Japan - Friday and Shabbat at Chabad Tokyo

We arrived late on Thursday night from Nagoya after a pleasant one and a half hour train trip.

We checked into our new AirBnB apartment right around the corner from Chabad. It was a large, fairly well equipped apartment, and the location for Shabbat could not be beat.

Since our return, many people have asked us about Airbnb and its network of apartments. Their main concerns were ones of security and consistency. We could say as a matter of simplification that Airbnb is the Uber of vacation apartment rentals. 

Here is how it works: 

People who have an extra apartment or even a person who has an extra room in their home, may decide to rent that space to people visiting. They would go to the Airbnb site and list their space with pictures and details as to location, amenities, cost, available dates etc. 

What makes the system work is that both the landlord and the renter have to register on AirBnb and both sides have to write reviews of their experience. In other words, you rate the apartment as to whether the experience fulfilled your expectations based on how the apartment was represented by the landlord. 

At the same time, the landlord rates you as a tenant; were you easy to deal with? did you leave the space clean? did you answer emails promptly etc.

That way, the next time you decide to rent, a prospective landlord can read the reviews on you and you can read reviews on the apartment that have been posted by many previous renters. 

We used AirBnb during our recent trips to South America and to Japan. And overall, it has worked well. We have been very pleased with the value that we have received. And because we are always looking for the kitchen which allows us to deal with kashrut issues while travelling, AirBnb has become a very valuable resource for us.

Anyway, back to Japan.

Friday morning, we headed over to the Ebisu area of the city as Fran had ordered new glasses when we were in Tokyo two weeks earlier.

We ordered them from a Korean chain, Zoff. Fran has multifocals and that is the only reason it took so long. They need 10 days for multifocal; but all other lenses are ready in 30 minutes. She was very pleased with the work, and so before leaving Japan, she ordered another pair (which will be mailed to us) and I ordered one (which I picked up 30 minutes later). Amazing! Fran with her new glasses.

We had left much of our souvenir and gift shopping for our return to Tokyo. And originally we were going to spend a couple of days of rest and relaxation in Hakone, a pretty resort area not far from Tokyo. But when we looked at the weather report which screamed cold and wet, we figured that it would be a waste of time and money to go to Hakone. So we simply extended our stay in Tokyo and spent our time visiting the shopping areas of Shibuya, Shinjuku, Aeon Makuhari Mall and Kappenbashi. We also took the opportunity to eat out again at Chana's Place at Chabad. 

This was our second Shabbat in Tokyo and when we walked into shul this time, we were greeted like old friends. Everyone wanted to hear about our trips to various parts of the country. There were a few new visitors as well and we spent a very pleasant Shabbat at Chabad. We also finally met the Rebbetzin Chana who had been away the first Shabbat we spent in Tokyo. 

On Sunday, Monday and Tuesday we relaxed, waking up late and then choosing one new area of the city to discover each day. We also revisited Kappenbashi, the kitchen and cooking centre of Tokyo where Fran bought a new Japanese made chef knife...We have since used it and it really is great quality.

We continue to be amazed by the toilets which are the most high tech and the cleanest we have seen anywhere. And this includes washrooms in public subway stations, department stores and places where you would normally visit only if you had no other choice. Here is a urinal and sink at a level that little children 
can deal with:

And how about a high chair in a public bathroom so you have a place to put your baby while you attend to "your business". 

We continue to be amazed by the train and subway system in Japan. It really works!

Here is a sign in a train station indicating the times of the upcoming trains. What makes this so interesting is that these trains were all high speed trains and they were all on the same track. So five minute intervals for the train to zoom into the station, people disembark and board and the train has to get out on time as the next train is zooming in right behind!

So this brings us to the end of our trip.

Our impressions have been written extensively in another post, but if we had to sum up our trip, we would say that while Japan is not the most beautiful place we have visited, it is certainly among the most interesting. The culture is so different from any other place we have been to. It is a very safe place to visit. The people are very service minded and are very proud of their country and very pleased that you have made the decision to visit. 

Among the disappointments we had was less than favourable weather (tho'  we do not let that stop us), and that we were not able to attend a Sumo wrestling match, as it was off season....

If anyone wants information for an upcoming visit, please do not hesitate to contact us.

We may post one more with a link to our favourite pictures from a very memorable visit to Japan. 

