3 ‘only-in-Japan’ experiences not to be missed

I don’t know where I was when I first heard there was a new taste: umami. Surely you can’t discover a taste, can you? It’s like saying scientists have just designed a new emotion or announced a thicker type of gravity. To be fair, it is no surprise somebody from Japan discovered this ‘fifth’ savoury taste. Visit Japan and everything seems ever so slightly out of kilter: traffic lights are blue, Kit Kats are green and you need a doctorate in advanced engineering to use a toilet. This is the country you should head to if you want to feel discombobulated. So if your comfort zone has its own comfort zone, if you are tired of your torpor, then shake things up and hop on a flight to one of the planet’s most fascinating destinations. It won’t take long before you have your own umami moment: ‘do you remember where we were when we first … ‘ Here’s three suggestions how: Have a whisky What’s the best whisky in the world? A single malt Scotch? Nope! Not according to Jim Murray’s World Whisky Bible. In November last year, it declared the finest whisky in the world to be from a distillery tucked away in the dense bamboo forests of southwest Japan. The winning dram, the Yamazaki Single Malt Sherry Cask 2013, was described as being of ‘near incredible genius’ and scored a remarkable 97.5 marks out of 100. So where can you try this world-beating uisuki (whisky)? Ironically enough, not in Japan as it was only released in Europe and, unsurprisingly, it sold out. That said, the New York Bar at the Park Hyatt Tokyo — of ‘Lost in Translation’ fame — has a wide range of Japanese malts to savour, from a 21 year old Taketsuru to a more mature Hibiki 30 yrs. Go on-za-rokku (on the rocks) and, for authenticity, don’t forget to declare solemnly before your first sip, ‘for relaxing times, make it Suntory time!’ … or perhaps don’t. The bartender has heard it all before, you’re not Bill Murray, and, well, you are far too sophisticated to quote hackneyed lines from films, aren’t you? (Quick admission: I wasn’t.) My advice? Just concentrate on admiring Tokyo’s carpet of skyscrapers from 52 two floors up. The views are mesmerizing. Go to a theme restaurant In the 1990s theme restaurants were de rigueur. Then they weren’t. Now they are again, but in a post-modern, achingly ironic way. Or perhaps they’re not? I’ve lost track. Perhaps I should flag down a passing hipster and ask him or her? ‘Excuse me, where does such-and-such-a-place-in-Chidoya sit on the irony scale this week?’ ‘That low? Really? I don’t think we we’ll bother then.’ Which, in the case of Ninja Akasaka in Tokyo, would be a pity. That the concept is slightly silly—being served by ninjas—is a given. If you were to be served by a real ninja, he might well set fire to your table and then curl up into a tight ball to disguise himself as a stone (known as uzura-gakure in the trade). Happily, the ninjas here are familiar with modern sensibilities: shogun-era warfare and rubbish disguises are out (they don’t go down well on Tripadvisor), fun magic tricks are in (they do). So far so themey, but what about the food? This is where the true surprise lays: it is really rather good. Surprisingly so. It is not for nothing that it is one of Tokyo’s most popular restaurants, ranking number nine, at the time of writing, out of over 4,500 restaurants in the Chidoya district of the city. The menus (set and à la carte) offer an array of modern Japanese flavours, sometimes with an international twist, from white fish and tomato ceviche to sublimely succulent Wagyu beef. Finally, don’t forget to reserve in advance or, even easier, ask your concierge to do this. You know what ninjas are like: they don’t like surprises… Stay in a ryokan Staying in a traditional Japanese inn, a ryokan, is like booking into a hotel where certain fundamental things are missing. A few sliding screens, an expanse of rice-straw matting and a single low table is often all there is. ‘Is that it?’ many Westerners mumble to themselves on arrival. The rooms are a black hole for soft furnishings and the bland flotsam and jetsam of a typical Western hotel. So where might you start with your first minimalist Japanese-style inn? Why not try a ryokan in the Japanese Alps? If you stay at Aburaya Tosen in the town of Yamanouchi-machi, not only do you get remarkably attentive service and the benefit of an on-site hot spring (onsen), you are also only a short drive away from the famous snow monkeys, which bathe in the hot springs of the nearby Jigokudani Yaenkoen park. (A word of warning: you may have to walk along an icy path for half an hour or so to catch a glimpse of them.) So there you go: three ‘only-in-Japan’ experiences. To be fair, there are hundreds if not thousands more. So what are yours? Perhaps they combine all three of the above (whisky-guzzling ninja monkeys?) or, dare I say, none of the above? Let us know. We always love to hear from you.