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Eating a 6,000-yen (US$55) sandwich on the Tokyo sidewalk: The best way to wait for a new iPhone

Casey Baseel Sep 20, 2019
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Mr. Sato gets decadent by sustaining himself with caviar while camping in Ginza to try to be the first person in Japan with an iPhone 11.

After spending years licking his emotional wounds, Mr. Sato is back. This week marked his return to the world of camping out on the streets of Tokyo to attempt to become the first person in Japan with the latest model of iPhone (this time an iPhone 11), completing his psychological recovery from the pain of being soft-banned from the festivities in 2016.

So on September 17, Mr. Sato staked out a spot on the sidewalk of Tokyo’s swanky Ginza district, just steps away from the entrance to mobile phone service provider SoftBank’s local branch.

But while Mr. Sato’s heart has remained filled with excitement, his stomach has repeatedly become empty during the three days he’s been waiting so far. So on Day 3, he had his line-up partner Butch save their spots while he went to get some lunch.

Stepping into the basement of the Tokyo Plaza Ginza shopping center, he was tempted by the restaurant area’s delicious poisonous blowfish ramen. However, he wanted to get back to his position in line as soon as possible, and he figured it would be smarter to get something to go. So when his eyes fell upon a place called Sandwich House, he figured it’d be perfect for his current needs.

But as he looked at the menu, he soon found out that Sandwich House is no ordinary sandwich joint, since it offers such gourmet options as wagyu roast beef, baby lobster, and king crab sandwiches.

As a matter of fact, the place’s full name is Caviar House & Prunier Sandwich House, and just as promised, you can get a caviar sandwich, for a cool 6,000 yen (US$55).

While that’s definitely not chump change, the sticker shock wasn’t enough to knock Mr. Sato off his feet. Compared to the 10,000-yen sushi and wagyu bento boxed lunches he’s consumed in the name of journalistic excellence/gastronomic decadence, a 6,000-yen sandwich is a bargain, and so he ordered one without hesitation.

Caviar House & Prunier does realize that 6,000 yen is more than most people usually drop on take-out, so the caviar sandwich comes in a classy black box, embossed with “The Ultimate Lifestyle” in gold text.

Oddly enough, the sandwich’s hefty price doesn’t include assembly. Instead, the components are all waiting for you inside the box, so that you can experience the joy and satisfaction of the performing the final steps of its preparation yourself.

The bread does come pre-buttered, so the first step is to add some slices of hard-boiled egg, followed by the fish eggs.

The star ingredient, Siberian sturgeon caviar, comes packed in a 20-gram (0.7-ounce) tin, and Mr. Sato took a moment to admire it after popping the top.

The sandwich also comes with a container of creamy special sauce…

…and, finally, some thin-diameter sliced chives to sprinkle in.

▼ Finished!

With assembly completed, all that was left was for Mr. Sato to dig in…

…while mentally blocking out Buch’s repeated requests to let him have half.

▼ “Sorry, Butch. I can’t hear you over all this luxury.”

Of course, with Mr. Sato having used so much of his food budget on a single sandwich, he might have to tighten his belt for the rest of the iPhone wait, and perhaps go without some of the finer fare he’s become accustomed to, like 3,240-yen persimmons. But with the taste of caviar still fresh on his tongue and in his mind, he’ll make do.

Restaurant information
Caviar House ＆ Prunier / キャビアハウス＆プルニエサンドイッチハウス
Address: Tokyo-to, Chuo-ku, Ginza 5-2-1, Tokyu Plaza Ginza basement level 2
東京都中央区銀座5-2-1 東急プラザ銀座 B2F
Open 11 a.m.-11 p.m.
Website

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