Tasting Tokyo
I recently took a trip to Japan and it was unlike anything I have ever done before! I loved the entire experience. Though I was only in Japan for ten days, I want to share my food-ventures with you all.
Day 0
A one hour flight from Kansas City to Minneapolis. Twelve hours from Minneapolis to Tokyo. I watched a dozen movies and shows, sipped on white wine, and was surprised by how good the food on the flight was. Two large meals and a few snacks were served over the course of the flight. I had teriyaki salmon for dinner and sausage and eggs for breakfast.
As relatively pleasant as the flight was, I was extremely relieved to finally arrive in Japan!
Day 1
My first day experience needed to include sushi! We walked down to a local sushi train restaurant, Sushiro Shioiri, for lunch. It was beautiful out, a calm 60 degrees, perfect for walking. This restaurant is very popular so we waited about 30 minutes to be seated. I was timid at first, unsure of how much money I was spending each time I grabbed a plate off of the train. Grab all you’d like or make a special order from the screen. When your order is complete your screen chimes and you take it from the train. I enjoyed tea, squid with lemon, fatty tuna and so much more. The fish was great but we couldn’t resist ordering the mozzarella tempura! It was definitely better than any mozzarella stick I’ve had. It was so soft, light and crispy.
In the end I only ate about $13 dollars worth! What a steal!
Italy or Japan?
Of course I had pizza and Chardonnay on my first day in Japan. I was thrilled that we were going out for pizza and I was even more thrilled by how delicious it was. The owner of Napoli Pizzeria Yokosuka is from Naples and came to Japan about five years ago. The restaurant only seats about 10 people; I’ve learned that’s a more common thing there - and so different from Kansas City! We were up close and personal with the pizza oven. (Photo below is not zoomed in)
Day 2
Though the jet-lag was trying to take me down, we still went out the local mall for dinner. We had tonkatsu, a breaded, deep-fried delight.
The miso soup was perfect for how tired my body was feeling. The oysters, shrimp and pork were crispy perfection paired with the cabbage.
Rice, soup and cabbage were all unlimited.
Bed time occurred shortly after at 7pm.
Day 3
When I saw Mister Donut had a special Pikachu donut, I knew I needed it! I was thunder-SHOCKED when they didn’t have any, but we picked out some cute alternatives to enjoy with our iced coffees. We needed the fuel as we traveled to our Airbnb in Tokyo!
Once in Tokyo we settled in and waited for our Alice in Wonderland dinner reservation.
Alice in Wonderland themed restaurants are surprisingly common in Japan. We took a train around to Shinjuku to eat at Alice in the Picture book (I cannot figure out the translation with my limited skills). We made a reservation for a garden booth so that we could sit with the Queen among the roses.
Our reservations included three hours of free drinks and four courses. The first course included beet puree with pancake-like crackers, duck with orange, and an olive and corn omelette. Needless to say it was a bit strange, but I was excited by the odd items. The second course was my favorite, with pizza covered in pesto sauce and salty, seasoned, better-than-McDonald’s fries. The third course included pasta and chicken. By this time I had about five drinks, but could not feel even a slight buzz… c’mon, wine, do your job! The final course was a pear dessert with a marshmallow and chocolate top hat! Overall the food was questionable, but the experience was magical. I loved the wall murals and decor.
Day 4
Harajuku is incredible. The shopping and food is unlike anywhere I have ever been. I could probably dedicate an entire blog post to my experience there, but I’ll just leave you with one word - “RAINBOW!”.
Totti Candy Factory is an absolute Instagram must, and it’s pretty obvious why. Their colorful, sweet offerings are not just beautiful, but delicious! They have different candies and sizes of cotton candy, but we needed the biggest baddest one they had. The rainbow layers are each uniquely flavored: grape, blue raspberry, apple, banana, and strawberry. We ate it up like lightning (after taking 1,000 photos).
As we were leaving Harajuku to head back to our Tokyo Airbnb, we spotted a sign for rainbow grilled cheeses and rainbow corn dogs.
Even though we were terribly full we knew we needed to see the magic. While it was a hard decision, I ordered the rainbow corn dog for a mere 800 yen. I think that’s a great value for something so unique and handmade! Each were made to order in the small, brightly-colored stand. I expected the corn dog to be strange and lukewarm but it was one of the tastiest things I ate all trip. The outside was crispy and crunchy, coated with large sugar crystals. The outside was decorated with neon blue and pink mayo, which complements the rainbow cheese and the hot dog marvelously! Really - no joke. The cheese fills the entire top half of this beauty-on-a-stick and the hot dog completes the recipe on the bottom half.