All the best

Fran and David

Japan - Thursday in Yaotsu and Nagoya - A memorable day

Today (Thursday) we got a very early start from Osaka. We were out of the apartment at 7:30 AM and took a taxi to the Shin Osaka station at the north end of the city, for an hour long train ride to Nagoya. Our goal was to visit the special museum and memorial to Chiune Sugihara, the Japanese consul in Kovno, Lithuania, who was responsible for saving 6000 Jews and the Mir Yeshiva in WWII and then, later in the afternoon, go to the Hilton Nagoya, where a special kosher sushi meal was being prepared for us at the exclusive Gonji restaurant, one of the finest restaurants in Nagoya.

The Sugihara Memorial is in the village of Yaotsu (population 12,000) which is about a 45 minute train ride north of Nagoya, plus a connection to a 30 minute bus and then a taxi from the centre of Yaotsu to the Sugihara Museum. 

In short, Yaotsu is not an easy place to reach; however, we felt that as a show of Hakarat Hatov (gratitude) to all that this man had done, it was something that we could not ignore simply because of the difficulty of getting there. 

Because Yaotsu is a bit off the beaten track, the trains and buses heading in its direction do not run with the same frequency as those on the major north south routes of the country, that contains Japan's major concentration of population. And while we could prebook and pre determine the schedule of the trains, there was not much to go on in terms of the bus schedule for the final leg of the journey from the train station to the centre of Yaotsu. 

So we left Osaka early and arrived in Nagoya at about 9:30 AM. We checked our luggage into a locker at the train station and then boarded our train west to Mino Ota station at about 10:30 and arrived there at 11:15. So far so good as far as timing was concerned. 

Here is where it got a bit tricky....from Mino Ota, we were told to take a bus. But when we arrived in Mino Ota, we saw that the next bus would leave for Yaotsu at 12:30 (a wait of over an hour), and based on that schedule we would be hard pressed to return to Nagoya by 4 PM. 

The reason for getting back to Nagoya by 4 PM was that we had to go to the Hilton and turn on the rice cooker, to ensure that there would be no bishul akum issues in the preparation of our meal; more on that later.

So we hailed a taxi and headed up to the suburbs of Yaotsu in the hills above the town to visit the memorial to Sugihara's memory. This was not a cheap cab ride, about $60 one way, but then again, as I said before, it is a small price to pay in showing respect to Sugihara who risked everything to save 6000 Jews, a number that has now mushroomed to an estimated more than 100000 persons. It really is a confirmation of the rabbinic dictum "whoever saves one soul, is as though he has saved an entire world".

For those unfamiliar with the story, it is worth watching this short 12 minute video as an introduction. There are many more longer videos on Youtube which discuss this amazing person's self sacrifice for others. If you have trouble opening the link below, here is where you can find it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KA_xNVtRsjo

We had emailed the centre in preparation for our visit and had a number email exchanges with Ken Takashima, an official with the Yaotsu City Council. We told him that we knew a number of individuals whose fathers were saved by the Sugihara visas; among those, Josh Gordon, Abe Kaplan and Rabbi Eliezer Langer. Ken was very interested in getting information from them as he was working on securing UNESCO status for the town, which in essence would put the town on the map, and bring more tourists. Ken told us that getting actual copies of the visas would assist him in his efforts with UNESCO. 

We really did not know what to expect when we would arrive. I sort of had a vision of a small house where Sugihara was born and a few artifacts. In fact, when our cab pulled up in front of the Museum, we saw a modern large structure and quite a few visitors. 

Ken was waiting for us at the curb with another individual who we would learn was the director general of the Museum.

The two bus loads of visitors were all Japanese and we would learn that Sugihara has become some sort of hero to the Japanese, especially with the release of a recent dramatized documentary movie called "Persona Non Grata". We tried to secure a copy but since it is still in Japanese theatres, they are not selling it commercially. And when it is sold it will have English subtitles. 

The museum is set up as a self guided display of many panels which explain the lead up to the seizing of power by the Nazis and the development of the Holocaust. 

It then moves to panels which highlight the heroic decision by Sugihara to defy his government and write visas for 6000 Jews which allowed them passage to Kobe Japan and eventually to Shanghai, from where most emigrated to North America and Israel. There are also panels that feature other notable heroic acts by other government officials around the world who were instrumental in saving Jews in WWII.

