Food and Drink

Much is made of Japan’s high-tech cities and the nation’s love of gadgets, but an awful lot of day-to-day life remains stuck very much in the past. And nowhere is this more apparent than in the home. A place where very often even basics along the lines of insulation and double glazing are inventions to be merely marvelled at, than actually made use of.

Such uncomfortable omissions, particularly in older houses and apartments, making the whole experience somewhat akin to camping — only colder. And yet even such inadequacies don’t come close to a lack of roofing or walls.

Although to be fair, there is running water. Lots of it too.

At the weekend, Ginza’s pedestrianised main street allows visitors to enjoy something of a rarity in Tokyo — space. A welcome move that makes the area ideal for parents, possible pets, and far less frequently, picnics.

The double whammy of Japan’s ageing and shrinking population will produce all manner of problems in the coming years; issues that the nation’s numerous Prime Ministers will almost laughably fail to deal with. A feat they are already achieving with the likes of poverty and the faltering economy.

So ahead of an election that is destined to change nothing for the better, and a birthrate that shows no sign of booming, it’s especially nice to see a young family enjoying the simple pleasures that life in the capital conjures up.

There’s only one problem with having a seemingly infinite number of bars and eateries to choose from; namely which one will it be tonight?

Due to its highly toxic nature, Fugu (or pufferfish) has become one of Japan’s most infamous and well known delicacies. A danger that in many ways isn’t exaggerated either, as 23 people have died after eating it in the last decade or so.

What isn’t recorded, however, is that fugu die too. Sometimes in lonely, but also very public, places.