Tokyo

Tokyo Dome, Last Minute Shopping, Food Hall Lunch

September 16, 2011
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On our last day in Tokyo we have about half a day before we have to leave for the airport for a 7pm flight back to Los Angeles. The hotel has allowed us a (slightly) late checkout at 2pm, so we set out to do a little last minute shopping and sightseeing.

The first goal is to find a baseball hat with a Tokyo team logo on it for a friend which turns out to be much harder than it seems. We ask the concierge who, after a bit of research tells us we need to go to an official store at the Tokyo Dome where they sell licensed baseball gear.

Around the Shinkjuku train station there are a few sporting goods stores, but indeed, they only sell plain baseball caps. Using our JR passes, we take the train from Shinjuku station to the Tokyo Dome stop, about a half hour ride.

Once there, we find a couple of shops selling a very limited selection of hats which are (to me) crazy-expensive (about $45). David buys one for his friend but thankfully forgoes the one for himself.

On the way back to the train, we pass a street vendor with a cart selling cream filled pastries called obanyaki. We stopped and bought one, really having no idea what it would be like, but it was amazing! Warm, soft and filled with a slightly sweet pastry cream, you can’t go wrong there. He was also selling some filled with red bean paste.

Back onto the train where we went to the Harajuku stop, only to discover that even though it is Sunday, there were almost no people walking around in costume. From there, we took another walk down Takashita Dori and were going to head down to the Oriental Bazaar store, but decided …

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Tokyo’s Ameyoko Market and Yakitori with the Local Crew

August 31, 2011
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We all hope for unscripted moments when we travel, don’t we? It’s those precious minutes when you actually get to interact with someone who lives in the place you have traveled halfway around the world to visit, someone who isn’t paid to interact with you (like a hotel employee, tour guide or waiter).

These experiences seem fewer and farther between now that we have up-to-the-minute travel blogs to point the way, yelp reviews to tell us where to eat, and smart phones to guide us on the go. Still, those authentic moments can and do still happen, when you least expect it. And that’s how we found ourselves sharing beer and yakitori with a group of guys at a little stand inside the Ameyoko Market in Tokyo.

We had spent the morning in Ueno Park visiting the Tokyo National Museum, which while partly closed due to the March 11 earthquake, was still worth the visit to see the beautiful historical kimonos, art, and archaeological finds (swords, pottery, jewelery, etc.) of Japan. It was raining so we didn’t feel like walking through the huge park to visit any of the other sights there; various pagodas and shrines, a lake, and several other museums. We did however, pause to take a picture of this life-sized blue whale outside the National Science Museum. A comprehensive visit to this park could easily take several days in better weather.

The Ameyoko Market is across the street from the South end of the Ueno train station and runs underneath the elevated train tracks. There are two larger pedestrian streets which run parallel to the train tracks and several smaller alleys which crisscross underneath. Legend has it this was a place where black market items could be found, especially after WWII. Now it’s filled with everything from discount clothing, to fresh fish and fruit, to small …

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Tokyo’s Ramen Jiro, A Delicious Happy Accident

August 15, 2011
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Our trip back to Tokyo from Kyoto was easy and quick. We bought bento boxes in the station for lunch on the 10 am train and had an uneventful and fast ride back to Tokyo.

Shinkansen Kyoto station

When we arrived back at the Hilton around 1:15, our room was not ready. This was especially frustrating because clearly the hotel was not even close to full. We waited at the nearby Starbucks until 2pm. The room was essentially the same as the one we’d had earlier in the week, also on the 25th floor. We were told we had been “upgraded to deluxe” but both of us felt this was a stretch. Show me the “deluxe” I say.

Our plan for dinner was to find a noodle place I had in my notes. The address was not much more than the name of a building and a vague description of a place which is known for its hand made udon noodles. By looking up the building, I found the street and an approximate location on a map, about three blocks north of Shinjuku station. We set to find the place, but have a really difficult time.

