Interview Experience

Context:  one of my co-workers at work mentioned that his wife was interested in becoming a flight attendant and was going through the process of interviewing with various airline companies.  This reminded me of my first, real-job interview at Northwest Airlines a few weeks after graduating from college.  Below is an account of that interview. Enjoy.

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Even before graduating from college, I had made plans to attend graduate school and get a Master's Degree in Linguistics.  That all changed when my parents suggested that I go to an interview near Los Angeles for a flight attendant position for Northwest Airlines (bought out by Delta Airlines in 2008).  The goal wasn't for me to become a flight attendant but rather to get "interview" experience so that, if grad school didn't pan out, I could always start looking for a job with my newly honed "interview" skills.

"I had no interest at all.  And besides, I was there for the 'interview' experience"

Northwest Airlines at the time was hiring people interested in becoming flight attendants who also had Asian language skills.  You didn't have to be fluent in an Asian language;  you just had to have a basic understanding and the ability to get your point across.  They scheduled a group interview session in Long Beach, California, about an hour and a half north of San Diego and 30 minutes southeast of Los Angeles proper.  It was a warm day in June, just a couple of weeks after my graduation and the room we were to be interviewed was jam-packed with Asian faces.  The room had a number of chairs lined up with a side table set up for the interviewers and a podium on top of a small stage in the front of the room of the interviewee.  There were about thirty of us and each candidate went up to the podium and had to mention three things:

1. Your name
2. What second language you spoke
3. Your best customer story

I was the last one to go up and so I had the luxury of listening to everyone else's interview. The first person, a young Asian woman about the same age as me, went up on the podium and looking straight down at her hands on the podium, started speaking in a hushed voice about providing the best service to a regular customer who would often leave them with a huge tip. The next person, a short Asian guy with glasses, blankly stared out straight into the distance, not making eye contact with anyone in the room, as if he was hyponotized by the wall that he was facing. He mentioned something about getting great service about some restaurant that he liked to frequent.  After a while, all of the stories started sounding the same and strangely enough, there were a lot of folks who brought up restaurants as being the place where they gave great service or went to get great service, as if restaurants were the hotspot for best customer stories.  The restaurant name or the name of the person who attended to their needs may have changed but it was pretty much the same super-generic best customer story.  What was interesting was that, since the podium was facing the center of the room where all of the interviewees were sitting, the candidate doing the talking was often facing their fellow interviewees and not the interviewers, who were off to the side.  It was, as if, the interviewees were pleading their case to their fellow candidates and not the interviewers.  And the interviewers?  Well, you could tell right away that they were bored out of their minds.  Blank stares with that glazed look on their faces as if they were in some kind of trance.  I would imagine that they have interviewed a countless number of people the days previous to my interview and were not looking forward to interviewing more hopefuls in the coming days.  Either that, they were drunk.

I had no intentions of becoming a flight attendant.  I had no interest at all.  And besides, I was there for the "interview" experience; learn as much as I can about what types of questions are asked, how people responded to those questions, how to present oneself to others while sounding confident and not cocky.  And so, having watched all of the other candidates repeating the same best customer story with hardly any variation, I decided that my story wasn't going to be about restaurants or favorite servers giving me extra napkins.  Behind the podium, facing the interviewers (who still looked hung over), I said to them and to everyone, with as much enthusiasm I could muster:

"Hi everyone.  My name is Scott Kuramura and the second language I speak is Japanese."

At this point, I say in Japanese that I've studied fours years of Japanese in college, one of those years being spent in Osaka as an exchange student.  I also mention, with as much modesty as possible, that my Japanese is pretty awful.  I then say, in English:

"My best customer story?  I unfortunately don't have a best customer story because it tells me that there is only one customer out there that I need to treat well or that there is only one hairstylist or waiter out there who gave me their best service.  I don't think we should think like that.  We should treat all of our customers the best that we can, putting ourselves into their shoes and providing consistently great service.  And we should be mindful of how that one hairstylist or waiter who gave me their best service treats others, asking ourselves, did they provide the same consistently great service to others as they did to me?  So, best customer story?  I don't have one.  Thank you."

