World Foodie Guide

We spent six days in Tokyo between various trips to Kyoto (see Kyoto Tales), Numazu and visiting the Jigokudani snow monkeys in the Japan Alps (see Snow Monkeys & Soba Noodles). As this was my fifth time in Tokyo, I chose to concentrate on my favourite places, as well as visit a few areas new to me…

Trip 1: Tsukiji – breakfast – Hamarikyu Garden – Sumida River trip – Asakusa – lunch – Kappabashi-dori

This was my first visit to Tsukiji fish market, although I came very close to going on my last trip. Before the jetlag wore off, I decided on an early morning outing to this gigantic wholesale market, which has been in its current location since the 1923 earthquake. Even with jetlag, I knew it would be impossible for us to arrive for 5am, but 6.05 was a respectable enough start! Countless varieties of seafood were on sale at the hundreds and hundreds of stalls and the sheer volume was overwhelming. We also had to be alert at all times to avoid the numerous mini forklift vehicles scooting up and down the aisles at top speed. The people at Tsukiji can be brusque, but they are there to earn a living, rather than accommodate tourists. A friendly ‘ohaiyo gozaimasu‘ works wonders and one vendor even drew me a little map to direct us to the sushi bars. These are located near the other shops and stalls that sell all manner of food produce from pickles to cutlery (and divine matcha ice cream!) and which are just as interesting as the main fish market itself.

My sushi breakfast was a welcome respite from the manic hustle and bustle of the fish market. The husband went for a wander while I chose a place with no queue. I wasn’t prepared to queue for my food nor make him wait two hours for me. My opinion is that the fish is equally fresh no matter where you eat it at Tsukiji, so why follow the hordes of tourists? I sat with three Japanese people at the small counter facing my extremely friendly and entertaining sushi chef, who was most proud of his creations, and loved being photographed too. My breakfast cost ?2600 (£18) and was worth every yen. I left my sushi bar feeling very pleased with myself, especially as there were ridiculously long queues outside certain establishments by 7.45am.

Hamarikyu Detached Garden, situated on an island and surrounded by an ancient walled moat, is a 12 minute walk from Tsukiji (although it doesn’t open until 9am, so we had coffee to kill time). This was the first shogun’s hunting ground in the 17th century before it became a subsequent shogun’s residence. After a brief stroll around the tranquil grounds – there is also a pretty teahouse that serves tea and wagashi or Japanese sweets – it was finally time to take the 45 minute Sumida River boat trip up to Asakusa (the first boat leaves at 10.35am). The quicker route would be by subway, but traditionally, this is how the Japanese travelled to Asakusa and you’ll see a different view of Tokyo from the boat.

Every time I go back to Tokyo, I like to go to Asakusa, and we went twice this time. It is a little touristy, but I love walking up the busy stall-lined Nakamise-dori and looking at the traditional toys and food products (including snacks like the Kaminari Okoshi thunder rice crackers), before reaching the spectacular Senso-ji Temple. Not be missed are the little and much quieter streets and alleys off Nakamise-dori, where our lunch restaurants and other old shops selling knives, paper and other goods were located.

For our first lunch, we returned to Daikokuya or Big Black House (although this time we went to the larger branch with tatami seating) for their famous tendon or tempura donburi – tempura on rice with a strong soy-based sauce. The tempura is coloured dark brown from the sauce, which is ever so tasty! A Japanese friend took us there on our last trip and we were keen to eat there again. The second lunch was at Asadori, which specialises in kamameshi, a traditional dish of rice steamed in soup and various ingredients and served in an individual (and very hot) pot. The Take combination at ?1600 (£11) provided me with three rice bowls’ worth of delicious rice with seafood, mushrooms and other vegetables.

Kappabashi-dori, the wholesale restaurant supply district, is another place I’ve always wanted to visit and it’s close to Asakusa (about a 15 minute walk west of Senso-ji). The length of the street is about a kilometre, so it’s great for a stroll, especially for foodies. I particularly liked Soi, an interior design shop that wouldn’t look out of place in Meguro or Daikanyama. The ceramic pieces are simple but very desirable. I bought a couple of furoshiki (Japanese folding cloths), but could have easily left with half the shop’s contents.

Trip 2: Ameyoko – Ueno Park – Yanaka

Ameyoko Market (Confectioners’ Alley), running along the railway tracks by Ueno station, was apparently the traditional place to buy ame or candy during the Edo period. It became a black market after the Second World War and many American products were sold (‘Ame’ also stands for America). Now practically anything – clothes, hats, shoes, food products – can be found at the hundreds of shops, usually at a discount. Ameyoko is particularly crowded before the New Year as people stock up on traditional foods and gifts.

