It’s 1:00 am. I’m in a hotel in Tokyo, starving and tired after a 10-hour flight. A quick call to the receptionist gives me the disappointing news that the kitchen has already closed for the day. I contemplate whether I go to sleep hungry or bear the humidity of the Japanese summer. The stomach growls, sleeping hungry is not an option.
As I left the hotel lobby and went out to the streets of Odaiba, the humidity hit me hard. It felt like I had just entered a sauna. The closest konbini, what the Japanese call a convenience store, was a 10-minute walk away from the hotel. The streets were empty and not like the bustling city of Tokyo we all know. Signs of life were scarce except for a few skateboarders, a couple taking a stroll at ungodly hours, and two bikers hanging out not far from the konbini. Inside the store, two workers were busy restocking the shelves for what most likely would be another busy day later. I had an idea of what I wanted, so I quickly went through the store.
With two onigiris, a bowl of instant ramen, and a cold can of beer in the bag, I headed back to the hotel. Out in the heat again, I could feel sweat dripping from my forehead and pooling everywhere around my body. Entering the lobby was like arriving into an oasis. Thank god for whoever created air conditioning.
When I got to my room, I got started on boiling the water for the ramen as my stomach was complaining about hunger through its growls. While I waited I started munching on the two onigiris that I bought, one filled with tuna and mayonnaise, the other with grilled salmon. Japanese konbini onigiris never disappoint; the stomach was quite happy with it as well.
Washing it down with a cold beer hit the spot even more, although I did have some trouble opening the can. When I opened the can, it went into geyser mode and dumped its contents around the couch I was sitting on. I ran to the sink in order to prevent the room smelling like a yeast factory later. Crisis averted, I got to work preparing the ramen.
The ramen that I got was a tonkotsu style ramen with a rich, creamy broth that would soothe any leftover hunger pangs that I had.
Once I’d polished off my middle of the night meal, the fatigue of working a 10-hour flight kicked in hard. I hit the shower to wash off the grime from a long day plus all the sweat that I had accumulated from the 20-minute stroll to and from the konbini.
Ahh, a bed, finally. I hoped jet lag wouldn’t have its claws in me, since tomorrow meant more food to track down and time to just enjoy one of my favorite cities. Hotel beds are a different breed and this one was one of the good ones. Maybe it was the bed, the meal I just had, or how tired I was, but I was lights out not too long after my head hit the pillow.
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