And I sit down.  The interviewers, suddenly of their stupor and highly animated, start smiling and saying thanks as they wrapped up the interview.  They were definitely happy to be done with this torture session.  I quickly duck out of the interview room, head back home and report to my parents that I'm now "interview" savvy

The next day, I get a call from one of the recruiters who was at the group intereview.  Out of the thirty folks that they interviewed, only 5 were selected to go to the follow up interview and I was one of them.  My first thought was, "This is great.  More interviewing experience!".  But as I drove back to Long Beach the next day for the follow up interview, I realized that I was interested less in getting good at answering interview questions.  I realized that I was more interested in providing great customer service as a flight attendant.

[To be continued]

Lunchbox Laboratory

Imagine that there are two categories for Burger Goodness.  You have Fast Food Joints, that are the standard bearers of fast food burgers, where they're made super quick and without much flash.

• McDonalds - baseline hamburger.  Consistently familiar.
• Carl's Jr. - good burgers, love the Western Bacon Cheeseburger
• Five Guys - not bad; lots of burger condiments to choose
• In and Out - the standard, most basic and most delicious burgers in the world

And then you have your Sit Down and Order Off A Nice Looking Menu Types of Restaurants that serve a supposedly better burger at a slightly higher price.  I had the chance to eat at the Lunchbox Laboratory this past weekend and this place definitely falls into the second category. 

"And the best thing about this? There is no way to mess it up."

Lunchbox Laboratory signage. Seattle Lab. It's autumn and I'm hungry!

There are three locations in the Puget Sound area:  Bellevue, Gig Harbor and Seattle.  I went to the Seattle one with my friend.  What's cool about Lunchbox Laboratory is not just their huge selection of burgers to choose from but the multitude of combinations in bringing together a custom ordered burger to your liking.  Just as the name implies, you get to play around with all of the ingredients (from meat choices to dipping sauces to the number of patties that you want for your burger) to come up with a masterfully delicious concotion. And the best thing about this? There is no way to mess it up.  

My friend ordered the Upstate New Yorker with three patties; it looked like a heart attack just waiting to happen. With Super Beef (which is Lunchbox's American Style Kobe Beef), Monterey Jack Cheese, Onions, Super Gorgonzola Spread and Buffalo Ketchup, it had all of the makings of an edible Empire State Building.  It looked quite decadent, New York style.

Upstate New Yorker Burger.  Yes, that's three patties.  The little cup behind the salad is a cup of jalepeno mayo for the fries

I had the Tear Jerker, which comprised of Super Beef, Pepper Jack Cheese, Onions, Jalepenos peppers, Habanero Mayo and Satan's Tears Ketchup.  The ketchup wasn't as devilishly hot as the name implies but it was quite flavorful, like ketchup mixed with tabasco sauce.  I ordered it with two patties (one patty equating to about a 1/4 pound of ground beef) and that seemed too much. 

The Tear Jerker with two patties. That red stuff is Satan's Tears Ketchup. I did cry a little but it was tears of burger joy.

Overall, this burger was super flavorful, with a bit of kick.  The meat had a lumpy shape to it, as if someone had just handrolled the burger to order.  It's wasn't hard at all when it arrived; it was rather juicy with some flavor.  But the flavor of all of the condiments that come in the burger (from the habanero mayo to tabasco infused ketchup) added more than enough spicy zest to make me sweat.  

Is ... is that bacon salt? And garlic? Wait! Cinnamon? So much flavor!

You get to choose your sides and I got the standard issue skinny fries.  They also had tater tots, housemade chips, sweet potato fries and Mac and Cheese selections.  The skinny fries were OK.  Super thin and salty but lacked any potato taste.  Next time, I'll have to get the tater tots or chips to compare.  Tots would have been better since I could have experimented with the various seasonings they had available.  Mmmmm ... bacon salt.

They had a fair selection of appetizers, shakes and spirits but after a half pound of burger heaven, I decided that eating any more would be too hazardous to my health and decided to pass.  Next time, Lunchbox Laboratory!  I'll see you next time with my empty stomach in tow. Highly recommended for a real gourmet burger.

