sshadmand

The question that keeps you up at night IS the sign you’re looking for

Have you ever woken up every morning with the same question burning in your mind? Do you constantly wonder if it’s worth changing paths, environment or career day-in and day-out but continue convincing that part of your mind to quiet down? Do you think you could make a decision to act if you had a sign, or a clue, or some sort of guidance from someone more experienced than you that could “show you they way?”

About 10 years ago I had those thoughts swirling in my head. I had a good, secure well-paying job and a bright future. Though, for some odd reason, I woke up constantly with those questions burning inside me day-to-day and week-to-week. “Why can’t I just be content with what I have?”, I would ask myself. “What’s wrong with me?!”

I convinced myself changing paths would be a form of quitting – and I was no quitter. Some friends would explain to me how “life is hard. No one likes what they do. Everyone has those questions – it’s normal, but you keep working until you get over them. Eventually they go away. Anywhere you go you’ll ask the same thing. Everywhere in the world is the same. You’re just running from your problems. Deal with it.”

It sounded like mature advice to me so I tried to overcome the doubts and concerns I had about my current path. Unfortunately, letting go of the questions turned out to be pretty impossible.

I got it in my head that I wanted more, something different, something challenging and I couldn’t kill that thought. I wanted to move to SF and be part of the startup community. I wanted to create things people used. I wanted to meet others that created the things I loved to use. Friends on the other side of the advice fence validated those thoughts telling me “it would be a great fit. Quit what you’re doing now and just go!”

How could I decide which piece of advice was right? Both had their merits and both came with a fair share of doubts. Growing as a person by learning to be content didn’t really feel like a great life-goal and quitting to follow a curiosity seemed irresponsible. As Kenny Rogers would say, “You’ve got to know when to hold them, know when to fold them” but how do you know when that is?! Why didn’t Kenny answer his song’s question?!

As my freshly shaven cheek chafed against my frosted collar while walking to work on a frigid winter day in DC I decided enough was enough. If there isn’t a clear logical answer to stay or go then I would break the tie on weather. I don’t care if it’s right or wrong – I was going to make the move. I was done with the cold. I quit my job, got on a plane and flew to a city that I had never seen with no work waiting for me on the other side. When what I’d done truly sank in at 30K ft I went to the bathroom and threw up.

Of course, I will never be happier that I came. Without a doubt, it was the best decision I’ve ever made. I realized this as I was walking home from my first job at a cool new startup in SF. I paused to catch the sunset of a spectacular view from the street, groceries in hand, when it hit me – I hadn’t had a sleepless question-filled-night or pensive morning in – well, since I arrived. Sure the process was scary, but the questions were gone. I still had tons of work to do and was working extremely hard, but, now, I had an open mind to do it. Life felt right again.

It was important to me to try and distill a lesson from this experience so I would never have to go through that period of agonizing unknowns again. After all, staying back in DC could have been the right answer too. Sometimes you are running from problems and need to face them in order to grow. On the other hand, it’s important to follow your dreams; life is short. So, do I know now how to make the right decision again when the time comes? What did I learn from all this?

The answer IS the question.

Yeah. It really is that simple. No, the “answer” isn’t any old “question.” It’s the questions that burn inside you. The ones that wake you up and put you to bed. The ones that you debate between constantly and ask advice for every chance you get. The ones spawned out of an interest to learn something different. Those are the questions I’m talking about. Those are the question that MUST be answered. They are answered through creating your own experiences.

Well, what if I follow that logic and I’m wrong?

That’s the beauty of these gut-wrenching questions. As I learned, even if I was wrong, the questions I had went away – they got answered. My mind was free and a freer mind can do so much more than a plagued one. So, you see – it’s a win/win. Either be half the person you are because you are preoccupied mentally every day with a burning question or be half the person you are because you made a bad decision. Only attempting the latter will leave you net-positive with no more questions and an ability to work towards living fully and clearly once again.

