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    The Basic Girl’s Guide To : Tokyo Food 

    May 10, 2016
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    I had such an amazeballs time in Tokyo that I had to split the posts up into all the fun you can have (which you can read here) and this one: FOOD!!!! Tokyo is arguably one of the biggest foodie capitals in the world. Since 2009, it has had the most 3 Michelin starred restaurants in the world. Side note: If you don’t know what a Michelin star restaurant is (I had no clue for ages), my eating at a fancy restaurant guide is here. Anyway, in the land of sushi and teppanyaki, I was bound to eat myself into a coma. Below is a detailed guide to a gluttonous trip. Enjoy my Basic Girl’s Guide to: Tokyo Food!

    First and foremost, I would recommend downloading Waygo. It’s a translation app for Japanese, Korean and Chinese characters to English and this really helped when pictures weren’t available. Although not always accurate, it was sometimes overly descriptive. Case in point, uni, which is essentially sea guts, comes up as blow ones nose. When our dish arrived, it looked exactly like someone had blown their nose into some rice.

    Sushi – Tsukiji Fish Market

    We went here straight off the plane while we waited for our hotel room. You can’t actually get into the market anymore as a tourist, but don’t worry, there’s plenty of gross fish heads for you to see in the surrounding area. There are hundreds of little sushi restaurants/stands around the market, all with fantastic fresh fish.

    Our friend knew of a place just around the corner from the main entrance and I’d like to tell you exactly where it was, but it was literally a maze. We went up some stairs and through a back door somewhere… then, surprise, amazing sushi!

    But you really can’t go wrong. These are the experts and once you eat sushi at this market, everything else will taste sub-par.

    There are also lots of little stands with ‘try me’ baskets. I have no idea what was in them, but it tasted like fish jerky. http://www.tsukiji-market.or.jp/tukiji_e.htm

    The Kill Bill Restaurant (Gonpachi)

    This place was really yummy. They have a set menu for lunch as well as a la carte. I really liked the shrimp tempura dish, especially if you are as hung-over as I was from Karaoke the night before. It’s a pretty lively atmosphere and we went during Sakura, so I’m not sure if the cherry blossoms are always there, but they were a lovely touch. http://www.gonpachi.jp/nishiazabu/?lang=en

    Those little white things on the salad are little fishies. I tried one and then scraped the rest off because they were really fish-y.

    Korean BBQ – Yoroniku Yakiniku

    Oddly enough, if you ask locals, they will say some of the best restaurants in Japan are Korean BBQ. Basically, you get a whole bunch of meat and cook it on a little grill in the middle of your table. Try not to be deterred by the meat selection. I was persuaded to try beef tongue and it was actually pretty tender.

    https://savorjapan.com/0006044267/

     

    Convenience stores

    I didn’t actually eat at one of these because we had so little time, nobody was willing to risk a bad meal out of a 7/11. But I WISH I had. They have everything in weird colourful packaging and I imagine the ramen is out of this world. If you are strapped for cash and a little peckish, definitely give this a shot. They also have little cans of sake which I did try and it was very very tasty.

             

     

    Starbucks

    It wouldn’t be a basic girl’s guide without a sampling of the Japanese Starbucks. I’m as basic as it gets, so I just had a skinny vanilla latte. However,  I was really impressed with their special offerings. Apricot honey soy frappuccino? If it wasn’t 20 million calories, yes please!

    Commune 246

    Near Harajuku, Commune 246 is this cute little outdoor market/food truck place where you can get different kinds of food from all over. We had the most delicious schnitzel burgers, my favourite being the avocado. They also have fantastic coffee and events throughout the year. http://commune246.com

    Brunch/Breakfast at the Intercontinental

    Most days we were so jet lagged that we woke up and went straight to lunch, but, it was my birthday so I insisted we have breakfast somewhere and that somewhere turned out to be the lobby cafe/restaurant at the hotel. They had absolutely everything, from friend rice, to dim sum to hash browns and hummus. But the best was the bacon. Oh my word. It was crispy and PERFECTLY straight! I had so many pieces, I was waiting for the wait staff to come over and tell me I’d exceeded my personal quota. The cost was ¥3400, or around $30 USD. http://www.anaintercontinental-tokyo.jp

    Teppanyaki

    So, this is my brother’s favourite kind of food. Like, we were in Portugal for his birthday and he found a Teppanyaki restaurant to celebrate in. So I was insanely excited to try one in Tokyo. Apparently one of the best ones you can go to is in the ANA intercontinental, but I insisted on going to the rabbit café when the reservation was available. Instead, we went to Teppan Bambina. It was ok, but there wasn’t really a show which is what I was most excited about. You really can’t go wrong when it comes to beef in Japan. They care about the quality of their beef almost as much as their fish, so always order the wagyu when you can.