From Ameyoko we used this excellent National Geographic walking tour of Old Tokyo to walk through Ueno Park to reach the neighbourhood of Yanaka. Yanaka survived both the 1923 earthquake as well as the Second World War bombings, and is a rare example of a shitamachi (Tokyo’s old downtown) district, with old houses packed in narrow alleys, as well as traditional food stalls. It was a pleasant area to spend the afternoon.

Other places:

Kagurazaka is another well-preserved shitamachi area, with a mixture of traditional shops and trendy boutiques and cafés. Friends took us there for a delicious Italian lunch at Scugnizzo!, followed by afternoon tea and manju (steamed wheat buns with a sweet bean jam filling) at Mugimaru 2, a tiny, hip establishment. Manju options (?140 each) included azuki jam in a black sugar bun, azuki cinnamon jam in a tea-flavoured bun, sweet potato jam in a white bun and sesame azuki jam & cheese in a wild grass bun. All are recommended!

I go to Tokyu Hands every time I’m in Tokyo. It’s a gigantic multi-storied shop selling all manner of household and hardware goods, stationery and other useful things you never knew you needed. I usually visit the Shibuya branch, but my friend recommended the one in Ikebukuro as it’s better organised. We still managed to spend over two and a half hours there, starting on the 8th floor and ending up in the basement. Amongst our purchases were little woollen socks for our dining chair legs to stop them from scratching the wooden floorboards (what a brilliant idea!). If it’s your first time at Tokyu Hands, allow half a day to explore. Seriously.

Something fun to do at the weekend is visit an antique or flea market, of which there are many in Tokyo. The trick is to find one that is open on the Sunday (this seems to be the most popular day) that you’re in Tokyo. Some will open from dawn to dusk and in light but not heavy rain. Luckily for us, Yasukuni Shrine antique market happened to be open every Sunday in November. There were weird and wonderful things for sale, from samurai swords and World War Two rifles to old ceramics, cameras and toys. It’s also great for taking photos of people…

The head office of the company where I used to work is based in trendy Omotesando, so I know this area well, particularly for shopping. Two restaurants we were taken to for lunch are expensive for dinner, but offer reasonably priced lunch menus. Gokaku served mostly vegetarian food (don’t let this put you off, as the dishes are very creative!), such as lotus root manju lightly fried in a special sauce, and figs with tofu paste. Apart from a few vegetarian side dishes, I had the spectacular iberico pork donburi.

The other restaurant was Ariso-Tei, which specialises in seafood from Fukui prefecture on the Sea of Japan coast. Next door is their shop selling all specialist food products from the area, as well as ceramics, chopsticks and other interior design goods. From the several lunch set menus, we ordered the anago (eel) teishoku, soba with tempura set (one with a clear soy sauce-based dipping sauce, the other with a spicy grated daikon or white radish version) and I had the grilled mackerel and gindara (black cod) in a special yuzu miso sauce. The gindara was one of my favourite dishes of the trip, along with the iberico pork donburi…

While shopping, I discovered homeware shop J-Period in Omotesando Hills shopping complex, selling beautifully designed ceramics, chopsticks, kitchen utensils and countless other items. I managed to walk away with (just) a mini round hinoki wood tray from Atami, a set of three condiments jars and a shichimi togarashi bamboo dispenser for around £80. Have a look at the products on their website and tell me that I did well for not spending more!

A pleasant area to go furniture and interiors shopping is Meguro (one long street full of shops), while nearby Daikanyama has many boutiques and restaurants. We were taken by friends to Shisenan Teuchi Soba, a small soba restaurant on a residential street in Meguro (teuchi soba means the soba noodles are handmade by the chef). This was one of our favourite meals of the entire trip and I found out afterwards that Shisenan is featured in the current Miele restaurant guide. The chef uses only 100% pure buckwheat and the noodles were phenomenal (he also runs soba classes every Tuesday for ?4000 (90 mins)). The menu is only in Japanese, and reservations are accepted for dinner but not lunch. We arrived before it opened at 11.45 to secure four of the 16 seats, in the tatami seating area. Highlights included the freshest yuba (the skin by-product of tofu) I’ve ever had, in the form of yuba sashimi, sobagaki, a large soba dumpling similar to polenta and served with wasabi, nori and soy sauce and the two types of satsuma age or fishcakes which were amazing. We each then had a different soba dish and mine seemed to be the favourite – hot duck dipping sauce with cold noodles. The meal was finished with soba-yu, the hot water in which the soba was boiled, to drink either straight or mixed with the remainder of the dipping sauces. It might sound strange, but it’s delicious and supposed to be good for you…