The mission to create space in your mind for thoughts to grow is paramount to moving forward positively in life. It is accomplished by oscillating back and forth between curiosity and answers. I realized there is a version of life that does not have the burning question running through my head every day (that was the fallacy in some of the advice I got early on.) Yes, life has its challenges and problems and it is important to work through them, BUT it’s a waste of life to circle around the same question. It deprives your mind of answers it needs to free up space so it can grow and more forward.

What do I tell those that ask me what to do next when they have a difficult question burning in their minds and causing tons of stress? I say the question IS the answer. Your body is your sign. Whether you are wrong or right it is important to know if you are indeed wrong or right. That knowledge is the catalyst that sets off the ability to ask and answer even more important questions, building answers upon one another to form clarity. Finding that answer clears the mind for more to fill.

Why am I writing this story almost a decade after it happened? Sadly, it happened to me again this past year. I’ve given this advice to so many people looking for direction yet I lost sight of it myself when the questions began to form in my mind again. It grew so subtly over time. This time, I made the excuse that it was different since I was older. That this time there was more to lose. And, yes, the concept of not being a quitter became more of a focus than learning, growing, exploring and building. I am writing it because I was wrong again and this is a message to me as much as it is to you. Your deepest hardest questions are only asked when your mind knows that it needs to find an answer. Your questions ARE the answer.

Like to travel? Yup. There’s a gene for that.

Every time you see a story like this you can’t help but think about Ethan Hawk in Gattaca. Our lives, actions and – self – broken down into a perfectly predictable set of genes we can architect for birth.

Elite Daily recently reported the discovery of a gene identified as DRD4-7R ,dubbed the “wanderlust gene”, that gets us yet another step closer.

You can read more about the findings of the Genetic Basis to a Globetrotting Fanatic here. It explains how the gene is carried by an approximately 20% of the human population and is linked to restlessness and curiosity.

Here’s a fun question, if we ever were able to gain complete control of our genetic make-up would you choose to have the Travel Gene?

Facebook JS login on Chrome iOS workaround

I was putting together a Facebook JS SDK based login on a site I’m working on – only to find that Chrome on iOS does not support the action.

What was even more surprising was the lack of documentation or support online (with Chrome or Facebook) to help work around the issue.

I saw a few suggestion that had solutions based on using Parse or where others suggested using a backend based login API. I didn’t want to install another framework just to solve this problem, and my objective for the interface was to offer a seamless login process that doesn’t interrupt the user’s current modal based workflow.

To make matters worst, and I am really disappointed in Google for this (which is rare,) popping out windows on Google Chrome iOS makes a null reference to the “opener” in certain situations. This makes it hard to complete a seamless login between two windows once the FB auth page is verified.

Below is a solution that checks if FB is authed, if not, manually opens an FB auth window that forwards the user to an Opener Handler page. That page forces a refresh of the openers auth tokens and closes the window. Once completed the user is sent back to the original page (with no page refresh) and can now proceed with a validated FB auth.


	var ABSOLUTE_URI = "http://yourpage.com/openerhandler.html";
	var FB_ID = "123456778";
	function openFBLoginDialogManually(){
	// Open your auth window containing FB auth page
	// with forward URL to your Opened Window handler page (below)

	var redirect_uri = "&redirect_uri=" + ABSOLUTE_URI + "fbjscomplete";
	var scope = "&scope=public_profile,email,user_friends";
	var url = "https://www.facebook.com/dialog/oauth?client_id=" + FB_ID + redirect_uri + scope;

	// notice the lack of other param in window.open
	// for some reason the opener is set to null
	// and the opened window can NOT reference it
	// if params are passed. #Chrome iOS Bug
	window.open(url);

	}

	function fbCompleteLogin(){

	FB.getLoginStatus(function(response) {
	// Calling this with the extra setting "true" forces
	// a non-cached request and updates the FB cache.
	// Since the auth login elsewhere validated the user
	// this update will now asyncronously mark the user as authed
	}, true);

