First Night In Tokyo

After coming up to my room and taking pictures of the spectacular view of Tokyo, I fell on my bed and was out for the count.  I awoke to a gentlemen knocking on my door.  I opened the door to find my delivered luggage (conveniently our bags were picked up by JFMF staff and delivered to the hotel).  Though many participants went to bed for the night, JFMF had arranged for either a former "Fulbrighter" or local college students to take us out for our first dinner in Tokyo.  It was hard to force myself to leave the hotel room in my somewhat jet-lagged state, but I'm so glad I did.

We were broken into small groups when we arrived to meet the volunteers downstairs.  My group of 6 JFMFers were introduced to two young ladies- Hiromi and Michiko, third year students at an all girls university in Tokyo.  After some chit chat, they led us through the

vibrant streets of Tokyo where we heard the word gaijin (foreigner) a few times.  It was so interesting to walk through the streets and see the culture.  We arrived at a restaurant called Gyu-Kaku which I was told translates into "Beef Corner."  We were escorted to a table in the back of the small restaurant and removed our shoes before stepping into the seating area (an important Japanese custom with which I predict will become very familiar before the end of this trip!).  I immediately noticed that there were holes in the middle of the table--I asked Hirosmi why and she responded that it's Japanese BBQ- guests order raw meat and cook it at the table over a grill of hot charcoal that servers provide.  I was so excited!  My brother-in-law told me I had to try a place like this based on his experience in Tokyo and I was able to do it on my first night! I was in for a little more than I bargained for, however...

Hiromi and Michiko ordered for us and to our unassuming-American surprise, we were       brought a plate of raw cows' tongues- "the best part of the cow- oishii (delicious)!" as Hiromi told us.  Though it looked like a thin piece of flank steak after is was grilled (and yes, I did politely try it!), I couldn't stomach a whole piece.  Plates and plates of raw meat kept appearing at our table, but I opted for a seafood (octopus and mussel), seaweed, and rice soup.   It was quite a first meal in Tokyo (and a memorable birthday dinner at that!).  We walked back to the hotel through the bustling streets of Tokyo, exchanged email addresses with our new friends, and said (as I just learned), Mata aimasho which is always said in parting and means "We shall meet again." 

 Hiromi spent time in Boston and is planning

to come to the States again in the near future. Therefore I hope to someday meet, but maybe not "meat," with my friends again.