Which turned out to be just as well, because when we retreated for lunch the two of us hit a surprising nutritional wall, becoming suddenly ravenous. That happens from time to time, but in this instance it was a case of feeling fine as we descended the escalator into the underground complex that houses a myriad of eating options then feeling ravenous within the space of a further two minutes.
There were plenty of places to choose from, more than we actually needed as the hunger pangs made a decision imperative, but the proliferation of eateries made it difficult to choose. After considering various Italian and Japanese options, we end up going for Vietnamese. Pho and fried rice for Hughesy, chicken soup and salad for Madam and the problem was solved.
Better still, it was solved in a location comfortably close to the station, and from there we made our way back to Hotel S, arriving around three. Back in the room after checking email and other matters, I managed a power nap until five, which was probably what got me through and beyond the evening's concert.
It was just after five when I suggested we head out in search of a post concert half bottle. Rather than going straight to the gourmet supermarket where I bought last night's bottle, we ended up heading across the road into Roppongi Hills, where Madam’s research suggested there was a pretty good bottle shop.
And as it turned out (hardly surprising, the only time she’d failed to deliver was the morning’s CD shop question) the research was right, and we found our way into an upmarket operation, where I managed to sight a range of half bottles.
Closer inspection, however, revealed them to be Bordeaux first growths at around ¥14500 a throw. Given Madam’s notion conversion rate of a hundred yen to the dollar a $145 half bottle of claret doesn't seem like the sort of thing to sip on while you're typing out the evening's setlist.
So, back to the drawing board.
I needed wine and dinner, Madam had her own agenda, and we split up as she headed off to a cake shop somewhere in the Hills and I made for familiar territory across Roppongi Street. The quest for the gourmet grocer turned out to be a bit harder to find than you might think since I wasn't paying attention to the surroundings as Madam led the way in. Still, I was only thoroughly bushed for about thirty seconds and managed to find my way back by heading into the Roppongi station complex and casting around for a familiar looking exit. That worked, and I was stowing a half bottle of Medoc in the room around ten to six.