	}

	function requireLogin(callback){

	FB.getLoginStatus(function(response) {
	if (response.status != "connected"){
	showLogin();
	}else{
	checkAuth(response.authResponse.accessToken, response.authResponse.userID, function(success){
	// Check FB tokens against your API to make sure user is valid
	});
	}
	});

	}

view raw FB JS Auth hosted with ❤ by GitHub

	<html>
	<head>
	<script type="text/javascript">
	function handleAuth(){
	// once the window is open
	window.opener.fbCompleteLogin();
	window.close();
	}
	</script>
	<body onload="handleAuth();">
	<p>. . . </p>
	</body>
	</head>
	</html>

view raw Opened Window hosted with ❤ by GitHub

Fly in the Asian Pacific: $160 for 30 days of travel

The word on the street is you can fly between Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, Cambodia, the Philippines, Laos, Myanmar, and Vietnam as many as 10 times in 30 days for just $160.

To put it in perspective, a flight from Bangkok to Singapore ranges from $84-$124 one way.

This is not only a cost effective travel deal, but, as you may know, many countries require a proof of “onward travel” to show you’ll be leaving your destination country before you board your plane. This pass would be a great tool to grab some last minute “proofs” when the time comes.

You can read more about the deal on Thrillist here:
http://www.thrillist.com/travel/nation/crazy-cheap-deal-fly-to-10-countries-in-30-days-for-160

Or just bite the bullet and book your travel with AsianAir Pass here:
http://www.airasia.com/ot/en/book-with-us/asean-pass.page

How Google Works

It’s always hard to tell how far a company’s ideals are from the reality of what is truly applied in practice. With Google’s over 50K workers, it’s tough to imagine the ideals laid out in the book are carried out through each and every employee. I sure hope so.

Whether they are or not, I found the concepts put forth compelling and exciting. Their definition and support of what they coin as “smart-creatives” paints a pretty accurate picture of what the doers, thinkers and makers in the SF entrepreneurial scene are made of. Their layout of methodologies and practices that replace the old corporate mindset with those based on “first-principles” are is truly after my own heart. To hell with tradition and “shoulds” – the world is more dynamic than ever and a management team that is as dynamic and forward thinking is necessary to stay ahead.

This book is a must read for entrepreneurs, managers and those ready to partake in the new generation of our technological workforce. Yes, there were inconsistencies in some sections and from time to time it sounded a bit self-promoting, but for the most part it provoked the formation of great questions and thoughts for our book club.

Fair warning, if you are a recent MBA student I would suggest putting of reading this for a couple of years. There are many references to how the Google way is able to overcome what they consider poor methodologies MBA students are taught to implement. Since I was reading this while taking some personal growth online MBA classes it was clear that the two visions for what creates success diverge.

http://www.amazon.com/How-Google-Works-Eric-Sc…/…/1455582344

You can see my running read book list on Facebook here https://www.facebook.com/sshadmand/books

Gyms as a service (GAAS): Finally, better gym options as product services

Five years ago I walked into my 24 Hour Fitness Gym and filled out a cancellation form.

“Are you sure that’s all I have to do?”, I asked the front desk rep. “Yup, you’re good to go, good luck with your move!”

Six months later I got a call from a collections agency telling me that I had six months of unpaid membership fees needing collection. Needless to say, it was an awful experience. I am sure many customers end up foregoing upwards of $200 or more in that situation all the time – not me. After hours of phone calls and emails, I was relieved of my “obligation,” but vowed never to use 24 Hour Fitness again – what else could I do than that, right?

In a world when Taxi’s treated you like crap but you still rode in them every day, there wasn’t much you could do with companies like this. Except turn around, take it and walk away.

When I moved back to the area I was a bit hesitant to sign up at any gym, given my experience. I stayed true to my vow and avoided 24-hour Fitness (even though it was cheaper) and signed up at Crunch Gym instead. I had options! Or so I thought.

The sales staff was friendly at Crunch and, as expected, paying for the initiation fee and last month’s dues upfront was a piece of cake. I was instantly a member and assured by the sales staff that, “there won’t be any hassles if you decide to cancel – anytime.” Since then, two years of dues that would have gone into 24-Hour Fitness’ pockets went to Crunch Gym; I had no complaints.

