Japan (Part one)

Our coveted Tokyo list!

I first traveled to Japan in 2011 with a motley crew of chefs and journalists for Cook It Raw (perhaps a dedicated post about this truly ridiculous trip will happen at a later time).

When I landed in Japan I found myself simultaneously in the most foreign place I’d ever been, and also more understood and at peace than I had been my entire adult life. For as long as I can remember, I have been driven by obsession with excellence, with craft, with mastery. The Japanese have a similar reverence for for hard work and discipline. Mediocrity is not tolerated, no matter how seemingly menial the task. I’ll never forget how the woman collecting our trash on the train was dressed impeccably in a sharp tailored uniform, not a hair out of place. She came down the aisle with a joyful smile, making eye contact and bowing slightly to each person as she stopped in front of them to collect their trash. She clearly took pride in her role and the service she was providing. Giving the smallest tasks dignity and respect may seem inconsequential, but the ripple effect of this can change a society. In Japan, I was flooded with motivation to be a better man and a better chef, to try harder in all things, and do even the most mundane tasks with intention.

Five years later, I returned to Japan for the first time since that trip. I tend to understand cultures best through food and culinary traditions (a must read is Matt Goulding’s Rice Noodle Fish). We arrived in Japan in July 2016 ready to eat. Tony Bourdain had connected Adi and I with Shinji Nohara, the man who had shown him Japan and therefore changed his life. Shinji was hard to get in touch with and only worked on referrals. We felt grateful for the opportunity. I’ll never forget the first time we met him - it was like meeting an old friend. His long hair, crinkly excited eyes and backpack slung over his shoulder were so endearing. It was an instant connection based on a shared understanding and appreciation of all things food. His curiosity and enthusiasm matched our own and together we tore around Tokyo for ten days. In the mornings we would meet Shinji in the lobby and set out on an all-day-into-the-late- night adventure. We zipped around in cabs and trains but mainly explored the city on foot, following Shinji down alleys into nondescript looking buildings and behind curtains that revealed entire worlds on the other side. We laughed until we couldn’t breathe, shared meals that are seared into my memory, and told stories late into the night.

I’ll never forget Shinji anointing me “Sean Broth” as I dove into a third bowl of ramen around 4am one evening.

There are certain moments from my Japan travels that imprinted on me so strongly they have changed my worldview.