'STAND UP MEAL'

Remember Sensei said something about Tokyo folks being always in a hurry, and they have no time to wait for their food? Well, here is further proof ... they eat on their feet. I am not talking about 'standing room only' but 'standing while you eat'. I rather think this is less a matter of patience but a creative solution to a basket of issues between the customer and the vendor.

Customers : want quick fix, no time to sit, do not want to sit, eating alone, do not want to pay for space, prefer self service, food quality at reasonable and stable prices above all, nothing else matters.

Restaurants : do not want to spend $ on rent, do not want to hire service staff, self service across the board, costs mostly on ingredients, fast turnover, assembly line operations, customers just another widget.

These Stand-Only places, literally translated as 'Stand-Eat', offer the perfect marriage. The Soba joint on the left is a stone-throw from my hotel, and where I go for breakfast if I am hungry. The Sushi joint is a bit further down the road, they both know me now. Prices are 30-35% below the competition in the neighborhood and business traffic, including and especially Soba breakfasts, is brisk from what I can see. Why not? If all one looks for is honest-to-goodness comfort food to fill the stomach in between meetings or errands. It certainly beats trashy fast food and I am sure at time it even beats sitting down to eat. This is so characteristic of city life, and so charmingly convincing in Tokyo.

Did you notice the billboard above Chiyoda Sushi that advertises an international sushi school? My next stop, perhaps?