Once again full and (this time more than) a little buzzed, we stumble back through the market. Our destination is Ueno Onshi park which we’re told is the Central Park of Tokyo, complete with a zoo, museums, walking paths, and an ancient shrine which we take in. It doesn’t disappoint, and we spend a few hours just looking around.

 

Inspired by a notebook David had, one of Brian’s business cards that Asya found in her wallet (and probably the beers we had just consumed), we decided to do our own Tokyo version of Humans of New York. Extremely out of character, Asya chickens out and we decide to postpone this for another time. While we didn’t end up interviewing anyone, we did observe interesting characters, fashions, and interactions of the diverse crowd.

 

By this time it’s getting dark and we have a sushi-making class starting in two hours (scheduled through Airbnb Experiences). The class is in Nippori, a 30 minute walk away, so we decide to explore on foot. Once we leave the park the area is very residential. We don’t see any other foreigners or many open businesses, but wander the small streets and alleys in search of coffee, going in the general direction of Nippori. We stumble upon a tiny Italian restaurant advertising pizza and wine and sit near the kitchen. The menu is all in Japanese with no pictures. A young woman, one of two other customers in the restaurant, sees us struggling and leans over to help, translating for us. She is a consultant who does business in the US and coincidentally used to live in DC so we spark up a conversation. As a neighbor of the spot, she was impressed that we found this restaurant. We order espresso, a small snack of pate, and wine (why not). We ask the chef & owner where he learned Italian cooking and if he’s spent time in Italy. He hasn’t, but says that Italian and French cuisines are quite popular in Tokyo and he worked at a big Italian restaurant downtown for several years before opening his own.

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Sushi take 2

 

On to our next experience – we walk the rest of the way to Nippori, stopping at a couple shops, and meet our local instructor/guide Tomok at the subway station. She’s surprised to see us walk into the station, as most of her guests arrive directly by subway. Tomok takes us on a tour of the local neighborhood, retracing our steps a little, but this time she points out interesting and historical things that we didn’t notice. She grew up here but lived abroad for a few years before moving back. We make our way to her kitchen and home.

 

We learn more about Tomok’s story as she pours tea and prepares the ingredients, with (minimal) help from us. She says that the traditional Japanese life is not for her, much to the dismay of her parents. Fine for her sister, who is happily married and has never left Tokyo, but somehow not enough for Tomok. She worked for years to learn her craft, studying and working at sushi restaurants across Tokyo. She tells us about the long days, inflexible schedule, and (worst of all) lack of creativity in this work. After doing this for 7 years she was burnt out. She also didn’t climb the ladder while others with the same skills did, which she attributes to being a woman in a male-dominated profession. All of this drove her to France, where she tried to make it as a chef in Marseilles.

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She found lots of opportunities in France, where sushi is popular. She loved some aspects of life there, but ultimately missed home. She says that the dangers of living in Europe (especially terrorist attacks and violence crime, both of which are unheard of in Japan) are what made her return home. But she couldn’t go back to working in someone else’s restaurant.