Real Places to Go, to follow the Girl Around

I can't think of a better place to spend a half-day in Tokyo than a depaato, as department stores are called in Japan. I did this many times while researching Girl in a Box, and like Rei, I was (mostly) undercover.

Let me explain: this was the hardest time I've ever had getting access to institutions in Japan. After various attempts to contact different department store public relations offices, I found nobody willing to show me around, nor answer questions about behind the scenes life. Imagine — do you think it might have something to do with the fact I wanted to write a crime novel set on their premises?

Desperately needing to know more than just the surface, I spent my days wandering the stores, shopping, soliciting and evaluating sales help, and writing down everything I heard and saw while huddled the ladies' room. I learned to be discreet after an embarrassingly nasty brush with a floorwalker, who threw me out of a certain posh store that will remain nameless. I also had the happy circumstance of getting a lot of secret interviews, after hours, in cocktail lounges with exhausted employees who were friends of friends of friends. These people told me interesting stories about the grit behind the glamour and one or two of them even discreetly took me behind the scenes to the unheated, grimy areas where employees dress, eat, smoke and relieve themselves.

In the end, I concluded that Japanese department stores are still the kings (or should it be queens?) of customer service — and also, it is doubtful that anyone can beat the Japanese department stores for creativity. So, like, Rei, I will continue to adore Isetan and Mitsukoshi and Sogo — but understand that behind the smooth glossy surfaces, there is a tremendous amount of hard work and stress endured by workers.

I was lucky to make my trip in February, because I could observe harikuyo, the broken needle memorial service. My dear friend, the textile expert and interpreter, Akemi Narita, brought me to Sensouji at Asakusa on a day when seamstresses and nurses bring their old, worn-out and broken needles to be buried in a large piece of tofu. A priest blesses the needles and "cremates" the tofu-needle block. The metal that's left remains at the temple in perpetuity. If you are in Tokyo in February of next year, try to check out this one-of-a-kind celebration of women's work.

In this book, Rei is living in a mansion in Hiroo. If you've been following the series, you already know that a Japanese mansion is not a grand house but an apartment—and this apartment is small, by American standards, but quite luxurious by the Japanese. Hiroo is a fantastic, upper class Tokyo neighborhood, with lots of galleries and boutiques. The New Sanno, a one-of-a-kind hotel I mention in the book, is located here; it's one of the greatest hotel bargains in the world, but you do need an active duty military ID to stay there. Hiroo also the home of one of the few public bank machines in Japan that will accept American ATM cards (Citibank).  And there really is a Giulia's, which serves fancy Italian coffees, Kobeya Bakery, and the Meidi-Ya supermarket.

I left Tokyo for a long weekend to stay in Izu, the hot spring resort where Rei travels to eavesdrop on a store executives' retreat. The osen where I stayed was too much of a dive to be mentioned as a travel possibility. They had an outdoor bath, clearly marked "ladies", that was considered fair game by naughty old men — an experience I tried to "work through" by turning into fiction! After that debacle, I visited a gorgeous historic inn, Osawa Onsen, which became the model for the place in the book where the Mitsutan guests stay. The staff was amazingly kind to let me look around after I showed up unannounced.

A variety of bars and restaurants kept me revived during the trip. Among the best, I count Nelja, a laid back hideaway with tiny, killer Japanese tapas and Yebisu on draft. I also dined with pleasure at the Iron Grill at the Tokyo Grand Hyatt, a great experience for those on expat expense accounts, ate the salmon plate at La Gola in Roppongi, and haunted Giulia's for great lattes near Hiroo Station. Of course, there were many other meals at funky little noodle shops in Asakusa, Yokosuka, and Yokohama and at ryokans in Izu. Sadly, I sometimes don't realize what's recording until it's too late; that's the tragedy with travel, but also the reason to return.

Photos From Japan

Sujata with Rear Admiral Hasegawa, the superintendent of the JMSDF's Second Service School in Taura

Here I am with some Navy wives in Yokosuka, Japan.

Yanaka, the old Tokyo neighborhood where I envision Rei's apartment.

I love this nostalgic bread ad over a typical mom-and-pop store near Yanaka, where Rei's apartment lies.

After a shrine visit, people buy fortunes. The bad ones they leave behind, tied to trees or special rocks at the shrine devoted to this purpose.

Back in the U.S.

Rei Shimura Fan Club members at a recent mystery convention.

With my good friends Donna Andrews (left) and Marcia Talley (right).

Top Ten Locations from The Salaryman's Wife

1. Takayama, Gifu Prefecture. Shiroyama, the town in The Salaryman's Wife, is based on this charming mountain town in Gifu prefecture in the Japanese Alps. It's about one and a half hours north of Nagano, where the 1998 Winter Olympics were held. Minshuku Yogetsu was inspired by Minshuku Sosuke, where the food is fabulous, the bath is deep and steamy, and there have been no murders that I'm aware of. There is a broken down castle ruin in Takayama, a feudal era torture chamber (although it's not open in winter), excellent antiques shopping and museums. Every August the town has a huge parade of historic floats. I find it most beautiful in January, when it's snowy and smoky fires crackle in every hearth.