Nishi-Azabu is near Roppongi Hills and full of small hip restaurants and bars that are hard to find. We were taken by another set of friends to their favourite restaurant, Hale Kai’s (2-16-4 Nishi Azabu, Tel: 03 3400 8012), where we had one of the best evenings of the trip -  incredibly creative dishes, excellent company and relaxed surroundings. Highlights included fresh oysters with yuzu and wasabi sauce, seared katsuo (bonito) with ankimo (raw monkfish liver) and grated daikon, Hale Kai’s original lobster stock cheese risotto (out of this world!) and scallop and uni (sea urchin) cream spaghettini with salmon roe. There was also a very special secret drinking place we were taken to afterwards, but as to its location I am sworn to secrecy…

Last but not least, I have to mention the Shinyokohama Raumen Museum in Yokohama, which was actually our very first port of call after stepping off the plane! The recreation of a 1960s Tokyo shitamachi district (old downtown), in which the eight restaurants and other facades are located, is really well done. I had planned to try a small bowl of ramen or Chinese-style noodles (there are full size and ’sample’ sizes) from each of the ramen restaurants located there, however, due to the onset of jetlag, one sample-sized bowl from Harukiya (representing Tokyo), was enough to fill me up. The system of buying a ticket from a vending machine outside each restaurant was also complicated as I don’t read Japanese, but a kind policeman in costume and a restaurant attendant helped me out. I even managed to explain in Japanese that the husband was vegetarian, which was no mean feat after having just landed. I shall return with a very empty stomach next time to try the other seven varieties…

And finally one more place – the Ninja restaurant in Akasaka-Mitsuke, where my Japanese stepmother-in-law took us for dinner. Although it’s a themed restaurant, Ninja was a lot of fun, and full of Japanese diners in suits rather than packed with tourists. Each set of guests is greeted by a masked ninja who leads them through narrow and dimly lit corridors for ‘training’, crossing over a trap bridge, before finally reaching the table (in our case in a private dining room). The husband enjoyed his vegetarian set menu, while I absolutely loved the magic tricks that a ninja performed in between courses. They were simple but impossible to work out!

There were far too many places that I couldn’t visit this time, but there is always the next trip! I had the quirky neighbourhood of Shimokitazawa on my list, along with Nishi-Ogikubo, an area famous for its antique and second-hand shops (about 23 minutes on the train from Shibuya). I should also have done more research into the shops at Jiyugaoka, Ebisu and Hiro-o, as I like home interiors and design shops and there are many of them there.

Practical Information:

A tip – you don’t need to speak or understand any Japanese to get by in Tokyo. However, life would be easier, and it would be polite, to use a few basic phrases such as thank you (domo arigato or even more polite domo arigato gozaimasu), please / excuse me / sorry (sumimasen), good morning (ohaiyo gozaimasu), good evening (konbanwa) and delicious (oishii). I speak very little Japanese (based on lessons from nearly 20 years ago), but it was fun to practise. I also had to explain the husband’s complicated dietary requirements in Japanese, buy train tickets, ask for directions and ask for people on the phone. And humour always works!

Japan Times – all in English and a great resource for planning where to eat or what to do from a more local perspective

TokyoTopia – helpful for Tokyo planning particularly if it’s your first trip

Bento.com – a reliable site for Tokyo restaurants research

Tokyofoodcast – a blog featuring food & sake in Tokyo, with useful photo tour guides of areas like Ameyoko and Yanaka

Japan Planning – my original post on researching the Japan trip has more details.

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This incidentally is my ‘last’ post on World Foodie Guide. I’ll write a short post very soon to explain why I’ve decided to stop blogging. All the restaurants we visited in Tokyo deserve their own special posts and far more detailed write-ups than I’ve given them, so I feel bad that I’ve packed them all into one long post! Thank you for reading…

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Helen Yuet Ling Pang @ World Foodie Guide

Tags: dining out, food, food & travel, Japan, Japanese, Japanese food, restaurant review, restaurants, Tokyo, travel, travel tips, traveleating