Winter in Tokyo

MANILA, Philippines - Tokyo is one of our favorite cities in the world. In fact, my wife Happee and I shortlisted the name “Tokio” as one of two names we are considering for our baby girl who will be born in a couple of months.

We have visited Tokyo on many occasions through the years – as a cavorting couple surreptitiously escaping all-too-small-and-stuffy Manila; as a newly married and yet childfree couple on a shopping crusade; and as a family caravan with seven-month-old baby Winter as well as the parent and parents-in-law and siblings plus nephew.

Tokyo has many memories for us. All of them jewels with their own special sheen.

But after our last Tokyo chapter, we vowed that once we return, we would do Tokyo our family way, which would mean ample accommodations (most importantly a yaya; and a very limited family caravan – just my mother (who hibernates in her room, in general).

Last year, we knew that we would have a very busy and possibly gruelling first half of 2017, wherein we would have EXO and BTS, the world’s two biggest KPOP groups, holding arena size shows for a total of 4 days – each of them completely sold out – as well as the 17th installment of our annual metal festival with living legends MEGADETH as headliner.

So we planned to take a hiatus immediately following this whirlwind of activity.

But we knew we didn’t want to travel too far with our now three-year-old son Winter, whose growing awareness of the world around us has made it a little more difficult to manage on long haul flights. So Tokyo was an obvious choice for us. Three-and-a-half hours… and hold your breath.

Thankfully, we found the ANA InterContinental Hotel in Akasaka, which is very close to Roppongi, Ginza and Shibuya.

It may not be ideal for highly mobile young travellers who want to step out into the great morass of intense Tokyo nightlife but for a little family that is looking for a more sedate spacious Tokyo experience, we are sure you could not do better unless you want to chance an Air B ’n B.

We, however, were not willing to take any chances.

We wanted a spacious suite; a gold standard in hotel reputation; and 100 percent top-level service. We needed a vacation, not an adventure.

We took the corner suite with Winter and yaya, which was a 65-square-meter area divided into a living area, the master’s bedroom and bathroom. Anyone that has been to Tokyo knows that a 65-sqm. hotel room in this city is virtually palatial. We got my mom her own room. So our family space was sufficient. Winter had a decent play space. And after the massive amounts of shopping returned after daily expeditions into the city, we had sufficient packing room for filling boxes for shipping.

Getting in and out of the hotel is a breeze. You can exit on the ground floor and take a walk to Wolfgang Puck’s Pizza which is at the foot of Ark Hills; or turn the corner and enjoy an amazing little yakitori experience. This became one of our favorite spots as we stayed for almost two weeks at the hotel.

When we were going further than a block with Happee six months pregnant and a three-year-old toddler, we always took taxis and didn’t bother at all with taking the trains, which we would have used if we were more mobile.

Luckily, Tokyo taxis are omnipresent. We never waited a minute for a taxi at the hotel and never more than five minutes outside. Needless to say this was the least walking Happee and I had ever done in Tokyo, and we even went to Disneyland and Disney Sea (Happee using mobility scooters).

Inside the hotel are perhaps two of the most amazing restaurants we ate at during this particular trip to Tokyo, and the Akasaka Teppanyaki was perhaps the best teppanyaki experience I have had in this city.

Akasaka Teppanyaki is pristine. Atop the Ana Intercontinental on the 37th floor, with merely four or five teppanyaki tables with a spectacular view of the city, you get the feeling that you are at the physical pinnacle of Japanese dining – somehow I felt like I was in a boardroom where the only discussion would be serious eating. And indeed that is precisely what we did, feasting on some amazing Kobe and Kagoshima beef as well as amazing lobster and abalone.

The precision of the sous chef’s knife skills was tantalizing to watch. The preparation, which for teppanyaki is virtually as important as the produce itself, is an immaculate display of respect for ingredients and service for the diner.

My wife isn’t the biggest fan of foodie hoopla, but I love eating with eyes and nose before actually consuming the product. And the products we purchased were exemplary.

Akasaka Teppanyaki was truly a fabulous Japanese meal.

On our final night at the Ana Intercontinental, I excused Happee who is entirely not fond of long degustation experiences, was marked by three-star Michelin chef Pierre Gagnaire 15-course tasting menu with attendant wine pairings by the house sommelier Ooka-san.

As expected, the degustation was as much as feast for the eyes as it was for taste; and Ooka-san’s pairings were impressive, mixing in a well-aged sherry in the middle of the meal, while dovetailing between nuances of reds and whites with each lovely delicate course.

Although you may be able to sample Chef Gagnaire’s cuisine across the world in one of his 14 signature restaurants, Pierre’s at the 36th floor of the Ana Intercontinental is unique as Chef incorporates top-end local produce such as milk-fed pig from Okinawa and miso Bakabayashi as well as various local seafood.

At JPY45,000++ with wine pairings, this experience is absolute value for money. I would say that your Tokyo experience is lacking without indulging in a fine meal that showcases the finest European skill set with the exacting heritage of the Japanese.

Alas, 10 nights and 11 days go by very quickly when you are on vacation in a relaxing atmosphere in the heart of one of the world’s greatest urban sprawls.

The Go family will miss Tokyo once again.