Road Trip Diaries

Today I make the unpleasant shift from a diary full of “we” and “us” and “our” to one full of “I”, “me” and “my”.

We woke up, did some final bag organisation, and took a shuttle bus to the airport. Dragging a large suitcase but not wanting to check it in caused some minor confusion, but things worked out OK in the end.

With Debbie’s bag checked, and BA made aware that I would not be using my entitlement to a flight, we went for breakfast. Debbie accompanied her croissant with an iced chocolate drink.

I spotted a vending machine with the coin slot labelled “slit”. Those wacky Japanese and their imperfect grasp of a language spoken half way across the world…

We glumly made our way to the security gate, and I took a photo of Debbie behind the “passengers only” sign, behind which I was not allowed.

We had a little hug, both became a little tearful, retired to a seating area to hang out for a few more minutes, tried again, and soon I was waving as Debbie disappeared down an escalator. I felt sad. It’s a little embarassing: two weeks isn’t that long.

I took a drink from a water fountain, wiped my eyes, and made for the train station. It only goes to show how useless I am without Debbie to look after me, that I forgot to buy food for the train as I’d planned. I sat on some trains, trudged around some stations, and probably around the same time Debbie was taking off, I was checking in at the ANA hotel in Akasaka.

It’s a bit grander that I’ve become used to, and they are extra nice to me because I am a “valued corporate guest”. I’m on the 28th floor (of 36) and the view of the road junction below is rather dizzying.

I mooched around my room for a while. Since I’m here for a while, I even hung up my shirts and put my other clothes in drawers! Still I forgot to eat.

Eventually I pulled myself together and left the hotel in search of a sushi joint to adopt as my regular nosebag. This I did not find. I located the building where I’ll be working tomorrow. I located my local convenience stores (a 7-11 and a Lawsons within easy reach). I walked 20 minutes to Roppongi station without finding what I wanted.

Instead, I ate a nice bowl of ramen in solitude.

Then there was indecision: back to rattle around the hotel room? Or walk aimlessly around Roppongi? I have a desire to see some Tokyoites making loud rock music before this visit is through. I had an idea that the gaijin bars might have flyers I could understand.

I went into an “English pub” called “The Hub” in Roppongi. There were no flyers for music. It was “happy hour”. I bought a pint of their own ale — yes, a pint. Their menu explains what a pint is, for the benefit of Japanese customers. It also explains through the medium of diagrams how the English system of paying for a drink when you buy it works. The beer was nice, but the whole experience was pretty much exactly as much fun as walking into a real English pub alone, drinking a pint, then leaving on your own.

If they had asked me for advice on how to make their English pub more authentic, I would have suggested they play worse music, spend less time cleaning the floor, fixtures and furniture, and have a less interesting menu. The regulars might object, though.

I walked back to the hotel. I’ve a germ of a plan to investigate the 36th floor “Manhattan bar” later on, but it all depends on how proactive I’m feeling. I wish Debbie was here.

At this point, the holiday is over: henceforth I am on a business trip. I don’t quite know whether or how much I’m going to write about it. Let’s see what happens. There are two weekends to consider, after all.

This entry was posted on Thursday, April 12th, 2007 at 11:54 am and is filed under Japan 2007. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.