Tokyo, Japan (Part 3)

My Itinerary

Day 3 : Omotesando – Urahara – Shibuya

• Omotesando-dori (Omotesando metro) – One of shops you definitely can’t miss is Oriental Bazaar on Omotesando. The shop front looks tacky but it’s a one-stop souvenir shops not just for foreigners but for Japanese too. It is a one-stop shop to satisfy your Japanese craze! They sell everything from handicrafts, sake cups, paintings, fans, old fabrics, t-shirts to furniture! All are very beautiful and authentic with a reasonable price tag!
  

  

  

  [ Oriental Bazaar on Omotesando]

  Second hand kimonos are available in the basement level. The fabrics were in good condition and best of all they are not expensive. I had tried on a beautiful summery orange colour silk kimono with hand-sewn embroidery and couldn’t part with it! At a price of 8000 yen, I imagined I had in my hand this kimono once belonged to a famous geisha from Kyoto. Even though it’s used but it looks as good as new to me! I have yet to decide what I will do with the fabric so it has never seen sunlight since I got it. I also bought a set of rice bowls, a few sake cups, Japanese wrapping paper (it’s a great idea for wall decoration!) and a few bits and pieces for friends. They also have beautiful thick silk belts (those you wear with your kimono) you can use as a table runner!
  
• The next stop on Omotesando is the Mecca for children – Kiddy Land. It’s a very popular toy shop like the Hamleys in London located opposite the Oriental Bazaar. Kiddy Land sells all the latest toys, games and quirky fun stuff! Their merchandises range from sushi key-rings, hello kitty phone charms to fluffy cartoon character slippers.
• The next shop is actually originated from the US. It’s the MOMA Design Shop on the 3^rd Floor of GYRE. It is a great place to shop for modern Japanese design souvenirs.
  

  

  [ MOMA Shop ]

• By now probably it’s a good idea to find a coffee shop for a rest! You will spot a few on Omotesando but my favourite is Peltiers, the French patisserie. They do divine cakes and I prefer here than the fairly new Conrad Café nearby.
  

  

  [ Cake set from Peltier's ]

• Your next destination is the trendy shopping mall – La Foret. Just off Harajuku's main intersection of Omotesando Dori and Meiji Dori, it is 3 minutes from JR Harajuku station. Situated at the intersection of Omotesando-dori and Meiji-dori, the cylinder like shopping mall packed with trendy young shoppers. The multi-storey mall houses the most fashionable independent boutiques as well as big Japanese labels. You may not like shopping but it is an interesting place to see young locals. 
  

  

  [ Trendy mall - La Foret ]

• Urahara: I know I have talked about shopping a lot but most of the time I only window shop. I love exploring Urahara because it’s full of hundreds of small shops and it’s like a treasure hunt. The entrance to ‘Urahara’ is right across the end of Takeshita-dori, you will see the arch sign says Harajuku St.
  

  

  

  [ Urahara ]

• Dinner at根室食堂 宮益坂上店in Shibuya – This is definitely my best-kept secret. 根室食堂 is a stand-up restaurant specializes in seafood located in a pencil-thin building occupying ground to third floors. They don’t have a menu or pictures to help with your order so it’s a bit tricky but don’t be intimidated. The menu is actually all around the restaurants sticking on the windows. It’s always a good idea to order what others have if you can’t read Japanese or just use your finger and point! They serve really fresh seafood sashimi or cooked on the grill for a fraction of what you will pay in a high-end sashimi restaurant. I especially enjoyed the atmosphere. You may argue that it’s a bit uncomfortable eating standing up but it’s more casual and you can probably drink and eat more in that ‘position’. The highlight of our meal was a bowl of hot rice covered with a mountain load of salmon roes. The salmon roes were fresh and incredibly delicious. We actually ordered quite a lot of dishes such as seasonal white fish sashimi with ginger and spring onions and grilled sea snails. Every single dish just brought a unique flavour to the taste buds. This is a restaurant must try by all foodies.
  

