Reminiscing Japan, Food, Trains & Boyz II MenJosh's memoir in one email. Plus free Shochu Tasting
July was the month that as a classical trumpeter, I always used to travel to Japan with The New York Symphonic Ensemble led by Mamorou Takahara. We would go for three to four weeks depending on the year. I did it for eight years and got to travel to almost every prefecture in Japan.
Some of the top freelance performers would go every summer and it always felt exciting to me, to be a 20 something trumpet player, getting paid to play music in a foreign country. THE NYSE was a 30 member ensemble and we all had our quirks and creature comforts when it came to food on the road.
I remember one member would seek out the restaurant called CoCo Curry to try to eat the spiciest curry on the menu (and usually pay for it the next day, ouch), and another member would always look for Ippudo Ramen in every city. I mean. Every City, crazy, right? As a ramen shop owner and enthusiast, even I have my limits. Others were obsessed with how good the quality and flavor of McDonalds, or Macudonarudo, was in Japan. I loved the izakayas, or Japanese Tapas places. But, what I miss most about Japan is the quality of experiences and food in train stations; we are talking French bakeries, ramen, Chinese food, Indian food, sushi, conveyor belt sushi, even British style pubs (maybe that's where our inspiration for our Pub called The Expat came from). And of course don't forget your snack box with a Katsu Sando on the bullet train, to go with a cold Sapporo.
Japanese culture is train centric, similar to the way the United States is car centric. Life and convenience is built around trains. I love that lifestyle, being able to walk and get pretty much everything you need and want within a few hundred feet, is magical. Don't have a clean shirt for the concert? Go to 7-11 and get one for $15. This service, I later learned, was mostly for the business men that drank too much the night before and didn't make it home the previous night. Society, to a gaijin (foreigner) appears clean, orderly and intentional. For the food obsessed person, such as myself, it was an oasis that continues to surprise and delight me every time I visit.
These memories continue to be my inspiration on why we make authentic Japanese food in Washington Heights, even though I know, not everyone has had the same life experience as me. Nana and I hope that getting to eat at Tampopo Ramen or Tampopo Kitchen feels like an escape from daily life, even for a brief moment of time. One slurp of noodle, swig of saké or bite of sushi can be a vacation of the mind at that moment.
Here is a clip I found online from 2009 when the NYSE backed up Boyz II Men for several concerts. It's weird to look back at my life before the restaurant industry. TBH, I remember more about the meals and good times with friends than I remember about the concerts. I guess I chose the right path!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ys0AKxLp7rg
Don't forget, we have our Shochu tasting this Thursday, it's gonna be awesome, we really hope you can come, and feel free to bring a friend. There will be merch and free booze, what more can you ask for?
Josh