Table for One
I traveled to Tokyo on my own.
In one of those nights, I decided to have a fancy dinner and went down to the 20th floor of my hotel. I was staying in Century Southern Tower Hotel in Shinjuku, the hotel famously listed on TripAdvisor as being centrally located. It also had an unobstructed view of the city.
I stood briefly at the entrance of the hotel restaurant. “Table for one,” I told the person who greeted me. I was ushered in and offered a table with a magnificent view, twinkling lights and all. I had fish for dinner, and it was plated like a work of art. It tasted like one, too. I reveled in the view, the sound of clinking wine glasses albeit not mine, and the conversations in different languages.
Being alone is power. Loving it is a superpower.
I also discovered that dining alone not only got me the best seats, but it also got me seated right away. During peak hours at noon or during evenings when lines were long and getting seated easily took thirty minutes, I got picked for seating almost immediately. There’s always an unoccupied narrow table for two.
So, what to do for conversations? I like listening to other people’s conversations especially the ones in languages I don’t understand. I can quietly listen to the lilt, the rhythm, and they sound like music to me. I don’t actively eavesdrop, and I don’t break the third wall. I just listen to the hum and take it all in. I did.
If you’re thinking of taking the plunge, here are the other perks of traveling solo.
1. You can plan your itinerary. And choose not to follow it. There was one beautiful morning when I woke up to the sight of the city before me on a clear day and I just sat by my window having coffee with a sandwich I got from the 7-11 downstairs the night before.
2. You can get into Chanel or Hermes or Louis Vuitton easily. I was one decently dressed woman carrying a limited-edition bag, what was there to do but let me in especially when it was 6 degrees C outside? I didn’t have an appointment, and I wasn’t keen on going through their online appointment queuing process, so they gave me an appointment on the spot. And I got the bag of my dreams.
3. You don’t need to talk to anyone. You can breathe in the cool winter-spring air, look at your egg salad sandwich all you want, and stop randomly to take photos. This is not to say I didn’t miss the company of my children, but it was my moment to enjoy my own company.
4. You get checked in first. Somehow, somebody at the airport came to me to usher me to the shortest line. I wasn’t a bother to anyone.
I love traveling with my kids and sharing sights with them. They also help me figure out train station destinations. But there’s something to be said about traveling alone. I discovered I could walk with my suitcases from the Narita Express train station all the way to my hotel lobby. I discovered I could figure out which train ticket to get. I discovered I could experiment with meals. It was also when I realized my strength: mental, emotional, physical. If it were a test, I would have gotten an A.
A long time ago, there was an ad for a magazine called The Economist and it was clever, and the copy read, “Would you sit with yourself at the dinner table?”
Yes, I would. I’d choose me all the time.
Xoxo,
Butch
