tokyo

Tokyo: A Shrine to Sushi

SushiBarYasuda

[trip style = food + wine + luxury + urban]

It's rare {get it?} for us to feature one restaurant, let alone an eight-seat sushi bar in a city where the seaweed-wrapped staple is peddled everywhere from conveyer belts to vending machines. Yet, when a chef enchants you beyond your taste buds {and you wish he would become your BFF-slash-personal cook}, you have tell the story. This is the case with Chef Yasuda, the one-man-show behind Sushi Bar Yasuda in Tokyo.

YasudaChef

When I was in Japan's most major metro two months ago, I saved myself for Yasuda. Sure, I'd heard of the Michelin-famed Jiro and his equally talented son Takashi, two gents at the helm of Tokyo's most "es-steamed" chefs, but I felt more drawn to Yasuda's approach, choosing to run a small, side-street bar in an effort to semi-retire and focus on the joy of his craft.   

"Tonight, I can make 48 different kids of sushi for you" he tells me when I walk in. "Perfect, we'll go with the omakase menu", meaning 'chef's pick', I tell him {about USD$150 per person}. Who am I to argue with a man whose restaurant is booked weeks in advance, year-round? 

YasudaMakingSushi

Believing so deeply that much of the world's sushi is done wrongmany sushi chef hopefuls in Japan are placed on rice duty for six-to-seven years before they graduate to cutting fishhe asks every patron "what fish do you hate?" Both Mr. Trip Styler and another sushi groupie at the bar, say "sea urchin." Yasuda's eyes sparkle and he replies, "great, I'll make you a few pieces of sea urchin sushi" intent on demonstrating that when fish is picked and aged rightfresh isn't always best in the sea of sushithe haters become lovers.   

While Yasuda could have a fancy high street address and a whole team of apprentice chefs dedicated to his teachings, he chooses the simple life. He alone makes trips to the fish market; he alone ages the fish; he alone serves interpretative menus for patrons {with this help of his wife in the front-of-house}.

Dining under Yasuda’s wing is an exercise in stomach stretching and in-depth sushi education. “There are 12,000 types of seaweed in the world, and I use the best in my sushi” he tells me as we’re discussing my meal. Upon further probing I learn he is the only chef in Japan to even attempt use this type of seaweed. {Most shy away from it due to its ultra-finicky and fragile composition.} 

SushiYasudaTripStyler

I’m now hookedon the conversation and my radish-spout handrolland can’t stop asking questions between bites. I glean chef brews his own soy sauce and concocts his own miso soup. He then tells the guy beside me {who basically traveled to Japan to eat at Yasuda} where to find the best sushi knife in Japan. When you've reached the top of your game, why not share your secrets? 

As if the evening couldn’t get any more interesting, it turns out, the famed rice-and-fish aficionado is buddies with Anthony Bourdain (appearing on the 2013 episode of Parts Unknown: Tokyo), a friendship forged when Yasuda wowed this side of the Pacific at one of New York's most famous sushi restaurants. {Apparently, I was sitting in the same seat as "Tony" when he dined at the restaurant in for the show.}

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As the night drew to a close and my appetite alerted me there was no wheelbarrow service to roll me to my hotel, I asked chef if I could take his photo. Instead of standing with his old-faithful sushi knife and a choice cut of fish, he opted for another pose: a Popeye-style bicep flex showing off his massive pipesseemingly not developed from moulding rice into rolls. Between visits to the fish market and soy sauce brewing, the 54-year-old works out with the gusto of an athlete half his age, and can karate chop like an olympic medalist. And yet, his burly hands craft sushi with the gentle touch of a geisha. 

Related
A Tokyo Coffee Crawl

48 Hours in Tokyo {my article in the Expedia Viewfinder}

[photos by @tripstyler]
 

Tokyo

[trip style = urban]

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When faced with a 10-hour layover in Japan what do you do? Last week, I found out.

The tired part and studious of me---that had just flown through the night from Bangkok---wanted to nap in the JAL Lounge relaxation room, then get a head start on writing. The traveler in me wanted to forget the dizziness, head bobbing and stomach ache associated with zero sleep, and explore a new city, especially one as COOL as Tokyo! The traveler prevailed.

Six Hours In Tokyo {The stars definitely aligned, the day was perfect: sunny and 17 degrees C with a slight breeze!}

{Central Tokyo, near Shibuya---a popular shopping and entertainment district.}

{Karaoke!}

{Bikes 'n blossoms. So lucky to be in Tokyo during Hanami---aka flower or cherry blossom viewing.}

{Entrance to Meiji Shrine, near Harajuku!}

{Located inside an urban park, sake art on the path leading into the Meiji Shrine.}

{Asakusa Shrine.}

{Bikes are locked from the back, apparently it's illegal to lock your bike to something in Japan.}

{Lanterns and the Tokyo Sky Tree, aka tallest tower in the world at 2,080 ft high.}

{Narita Airport Express. Takes approximately 50 mins from the airport into central Tokyo and costs $30 one-way or $71 return including a $19 Suica train/subway card.}

More IMG_FRI JAL Business Class A Cinque Terre Adventure Conquering Phoenix’s Camelback Mountain Arizona Spring Training Baseball Tipping Etiquette Infographic Portlandia Honolulu

[photos by @tripstyler]

Fashion Friday :: Global Style

[trip style = urban]

Fashion Friday posts are published on the last Friday of every month and written by fashion blogger Heather.

There's a reason "tacky tourist" is a popular Halloween costume - throw a coin on your next vacation and you'll probably hit one. It's fun to make fun of tourists in their Merrells and money belts, but tourists can also provide inspiration, or rather anti-inspiration. Similar to how I like to "live like the locals" when I visit a new city, I also like to dress like them. And these days, if you want to know how the stylish locals of the world present themselves, you have to consult street style websites. Whether you're looking for the sartorial flavour of your next destination, or you're just looking for inspiration, let's "peep" at the international style featured on Street Peeper {one of our globetrotting editor's favourite sites}.

More Fashion Friday
Romantic Caribbean

Shoulder Season
Cabin Fever
Buoy Oh Buoy

[Photos by Street Peeper, collages by Heather]