The Big 40 in Japan - Day 1: Will Fly for Food
July 27 & 28th, 2026
Ten years ago, Jenn brought me a Paris coffee mug and told me she was taking me to Paris, France, for my 30th. It is easily one of the trips we talk about the most to this day. I think we both felt unnecessary pressure to somehow top my 40th, so to lower the stress around it, Jenn and I decided to plan this one together. During our three-week trip across Europe with Elle, I accepted a new role at Capital Group that allowed us to fully lock in a plan to travel to Japan over my birthday. Jenn had some work obligations that she couldn't get out of, so the plan was that I’d start the trip with Jake, and Jenn would join us a few days later. We had Frasier boarding at Bone Adventure in Costa Mesa, and we split Elle’s time between Norma, our nanny, and her Grandpa and Joan. A lot more logistics than there were ten years ago. With the itinerary set, Jake picked me up at our Irvine house on the morning of July 27th and we made our way to LAX and the Delta One lounge.
Jake hadn’t planned on flying business class, but a week before the trip, he upgraded his ticket, which meant we could enjoy the new lounge together. We arrived and were given some extremely strong ginger shots, and a few minutes later, we were ordering breakfast and Bloody Marys. We noticed someone else in the lounge signing up for massages, so we did as well. Sadly, those were just fancy chair massages. We both did twenty minutes, which was plenty. We boarded our early morning flight to Tokyo at 10 AM and were off to Tokyo a little over an hour later. Thankfully, it was a relatively new plane with doors, and we were both able to snag solo aisle seats. The 11+ hour flight for me was a dream come true. I watched a total of 5 movies (Michael, The Christophers, She Came to Me, Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie, and Creed III) and got a brief nap in between meals.
We arrived in Tokyo at 2 PM, went through their slightly confusing customs, grabbed our bags, and met our driver to take us to the Grand Hyatt Tokyo. We immediately checked in, dropped off our bags, and fought the urge to fall asleep. Instead, we made our way back outside, grabbed some umbrellas, and began walking. Our first stop was a brief coffee break at Streamer Coffee, then to a bookstore, before making our way to the Tokyo Tower. I had some trepidations about having coffee to keep us awake, but it was that or fall asleep walking, so I chose caffeine. It was a long but energizing walk, and by the time we reached the Tower, we were both ready for food.
My initial plan was for us to go to Ichiran in Shibuya. After taking the subway there, we found out there was a 2-hour wait and chose another Ramen place nearby instead. We landed on the mall's basement floor and went to Jikasei Mensho, a small 10-15-person ramen bar. It got great reviews, and after ordering on their kiosk, we sat down and enjoyed some water, beer, and a beautiful bowl of ramen. From there, we had some time to kill, so we walked around the Shibuya area, let Jake take photos at the famous crossing, and even went by Taco Bell. It was finally starting to cool down, and the rain had stopped for the evening. Jake wasn’t thrilled to have to drag around two hotel umbrellas with us all evening.
Our last stop of the day was at the SG Club. It’s considered one of the Top 50 bars in Asia and one of the top in Tokyo. We were able to snag 7:30 PM reservations, but thirty minutes early, because I was convinced the reservations were for 7 PM. Thankfully, they were accommodating and took us down to one of the swankiest little cocktail bars we’ve ever been to. The bar sat ten people max. When we arrived, there were three people at the bar and maybe four others in the small seating area. I think we were both more tired than thirsty, but “when in Rome,” as they say. I had their take on a Martini, and Jake had some tea-infused drink. They were good, strong, but on the small side. Had it been any other night, I think we would have had another, but we left the bar after we finished our drinks, grabbed an Uber, and called it a night.