  

  [ Menu on the walls ]

  

  [ Chef in action ]

  

  [ Grilled seasonal fish ]

  

  [ This is an amazing bowl of rice - fresh salty salmon roes with grilled salmon fillet on a bed of hot rice ]

  

  [ This is the restaurant but they don't have an English name ]

Day 4 : Shimokitzawa – Kijichoji

• Shimokitazawa – Here’s another interesting neighbourhood which is very popular with young people. It’s got a different feel from the up market and trendy Urahara/Aoyama area. A bit old and more relaxed but still packed with lots of great little shops, cafes and a residential area. If you like to hunt for used clothes and accessories, this is the place you shouldn’t miss because it’s full of many second hand shops.
  

  

  
  

  

  [ Shimokitazawa ]

• Lunch – try the popular North Side Café near the north Metro exit.
  

  

  [ North Side Cafe ]
• Kijichoji – Inokashira Park situated in the suburb Kijichojia is Tokyo’s oasis and a popular destination on weekends and during cherry blossom season for the locals. The area is kind of local, full of small shops, restaurants and bars. The reason why I came here was to visit the really old yakitori (chicken skewers) restaurant Iseya (いせや) (Address: Kichijoji-minamicho 1-15-8 (south exit, on the shopping street leading to Inokashira Park). Apart from its cheap and cheerful food and beer, the attraction of this restaurant is its interior decoration. The 2-storey traditional Japanese wooden house has been serving skewers for over 50 years and hasn’t changed much over the years. I love the 1950s decoration and the tatami rooms. The atmosphere here is great as it’s authentic and you will never be able to find the same back home.
  

  

  [ Yummy skewers ]

  

  [ Iseya yakitori bar ]

  

  [ Kijichoji at night ]
  

Tokyo, Japan (Part 2)

My Itinerary
 

Day 1 : Airport - Shinjuku

• Flights from Hong Kong to Tokyo normally arrive around mid-day, so by the time you arrive your hotel, it will be early evening.
• So first thing first – let’s feed your stomach with sushi! A good place to see and try a variety of sushi and rolls is in any big department stores’ supermarkets usually located in the basement level. For example, Isetan in Shinjuku is always a good start as Shinjuku is a very busy area at night. All fresh food is sold with big discount just before the department stores close so it’s a good place if you are budget-conscious.
  

   

  [ Yummy rolls! ]

  
  

  
  

  
  

• After a wander around Shinjuku, where would be the best place to experience the true Tokyo nightlife on your first night? Motsunikomisenmonten Numata - a yakitori bar located just outside Metro Shinjuku Sanchome C3 Exit is a great place to see the locals. ‘Stand-up’ bars and restaurants are very popular with business(wo)men in Tokyo. This bar is very small but has a great atmosphere. Skewers are prepared by experienced chefs in the middle of the bar. It’s smoky, noisy and super busy. Needless to say there is no English menu so be adventurous and let the waiter decides for you (At the time I went, there was an English speaking waiter). However be prepared that they will bring you a selection of unrecognizable offal as that’s what most yakitori bars serve - not one bit of an animal is wasted here! For the less adventurous, they also serve meat and vegetable skewers such as green peppers or mushrooms. My advice is just try to enjoy it. All dishes are very small and a cold Japanese draught beer probably helps. (Note: Tipping is not a norm in Japan. The Japanese are very proud of providing a good service and think it's an insult if you try to tip them. )
  

  

  [ Shinjuku at night ]

  

  [  Numata Motsunikomisenmonten ]

  
  

  
  

  
  

  

  [ We had lots of skewers! ]

  

  [ Beef tripe ]

  

  [ The yakitori bar ]

  

  [ Bright neon lights in Shinjuku ]

Day 2 : Shibuya – Daikanyama – Jiyungaoka - Omotesando

• Shibuya: Unless you love Japanese fashion labels and shopping for music, there really isn’t much to see in Shibuya apart from the people. Shibuya is full of trendy youngsters, DJs and ‘love hotels’. The first thing you will see when you come out of Shibuya Metro Hachiko exit is the famous cross-section. Fashionistas will enjoy shopping in PARCO and Seibu. DJs flying from all over the world and come to Disk Union to search for rare groove. It’s a 3-storey music shop sells both used and new CDs, vinyl records and DJ equipments. Shibuya comes alive at night as it’s packed with restaurants and bars, so it’s where I enjoy staying when I come to Tokyo.
  