Lunchbox Laboratory

1253 Thomas St.

Seattle, WA 98109

206-621-1090

http://lunchboxlaboratory.com

Also in Bellevue and Gig Harbor

Mini Movie Reviews - November 2013 Edition

A lot of great movies came out during the summer time and I was fortunate to see a good number of them. There were also a good number of films I didn't get the chance to watch so I'm fortunate enough to now have time to watch them on Blu-ray so the following are reviews of movies that I've recently watched.  Enjoy.

World War Z

Brad Pitt is wielding a shotgun and looking rather ruggedly handsome with his flowing locks as he fights against a zombie infestation that is spreading rapidly.  While it doesn't have the same doomsday sense of dread as Steven Soderbergh's Contagion, there is a lot of frantic action scenes in the beginning and slow burn suspense towards the end that works surprisingly well in keeping you entertained.  You may not relate with any of the characters (I mean seriously, do any of the UN investigators look as gorgeous as Brad Pitt, flowing locks and all?) but it's a fun take on the zombie apocalypse.

Verdict:  stimulating enough to make your brain more enticing for zombies

Monsters University

Like Temple of Doom before Raiders, like Phantom Menace before Star Wars, you have Monsters University, which serves as a prequel to the events that transpire in Monsters Inc. Here, we see the beginnings of the deep friendship between Mike and Sully during their early years at MU. Like most prequels, it has the extra burden of tying both films together.  Some do it better than others and luckily, MU does a fine job of making the connections make sense while maintaining continuity between the two movies.  But, like some of the sequels that we've seen this summer, it's a capable adventure comedy with characters that we've grown to love from the original but lacks the same amount of heart as the original.

There are certainly lots of Animal House antics and while the second act falls into a generic storyline that eventually reaches a generic climax, you think the movie is over only to find out there is an intriguing third act that adds much to the storyline. What's interesting is that, while I liked the action packed, jaw dropping climax of Monsters Inc., Monsters University goes in the opposite direction and provides a more intimate climax but one where the pay off is almost as good as the original ... almost.

Verdict:  no Boo but more foo-lishness and fun.  May not be the best of what Pixar has to offer but even so-so Pixar is much better than the best of what's out there

Pitch Perfect

Look at the success of American Idol in the past years and Glee in recent years and you'll see how songs are repackaged into something that's easily recognizable but somewhat skewed in such a way that it's not easily dismissible.  It grabs your attention, makes you want more and feel somewhat nostalgic for the original at the same time.  It's an intoxicating mix.  Now add acapella (a difficult feat in itself since you don't have a prearranged track to use as a crutch) and you have Pitch Perfect.

I wasn't really buying Anna Kendrick as a loner-square peg that doesn't want to fit in with the rest of the girls at her college but as her character goes from self-imposed outcast to reluctant leader/hero, she grew on me. The movie really gets into gear when you see the Beca character take charge, trying to pull her group away from being gauzy acapella choir girls to cutting edge acapella singers.  The scene where they sing the Bruno Mars - Nelly remix is inspired.

There are a lot of times where the movie is absurd, coarse and clichéd but hey, Pitch Perfect ultimately wins with some standout singing sets that confidently carries a tune.  

Verdict:  it may not reach the same level of coolness as The Breakfast Club but it will make you not want to forget about this movie.

Tokyo DisneySea (November 2012)

There are a lot of great things to see and do in Japan and one of the biggest things the girls were looking forward to was going to Tokyo Disneyland and DisneySea.  For someone who was born and raised in Southern California, going to Disneyland was like a yearly tradition for me, which I always looked forward to.  So I certainly shared my daughter's anxiousness and anticipation in going to the Tokyo Disney Parks.

"entering DisneySea instantly transports you to a place that mixes the feeling of being in some exotic locale with the wonder of imagination"

As mentioned in my review of the Sheraton Grande Tokyo Bay Hotel, we bought the two day passport tickets, which allowed us to enter one park one day and the other park the following day.  We went to Tokyo Disneyland first and it was a grand experience.  In this post, however, I want to talk about our time at Tokyo DisneySea.

Bottom line:  entering DisneySea instantly transports you to a place that mixes the feeling of being in some exotic locale with the wonder of imagination. It's an exhilarating combination of immersion and interaction, creating a unique and utterly unforgettable experience.

