My post about the sushi restaurant in Tokyo where Barack Obama and Shinzo Abe had a dinner last night. Sukiyabashi Jiro is one of the best sushi restaurants in Tokyo and,without any question, the most famous in the world thanks to the documentary Jiro Dreams of Sushi. According to the Wall Street Journal, the two heads of state had a presidential treatment as their dinner lasted for one and a half hour, 3 times longer than a meal normally lasts at Sukiyabashi Jiro. ( Most of the ” regular” people are out after 25-30 min…) Those who have ever been eating out in Tokyo might know the difference between “Sukiyabashi Jiro Ginza” (Tsukamoto Sogyo Building, B1F. 4-2-15, Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo ,tel. 03-3535-3600), 3 Michelin stars  and “Sukiyabashi Jiro Roppongi” (2*). You can quite easily get a booking at the latter, while if you are gaijin, a  foreigner who doesn’t speak Japanese, you have little chance of getting a reservation at Sukiyabashi Jiro Ginza. And you shouldn’t even try walking in as  you will be most likely turned away.

If you do want to eat sushi made by the hands of the “Japan’s living national treasure”, 86 year old sushi master Jiro Ono , you must speak Japanese or be accompanied by a fluent Japanese speaker. Claims of rude service and even foreigners discrimination at Sukiyabashi Jiro Ginza have been surfacing on the internet. Therefore i was a little nervous before going there, especially that the night before i read about  Andy Hayler’s  unfortunate experience. best buy jiro dreams of sushiIn fact, I was treated really nice and  it was one of my best sushi experiences in Tokyo ever.jual sushi online di jakarta But first of all, how i got the reservation. sushi manga onlineThe lunch for one was reserved by my Japanese friend. order sushi zurich

As i understood, the biggest Sukiyabashi Jiro reservation person concern was that i might not show up.( Let’s be fair, this happens in Europe or the US, people just don’t bother to cancel their bookings.) Once my friend guaranteed via her company that the cost of the lunch (31 500 Yen, the same price as dinner ) would be covered anyway, i got the confirmation. Back to the basement next door to the Gap store in Ginza. When i entered the tiny, only ten places restaurant i was greeted by a lady ( who took my coat) and one of  the Jiro Ono’s  assistants. I was expecting icy expressions on everybody’s face, but that was not the case. The lady greeted me with a smile, so as the first assistant of Jiro Ono  and Ono’s son Yoshikazu Ono. The first thing the assistant asked me was if there was something i don’t eat. I don’t  eat eel,  i said in my poor Japanese. Almost immediately after i got my first sushi (which i will describe later in this post).  The intervals between each sushi piece were very short, 20 sushi meal took about half an hour.

( According to the Michelin Tokyo  guide ” one shouldn’t be surprised to be finished within 30 minutes”). Jiro Ono’s work discipline is incredible, once he is behind the counter, he operates like a  Swiss watch. At one point, the son of Jiro Ono asked me where i was from. I said that i am originally from Lithuania. “So you must speak Russian, then”, – he answered in Russian. Suddenly the communication got a lot easier as i do speak Russian a little bit. And Yoshikazu Ono san , and Jiro Ono san were relaxed, pleasant and eager to chat. They didn’t seem to be  bothered at all about my basic Japanese or about me taking pictures of the sushi. Jiro Ono san even tried to place sushi in a way so it  looks more flattering in front of the camera. Without any hesitation he agreed to take pictures together and before leaving personally gave me the little menu with all the fish i had. Speaking of the sushi, one thing that struck me was the sourness of the rice; it was much more vinegared than at other top Tokyo sushi restaurants I’ve been.

The fish quality was amazing and I did eat the eel nigiri after all. Jiro san insisted i should try it and I just couldn’t say no to the legendary sushi master.( Actually i find eel very tasty, i don’t eat it purely because of psychological reasons.) Lunch at Sukiyabashi Jiro Ginza was a lifetime experience and i can’t wait to see  “Jiro dreams of sushi” ,a documentary about the man who has been making sushi since he was nine yet never ceases to search for perfection.   Big Bang has Made a comeback of sorts with three new songs [Review] K-pop heaven: who won what at the 2016 Mnet Asian Music Awards? SOTY 2015: Advice from performing artists on winning Student of the Year K-pop extravaganza at Hong Kong’s AsiaWorld-Expo as Mnet Asian Music Awards gear up for their 5th year SOTY 2015: Visual Artist winner was inspired by the Umbrella Revolution Ron Howard’s The Beatles: Eight Days A Week - The Touring Years takes us back to the glory years of Beatlemania [Review]

Against the Current came back to Hong Kong and delivered a fun but slack show Esports and League of Legends champ, Toyz, in messy breakup with Hong Kong Esports Lam Tai Fai College's "Dream Painter" fashion show saw student designers combine 3D printing with customised fabrics and patterns Tegan and Sara discuss travelling, their music and how much they love Hong KongA new year offers an opportunity to reflect about our accomplishments, and to think about the year ahead. One of my Christmas gifts this s year is a copy of Jim Korkis’s new book, Walt’s Words: Quotations of Walt Disney with Sources! I’ve had other Disney-produced publications that shared any number of quotations by … Continuous
 
improvement in customer service is
 an important part 
of perfecting an
 organization. This
 was played out
 with employees
 at the Rose &
 Crown. Cast Members were 
introduced to a 
continuous improvement cycle and as a team discussed what implications there were in this type of process.

In empowering cast members to identify opportunities to improve … Bob Iger: Showman of the Year Congratulations to Bob Iger, who has just been named Variety’s Showman of the Year. Variety did the kind of interview I would want to have with Bob Iger. It covered important issues that needed addressing. I strongly encourage studying all of it. As CEO of The Walt Disney Company, Bob … My niece Laura is visiting Shanghai Disneyland soon. She asked for suggestions. While this site is not so much about vacation planning, the experience is so unique, I thought it might be well to share some thoughts about how to really enjoy the experience. I make the assumption that the reader has not only visited … A 45 Year Old Gem: The Walt Disney World Monorail As Walt Disney World celebrates its 45th anniversary this year, so does its legendary monorail system. The thread of the “Vacation Kingdom” was and in many ways still is the monorail system. It was usually the first “wow” guests had when they visited this East coast version of …

One of the things that makes Disney special is that they create Magical Moments and Take 5’s for their Guests. Let me share an example of what that looks like. Our son struggles with autism, but that doesn’t stop him from loving Bailey from Finding Dory. When we are over at the Disney Parks, he lines … In our previous post, we had a chance to take a look at the retail magic found in Shanghai Disneyland. We had a chance to move up the right side of Mickey Avenue, head over to Treasure Cove, and then continue counter-clockwise around to Fantasyland. Today we’re going to continue that direction, finishing out Fantasyland, move … Most who have visited Shanghai Disneyland have referenced the wealth of thematic detail played out throughout the park. Every Disney park has so many details within, many of which are found in the attractions and in the general park ambience. But much of it can be found in the retail areas. And that’s especially true here … Today was the Walt Disney World 45th anniversary.