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A colleague took me to Tamahide restaurant in Tokyo, which opened in 1760 and is known for creating oyakodon, a chicken and egg rice bowl. (Oyakadon translates

by agar 6y ago

A colleague took me to Tamahide restaurant in Tokyo, which opened in 1760 and is known for creating oyakodon, a chicken and egg rice bowl. (Oyakadon translates to "parent and child donburi" which somehow makes eating a combination of chicken and egg a little less appealing). Looking at reviews today, people apparently see the food as a mixed bag - some are clearly disappointed. In my opinion, it was excellent, with the signature dish having balanced flavors that seem to have been refined for generations. I found it endlessly fascinating that a humble lunch place with a simple dish could survive for 250+ years - but it also makes perfect sense that simple things last. My colleague (a local in our Japan office) told me that emperors of old had ordered the dish to be delivered to them, well before Japan had even been "opened" to the world. Perhaps the stories were apocryphal (he was a sales guy after all), but still entertaining and gave a sense of the history behind the meal. Tokyo is an amazing city, though it can be very lonely for an expat.

herodoturtle 6y ago
This was really cool to read, thanks for sharing. I had a similar experience in Greece, where some locals recommended an out of town Gyro shop ("Gyro" is a popular Greek dish, simply put, it's your choice of meat, wrapped or stuffed in a pita, along with ingredients such as tomato, onion, and tzatziki sauce). At a measly 2 euros, it was vastly cheaper than the Gyro shops dotted around the popular hot-spots of the island. And yet it had been open for a very long time indeed.
echelon 6y ago
> Tokyo is an amazing city, though it can be very lonely for an expat. Could you expand upon this? I've been thinking of moving there for a year or two to focus on my language skills and work on my startup. I spent a lot of time in Obihiro, Hokkaido in my late teens and had a blast hanging out at the university. Everyone was super friendly. When I traveled to even more remote towns like Hobetsu / Mukawa, Makubetsu, Ashoro, and Honbetsu, the children would run up to meet me and want to take photos. (They don't see foreigners often.) I never spent much time in Tokyo, but I did spend a lot of time in Shanghai, Changsha, and other big Chinese cities and almost want to consider that a proxy. Why is Tokyo lonely? Is it this city in particular? Is it a certain age range? Post-college and into adulthood does it become lonelier? Also, what's the startup scene like in Tokyo? I'm considering something a few steps beyond VTuber streaming and think Japan would be a great environment to pull talent from.
- porknubbins 6y ago
  I’ve lived in Tokyo a few times and didn’t feel it was especially lonely for a big city. Or rather it has the potential to be as cold and lonely as any other big city if you just work and go home and don’t meet people. In some ways its easier to meet other expats because you have outsider status in common, though as some of them inevitably move I suppose it could get lonelier.
  - agar 6y ago
    This is very true. Connecting with other expats is easy and fun, and I spent plenty a night in the "gaijin ghetto." I'm not sure that that would scale for a multi-year stay though; like you say, it's a pretty transient crowd.
- psychomugs 6y ago
  I only lived in Tokyo for a few months, but I felt like there was a lingering loneliness paradoxically exacerbated by the high population density. Growing up around Southern hospitality set a high bar, but even compared to less friendly parts of the States, it was hard to strike up random conversations that were deeper than anything superficial. It's a hard culture to break into if you're obviously a foreigner because of the high language barrier, and you start seeing the same faces in the expat circles after a while. Still a great city where I made a lot of deep connections, and I wouldn't pass up an opportunity to park myself there for a few years.
  - x3iv130f 6y ago
    Tokyo has a reputation for being cold even to Japanese people from other prefectures. Osaka was more fun and friendly.
    - psychomugs 6y ago
      Definitely, even my Tokyo-native friends dislike the mind-your-own-business and fake-nice mentalities.
- 6y ago
smukherjee19 6y ago
Living in greater Tokyo for the past 5 years, can speak the language fluently. Added the Tamahide restaurant to visit sometime, thanks! The biggest thing I've felt since moving here: whether or not you can speak and interact in Japanese makes a world of difference. Seriously. I have interacted with expats who have not studied any inkling of Japanese, nor have tried any kind of interactions apart from other expats, and it felt their life was so bland. For example, they'd struggle to order anything except at big chain restaurants that have English menus, so that small alleyway restaurant that serves super nice ramen? Or that washoku (Japanese food) restaurant that's famous for its signature dish in Japanese? Very hard. And that's without all the intricacies of interacting with Japanese people (beyond asking for directions where people are very helpful). Boy, that's a rollercoaster ride. Sometimes you strike up conversations with people so easily because you can speak the language. Sometimes you get hurt because of differences in ways of thinking. Sometimes you try to put yourself in a Japanese person's shoes and try to understand what they're thinking. To me, it's been one of the most fun parts so far. And I feel much more welcome. For example, the bento (packed lunch) shop run by a family where I buy a takeout from once a week? They know my name and can tell my voice when I call to order a bento. I ask them how's life and they do as well as we chitchat while visiting their shop. I leave the shop with both of us saying "Thanks as always!". These small things do make a difference when you're living thousands of miles away from your home country. I'm not complaining that there should be more English stuff in general; I feel people are trying to improve the situation. Nor that I'm saying not knowing Japanese will make your life hell; it won't. But, it will be bland. Especially if you happen to end up at a local town in rural Japan. That has its own charm points but you'd miss out most of them. TLDR: Speaking from experience, if you ever plan to stay long-term in Japan, learn Japanese. I'm sure you won't regret it. (Sorry for the long rant.)
- sriram_sun 6y ago
  Rants are by definition long right :)? It was a good one and I enjoyed it! Thanks.
  - smukherjee19 6y ago
    Thank you! Actually, I realized this after writing out the whole thing but that sorry for the long rant is kind of like a good manners thing in Japanese internets. If you look up "長文失礼しました。", which literally means "Excuse me for the long writeup", it's usually appended to say a comment in a blog, or sometimes at the end of a Tweet when the speaker felt what they said is a bit on the longer side. I somehow ended up picking up that habit somewhere down the line it seems. :)
throwawaysea 6y ago
Great video about Oyako Don at Tamahide: https://youtu.be/Q2QCvORjBYk https://youtu.be/Q2QCvORjBYk
drak0n1c 6y ago
Oyakodon is one of the blandest dishes in Japanese cuisine (typically made with no sauces or spices - or just a tiny dash of shichimi), so I'm not surprised foreign travelers found it disappointing. Growing up with the context of the dish helps - and so does a sensitive tongue!
- ksec 6y ago
  This, and the way Japanese taste sushi and sashimi is very different to most foreigners. So when locals tell you a restaurant is good, it is importune to note this is in the context of the local traditions.