• We hopped on the Monorail from the Bayshore Station, right in front of our hotel.  It only took us about 4 minutes to get to the Tokyo DisneySea Station.  Upon arriving into the station, looking outside the monorail window, we saw that there were already massive lines of folks waiting patiently to get into the park. It seemed that everyone bought their tickets beforehand so I'm glad that we did the same.  We got there at around 8:30am and stood in line, waiting for the gates to open at 9am.

• Once we got in, we made a beeline to Toy Story Mania, which had recently opened. Unfortunately, everyone else was thinking the same thing. Once we got close to the attraction, we were surprised to find a sea of black haired heads, waiting in line for both the ride AND the Fastpass tickets.  We decided to walk up to Port Discovery and try out Storm Riders.  Luckily, with everyone stuck at Toy Story Mania, the wait time for Storm Riders was 5 minutes.  The ride was great:  it's like the Weather Channel version of Star Tours.  We got a little wet but overall, a fun-filled adventure.

• Next stop:  Mysterious Island.  The look and feel of this land was volcanic/terraforming tech meets steampunk.  Very cool and besides, you're IN THE MIDDLE of a volcano. How cool is that?

• We wanted to ride Journey to the Center of the Earth but there was a line so we got a fast pass which told us to come back in 20 minutes.  While waiting, we were able to walk right into 10000 Leagues Under the Sea.  It's kind of like the Finding Nemo Submarine Ride at Disneyland.  You have a controller to move around a spotlight, which was pretty cool.

• Came back to Journey and with our Fastpass, we were able to walk right in.  The ride itself was ok ... you ride through these dark tunnels, exploring underground cystalline formations.  Then, you see a bunch of weird insect aliens taking over the earth's core. The ride culminates with the ride going into roller coaster mode, pushing you up a steep grade and then dropping down a nice drop, giving you a sense of freefall.

• Walked over to Mermaid Lagoon and met Ariel.  She spoke English and so did we.  I'm wonder how she feels about living in a place where the majority of the population eat fish.

• Entered Mermaid Lagoon.  Very nicely laid out kiddie land.  Made you feel that you were actually "Under the Sea", being an integral part of Ariel's world.  Rode most of the rides in there, including the Tea Cup-like ride called (appropriately enough, Whirlpool).  We even went to the Mermaid Lagoon Theater to watch Ariel and friends battle the evil Ursula in a puppets meet Cirque Du Soleil-esque presentation.

• Outside of Mermaid Lagoon, we rode Flounder's Flying Fish Coaster twice in a row.

• Now, we were in search of popcorn.  But, instead of finding popcorn, we ended up at the Magic Lamp Theater.  This presentation was in 3D, which featured Genie and Aladdin.  It was short but a sweet presentation.

• Met Genie, Aladdin and Jasmine.  Genie didn't say anything but Aladdin and Jasmine spoke to us in English.  They asked us where we were from.  My daughters answered "Seattle".  Aladdin and Jasmine responded by saying that it was very far from Agrabah but their magic carpet could make the trip.  Very cute how they stayed in character the whole time.

• We had lunch at Sebatian's Calypso Kitchen, which specialized in pizza and sandwiches. 

• After lunch, the girls played in Ariel's Playground.  Lots of caves to explore and places to climb.

• After leaving Mermaid Lagoon, we eventually found Strawberry Popcorn in Port Discovery.  The popcorn was great:  there was a nice, lightly sweet strawberry taste that wasn't overpowering.  Mixed in well with the saltiness of the popcorn.

• Next we checked out Fortress Exploration.

• We made it back to Mermaid Lagoon and rode Flounder's Flying Fish Coaster twice (again)

• Had dinner at Vulcania Restaurant.  It was Chinese food, Buffeteria Style, where you select your entries, sides, desserts and drinks from the servers.  They ring you up after making all of our selections.  It was very tasty, especially after a long day of walking around.

• We went back to Toy Story Mania.  Yup, it was still crowded.  So we walked around the park.  So many beautiful things to see, like the entry into DisneySea and Mermaid Lagoon lit up at night.