Day 5
Rooftop brunch. Name a more iconic duo.
Bills of Tokyu Plaza, Omotesando Harajuku was full of natural light, delicious smells and friendly chatter.
I started with a white peach bellini, going all out extravagant while I was on vacation. For food I went with the “full aussie” because I was starving, and it was perfect. Sourdough toast with butter, creamy scrambled eggs, roast tomato, pork and fennel sausage, herbed garlic mushrooms and bacon. The wagyu burger and peanut crispy chicken burger were not only gorgeous, but exquisite. Just LOOK at that flat-lay below!
For Thanksgiving dinner we went out for a classic, American dinner. I truly felt like I was back home in Kansas City. The Smokehouse restaurant we enjoyed was just like Q39, decorations and all! I felt at home with Sara and Kyle as we over-ate, laughed and talked about old Thanksgiving memories.
Day 6
In the morning we sat outside on Obica Takanawa’s patio and I nursed my hangover with fancy carrot juice, iced coffee and water. As you already know, I can never get enough pizza. The top is a margherita and the bottom is a prosciutto paste with arugula and tomatoes (pictured below).
The wagyu burger really lives up to Obica’s “mozzarella bar” name, stacked with mozzarella cheese. That is THICK!
For dinner, we had big plans at ENJI Sushi Bar.
The restaurant is small, warm and charming. We sat down at the bar. We chose to do an omakase (“i’ll leave it up to you”, chef’s choice) at ENJI, and let the chef make us something unique. It was absolutely delightful to watch the sushi chef making each dish and each piece right in front of us.
We enjoyed soups, snow crab, sushi, chocolate and more. Even if I was the best writer on earth (hehehoho), I could not explain to you how unbelievably wonderful this meal was.
See the photos, below? These aren’t the best pictures ever. You know why? Because I absolutely didn’t want to waste any time taking photos. The atmosphere, the experience, the people, and the tastes were incredible. This was my favorite night in Japan.
After dinner we went out for drinks. We stopped by a favorite, Le Bier Eden. Even though we had just come from dinner, I couldn’t avoid ordering the cheese plate. It was flavorful and oh-so cute!
Day 7
We didn’t expect to eat so much pizza, but we don’t regret it. Latteria Bebe makes their own cheese and has won many awards, so we had planned all week to visit. The appetizer, a caprese, wine and fig dish was one of the most delicate and well-prepared dishes I have ever eaten. The flavors were incredible and the textures were unique.
For entrees I ordered the Bismarck pizza (prosciutto and egg, sometimes referred to as a breakfast pizza) and Sara ordered the Diavolo (spicy sausage).
After way too many whiskeys and a few more pineapple chu hi’s, some late night eats were required. At Bar 605 in Yokosuka we ordered a plate of Yakitori. Yakitori is a Japanese type of skewered chicken and meats. The meatballs and beef were delicious, the perfect salty snack to soak up the alcohol!
Day 8
Sushi train hangover remedy. Sushi, edamame, and.. fries? The chicken nuggets were also tempting, but we didn’t want to be those people, even though we are those people.
I feasted on plate after plate, doubling the amount I had eaten the very first day we had sushi.
After ordering dessert we realized we didn’t have anything to eat it with. We ordered a spoon from the tablet touch screen. Eventually we decided we didn’t need one, and our waitress was very confused as to what was going on, as most often these spoons and bowls are ordered for very small children!
For dinner that night we had gyoza and ramen at More’s City. I ordered the original ramen as I wanted an authentic, basic noods experience. The broth was decent but adding chili oil saved the day. The extra spice went along way with my taste buds. Absolute YUM! We were so full we could barely walk afterward.
After dinner we ran across a Mister Donut that had both Eevee and Pikachu donuts in stock. We stopped and grabbed a quick Pikachu snack. The Pikachu is banana flavored and filled with icing. I don’t typically go for quick, cheap sweets, but the donut was extremely enjoyable.
Day 9
I have to give some props to Starbucks, the staff was incredibly kind and it was very comforting to have a sandwich and coffee as I left for the airport.
I loved Japan and I am so lucky to have experienced all the wonderful food, people and places. Thanks so much to my best friend Sara for making it all happen!
