<story><title>A Japanese shop is 1,020 years old</title><url>https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/02/business/japan-old-companies.html</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>agar</author><text>A colleague took me to Tamahide restaurant in Tokyo, which opened in 1760 and is known for creating oyakodon, a chicken and egg rice bowl. (Oyakadon translates to &amp;quot;parent and child donburi&amp;quot; which somehow makes eating a combination of chicken and egg a little less appealing).&lt;p&gt;Looking at reviews today, people apparently see the food as a mixed bag - some are clearly disappointed. In my opinion, it was excellent, with the signature dish having balanced flavors that seem to have been refined for generations. I found it endlessly fascinating that a humble lunch place with a simple dish could survive for 250+ years - but it also makes perfect sense that simple things last.&lt;p&gt;My colleague (a local in our Japan office) told me that emperors of old had ordered the dish to be delivered to them, well before Japan had even been &amp;quot;opened&amp;quot; to the world. Perhaps the stories were apocryphal (he was a sales guy after all), but still entertaining and gave a sense of the history behind the meal.&lt;p&gt;Tokyo is an amazing city, though it can be very lonely for an expat.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>drak0n1c</author><text>Oyakodon is one of the blandest dishes in Japanese cuisine (typically made with no sauces or spices - or just a tiny dash of shichimi), so I&amp;#x27;m not surprised foreign travelers found it disappointing. Growing up with the context of the dish helps - and so does a sensitive tongue!</text></comment>
<story><title>A Japanese shop is 1,020 years old</title><url>https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/02/business/japan-old-companies.html</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>agar</author><text>A colleague took me to Tamahide restaurant in Tokyo, which opened in 1760 and is known for creating oyakodon, a chicken and egg rice bowl. (Oyakadon translates to &amp;quot;parent and child donburi&amp;quot; which somehow makes eating a combination of chicken and egg a little less appealing).&lt;p&gt;Looking at reviews today, people apparently see the food as a mixed bag - some are clearly disappointed. In my opinion, it was excellent, with the signature dish having balanced flavors that seem to have been refined for generations. I found it endlessly fascinating that a humble lunch place with a simple dish could survive for 250+ years - but it also makes perfect sense that simple things last.&lt;p&gt;My colleague (a local in our Japan office) told me that emperors of old had ordered the dish to be delivered to them, well before Japan had even been &amp;quot;opened&amp;quot; to the world. Perhaps the stories were apocryphal (he was a sales guy after all), but still entertaining and gave a sense of the history behind the meal.&lt;p&gt;Tokyo is an amazing city, though it can be very lonely for an expat.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>smukherjee19</author><text>Living in greater Tokyo for the past 5 years, can speak the language fluently. Added the Tamahide restaurant to visit sometime, thanks!&lt;p&gt;The biggest thing I&amp;#x27;ve felt since moving here: whether or not you can speak and interact in Japanese makes a world of difference. Seriously. I have interacted with expats who have not studied any inkling of Japanese, nor have tried any kind of interactions apart from other expats, and it felt their life was so bland. For example, they&amp;#x27;d struggle to order anything except at big chain restaurants that have English menus, so that small alleyway restaurant that serves super nice ramen? Or that washoku (Japanese food) restaurant that&amp;#x27;s famous for its signature dish in Japanese? Very hard.&lt;p&gt;And that&amp;#x27;s without all the intricacies of interacting with Japanese people (beyond asking for directions where people are very helpful). Boy, that&amp;#x27;s a rollercoaster ride. Sometimes you strike up conversations with people so easily because you can speak the language. Sometimes you get hurt because of differences in ways of thinking. Sometimes you try to put yourself in a Japanese person&amp;#x27;s shoes and try to understand what they&amp;#x27;re thinking. To me, it&amp;#x27;s been one of the most fun parts so far.&lt;p&gt;And I feel much more welcome. For example, the bento (packed lunch) shop run by a family where I buy a takeout from once a week? They know my name and can tell my voice when I call to order a bento. I ask them how&amp;#x27;s life and they do as well as we chitchat while visiting their shop. I leave the shop with both of us saying &amp;quot;Thanks as always!&amp;quot;. These small things do make a difference  when you&amp;#x27;re living thousands of miles away from your home country.&lt;p&gt;I&amp;#x27;m not complaining that there should be more English stuff in general; I feel people are trying to improve the situation. Nor that I&amp;#x27;m saying not knowing Japanese will make your life hell; it won&amp;#x27;t. But, it will be bland. Especially if you happen to end up at a local town in rural Japan. That has its own charm points but you&amp;#x27;d miss out most of them.&lt;p&gt;TLDR: Speaking from experience, if you ever plan to stay long-term in Japan, learn Japanese. I&amp;#x27;m sure you won&amp;#x27;t regret it.&lt;p&gt;(Sorry for the long rant.)</text></comment>