A Tokyo christmas

First full day in Tokyo got off to an early start. I had tried to stay up as long as I could the night before to counter the jet lag, but still ended up collapsing around 7p. Naturally, I woke up at 3a ready to start the day. I started searching for a cup of coffee or a quick breakfast, but Tokyo doesn’t share America’s proclivity for granting my every wish at any hour of the day, so I settled for a quick workout in the hotel gym.

After a quick cup of ambition from the nicest 7-Eleven I’ve ever seen, we were ready for the day. A quick surveil on Google Maps showed us we weren’t too far from the Imperial Palace - where Japan’s Emperor resides. The tour was informative for many reasons, the most thought-provoking for me has been the magnitude of the consequences of war. In school, World War 2 could not have seemed less interesting. Like a Bible story, it felt like a tale about people long dead with no consequential impact on my life. It’s been an embarrassingly recent insight for me that history holds so many answers for why the world is in its present state - both good and bad. Trying to understand the global state of affairs without it is all but impossible. You can’t reverse-engineer an equation by simply looking at the output. 

One series of insights later and it was time for lunch. It’s Christmas in Japan and that can only mean one thing - Kentucky Fried Chicken. KFC had a big marketing push in the 70’s to make this the go-to meal on Christmas and it’s persisted ever since. When in Rome, do as the Romans.

Our only scheduled activity for the day was a Sake tasting (thanks Divya and Sheel for the recommendation!). The experience was hosted by a Japanese-American who provided many insights on how to pair Sake with both Japanese and foreign cuisines. It was a truly insightful experience about a beverage with a rich history and depth of flavors. He then recommended a nearby “standing sushi” spot. On our tour of the Imperial Palace we learned that sushi was the original “fast food”. New knowledge in the morning turned to dinner in the evening.

We then enjoyed the Christmas decorations around a local mall before packing it in the for the night. We walked over 12 miles, so I was fully prepared to pass out and rectify my sleep schedule to normalcy. Yet here I am the next day, at 3 am, writing this. If history dare repeat, I’ll see you again bright and early tomorrow morning.

Merry Christmas to my fellow Yanks and the rest of the world.