    The one you should go to: http://www.anaintercontinental-tokyo.jp/e/rest/akasaka.html

    The ok one: http://teppan-bambina.com/en/


    My advice? Come to Japan hungry! You might just have to trust the process though, because this is the real deal and the Japanese don’t bend to appease western cultures. Use that as an opportunity to expand your palette! Do you have any Tokyo food suggestions? Comment below!

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    The Basic Girl’s Guide To: Tokyo Fun

    April 28, 2016
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    Tokyo is THE BEST. It’s like Alice in Wonderland all the time but with sushi! I highly recommend going during cherry blossom season (or Sakura in Japanese) because the streets are lined with pink flower trees and the cherry blossom theme is carried through restaurants, shops, hotels and transport. There is so much to cover (and I was actually only in Tokyo for 2 days), so enjoy part one of my Tokyo recommendations: the fun!

    Animal Cafes

    Ok, so I wanted to go to ALL of these. They have cat cafes, dog cafes, lizard and bird cafes… pretty much any animal you can think of. I’ve been to the cat café in London, and honestly, it’s kind of a let down. Cats are assholes so most of the time they avoid you and you just leave the café feeing rejected.

    Tokyo has a few bunny cafes and, since it was Easter Sunday, I went wearing rabbit ears. Nobody looked twice. I recommend going to Ms. Bunny in Roppongi, their bunnies are adorable and the focus is on them (not the tea, music etc). I had to wait about 10 minutes to get in, so try to book ahead to avoid disappointment. Also, a bonus with choosing Ms Bunny is that there’s a hedgehog café right underneath, so if you have a patient travelling partner you can hit them both up.

    It costs around 1300 yen (£8) to go without any extra snacks. Make sure you go with someone who also wants to hold the bunny because you’ll be charged for as many people as you bring, even if only one of you holds it. It’s also extra to hold the babies, but very much worth it. I bought the treats as well for 300 yen, but the first bunny I held wanted nothing to do with them. The second one ate a few, but I’m pretty sure these guys are fed all day, so the treats don’t really make a difference. http://ms-bunny.com/en

     

    Harajuku

    This was actually a little disappointing for me. Everyone was dressed normally both times I went. Apparently the dress up day is Sunday, so if you’re going to go, plan for that. Otherwise, it’s a great spot for shopping, I’d compare it to Knightsbridge in London or 5th Avenue in New York.

     

    Karaoke

    The Japanese pastime! I am a terrible singer and was wary of going to a karaoke bar because I didn’t want to offend the locals with my voice, as it’s often been described as a cat giving birth. But, it couldn’t have been more fun! At V2, we had our own little room but once we were done singing, moved to the larger room, which was essentially a nightclub. They had a bear taking pictures with everyone and this is the place I got the rabbit ears I proceeded to wear for the next three days. I went right down the rabbit hole on this one had had the absolute time of my life. If you’re in Japan and only do one super Japanese thing, this needs to be it. http://www.v2tokyo.com

     

    Shibuya

    So, Shibuya, not just an integral part of the roll call song, but also Tokyo’s ‘Time Square’.  Generally I hate when people say that because it’s definitely not like Times Square.  Honestly, we just drove through Shibuya.  You see the big crossing.  I get it, it’s a busy street.  If you have limited time in Tokyo, I’d just go through it on your way to the Park Hyatt which is the Lost In Translation bar (we didn’t go because we went to the Grand Hyatt by accident, it was a whole thing), you’ll get the picture you want and are unlikely to get hit by a car.

    Robot Bar

    This is the greatest show I have ever seen. Robot Bar is essentially humans either dressed as robots or riding them while acting out a story in a relatively small room. We had front row seats and I nearly got nailed in the head by some kind of wing. It was amazing. Their sense of theatrics is second to none. Book your tickets ahead of time and get there early because there is a pretty big line. Don’t worry, there’s a robot band and drinks to keep you entertained while you wait for the show to start. Also, tell them it’s your birthday when you get the tickets (if it is) and they’ll give you a special surprise during the show! http://www.shinjuku-robot.com/pc/

    Finally, here are a few surprising things I found when I arrived:

    • The base temp for a room/taxi is around 26 degrees Celsius. Even the heated toilet seats are scorching (and yes, the toilets are as amazing as legend suggests). I was too hot. All. The. Time.
    • The taxi’s doors spring open automatically and close that way, so don’t continually try to slam them as I did. They also have lace seat covers. Uber exists, but there are hardly any drivers.
    • The way to say Happy Birthday is tanjobi. I repeatedly said that and pointed at myself for the whole weekend (it was actually my birthday) and I made best friends with everyone. Kawaii is cute which also made me a lot of friends. And of course, Arigato.
    • Hardly anyone wears leopard print.
    • Their convenience stores are AMAZING. It was how I imagine Pixar would make future 7/11s  like.

     

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