by agar 6y ago

herodoturtle 6y ago

This was really cool to read, thanks for sharing. I had a similar experience in Greece, where some locals recommended an out of town Gyro shop ("Gyro" is a popular Greek dish, simply put, it's your choice of meat, wrapped or stuffed in a pita, along with ingredients such as tomato, onion, and tzatziki sauce). At a measly 2 euros, it was vastly cheaper than the Gyro shops dotted around the popular hot-spots of the island. And yet it had been open for a very long time indeed.

echelon 6y ago

> Tokyo is an amazing city, though it can be very lonely for an expat. Could you expand upon this? I've been thinking of moving there for a year or two to focus on my language skills and work on my startup. I spent a lot of time in Obihiro, Hokkaido in my late teens and had a blast hanging out at the university. Everyone was super friendly. When I traveled to even more remote towns like Hobetsu / Mukawa, Makubetsu, Ashoro, and Honbetsu, the children would run up to meet me and want to take photos. (They don't see foreigners often.) I never spent much time in Tokyo, but I did spend a lot of time in Shanghai, Changsha, and other big Chinese cities and almost want to consider that a proxy. Why is Tokyo lonely? Is it this city in particular? Is it a certain age range? Post-college and into adulthood does it become lonelier? Also, what's the startup scene like in Tokyo? I'm considering something a few steps beyond VTuber streaming and think Japan would be a great environment to pull talent from.