Then moving time came again and I went in to cancel my membership.

“Sorry, you can’t cancel your membership *in* the gym. You have to call this number.” The Gym rep handed me a card. It was a bitter tasting sentence to hear while watching sales staff effortlessly input credit card numbers for the Gym’s newest members.

I called the Crunch cancelation number. “We already charged you this month…” (I come to find this was NOT true) “… and we’ll use your deposit to pay for your last month starting in April. Plus a $2 charge for any differences remaining since we’ve increased membership fees.” It was March 2nd and I was now paying until May 1st.

Basically, in one sentence, my “easy cancelation” turned into about $120 of dues over two months toward a gym membership I just canceled. Jackie had the same experience except with a higher monthly membership fee. Crunch Gym robbed $270 from our household. Poof, just like that, Crunch now has the money and we do not. There is nothing the service agent can do about it and he gives me an email address so I can contact a manager to “have it explained to me further.” Sorry, there is no explanation that justifies being fleeced. I asked for a write-up from him explaining why I am being charged for a service I am canceling so I can submit it to the BBB with my complaint. He said he couldn’t do that. He thanks me for my call and hangs up on me. Note: The things they can and cannot do at these Gyms seem heavily skewed in their favor. Weird, huh?

Jackie said let it go, but that very sentence gave me a pit in my stomach. How many Gyms use this tactic to make up the hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue they see each year? They know most customers will let it go, so they keep doing it. I told the story to a few friends, and, not surprisingly, they tell me that it has happened to them with Crunch and other gyms as well. Have gyms formed a Mafia? I guess they have the muscle for it…

The problem that occurs when companies become monopolies (like Comcast) or mafias (like Crunch Gym and 24-hour Fitness) is that customers don’t have much choice in the matter. In this case, either take it or don’t work out.

Uber and Lyft finally gave us the tools to allow us to ditch Taxi cabs (poor customer service standards and all.) And Netflix, Google, and Yahoo are finally causing Comcast to AT LEAST start honoring their “maintenance window” as they try to prove their worth before judgment day. (Gosh, I sure can’t wait for the day Comcast cries about how unfair it is that Google is taking their business.)

Well America, good news. The new world is being filled with products that focus on value, access, customer service and quality. They are starting to aim their slingshots at the Goliaths we know as gyms.

You have options! You can ditch your P.O.S (and/or overly priced) gym and actually get more for less in the process! A membership where your patronage goes toward the local gyms, you’re experiences are of higher quality and customer service is a tent pole. Now that the game has changed, your “gym membership” can get you into specialty studios, access to activities like Kayaking and sports, and a truly “cancel anytime” philosophy that ensures people that have to leave do so as happily as when they joined.

Here are a few:
1) FitMob – fitmob.com – For about the same price as Crunch (and way more friendly cancelation policy and service) this company offers a membership to a multitude of different gyms and activities. For example, you get access to a awesome yoga studio, or (like me) you can head down to the shore and go Paddleboarding for the day. All free with the membership.

Currently Serving: San Francisco, San Jose, San Diego, Portland, Philidelphia, Austin, Dallas, Seattle

2) ClassPass – classpass.com – Founded by Payal Kadakia ClassPath offers access to a variety of studios you can register online for free with your ClassPass membership. What is great about this experience is you don’t get a class thrown together by amateurs working for a corporate gym. Instead, you get to go to the best studios in town that specialize in an activity for whatever you want to do. ClassPath is on to something having just raised $14M in funding and growing exponential into more and more cities month after month.

