I was in Tokyo this week for the 2016 ISER biennial meeting. It has been 8 years since my last visit there, and I was determined to try something new having already done the touristy stuff. Making reservations was no easy task, however, with language barriers and opposite time zones that necessitated multiple email exchanges with my hotel and an online concierge. I left Sunday morning, and after a muggy layover in Honolulu with bland ramen, landed in Narita Monday afternoon. The hotel was tiny, but perfectly located a block from the meeting venue and a quick walk to Shinjuku station. For dinner, I waited in line at Udon Shin to squeeze in for a hearty bowl with parmesan, butter, and tempura ham, then checked out the bustling scene in Shibuya. Jet-lagged, I got little sleep before attending the conference next morning. For lunch, I had reservations at Sushi-ya in Ginza, but the place was so hidden in an alleyway that it took 30 minutes of getting lost before I enlisted a nearby coffee shop hostess to help me find it. The meal was worth the trouble, however, as Chef Ishiyama, who trained at Michelin-starred Sushi Saito and Kanesaka, prepared an amazing 14-piece lunch set with hamachi, chutoro, otoro, bonito, ika, botan ebi, kohada, ikura, kinmedai, shiro ebi, kanpyou, Hokkaido uni, hamaguri, unagi, and tamago. Every piece was meticulously assembled by the chef himself, despite my belated arrival and off-set preparation of my pieces. After presenting my poster, I went for dinner at Sumibiyakiniku Nakahara. Here, I sat at the counter as the chefs grilled each slice of meat individually before me, with 3 divine cuts of the “legendary” wagyu tongue, followed by the 7-piece omakase course including sirloin, outside skirt, misuji, zabuton, rump, katahana, and kata-sankaku. The size and sequence of each cut were perfectly calibrated, and they even comped a few extra pieces at the end. I returned to the hotel afterwards to bask in utter ecstasy. On Wednesday, I met my old PI for a massive breakfast buffet prior to the meeting. Lunch was at Le Sputnik, but I again got lost from my outdated map app requiring more assistance, this time from the Ritz-Carlton concierge. When I finally arrived, I learned that my reservation was not until the next day. So I spent the next hour wandering Roppongi to locate a ramen shop that I had researched, which again was mislabeled on the app and nowhere to be found. Sweaty, hungry, and frustrated, I returned to Shinjuku where a bowl of tsukemen from Fuunji made me feel better. Exhausted, I napped all afternoon and awoke feeling reinvigorated. A late-night bowl of yummy fish-based ramen at Nagi Golden Gai helped fuel me as I walked through Kabukicho and squeezed past Chinese shoppers at Don Quixote. I stayed up all night but could not keep my eyes open back at the meeting on Thursday. Instead, I checked out and dragged my luggage back to Le Sputnik. Here, Chef Yujiro Takahashi’s 9-course tasting lunch menu certainly earned its Michelin-starred status, with highlights like a divine mushroom sorbet with poached egg yolk, a seared foie gras with orange compote and espresso jelly, and a juicy Hokkaido venison with red wine jus reduction that transcends the game meat genre. Before I left, I inquired about their fine glassware, and was directed to a glass shop in Ebisu which unfortunately did not stock the Kimura tumblers I wanted. I got to Narita early to take advantage of my new Priority Pass membership and enjoyed the amenities at the KAL lounge before my flight home. My visit to Tokyo showed me a different side of the city, and left me with a sense of longing for the beauty, energy, and unique culture of the city.