porknubbins 6y ago
I’ve lived in Tokyo a few times and didn’t feel it was especially lonely for a big city. Or rather it has the potential to be as cold and lonely as any other big city if you just work and go home and don’t meet people. In some ways its easier to meet other expats because you have outsider status in common, though as some of them inevitably move I suppose it could get lonelier.
- agar 6y ago
  This is very true. Connecting with other expats is easy and fun, and I spent plenty a night in the "gaijin ghetto." I'm not sure that that would scale for a multi-year stay though; like you say, it's a pretty transient crowd.
psychomugs 6y ago
I only lived in Tokyo for a few months, but I felt like there was a lingering loneliness paradoxically exacerbated by the high population density. Growing up around Southern hospitality set a high bar, but even compared to less friendly parts of the States, it was hard to strike up random conversations that were deeper than anything superficial. It's a hard culture to break into if you're obviously a foreigner because of the high language barrier, and you start seeing the same faces in the expat circles after a while. Still a great city where I made a lot of deep connections, and I wouldn't pass up an opportunity to park myself there for a few years.
- x3iv130f 6y ago
  Tokyo has a reputation for being cold even to Japanese people from other prefectures. Osaka was more fun and friendly.
  - psychomugs 6y ago
    Definitely, even my Tokyo-native friends dislike the mind-your-own-business and fake-nice mentalities.
6y ago

smukherjee19 6y ago

Living in greater Tokyo for the past 5 years, can speak the language fluently. Added the Tamahide restaurant to visit sometime, thanks! The biggest thing I've felt since moving here: whether or not you can speak and interact in Japanese makes a world of difference. Seriously. I have interacted with expats who have not studied any inkling of Japanese, nor have tried any kind of interactions apart from other expats, and it felt their life was so bland. For example, they'd struggle to order anything except at big chain restaurants that have English menus, so that small alleyway restaurant that serves super nice ramen? Or that washoku (Japanese food) restaurant that's famous for its signature dish in Japanese? Very hard. And that's without all the intricacies of interacting with Japanese people (beyond asking for directions where people are very helpful). Boy, that's a rollercoaster ride. Sometimes you strike up conversations with people so easily because you can speak the language. Sometimes you get hurt because of differences in ways of thinking. Sometimes you try to put yourself in a Japanese person's shoes and try to understand what they're thinking. To me, it's been one of the most fun parts so far. And I feel much more welcome. For example, the bento (packed lunch) shop run by a family where I buy a takeout from once a week? They know my name and can tell my voice when I call to order a bento. I ask them how's life and they do as well as we chitchat while visiting their shop. I leave the shop with both of us saying "Thanks as always!". These small things do make a difference when you're living thousands of miles away from your home country. I'm not complaining that there should be more English stuff in general; I feel people are trying to improve the situation. Nor that I'm saying not knowing Japanese will make your life hell; it won't. But, it will be bland. Especially if you happen to end up at a local town in rural Japan. That has its own charm points but you'd miss out most of them. TLDR: Speaking from experience, if you ever plan to stay long-term in Japan, learn Japanese. I'm sure you won't regret it. (Sorry for the long rant.)

sriram_sun 6y ago
Rants are by definition long right :)? It was a good one and I enjoyed it! Thanks.
- smukherjee19 6y ago
  Thank you! Actually, I realized this after writing out the whole thing but that sorry for the long rant is kind of like a good manners thing in Japanese internets. If you look up "長文失礼しました。", which literally means "Excuse me for the long writeup", it's usually appended to say a comment in a blog, or sometimes at the end of a Tweet when the speaker felt what they said is a bit on the longer side. I somehow ended up picking up that habit somewhere down the line it seems. :)

throwawaysea 6y ago

Great video about Oyako Don at Tamahide: https://youtu.be/Q2QCvORjBYk https://youtu.be/Q2QCvORjBYk

drak0n1c 6y ago

Oyakodon is one of the blandest dishes in Japanese cuisine (typically made with no sauces or spices - or just a tiny dash of shichimi), so I'm not surprised foreign travelers found it disappointing. Growing up with the context of the dish helps - and so does a sensitive tongue!

ksec 6y ago
This, and the way Japanese taste sushi and sashimi is very different to most foreigners. So when locals tell you a restaurant is good, it is importune to note this is in the context of the local traditions.