Currently Serving: NEW YORK LOS ANGELES/ORANGE COUNTY SAN FRANCISCO CHICAGO MIAMI BOSTON WASHINGTON, DC SEATTLE ATLANTA AUSTIN CHARLOTTE COLUMBUS DALLAS/FORT WORTH DENVER HOUSTON MINNEAPOLIS/ST. PAUL PHILADELPHIA PHOENIX PORTLAND SAN DIEGO LAS VEGAS RALEIGH BALTIMORE TAMPA ST. LOUIS ORLANDO NASHVILLE KANSAS CITY LONDON TORONTO VANCOUVER

Sorry Crunch, you had your day and just like the Taxi mafia – your time is limited.

More comments available on the public FB post here: https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10152976618217107&id=704372106

**UPDATES***

March 3rd – Still no charges (or pending charges) on my credit card bill from Crunch. The support rep told me it was already charged and there was nothing he could do about it as a result. Nice tactic – untrue after 2 full business days.

(March 2nd) Crunch asked me to contact a store manager – this is what I sent:

Update March 4th: If you’ve had a similar experience you can contact Jasmine <Jasmine.Vega@crunch.com>. Below is her email and my reply.

March 4th

Built-in Dictation on Yosemite

What I dictated – as is and untouched:

It’s been a while since I had tried using dictation mostly because it’s never worked before I don’t know how long maps habitation on it but I figured I’d give it a shot again this blog is written completely has dictation with no edits made to see how good it aside for my poor dictation skills hopefully the words being written are exactly as I intended blow is [the dictation ended automaically maybe becasue my pause or just to many words – starting over] A link showing you how you can set up dictation on your computer. I just noticed that all the dictation coming before this punctuation so I must have to say the punctuation out loud, which is expected.

http://support.apple.com/en-us/HT5449

What I actually said – uncorrected:

It’s been a while since I have tried using dictation. Mostly because it’s never worked well before. I don’t know how long mac has had it, but I figured I’d give it a shot again. This blog is written completely as a dictation with no edits made to see how good it is. Aside for my poor dictation skills, hopefully, the words being written are exactly as I intended. Below is […] A link showing you how you can set up dictation on your computer. I just noticed that all the dictation coming before this had no punctuation – so, I must have to say the punctuation out loud, which is expected.

http://support.apple.com/en-us/HT5449

To set up dictation go to your preferences and choose “Dictation and speech.”

Turn dictation on and you’re all set. Press Fn key twice to start.

Annnnnnnd end scene…

Overall it’s not too shabby of an implementation considering it used to cost hundreds of dollars to get dictation software on your computer. Also, it helps that the dictation bar has always been set fairly low. To be fair, trying to make up something while dictating is a bit unnatural – so I can see why the feature would stumble through a sentence; I sure did. A nice feature is that dictation works in any website or app on your mac – all you have to do is press the function key twice and start talking 🙂

You can also go the extra mile and set up text commands. This feature is not new, and I have never found myself able to speak my commands more quickly than I could keyboard them – so I will leave that decision up to you. You can read more about voice commands here: http://www.macworld.com/article/2834532/ok-mac-using-automators-dictation-commands-new-in-yosemite.html

Tokyo Tips & Cliff Notes

You can check out a more detailed description of Tokyo and Kyoto here. For a quickie on Tokyo notes read on.

Prices

Most of the time, public transportation was between $2-5 USD one way
Ramen was about $5-8
Sushi $2-$5 per nigiri
You can spend $45 for a single sushi plate easily at a casual place if you aren’t paying attention.
Banana $1-3 but then $5-10 other places. here is a story we read as to why.
Big Mac $3.14

Things we noticed

Separate slippers were provided to you, after you take off your shoes, for the bathroom at the hotel and some restaurants
Shops and restaurants are on each level of building – explore up.
Lots of Department stores. Basement always had good food.
McDonalds highlighted chicken teriyaki burgers
Many Ramen shops used vending machine to dispense ticket to hand to chef at resturant
Strong posture in workers/waiters/hostesses. All very helpful.
Public transport was awesome. Not nearly as complicated as people described. If you know your final destination you can use displays to get around. If not, staff was helpful.
When people highlight Tokyo there is so much over characterization. Much of the city is very typical of any other big city. Strange things were tucked away, like most strange things usually are.
People really do wear kimonos out and about.
Alleys and main streets all had amazing restaurants – no bad places really.
When it comes to numbers – Arabic numbers seem to be used universally over native characters.
Major city intersections often all “all way” crossing. Where pedestrians can go diagonal, or across intersections at the same time. First all cars go, then all people go etc.
Some fruit is outrageously priced. Fruit is a big gift giving item. Cantaloupe $100. Single Strawberry $5
Uniqlo is full of departments stores

