Archive for March, 2009

$100 for a bowl of noodles!? – only in Tokyo

No wonder Tokyo is often considered one of the most expensive cities in the world. Shoichi Fujimaki has opened a new upscale ramen shop in Meguro ward where the average bowl of noodles costs around 3,000 yen.

“People will pay more for nice things,” rationalizes the 40-year-old, sporting closely cropped hair and a white chef’s coat pulled over a pink, collared dress shirt. “If I thought it was too expensive, I wouldn’t be in this business.”

The Emperor Ramen sells for 10,000 yen and requires a reservation three days in advance.

Source

Cargo plane crashes in Tokyo

A FedEx cargo plane crashed and killed its two pilots in Tokyo on Tuesday. The wreckage was quickly cleaned up by workers and the runway was soon reopened.

“We have a team of experts here to work closely with our folks here in Japan, and with the government authorities, to get all the necessary information about the incident, and we’re going to spend as much time as necessary until we get to all the issues and the facts and the information that we need,” said William Margaritis, senior vice president of communication of FedEx.

See crash footage at Narita airport here on YouTube:

Tokyo returns to top of the most expensive city list

Tokyo is now the most expensive city in the world to live in according to research done by the Economist Intelligence Unit. The rise in the yen (or collapse of the dollar) probably has something to do with this.

London has fallen to 27th place, from 8th ranking 2008, because of the plunge in the value of sterling, while New York has jumped from 39th rank in 2008 to 23rd place.

By comparing the ranking of cities in September 2008 (when the price survey was conducted) to the ranking in February 2009 (adjusting the September price data for recent exchange-rate movements), analysts see a sharp change in number as a result of the currency dislocation.

“Two factors drive the relative cost of living: local prices and exchange rates. Normally our ranking of cities by cost of living is relatively stable, but in the current global climate changes in exchange rates have significantly altered our assessment of the most and least expensive cities,” said Jon Copestake, editor of the report.

Tom Cruise and family arrive in Tokyo to promote Valkyrie

Tom Cruise arrived in Tokyo with his wife Katie Holmes and two-year-old daughter Suri, to promote his new movie Valkyrie.

“We’re gonna hang out. We’re gonna see some sights, you know, and we want to eat great sushi that they have here, and just looking forward to seeing some friends,” he told reporters.

Tokyo steps up their 2016 Olympic bid

I think Chicago is the city to beat for the 2016 Olympics. Since the 2008 Olympics were in Asia, 2012 in Europe, I think there is a strong chance the following Olympics will shift back to the Americas.

It is a shame, because I believe Tokyo would be an incredible city to host the games. Rainbow Bridge was closed this weekend with 5,000 people walking across the bridge to show their support for Tokyo’s bid.