Tokyo GTG: November 28
 

All Fodorites are invited to the Fodor's Tokyo GetToGether on Sunday evening November 28. Fodor's GTGs are always fun, an opportunity to put faces to names, and a chance to yap about travel and life.

If you'll be in Tokyo, the GTG is probably better than anything else you've got planned; if you don't yet have plans for [U.S.] Thanksgiving Weekend, the GTG is a reason to go to Tokyo, maybe.

A quorum of 2 has already committed to the GTG. We'll be GTGing at 6:00pm at a kaiten-zushi (conveyor belt sushi) joint in Akihabara, convenient from most anywhere in town. If interested, please post here or send mail to rizzuto77 on gmail.

rizz, We will miss you by a few days but best wishes for a great Tokyo GTG. Too bad you'll be a little early for the koyo, just a few days before the peak ;)

Aloha!

please tell us all that you won't show up in that odd outfit you wore in boston???

It's called a YUKATA and if he wore it he would fit right in

This isn't fair. Rizzuto attends the fabulous Boston GTG in October and now gets to go to another GTG a month later in JAPAN! Some people know how to get around.

Anyhow, all jealously aside, hope it's a fun time.

i'll bring the sushi

I won't be wearing a yukata, and most likely won't be wearing daisy dukes with fishnet stockings and platform over-the knee boots either.

don't worry, don will be wearing all of that gear

I can wear a yamalka instead.

Indeed. Space is still available at the Fodor's Tokyo GTG.

(It's right there in the FAQ: "Whenever two or more are gathered, it counts as a GTG.")

rizz, i'm always looking for good sushi places in japan. whats special about this kaiten place in akihabara?

i've found that the price difference between kaiten and regular sushi restaurants are not that advantages. the good thing about kaiten sushi is that you don't need to know what to order, just take the delicious morsel off the belt as it comes rolling by.

often times, i'll see what my neighbors are ordering, and if it looks good, i'll ask the sushi chef to make one for me.

btw, whats the name of the kaiten place, and is it easy to get to?

wish i could be there for the gtg, but my travels are now limited to walks around the block with the dog.

"What goes around comes around"

The place in Akihabara is known to you, Ken -- sushizanmai. Very easy to get to: 8th floor of a big electronics store, right at one of the exits of Akihabara station.

I think kaiten is fun, it's instant gratification, and about the only language skill that you want is <i>{biiru|uni|okanjoo} o onegai shimasu.</i>

ah so, don-san, don't forget sumimasen, and you can replace okanjoo with sumimasen, oaiso kudasai.

seems like you and the group will be having a good time. kampai!

Grazie tanto, ken-san. The most important phrase on this trip will be <i>Tonkatsuya wa doku desu ka?</i>, as I'm on a tonkatsu quest (the quick dabble into sushi notwithstanding).

(Where but Japan would you have a special word for a check in a sushi bar?)

and don't forget, agari, the term for ocha in a sushi restaurant, and since they have murasaki on the counter, you won't have to ask for it, but like the doc said, don't use too much.

i went to the very best tonkatsuya in the roppongi complex, close to the hyatt, but sadly, it closed about a year ago. if i hear of a good one, i will post it here.

paging Thérèse ... paging Thérèse ... ygm

Years ago, we went to a tonkatsu place somewhere in Tokyo that was staffed with mostly Ainu people. It was the first time I'd ever seen tea "faucets", and a coed bathroom (with multiple stalls). Shock value aside, the katsu was fabulous.

Does anyone know if this place still exists, and if so, what is the name??

Toi aussi, rizzuto.

Don have you left home yet? Best of luck with the tonkatsu hunt. We are going on a gyouza hunt this time in Japan and want to try this place either in Osaka or in Harajuku.

http://www.67gyouza.com/

67 Gyouza is owned and operated by Musashimaru, a former yokyzuna in sumo and local boy from Hawaii. I saw this place advertised here on a local station so wanted to give it a try and will report when I get back.

Have fun at your Tokyo GTG and try to carry on with the kuranosuke's Tokyo GTG traditions(ask Ken)and puncture a shoji window if one is around,lol

Aloha!

Leaving on Friday. The gyouza looks fabulous. Something to think about whenever the next trip materializes.

I've targeted two Tonkatsuyas -- Butagumi (http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-b...0070601rs.html) in Tokyo and another joint not too far from the Hyatt in Gora.

Combined with a BBQ quest in Hong Kong, I do not foresee any cholesterol shortages on this trip.