2. Roppongi neighborhood of Tokyo. There's a sign on the bridge at Roppongi Crossing which announces "Roppongi — High Touch Town". That's certainly the case if you want it to be! The area is jam-packed with young people waiting for dates in front of Café Almond and clogging Roppongi-Dori, the street which leads to the English Pub (inspired by Maggie's Revenge, a late, great Aussie bar). Happening nightclubs change by the minute, but I recently had a blast at Bar Isn't It and Motown. Watch out for American investment bankers with wandering hands.

   

3. Hotel New Otani, Tokyo. I can't afford to sleep here, but I always go for the 900 yen set lunch in its Trader Vic's restaurant. Soak up fabulous faux Polynesian atmosphere and watch the gaijin and Japanese business elite circle each other like the dangerous blowfish the restaurant has decorating its ceiling.

4. St. Luke's International Hospital, near Tsukijii Station, Tokyo. This elegant hospital, where Rei's cousin Tom Shimura works, is said to be the country's most luxurious. It's been rebuilt several times (like everything in Japan!). It was started by an American missionary doctor, but these days, all the staff are Japanese, although many speak English, if you should break your ankle or go into labor while in Tokyo. St. Luke's was in the news in 1995, when it treated the majority if victims of the Aum Shinrikyo cult's subway gas attack.

5. Asakusa neighborhood, Tokyo. One of the oldest surviving neighborhoods in Tokyo, Asakusa is home to the famous Asakusa-Kannon temple and lots of dusty little shops similar to the antiques emporium run by Rei's friend Mr. Ishida. Nearby is Ueno Park, home to the Tokyo National Museum and Ame-yoko shopping street, a former black market bazaar that still sells lots of interesting things very cheaply. Rei's own neighborhood, Nihonzutsumi, is located a little farther north and east of Asakusa in Arakawa ward. People living here are very poor; you will see a high concentration of homeless alcoholics. The people working in the Family Mart convenience store are nice, and if you want a look at the Minami-Senju train station, it's here.

6. Statue of Hachiko, Shibuya Station west exit, Tokyo. Hachiko was an Akita-breed dog who always met his owner, a Tokyo professor, when he arrived home on the evening train. The owner died in the mid-1930s, but Hachiko didn't understand, and continued to show up at the station every night to meet him for the next decade. People in the station began feeding him and, when he died, erected a bronze statue to celebrate his loyalty. The bronze dog seems smaller and much prettier than Hachiko was said to be, but everyone loves him.

7. Omote-Sando, Tokyo. The Japanese version of the Champs Elysee is where to go on Sunday afternoons. You can stop at Tokyo Union Church for an English language service, Hanae Mori for fabulous silks and apple strudel, and the LaForet Building for happening little fashion boutiques. The Ota Art Museum has a fantastic collection of woodblock prints shown in a lovely, intimate space, and just behind the Royal Host coffee shop is a great textile store selling vintage kimono and obi. Togo Shrine is nearby and hosts a wonderful outdoor antiques sale the first and fourth Sunday mornings of each month.

8. Shinjuku, Tokyo. This vibrant shopping and entertainment neighborhood is home to my favorite department store, Isetan (the inspiration for Mitsutan). After looking at the smallest, chicest clothes imaginable, go down the street to Books Kinokuniya for a huge selection of books written in English about Japan, plus all the Japanese-language books and mags imaginable. A few blocks east of the main station exit lies Kabuki-cho, the red-light district where the fictitious Club Marimba lies. But it's not all that tawdry. On the way you'll pass intriguing little bars where men play go or drink sake late into the night.

9. Hibiya Park, Tokyo. This is a nice park to carry lunch to from the nearby Sogo department store. You can watch the ducks and office workers at lunch-time, and after that, stroll over to Hotel Imperial for a look at how the rich live. A close cousin to my fictitious Oi Beauty Salon is the art deco style Arden Yamanaka Beauty Salon in the basement of the Hibiya Park Building, also home to the American Pharmacy.

10. Hayama, Miura-Gun. This seaside town where I used to live is located an hour south of Tokyo. Take the JR "Yokosuka Line" train south, getting off at Zushi Station. From Zushi, take the #12 bus going to Hayama, seaside route. You'll pass lovely little temples and shrines (especiallly the Morito Jinja), see mansions and splashing waves on your right, and finally, the bushes and police that guard that mark the border of the Emperor Akihito's summer villa. Isshiki beach is quiet, clean and beautiful year-round. Favorite eating spots near it are Hikage Chaya, which serves high-class traditional food, and a European café with a sign reading Chaya, Beautiful Tea and Cakes.

    
    My house in Hayama, where it was so cold I typed with gloves on.

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