Finally, we find what we think is the building, and yes, there’s a noodle place, crowded and with a ticket machine as described. There is no English in the signage, no English on the menu and essentially no English spoken. Inside, there is one U shaped counter with two tiny tables in back.

Ramen Jiro Shinjuku

We stand outside and hesitate for a while, but it’s clearly popular (there was a wait for seats) and it smells incredible, so we venture in. This is the type of place where one pays and orders from a ticket machine and gives a ticket to the guy behind the counter. Unfortunately, there were no photos on the buttons, only Japanese characters, so we have no idea what …

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A Visit to Senso-ji Temple in Tokyo

June 5, 2011
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After ourtwo breakfasts at Tsukiji market, we took the subway to the Asukasa neighborhood. We stopped in the tourism office, where we picked up a local map and were asked where we were from which was duly recorded. They said they had not had many foreign visitors lately, though today had been a big one with 13 visitors. From there, we walked across the street to the Senso-ji temple.

Senso-ji temple is one of Tokyo’s most popular shrines, and dates back as far as AD 628 when a local fisherman found a gold statue of the goddess of mercy, Kannon, in the Sumida River and built a small shrine to her here. Like most shrines, it has a large heavy entrance, the Kaminarimon Gate, and multiple pagodas and halls inside the complex. Between the Kaminarimon Gate and the main hall, are a series of shops selling al sorts of Japanese treats, traditional clothing and souvenirs. In front of the main hall is a large incense burner where people pray over the smoke and to the left, a beautiful garden with a koi pond and Buddha statue.

We walked around for a while, taking it all in, and came across a special art show connected to the museum and the abbot’s residence. We were told this was only open to the public for a month and allowed access to the inside gardens which are normally closed. There were no photos allowed inside the museum which had many beautiful painted wooden screens, carvings and a large dragon used in processions. The exit to the museum led into the garden which was absolutly gorgeous, surrounding a pond with a traditional house on the side. We especially loved the view of the Five-Story Pagoda (top photo) from inside the private garden.

Senso Ji Shoes

 

Senso ji Monk's garden

Leaving the temple, we headed toward  Kapabashi-dori, the “kitchenware street” …

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A Tale of Two Breakfasts in Tokyo’s Tsukiji Fish Market

May 31, 2011
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Monday in Tokyo

Despite waking up in the wee hours of the morning, we got a later than expected start. Walking to Shinjuku station during the morning rush hour is like fish swimming upstream against the crush of people headed for work in the surrounding office buildings. Inside the station, where we planned to find the JR office and activate our rail passes was chaos. There was no break in the torrent of people coming up from the train and subway lines. The sheer quantity of people inside the station had my claustrophobia button kicking in. We finally found the JR office near the south entrance of the station, but it does not open until 9am so we waited, first in line. Our passes were activated by two 2 people with many stamps and signatures, and finally we had our seat reservations for Kyoto and the return.

 

Our plan was to go to the Tsukiji Fish market but we weren’t in a hurry since I’d read that visitors we not currently allowed inside the popular early morning tuna auction. The number of visitors allowed inside has been limited for a while now, and after the earthquake some people were saying the vendors (some of whom don’t like tourists in the market) had been lobbying to keep them out all together. So, while it’s a good idea to get their early because the inside section of the market with the fresh fish seems to start packing it up after 10am, we didn’t feel the need to get there at the crack of dawn.

The Toei Oedo metro line (the pink one on the map) goes from Shinjuku station to Tsukiji station and upon exiting, turn left and the entrance to the market is right around the corner. It’s a pretty vast area and it took a little while to figure out what was …

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Tokyo’s Harajuku Girls and Rockabilly Boys

May 24, 2011
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On our first Sunday in Tokyo, we took the metro to Harajuku station. We’d heard on Sundays that people (mostly girls) like to get dressed up in cosplay and various Lolita type costumes and that a nearby street, Takashita Dori (photo at top) might be fun to walk around. We were completely unprepared for what we found. The area around the station was just packed with people shoulder to shoulder and some of the costumes were seriously over the top. The favorite of the day seemed to be the Strawberry themed “Sweet Lolita” characters, but we also saw plenty of Gothic Lolitas and a couple sailor types.

