“What restaurants did you go to in Tokyo? How do you get there? Places to visit in Tokyo? Things to do in Tokyo?”
My last and final blog post from Journey to Tokyo (2017)… maybe. I’m currently packing for another trip en route to in Hong Kong / Taipei, but before leaving, I wanted had to finish up this post and catch up with stuff I’ve been doing before and after the trip…
“What restaurants did you go to in Tokyo and how do you get there?”
I’m not telling you guys these spots are a must go to place to eat, but I would definitely recommend it. If you look on my itinerary from Part 1 of Journey to Tokyo (2017), you’ll find out where I ate and how long it took to get there from my last point of interest. So lets begin…
1. Sushi Dai – Located in the Tsukiji fish market area, it’s known for their 2.5 hrs wait for 10 pieces of sushi selected by the chef and one of your choice. This is called an omakase. The price of this omakase is 3900Y which is not bad (about $34USD at the time). The real investment is the wait… people start lining up at 2:30AM. Yes, AM. My brother recommended me to do the same so Enrique, Joseph, and I woke up at 2:30AM and Uber-ed our way there. We arrived at 2:45AM and there were about 10 people ahead of us. This was in January early in the AM… so temperatures were in the sub 30F / -1C… some people thought we were crazy because what normal people wait outside 2.5-3 hrs for 11 pieces of sushi? We fell into the food hype, but glad we did because it was a great omakase experience.
Is it worth waking up at 2:30AM and waiting in -1.1C for a 3,900Y omakase?
If you’re a hype food beast kind of person, yes. If not, I think you’d be fine with other places at Tsukiji. I personally wouldn’t wait again, but if a friend who has never went and wanted to do it, I wouldn’t mind going again. I do hear Sushi Daiwa is comparable to Sushi Dai with a shorter waiting time so I will probably hit up Sushi Daiwa next time.
- Gyukatsu Motomura – I got this recommendation from a couple of friends that went before and looked really good. They serve breaded beef cutlet… and not just any normal beef, but marbled graded beef. It’s served raw and you’re able to cook it to your liking with the hot stone. Because of their recent popularity, there may be a 30-60 minute wait time. Reason for this is because there’s only 9 seats. Enrique and I stopped by on a Monday at 3pM and the queue was about 45 minutes. They told us there was another location in Dogenzaka, or next to SHIBUYA109, with no wait time so we headed there….
- Jiromaru – A friend, Patrick Leong, who was there at the same time actually recommended this place to us. It’s a small Yakiniku (Japanese meat grilling) restaurant located in the Shinjuku area. Ste, Joseph, Enrique and I got there around 3:30PM and there wasn’t a long queue luckily. They serve Grade A1 to A5 beef with vegetable condiments. You can either have your own grill or 2 people to one grill. Great place if you’re meeting someone for a quick yakiniku meeting after work or with a friend.
- 7-Eleven, Family Mart, etc. – If you’re in a rush, grab breakfast, lunch, or dinner from any of these convenience stores. They have pastries, hot/cold beverages, energy jelly drinks (recommended!), and other candies/treats.
- Coco Curry Ichibanya – If you’re a fan of curry, you should definitely try this place out. It’s interior reminds you of Denny’s but they serve curry with pretty much anything. There are a few in Japan and I definitely recommend it.
- Dominique Ansel Bakery (Omotesando) – Joseph’s friend actually recommended this place to us while we were in the Omotesando area. It’s by the famous inventor of the cronut, Dominique Ansel. There are other locations around the world and there was even one in the states, NYC to be exact. We went around noon and it wasn’t packed at all. The cronut was super crisp but hard af… not sure if that’s how they are supposed to be but after you’re able to cut them with the weak plastic knife, some jizz (not sure what it was), oozes out. Hesitantly ate it and it was pretty good.
- Ichiran Ramen – Any chance I get, I will visit Ichiran Ramen. They’re coin machine operated with private eating stalls located all over Japan. Also open 24 hrs.
Things to do and places to visit in Tokyo
1. Tsukiji Fish Market – I know I’ve already mentioned this but I’ll just mention it again. Lots of great photo opps and lots of places to eat. I went twice on this trip…
- Random Roof Tops – Don’t get caught going up to a roof top illegally. You will be arrested and detained lol. It’s cool if you can find access to some.
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Shibuya Crossing – A definite must do if you’ve never been.
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Odaiba – Diver City, Gundam, Toyota Megaweb, Rainbow bridge view, Sega Arcades, etc. You can spend a full day site seeing here.
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Harajuku / Ometasando– Fashion district for teens. A few cafes here and there. Takeashita street is the place to google for.
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Akihabara – Known for their electronic shops and toys for otakus, there are lots of stores around here if you need to shop for souvenirs.
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Shinjuku – Check out the Red Light district at night but stay away from the Nigerian guys that lead you into bars.
I’m probably leaving a bunch more places out but these are the places I recently went on this trip. Check out the itinerary on Part 1 and make your own accordingly. Below are random photos from the trip. Cheers!
35mm Life……
iphone Life…
That’s pretty much it for Journey to Tokyo (2017). Will there be another Japan series this year? Hard to say but anything is possible. Thanks for reading and checking out the blog as usual. If you have any suggestions of your own or corrections to my post, please comment!
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