Tips

GOOGLE MAPS IS NOT VERY ACCURATE IN TOKYO!
Sumo – Buy months in advance.
Common Words: Sumimasen (excuse me – use before asking for help ), Arigato (demo or guy may), Konichiwa, Ichi/Ni
Google Translate is awesome – use the card feature and just show it after you say hi and or excuse me
Japan Rail Pass (JRP) is awesome. If you plan to go between cities (Kyoto/Tokyo) get it. It works in local Tokyo as well. Remember: You NEED to exchange the pass for a ticket when you enter Japan for the first time. Then as a pass you just show between stops.
Careful of subway day passes if touring around and not sure where you will end up – many are only for one line
Even if there is English in signs, and even when many people “speak” English – taxis do not. Don’t expect it. Get a picture of the destination in native language to show.
Even if you’ve tried sushi at home and didn’t like it tries it again here – changed my mind on some items
Keep an open mind on what you eat. If people next to you order it at least you know it isn’t a agag 😉
Ask your hotel to make reservations for you in advance. Many popular places need it.

Things We Did

With so many things to check off I ended up making a Google Spreadsheet list to track what we wanted to do and where. You can copy it and use it yourself, or use it to get an idea of things to do. Remember though, one of the biggest lessons I learned in Tokyo was that I should just stumble into places as much as possible.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1r1byYIbKqSWx7MzkVAlSjWtbzNEL1Y1A6X4kky0sqPw/edit?usp=sharing

Wolfram Alpha: Product Spotlight

Wolfram Alpha calls itself a “computational knowledge engine” and was spun out of “Mathematica,” a mathematically intensive formula and graphing calculator on steroids.

Although amazingly powerful, Wolfram Alpha is not widely known, though you may already be using it. Its one of the data engines behind Siri – and one of the few Siri systems you can actually count on. It responds on Siri’s behalf for computationally based queries. For example, when you ask Siri “How many inches in 10 meters” she replies with:

Notice the logo beneath the answer.

You can access Wolfram Alpha directly on the web and get some surprisingly robust answers from it. Just for kicks, while showing Wolfram Alpha to a friend (completely unrehearsed), I asked it, “How many cars are on the road?” ( Purposefully leaving it a bit vague.) Surprisingly, this is what it responded with:

It helps that Wolfram Alpha is scoped. It focuses on statistical and computational questions. Therefore, it doesn’t search the web for trends and rankings since it’s primarily driven by data and math. So, to get the most out of it I suggest focusing your questions on ones that possess those qualities. It can be, for example, a good place to gather preliminary data for your research. Like this one, “number of families in the united states with an average income above $100,000 per year.”

To be honest, it’s been years since I last played with it; it’s kind of one of those products that its usefulness ebbs and flows. Recently, however, while researching a “social product” idea, I stumbled upon this nifty feature advertising a Facebook Report from Wolfram and decided to give it a go.

Wolfram Alphas Facebook Report

Not only was the data of the report interesting but the speed at which it gathered, computed and graphed it all was a bit stunning. It’s able to give you just about everything about you on Facebook.

You can view charts of your post history over time, as a ratio between posting images vs. text, most active times of day by media types or a word-cloud of your most often used vocabulary. You can find out what post garnered you the most likes or comments, who’s commented on your posts the most and how often you use the FB app.

This little graph shows me the ratio of female friends I have to male ones and what their relationships status’ are – broken down into a pie chart. You can see the average age of my friends and where in the world my friends live.

This graph I don’t really even understand, but it looks hella informative!