Takashita Dori is a pedestrian only street loaded with cheap clothing shops and fast food places catering to local teens. We stopped for the popular snack of a crepe loaded with fruit and ice cream (disappointing and chewy). Savory crepes appeared popular as well. While eating our crepes we happened to see one of the areas’s well known local characters an old man in an odd outfit, complete with live fish in glass bowls hanging from his ears.

Over near the entrance to Yoyogi Park were the rockabilly boys who have portable music players blasting 50’s rock music. These guys all wear similar tight jeans, pompadour hair, pointy shoes and move to very specific stylized dance moves. There’s also a small subset wearing saddle shoes and poodle skirts.They stand in circles dancing with their group and there are 3 or 4 groups in this wide plaza area. It was hard to tell if they were competing or just doing their own thing. David said he remembers them from when he was here as a kid, and by all looks, some of these guys appeared old enough to have been here the first time David was here 25+ …

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Tokyo Restaurants; Hitsumabushi and Tsunahachi

May 18, 2011
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Hitsumabushi (unagi/grilled eel)

The Hitsumabushi restaurant on the 12th floor of the Ginza branch of Tokyu Hands department is the main branch of a well-known Nagoya eel restaurant. They are famous for their special Nagoya-style tamari sauce on unagi (eel) which has been grilled over bincho charcoal.

At lunch time there was a full house and people waiting on child sized plastic chairs along the wall outside the restaurant’s front door. Uncertain what to do, I took a seat on one of the chairs and David went inside to get a menu.

The wait was brief and shortly we were seated inside on the banquette against the back wall of the restaurant’s single small room. The space is quite inviting, there is a large communal table filled with zen flower arrangements in the center. 

We ordered a salad with grilled eel on top and the mid-range set meal which came with eel in “sweet” sauce, rice, miso soup, pickled vegetables, and some other unidentifiable (to us) edibles. The eel on both dishes was amazing; delicate in both flavor and texture. While I very much enjoyed the salad I would have been happy to have my own set meal so I could have more of the unagi. Lunch for two, including beer was 4800 yen.

Afterward, I stood at the window which looks into the kitchen from the hallway outside, watching the one of the cooks work the charcoal grill. He saw me with my camera and was nice enough to hold up the skewered eel for me after he had dipped it in the giant vat of sauce next to the fire.

Hitsumabushi Nagoya Bincho 5159-0231 Ginza /2-2-14, Marronnier Gate 12F. Open 11am-3, 5-10pm daily.

http://www.hitsumabushi.co.jp/menu_eng.html

*Note about finding the restaurant; it is on the 12th floor of …

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Half Day Tour of Tokyo-Can We Learn to Love the Bus and Follow the Leader?

May 9, 2011
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Sunday in Tokyo- The 1/2 Day Tour

As part of our airline package we had a half day tour of Tokyo. I contacted the travel agency before we left, looking for details about what was included in the tour and they automatically booked the tour for us for the day after we arrived, without asking. Fortunately, we decided that doing this on our first morning would be the best time anyway.

Can we learn to love the bus and follow the leader?

This is the same tour offered by just about every travel agency and booked through Grey Line Tours. It normally costs 4,000 yen per person and includes a visit to the Tokyo Tower, the Meiji Shrine, a drive by of the National Diet building and Aksaka Guest House, and a final stop at the Imperial Palace garden. Typically we would not choose to do this type of tour, but since it was included, we thought it might be a good introduction to the city. Plus, I wanted to see if I was missing something by usually avoiding the “get on the bus and follow the tour leader” type of tour.

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