For the Japanese Society of Intensive Care Medicine meeting end of Feb which was well attended. I am in the debt of friend and colleague Dr. Satoru Hashimoto.
High points of the trip:
*There is no substitute for Business Class. But there was actually a “first class” up front of the plane. Better food, better wine, bigger seats. Flight attendant told me it cost US$25,000 to Tokyo.
*The Bullet Train. 200 miles per hour and very first classy.Internet Access. Tokyo to Kyoto in less than four hours. Passes right by Mt. Fuji with a spectacular view. More expensive than the airlines.
*Really great shopping.Ornate lacquer boxes costumed dolls. Real swords that you can’t bring home will literally split hairs
*Huge cavernous markets with all kinds of food. Looks and smells exactly like the ones in Marrakesh, Istanbul and probably many other places.
*Kobe beef. Cows fed beer and massaged daily, like in a bovine singles bar. Consistency of butter. Said to be best only partially cooked, or as my Aussie friend likes it- still mooing and grazing on the side salad. They’ll remember me for a long time as I’m the only guy in the history of the restaurant that ordered mine medium-well. They had no idea what that meant. It was delicious.
If interested, check out my YouTube blurb (remember you can make the size bigger). Japan
In order of appearance:
·Huge cavernous train station in Kyoto situated in the middle of a huge shopping mall.
·The Ginza at night
·Cavernous market with tons of strange looking food (very aromatic)
·The real thing- fresh Fugu (requires special license to prepare as a meal.
·Shopping pleasures
·The large lacquer box is US$12,000
·Assorted temples
·Japanese traditional wedding ceremony. The bride’s head is covered to hide the horns (really)
·Portions of Hiroshima untouched from the atomic blast. Preserved as monument. Very touching.
·Looking over Kyoto
·Mt Fuji from the bullet train at 200 mph.
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