In Search of Lobster | Motohiro Tsuchiya, Vice-President / Professor, Graduate School of Media and Governance

Heading north along the U.S. East Coast, we arrived at our destination a little less than an hour earlier than scheduled. It was still too early to knock on the door of our host. I walked along the brick-paved sidewalk with President Kohei Itoh and Mr. N from the Global Engagement Office to pass the time.

I hardly recognized any of the shops lining Harvard Square. I browsed the bookshelves at the Harvard Coop, impressed by the kinds of books Harvard professors are writing these days.

As the appointment time approached, we returned to our destination and rang the doorbell. It was Alan Garber, the President of Harvard University, who opened the door himself. Sitting on a sofa in a quiet room, we were able to exchange views on the situation surrounding universities in Japan and the United States.

The Provost who was also present showed us two old videos from the Harvard University archives. They showed the Harvard University baseball team visiting Japan in 1934 to play games against the baseball teams of Keio University and Waseda University. Although the footage is in black and white and has no sound, it also shows the Harvard baseball players sightseeing.

We promised to develop future cooperation while cherishing these past connections, and then took our leave.

We immediately headed by car to Boston's Logan Airport. As we drove along the Charles River, I saw the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) on the left. This is where I spent a year starting in March 2008. If I had time, I would have liked to stop by MIT. I also wanted to go to the lobster restaurant that used to be near my apartment.

It wasn't just the lobster. My year at MIT brings back many memories: Red Sox games when Daisuke Matsuzaka and Hideki Okajima were on the team, the Tanglewood Music Festival, the shared research lab, the MIT classroom where I gave a short lecture, the heavy snow that kept falling silently, and the rattling subway. While I am confident that I didn't waste any time, many things happened and my research didn't progress as much as I hoped, ending with only a few papers written in that year. I remember looking out the window from my seat in the library, thinking that things don't always go as planned.

I wanted to return to those places, but there was no time on this trip. Come to think of it, the lobster with ginger stir-fry I ate in Chinatown was exquisite. I wonder if it's still there.

After arriving at the airport, checking my luggage, and passing through security, I looked for my last hope: Legal Sea Foods. It's a restaurant chain in the Boston area famous for lobster, oysters, and clam chowder. I quickly found a corner with tables spread out in the concourse. However, when I opened the menu, I was disappointed to find that they didn't serve whole lobsters like the ones served in restaurants in the city. It makes sense, as people are expected to eat quickly while waiting for their flights.

I had a set consisting of a lobster roll—lobster meat sandwiched in a bun—and clam chowder. It also came with coleslaw and Cape Cod brand potato chips. Feeling nostalgic, I tucked the potato chips into my bag. It felt a little insufficient, but it was just right for a jet-lagged dinner.

However, I was shocked when I saw the bill. I was shocked again when I converted it to Japanese yen. Prices have risen due to inflation, and the weak yen makes it feel even more expensive. Even if a whole lobster had been on the menu, I might not have ordered it after hearing the price. Come to think of it, I remembered being shocked by the price of xiaolongbao in New York three years ago (Oka-shira Diary: New York Prices). My desire to return to MIT and do research someday suddenly deflated.