Mermaid Lagoon lit up at night.  In the foreground right, we got some popcorn with sea-salt, which was very flavorful.

• Watched Fantasmic! a water show with fireworks and water.  Impressive.

• Rode Sinbad Storybook Voyage.  It's just like It's A Small World, only set in the world of Sinbad

• Also rode Jasmine's Flying Carpet.  It's just like the Dumbo ride.

• And lastly, before calling it a day and leaving DisneySea, we met up with Minnie and Goofy at the Greeting Trails in Lost River Delta

So, here are some unique aspects about our time at Disneysea that I found intriguing:

• DisneySea, like California Adventure, is unique to the world.  However, while there are a good number of unique rides, there were some (like the Sinbad and Flying Carpet rides) which had the same, familiar feeling of having ridden a similar version of this ride before. 

• The layout is different.  Instead of the hub and spoke design of the Disneyland, Disneysea has an inner loop (between Mediterranean Harbor and Mysterious Island) and outer loop that encompasses most of the other lands.  Not sure if this is better than the hub/spoke design but interesting nonetheless.

• Obvious here, but the whole theme park centers around water (water taxis, boats, rides with water) with the Mediterranean Harbor as the center of the park, which does the Fantasmic Water Show

• Outside of Mermaid Lagoon, there is a more adult feel with more atmosphere.  Each themed area meticulously recreates places far and away that transports guests to a specific locale, whether it's the tall Mayan ruins found in the jungles of the Lost River Delta or the Spanish influenced architecture of the Fortress Exploration in Mediterranean Harbor.  Tokyo DisneySea definitely does a great job of bringing you there.

• Food was great.  Good variety of popcorn (Black Pepper, Caramel, Apple Cinnamon, Curry, Strawberry, Sea Salt).  Had the Strawberry and Sea Salt.. both good.  A good variety of restaurants from simple snack shops to sit down restaurants.

• Souvenir Guide map had tons of information.  Better than the California ones

• Lots of characters walking around (Elastigirl, Ariel, Genie, Jasmine and Aladdin, Three Amigos, Chip (of Chip and Dale fame), Minnie and Goofy) ... all walking around or a character stations where the wait wasn't long at all

                Left:  Fantasmic!                                                    Right:  Toyville with Toy Story Mania!

We had a great time and look forward to going again.  If you get the chance, it's definitely worth the time to transport yourself to a magical place full of mystery and excitement, tempered with Disney's unique sense of magic.

Gravity

Main Takeaway:  You watch and then you realize that the attraction to the movie is not a singular aspect but rather the combination of star power, movie making prowess and streamlined storytelling that pulls you in and doesn't let go.

Verdict:  Highly Recommended. 3D definitely, IMAX optional

Pros

• Spectacular, vivid shots of the planet Earth from space
• Believable sequences of peril, making you wonder what's going to happen next
• Incredibly long one-take shots; director Alfonso Cuaron's trademark, giving you a sense that you are actually there, in real time, as opposed to an omniscient viewer, watching in movie time
• Sandra Bullock and George Clooney; makes you want to root for them, even though you may have a hard time thinking of them as actual astronauts
• Short run time of 91 minutes (this isn't a con since it compresses the movie into a more potent package of storytelling and action sequences

Cons

• Hardly any lens flare

Summary

Lost in space. The final frontier.  In space, no one can hear you scream. You've heard all of the movie references and tag line from past science fiction films. The thing about Gravity is that it's less fiction, more science and a tag line isn't really going to sum up this unique movie going experience. It sets a new bar in what a movie that takes place in space is all about. Watching it in 3D, the beginning of the movie really sets the tone: almost first hand experience of floating weightlessly in space, tagging along with the crew of the space shuttle as they are making adjustments to the Hubble space telescope. Some catastrophe happens that then kicks the movie into high gear. You watch and then you almost forget to breathe as our heroes face one dangerous predicament to the next. Cuaron does a phenomenal job of placing the audience in the middle of the action, at times putting the camera straight into the actor's face so that you can see, hear and even feel what they're going through. At times, it's a dizzyingly surreal experience ... something that I can say with confidence has never occured in any other movie going experience. It's that good.

