New Directions (no not Glee)

Tokyo is blessed with interesting streets and boasts over 200,000 restaurants, the only problem is that the streets rarely have names and the buildings almost never have numbers. Giving directions can therefore be a real problem.

HE: (on the phone) “Hi there, fancy meeting me for dinner tonight?”

SHE: “What did you have in mind?”

HE: “There’s this cute Japanese restaurant in Roppongi called Himogaya (restaurant name has been changed to protect the innocent and overworked). It’s really quite reasonable and they serve great Tampura.”

SHE: “Sounds great. Can you give me directions?”

HE: “No problem. You take the metro to Roppongi station and use the exit by the Starbucks. No not the small one in the corner, the large one with the brown sofas outside. As you leave the exit turn left and walk straight until you reach the third Starbucks. Cross the rood and continue left passed two or three Starbucks until you reach a three storey McDonald’s. You should be standing in front of a junction and opposite you can see a two storey Starbacks next to a Burger King. Cross the junction and head straight past the Burger King. Now count two more Starbucks, no make that three Starbucks. If you reach a Subways you’ve gone too far. Above the third Starbucks on the third floor, there is a restaurant called Himogaya . I’ll meet you there at 8:30.”

9:00 P.M. that night.

SHE: (on the phone) “Hey, where the hell are you? I’ve been here for over thirty minutes and they say they have no reservation in your name. They are so full that they won’t even let me take my shoes off.”

HE: ” I don’t get it. What is the name of the restaurant your at?”

SHE: “Himogaya, I’ve asked them three times. Two floors above the Starbucks. What’s the deal?”

HE: “Hang on a minute and let me see if I can clear this up.”

Two minutes worth of garbled broken Japanese heard in the background.

HE: “O.K. I think I’ve worked out the problem. If you go back down to the street and look immediately across you’ll see another Starbucks with a Japanese restaurant on the third floor. That will be me waving from the window.”

SHE: “But I thought you said to meet you at Himogaya?”

HE: “Yes, well it would seem that in Roppongi there are twelve Himogaya branches.”

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