  

  [ Busy cross road in Shibuya ]

  

  

  [ DJ Heaven - Disk Union ]

  

  [ Interesting building in Shibuya ]

• Daikanyama: A beautiful and relaxing suburb next to Shibuya. It’s scattered with many great independent shops and it’s a very pleasant neighbourhood just to wander around.
  

  

  

  [ Shopping in Daikanyama ]
• Jiyungaoka: Apart from Daikanyama, Jiyugaoka is also my favourite suburb in Tokyo. Both can be reached by the Toyoku Line operated by Tokyu Railway, a few stops interchanging at JR Shibuya station. Jiyungaoka is a small neighbourhood full of young moms with their young child shopping for home ware and kitchenware.
  

  

  [ Jiyungaoka ]

  

  
• Recommended by the assistant from the small privately-run Tourist Information Centre near the train station, we had lunch in an old-looking ramen (noodles) shop a minute walk away from the train station. Like most ramen shops, you place your order with their vending machine. The challenge is all the characters are in Japanese. So to make your order successfully, it’s like a memory game! First look at the photos/plastic food displays at the entrance, try to remember the name of the items you would like to order (a camera should be handy in this situation!), then look for the same characters on the vending machine. Additional items such as dumplings, raw eggs (a great complement for udon) are not on display but usually are listed at the bottom of the vending machine. Put your money in the slot and then press the button, you will be given a ticket. If you fail to do these simple steps, don’t bother to ask for help if you don’t speak Japanese. Japanese are very polite but are very shy with foreigners. They will just ignore you even you stand there helplessly. When you got your ticket from the machine, just give it to the shop assistant and voila, your hot bowl of noodles will be served in a minute and hopefully it is what you intended to order! Sometimes they may ask you the type of noodles you would prefer. You have two choices – either ramen (egg noodles) or udon (thick wheat-flour noodles).
  

  

  

  [ Ramen shop ]

  

  [ mm.... yummy bowl of ramen ]

  

  [ Pan-fried dumplings ]

  It is etiquette to slurp your noodles as it means you are enjoying your food. I have attempted to do this ‘act’ but failed every time I tried. Slurping probably has a ‘cooling’ effect but I can eat really hot food  I don’t think they will take it as an insult if you don’t slurp but make sure you take up the bowl and drink every drop of your soup!
  Ramen shops specialize in different broth from all over Japan e.g. slightly brown broth is miso (usually very salty), milky colour is pork-based soup, orange colour is broth with chilli oil. More refreshing choice for summertime is cold ramen/udon which is served with a cold cup of ramen broth, shredded seaweed, chopped spring onion, wasabi and sometimes with a quail egg. What you do is to mix all the ingredients in the cup and dip your ramen/udon in the broth to eat.
• There is another reason for visiting Jiyungaoka. It’s the home of a rare find traditional teahouse - Ko So An. I could just sit in the tatami-lined room looking out at the beautiful Japanese garden for hours. Although I won’t be able to walk sitting cross-legged after hours! The teahouse serves matcha tea (strong foamy green tea) and traditional Japanese sweets. The menu is in Japanese only and the owner only speaks Japanese, they don’t serve a wide selection of tea/cakes so not to worry. Everyone orders ice/hot matcha tea here with dessert like mochi with red beans or traditional red bean sweet. The tea was rich and bitter which complemented the sweets very well. Around us were locals only, in fact, I didn’t see any other tourists in Jiyugaoka….now I am a bit worried that tourists may start crowding this precious teahouse, so forgive me, I am not disclosing the address of this teahouse but if you really want to go there, do email me!
  