Starring: Sandra Bullock, George Clooney

Written By: Alfonso Cuaron & Jonas Cuaron

Directed By: Alfonso Cuaron

Genre: Science Fiction, Thriller

Rated PG-13

Kukai Ramen & Izakaya

Up until now, you had to go out of state or out of country to get good ramen.  Yes, there are a number of restaurants in the Seattle area that serve ramen but none of them were considered as "good".  Boom Noodle (which was in Bellevue Square but no longer) was pretty much all style and no taste with their ramen selection.  I read about Kukai opening up late last year to positive reviews and had to try it out to see if this was the best ramen in town.  I'm happy to say that it indeed lives up to that statement.

"... had to try it out to see if this was the best ramen in town"

My friends and I arrived at Kukai at around 1:30pm, missing the lunch crowd.  I heard that at noon, the wait can be pretty long so we were lucky that we were seated within 5 minutes.  The restaurant is long and narrow, with tables and chairs aligned on one side of the restaurant and an open kitchen on the other side. Walking inside, we were greeted with a warm "Irasshaimase" and once seated, we were greeted to a generous selection of appetizers and ramen.  From shio (salt) to shoyu (soy sauce based) to tonkotsu (pork broth), Kukai has the full set of ramen choices, including chicken ramen, spicy and shio yuzu (salt with citrus fruit) ramen.  I was tempted to get the shoyu ramen but saw that they had tsukemen (ramen noodles (either hot or cold) served on a plate with dipping sauce) and had to try it out.  Didn't try any of the appetizers so I'll have to come back to try them out.

My friends had the shoyu ramen.  The presentation of the ramen was ok; the topping were few and scattered around the top.  I was half expecting some bean sprouts and a dash of sesame seed oil but overall, it was serviceable.  I didn't get a taste of it but something to try out next time.

Shoyu Ramen:  soy sauce based broth with spinach, seaweed, bamboo shoots and chashu (pork)

 Tsukemen (noodles with dipping sauce):  wider noodles with spinach, shredded seaweed, bamboo shoots, and chashu (pork).  Delicious.

The tsukemen, on the other hand, was sheer perfection.  The noodles mixed with the shoyu based dipping sauce was super tasty.  The wider noodle lends itself well since there is more surface area to pick up the flavorful broth.  You get a good mix of slurping and chewing that made the eating experiene a pleasure.  The dipping sauce itself was slightly sweet with some tanginess, and mixed with scallions and a little chili powder, it was a welcome variation to the standard issue ramen.  The chashu pork was tender and almost melted in my mouth and elevated an already delicious dish to super yummy goodness.  I really liked it a lot.

Kukai is, without a doubt, the best ramen in town.  It certainly rivals Santoka Ramen in Vancouver, BC and a lot of the other ramen shops in the Los Angeles area.  It's certainly closer so I highly recommend going.

Kukai Ramen & Izakaya
14845 Main St
Bellevue 98007
425-243-7527
http://kukai-ramen.com/index.html

Sheraton Grande Tokyo Bay (November 2012)

Our family tries to go back to Japan once every three years or so.  Our last trip was in November of 2012 and prior to going, the girls had their heart set on going to both Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo Disneysea.  And, to be honest, I secretly wanted to go as well.  Since we wanted to be close to both theme parks and also be close to downtown Tokyo, we decided to make the Sheraton Grande Tokyo Bay in Urayasu our homebase hotel during our second week in Japan.

"... there were so many other services and amenieties that the hotel provided that it really put it over the edge of awesomeness"

We splurged and booked a Club Room, a rather spacious room located on specially designated floors of the building (in the case of the Sheraton Grande Tokyo Bay, it was the 11th and 12th floor (the top two floors of the hotel) that had a marvelous view of Tokyo Bay.  Hotel rooms in Japan are typically small and for a family of four, it can get cramped really quickly but our room was huge compared to rooms found in other hotels.  It accommodated four beds (two doubles and two singles) which was great since each of us got a bed to call our own. There were free bottles of water, which were replinished daily; a very nice touch since it saved us time from going to the convenience store to buy drinks. Other nice touches include having the toilet separate from the shower/bath room and nice, fluffy bathrobes, which the girls loved.