One of the pages from the list of those saved by Sugihara. The second name on the list is Moshe Kaplan, my Junior High Gemara teacher in Eitz Chaim. 

At the end of the historical panels, you enter a recreation of Sugihara's office where you can watch a number of short films highlighting his activity as consul. 

The beginning of our tour was personally guided by Ken, the city official. I then recalled that the rabbi in Kobe had told me that there was an Israeli woman on staff at the museum and we asked if we could meet her. 

She came out and was clearly pleased to see Jewish visitors. She said that while many Israeli visitors to Japan do come to Yaotsu as part of organized tours, very few Jewish visitors from other parts of the world make the effort to come up to Yaotsu. She, her husband and five children have been in the Yaotsu area for many years but are now considering moving to another country where there is a sense of a Jewish community. 

She then spent the rest of the tour with us and we learned that she was responsible for the design of the current centre which was totally remodelled just two years earlier. Previously there had not been an emphasis on the Holocaust, but her input had put the Shoah front and centre to the entire story.

Here is a view of the small town of Yaotsu from the second floor window of the Museum

Our assessment is that it is worth the trip to Yaotsu. Besides the element of showing gratitude to the man, the museum is worth visiting despite the difficulty in getting there. 

We were very pleased when Ken told us that he would drive us back to the train station, and on the way, he drove us through the centre of town where he showed us Sugihara's home. 

What was remarkable however, was that on every lamppost there was a banner with Sugihara's name and picture. Ken explained that the town was totally behind the UNESCO application and therefore the entire town was plastered with pictures and banners in a show of support. 

We returned to the Nagoya station with enough time to walk the 20. Minutes to the Hilton.

When we arrived at the Hilton, in typical Japanese fashion, they were ready for us. As soon as we approached the counter, the concierge said, are you Mr and Mrs. Woolf? She then made a call and asked us to take a seat. Four people appeared a few moments later, the Executive Chef of the Hotel, the Food and Beverage Manager, our personal sushi chef (with the white cap) and the Maitre D (in the kimono) of the exclusive Genji Sushi restaurant in the hotel.

So how did this all come about? When we were in Israel in January, we met with Tiorah Simantov who together with her husband Rabbi Dr. Hertsel Simantov had spent 13 years living in Tokyo. We contacted her to get as much information as we could in preparation for our trip. 

Tiorah was very helpful. Her husband, besides teaching and practicing Japanese medicine in Tokyo (to where he commutes part of every month from Israel), is a mohel and is one of the leading mashgichim in the area representing the OK, the OU and other agencies. In his travels throughout Japan where he supervises over 100 plants, he developed a friendship with the Nagoya Hilton kitchen staff and arranged for them to secure a special knife, cutting board, rice cooker etc. which are only used for kosher. He also explained to them the intricacies of kosher laws pertaining to kosher fish. 

So when we arrived and were greeted by four hotel officials, we were ushered up to the Genji restaurant and met the head sushi chef who unwrapped the special knife and cutting board and watched as we turned on the rice cooker, which would be used to prepare the rice for our sushi dinner.

We returned an hour later and were ushered into a private area of the restaurant by our Maitre D. She had spent some time in Australia and spoke english well. We were in a private section of the restaurant, just us and our personal sushi chef. 

In front of him was a refrigerated case containing various fresh veggies to be used in the preparation of our sushi. Cucumber, carrots, avocado, ginger, daikon, lily flower root among others. There was another refrigerated case with fresh tuna and salmon. As well, there was a brand new bottle of soy sauce, pickled ginger and fresh wasabi root. 

And the performance began. Our chef who had apprenticed for ten years before being able to do it on his own, began making various types and forms of sushi for us. And while it looked very much like the sushi that we get at home, the taste was remarkably different. The nori was much softer and fresher tasting. Each roll was made after we completed eating the previous one and the rolls took various forms and shapes.

What we did not realize was that the would be no end to his preparation until we said so. And when we began to feel stuffed, we asked the Maitre D how much longer this would continue; whereupon she explained that he had all night and all we needed to do was say "enough". 

So feeling very satiated and pleased, we walked back to the train station, collected our luggage and hopped a high speed train for Tokyo and our final Shabbat and days in Japan. 

Our final posting on Japan is still to come...soon we hope.

All the best

Fran and David

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