All in all Wolfram Alpha is a fun product to play with and may even help you get some of your research started and difficult questions answered quickly.

Here are some other fun questions to ask it:

Facebook V. Twitter

How far is Saturn (Remember, distances are not static)

First cousins once removed

35,000 Words in Finish

More examples

Tokyo

Tokyo was our favorite stop on our Asian Pacific teaser trip. There are more places to eat and drink there than I’ve seen anywhere else (yes, including NYC.) Restaurants and bars are literally stacked upon one another on each highrise-filled block, and no alley is without a series of ramen, sushi, or skewer joints. To paint a picture for my American comrades: imagine the vastness of LA’s sprawling cities, except that each city is attached to one another by multiple subways and train systems. Add to each city a NY bustle – such is Tokyo.

(Note: You can see a summary of tips and notes on Tokyo here.)

The density and massive nature of Tokyo’s cities are balanced only by the contents within. The majority of restaurants and shops you find are small mom & pop-esque, cozy, and occasionally cramped by local business people throwing back a cold Asahi beer and bite before they head home. When you’re in an establishment you feel very small town, when you walk out it is all big city.

We ate a ton. One of the most memorable experiences in Tokyo was eating Sushi at the Tsukiji Fish Market. Truth be told, all the sushi in Tokyo we had was AMAZING and fresher than I have ever had before. But the idea that we ate sushi 100 ft from where it was bought and butchered was mind blowing; site, taste, and sound. It is quite possibly the freshest, purest sushi we will ever have in our lives.

In addition to all the individual restaurants and shops, Tokyo was filled with departments stores (about one every few blocks.) The class and quality of goods sold within changed from one to the next, but the setup was fairly cookie cutter: first-floor beauty and jewelry, the few floors above made up the women’s sections, above that men’s, and the two floors below were the supermarkets, restaurants and produce. Imagine if you went to Macys to get fresh fish and dinner. By American standards it seems odd, but the food selection in these malls were great. It was like a Whole Foods (or two) in every basement. There was one restaurant in Tokyu’s basement in Shibuya that was cheap and delicious called Uoriki Kaisen. It was the only place on the entire trip we ate at twice 😉

Our trip to Japan was primarily a gastronomical one, we had fresh tempura cooked right in front of us, we had high-class sushi at Kyubey Sushi in Keio Place Hotel (very “Jiro dreams of sushi” style,) I had a delicacy or two I’ll leave untranslated for the faint of heart (shirako,) Kobe Beef cooked on a small personal grill atop a bar, and the list goes on and on. From $12 fruit desserts overlooking the famous Shibuya Crossing (the Japanese seem to love fruit desserts, by the way. Shops were strewn across the cities) to a $5 strawberry (yeah, A single strawberry. Just one.) to Ramen you select from a vending machine. We ate it all!

Our strategy was to sift through all the “best places to eat” lists we could find online and did our best to hit them all. Luckily for us many of them were nearby in Shinjuku or the Neighboring towns Shibuya and Goya where our hotel was. We had to be sure we tried the best. After our tanks began to run low, running from spot to spot, we broke down and started to stumble into any place we saw – and you know what? … Some of our best experiences wasn’t eating the web’s best-of, but it was with our serendipitous finds.

There are so many lively spots n Tokyo you would never know of if you didn’t take a chance on a random street elevator to an unknown floor and open the door.

I think the need to run off a list when you get to a new city is expected, you have to get a benchmark to know what counts as what counts for “good” or “bad” when you travel. Not only that, but Japan is a bit intimidating to expect to just throw yourself in. Few places are marked in English, and many spots are tucked away on the 2nd-7th+ floors of buildings. There isn’t the ability to “window-shop” your way into all Tokyo has to offer. So, if you have never been to Tokyo before I won’t try to convince you to stumble through the city, but you will realize soon, as I did, and as others told me, the beauty of Tokyo will not come from a list but your ability to take chances in any place you have the guts to stumble into.

Remember, you can see a summary of tips and notes on Tokyo here, or check out my experience in Kyoto here.