 Cloudy with a chance of Disney.  View of Tokyo Bay

Looking down into the courtyland

But the best aspect of staying in a Club Room was access to the Club Lounge.  Located on the same floor as ours and limited to guests on the Club Floors was a fairly large lounge room, with plenty of comfortable chairs to relax in, free wireless access and best of all, free snacks and drinks.  On one of the days that we were there, they had thinly sliced smoked ham, various cheeses and crackers, along with a huge bowl of Hershey Kisses.  There was also a drink bar with unlimited access to various soft drinks, including beer and wine.  My daughters had the melon soda and I had a cup of iced Calpico.  Delicious.

There are two buffet restaurants in the Sheraton:  the Grand Cafe is opened all guests so when we went there for lunch on our first day at the hotel, it was very crowded.  But wow, there was a wide variety of foods to choice from, such as rice dishes, pasta, and various meats, along with a wide range of desserts and a build your own sundae station.  It was all very tasty.  

The other buffet restaurant is the Summit, which is located on the top floor (12th floor) of the hotel.  This restaurant, like the Club Lounge, is limited to Club Floor guests so it was never crowded and we were always seated right away with a choice of looking over Tokyo Bay or the Disney theme parks.  We went during breakfast early in the morning and was surprised to see such a vast variety of food.  Yogurts, traditional western style breakfast items (like eggs, bacon, ham, cereal) as well as tasty Japanese items (miso soup, fried fish, pickles) and various vegetables.  We were there for four days and each day, the menu changed slightly but overall, it was always good and always fulfilling.

 Breakfast of champions.  So.Much.Good.Food. Corn Soup in the middle.  Yogurt drink upper right

I love pineapple.  Yogurt drink upper left; berry smoothie upper right

Both the room and the terrific buffet choices alone would have made our stay at the Sheraton a memorable experience but there were so many other services and amenieties that the hotel provided that it really put it over the edge of awesomeness.  Top on the list was location.  Since it located next to both Disney theme parks, it was easy getting from the hotel to the park.  You could walk to the monorail station but you could also wait for the shuttle to drive you there.  When the shuttle wasn't around, we just hiked it to the monorail station (less than five minutes).  When we were heading back to the hotel, there was usually a shuttle waiting for us so we just hopped on and we were back at the hotel in no time.

Along with the location, you can't beat all of the other ameneties the hotel has to offer:

• Official Disney Store in the hotel - there is a fairly large Disney Store in the hotel, where you can go and buy gifts related to Disney.  From keychains to dolls to cookie tins with Disney characters on it, there is a wide variety to choose from.  You could spend half of your day just looking through everything they have to offer
• Dedicated Tokyo Disney Resort Ticket Counter - you can buy your Disney theme park tickets ahead of time instead of buying them at the gate.  The person who was working at the counter was a young, bubbly Japanese girl who greeted us with so much enthusiasm, it was kind of scary.  I wondered if she worked for Disney instead of the hotel.  We bought the special 2 day passport, where you can visit one of the parks one day and then other park the following day.  It wasn't a park hopper type of passport, which was fine with us since we wanted spend as much time as possible at each park each day.
• Dedicated packing service - if you need to have things shipped overseas, you can get packing supplies from the packing service counter and once packed, have them shipped from the same counter.  Really convenient.
• Game Room and Convenience Store - there is an arcade that you can go to and play video game and UFO Catcher style games to win prizes.  Next to it is a convenience store to pick up snacks and drinks.  Not as complete as a Lawsons but works when you're in a pinch for snacks and stuff
• Coffee Shop - if you need a coffee fix, the coffee shop in the lobby has you covered.  There is also a fine selection of sandwiches and snacks to choose

We had a great time at the Sheraton Grande Tokyo Bay.  Highly recommended!

Sheraton Grande Tokyo Bay Hotel

1-9 Maihama

Urayasu, Chiba 279-0031

Japan

(81)-(47) 355-5555

http://www.starwoodhotels.com/sheraton/property/overview/index.html?propertyID=361&language=en_US&localeCode=en_US