half-drunk, hovering close to the various pachinko arcades.

"Is there anything else you want to do before leaving Tokyo?" Naoki asked us. "Is there anything that you want to eat that you haven't tried?"

"Is there a good gyoza place nearby?" I asked. 

"Actually there's a very famous gyoza place just around the corner," he answered. We headed back towards the elevated line and saw the tiny Ohsho hole-in-the wall in front of us. 

"This is the party area, so there must be good hangover food options. In Japanese, we would say this is the type of place where you eat and you get grease on your shoes," Naoki said. 

"A greasy spoon!" we all said in unison.

And, yes, the gyoza were everything Naoki had promised. Perfectly crispy and fried on the outside, while remaining juicy and moist in the center. I think I've finally crossed everything off my to-do list.

We're back at the airport now stockpiling gifts and getting ready for the long flight home. I'm leaving here at 5:30 PM on Saturday and getting back at 10:00 AM on Saturday. It's been such a good day I'm really excited about the possibility of living it twice.

See you all in the store next week. Signing out from Japan.

-David Driscoll