Happy Birthday to me!

Well, I turned a ripe old age on saturday and where better to spend it than in Tokyo! After opening some lovely prezzies from family (Neil gave a beautiful kimono which I will put on the blog soon) and a breakfast of croissants and coffee out on the balcony, we sauntered to the Tokyo American club where Neil treated me to a two hour pamper session of massage and facial. It was heaven! We then trotted off to a restaurant that had been recommended to me by my Japanese teacher in London, Ninja. We weren't sure what to expect as it seemed rather themey and, dare I say it, a tad touristy, but we had a fab time. When we finally found the restaurant (it was hard to find as a ninja must be well hidden!) we came into the lobby which was very dark, and were greeted by a hostess, but couldn't see a way into the restaurant. She said someone would be there soon to show us to our table and suddenly a ninja jumped through a hidden hole high up on the wall! He then bowed to us, banged on the wall and a secret door opened. He led us through low, narrow, dark corridors, past a waterfall and over a drawbridge, and suddenly we were in a pseudo ninja village. There were diners everywhere, hidden in nooks and crannies, behind sliding doors etc. It was pretty well done. Another ninja took us to our table (we both hit our heads when we sat down due to low hanging rock face!) and then took out the menu which was on a long scroll. We had a big choice, with some interesting items - Black Enchantment, Autumn Treasure Chest, and Sherbet Candy in Autumn Flavours - and we chose a big selection. There was an air of Heston Blumenthal about the menu as each course was deceiveing and looked like something, but tasted like something completely different. Our first course looked like a vanilla cream pudding, but when the ninja cut it open it was a salad! It was a great experience and I definitely recommend it for a different night out. Check out the website. If you click on "inerior design" you will get a feel for it.