  

  [ Ko So An ]

  

  [ Tea house overlooking at the courtyard ]

  

  

  [ Matcha tea and traditional Japanese red bean sweet ]

• In Tokyo, you are always spoiled with good choices of restaurants. You just need to know where to go don’t you? Don’t limit your choices just because you can’t speak/read Japanese. Most restaurant menus show pictures so you just need to point. When in Japan, there are two types of restaurants you must try. One is Izakaya (居酒屋) – they serve small dishes from sashimi to tonkichi (deep-fried pork chop) which complement a huge drink list (both alcohol and non-alcohol). Another one is Yakiniku BBQ restaurant (日式燒肉店) which serves high quality marbled beef/pork. The meat is thinly sliced to bite-size and cooked on a hot charcoaled stove. You can find both types of restaurants in every corner in any busy areas.
  Try Toraji (near Metro Omotesando A3 Exit). It’s also a yakiniku chain. The restaurant is tucked away from Omotesando and is in the basement but it's not that difficult to find.
  

  

  

  [ Toraji in Omotesando ]

Tokyo, Japan (Part 1)

Why visit?  Because it is one of the greatest cities in the world. It has so many things to offer everyone. Personally I like Tokyo because I like the food, the people and the city is full of so many interesting suburbs to explore.

[ Busy Shinjuku ]

Where to Stay?

Keio Plaza, Shinjuku

PROS

• Really sizeable room
• Good breakfast with beautiful settings
• There is a direct bus goes to the hotel from the airport but it’s infrequent. If you don’t mind walking, take other buses stopping in front of Odakyu Department Store and then around 10 mins. to walk back to the hotel from there.
• Walking distance to Park Hyatt – best place for the ‘Lost in Translation’ experience and see the night view of Tokyo while sipping cocktail.

CONS

• Quite a long walk to Shinjuku station

[ Breakfast at hotel ]

[ View from our room ]

Shibuya Tobu Hotel, Shibuya

PROS

• Location, location & location – great location for shoppers
• Good value for money considering the location

CONS

• Small and basic amenities, quite a walk up from Shibuya metro

[ Shibuya Tobu Hotel ]

[ Breakfast at Excelsior Cafe near the hotel ]

[ Japanese girl dressed like a strawberry! ]

What to do?  You will notice that I haven’t included any popular sight-seeing spots in my suggested itinerary as I have been to Tokyo many times and I would like to introduce different suburbs in Tokyo which are often missed out in guide books. Having said that, I did take a quick look on Tripadvisor and remind myself what the top spots are for first-time visitor so first thing first:

Must See Places for First Timer

• On top of the list gotta be the famous Tsukiji Fish Market – apart from the freshest sushi breakfast in Daiwa, the market itself is an interesting place to wander around.
• The beautiful shrine in the trendy Harajuku area - Meiji Jingu shrine and Yoyogi Park in the same area where you will see lots of wannabes performing on Sundays.
• Sensoji Temple, Asakusa – one of the busiest temples in Tokyo during the New Year. Asakusa is full of traditional ryokan (B&B) and shops for antiques and second-hand kimonos. If you like tempura, there is an excellent tempura restaurant in the area – Tempura Daikokuya (大黑家 )
  

  

  [ Sensoji Temple ]

  

  [ That's a huge slipper! ]

• Ameyoko Shopping Street, Ueno – best place to come here on your last day before flying home. This is where you can get all the bargains from Japanese snacks to trainers.
  

  

  [ Ameyoko ]

• Akihabara – this is geek heaven, da place for the latest electronic products.
• Tokyo Imperial Palace – the name says it all.
• Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden, Shinjuku – if you come to see cherry blossoms, then one of the busiest and best gardens is Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden.