Japan 2018 day 6: Borderless and timeless

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After stuffing ourselves at lunch, we decided to be lazy and went to Odaiba (お台場) by taxi instead of taking the train as originally planned.  Our destination was the MORI Building Digital Art Museum, so that we could visit the teamLab Borderless art installation that is earning rave reviews from everyone I know who has visited.

We entered the space in groups, and it was just about pitch black when the bunch of us rushed in.  We knew there were different rooms showing different themes, and we kinda just rushed into one of them like headless chickens without even checking to see which theme it was...

Once we were in Borderless World, we were absolutely stunned.  I had seen pictures on social media, but being immersed in the sights and sounds personally was a completely different experience.  Everywhere I looked, people were awestruck at the beauty surrounding us, and everyone had their phones or cameras out to try to record their experiences.

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Even though this was a weekday afternoon, there was A TON of people here... which made it difficult to take pictures or film without having lots of bystanders in the frame.


We spent the most time inside Borderless World.  As there were almost no signs telling you where you are, it was difficult to figure out which way to go through the exhibit.  This was also the intention of the creators - to allow people to roam freely.  So we went through Flower Forest, Animals of Flowers, Light Vortex, and finally Athletic Forest, where kids and adults alike were playing, walking around, jumping on trampolines and coming down slides.


But the most stunning - and also the most crowded space - was Crystal World.  One is asked to download an app which allows the user to send commands in order to light up the LEDs with different patterns.  Unfortunately due to the high number of people trying to do the same thing, I'm not sure it worked for me...  But the lightshow was still beautiful.

I would have wanted to spend more time here, but we needed to get back to the Palace Hotel Tokyo so I could pick up wines for dinner, and we weren't sure if we could flag down a taxi here, so we took the train back and rushed over to Shibuya for our early-ish dinner.  Thankfully we weren't very late...

Adenia was one of the options recommended by H-man for our gathering tonight, as our old favorite La Ruée vers l'or is apparently no more.  The atmosphere is a lot more casual, and as the evening went on, I realized the same could be said of the cuisine.

But for me, it was good enough to be able to get together with this gang... Cow, Chicken, and H-man.  We have known each other for more than 20 years, and I'm happy that they are still willing to see me whenever I'm in town.

We started with some appetizers:

Chicken breast ham - this was OK.

Pâté de campagne - actually not bad at all.  I wish I had more stomach space.

Smoked salmon

Caesar salad with lardons

Crescent sweetlips (胡椒鯛) - served with a minced burdock sauce.  This was OK.

Lamb short loin, Gorgonzola sauce - this was OK.

The beef that came was overcooked and dry.  Pretty sad.

Sorbet with granola - I can't even remember what this was... maybe mango?

The highlights of our gatherings - other than the conversations - have always been the wines.  Traditionally the bottles came from both H-man's and my cellars.  Tonight we also had a contribution from Chicken which, unsurprisingly, was Aussie.

1990 Alain Robert Blanc de Blanc Réserve Le Mesnil, en magnum - very smooth on the palate and a little sweet.  A bit toasty on the nose, with nice notes of sweet grass, and almost some coffee.

1990 Trimbach Riesling Clos Ste. Hune - big and beautiful nose, with lots of petrol, white flowers, and herbs.  Really fucking awesome and fragrant floral nose.

1971 Egon Müller Scharzhofberger Riesling Auslese - initially the nose was absolutely beautiful, with classic petrol and white flowers, slightly more ripe and marmalade than expected.  But there was also a little bit of straw and wet cardboard, so we weren't sure whether this was lightly corked or just reductive.  There was still plenty of toasty notes, though.

1995 Cheval Blanc - smoky, beautiful, classic Bordeaux, with toast and almost coffee.  After an hour, some green bell pepper notes.

1996 Penfolds Bin 707 - smoky.  Initially much sweeter and riper with typical Aussie nose.  Later it became less ripe and slightly more dry on the palate.

In spite of the underwhelming food, it was great to be able to catch up with old friends. I only wish we had more time together. I think I'll need to schedule more time with them in the future.