Wataminchi in Ueno - Japan is Special

Full disclosure - I'm a Japanophile.  There is something about Japan that I find irresistibly appealing.  If you are ever tempted to tell me the flaws of Japan, I won't deny them.  This is not some kind of rose-coloured glasses, can-do-no-wrong kind of infatuation.  It's more like the esteem in which you hold an artist or writer whose work you have followed for years.  Yes, they might have some character flaws that might not make them best friend or romantic partner material, but it doesn't stop you from admiring the brilliance of their work.  That's Japan for me - the brilliant artist.

On my last night in Tokyo a few weeks ago, we wanted to go to an izakaya.  Roaming the area around Ueno station, the first thing you think is, "How do all these restaurants survive?"  Even the two New Yorkers I was with could not get over the sheer number of places to eat and drink.  In a business in which location is often touted as one of the biggest factors in success or failure, Tokyo is a place where there might be a different restaurant on each of 8 floors of a building.  How do you get people to go up to the eighth floor to see if the food is good?  The only thing to bring you in is a sign at ground level and the constant stream of customers coming and going.  In our case, the different signs didn't mean a lot (because we don't speak Japanese), but the flow of customers was our recommendation.

We followed some people upstairs to a place called Wataminchi and asked for a table.  Full.  We sat down to wait and had a couple of drinks and some edamame.  It didn't take too long before our table came up and we settled in for a nice 'last night in Japan eating frenzy'.  As with most places you go in Tokyo, the food was good and the beer super cold.  As we were leaving, the host/manager asked us to wait a few minutes.  It was an odd request (being asked to wait when you are leaving a restaurant), but, this being Japan, I tend towards seeing where things lead.

We plunked down at the little stools at the front, and about five minutes later were presented with this gorgeous hand-drawn, hand-lettered sign.

It's not like I haven't been to friendly places before.  But this place was PACKED.  They didn't need us as customers by any stretch of the imagination.  Still, the manager somehow made time to get inks and brushes to make this for us.  More than that, it's gorgeous.  Even a quick friendly gesture in Japan somehow reflects an incredible aesthetic quality that you don't see elsewhere.  I mean, in Canada I might get a little thank you note on a napkin with a happy face.  In Tokyo I get calligraphy.  

Love you, Japan.