Eating Recommendations For Tokyo Please
Monday 8 September 2008 by Dr Maytel
Hock is taking his annual leave shortly, so we are off to NYC and Tokyo for two weeks in early October.
We have an enormous eating list for NYC, including WD-50, Shake Shack, Katz and other deli's, Hill Country BBQ, Cafe Habana and so on and so on and so on....
But where to eat in Tokyo? We are staying in Asakusa at Ryokan Sadachiyo
Tips? Recommendations?
We have an enormous eating list for NYC, including WD-50, Shake Shack, Katz and other deli's, Hill Country BBQ, Cafe Habana and so on and so on and so on....
But where to eat in Tokyo? We are staying in Asakusa at Ryokan Sadachiyo
Tips? Recommendations?
Yes, I have lots ;-)
How long will you be in Tokyo?
If you are there in October, you might be catching the season of monkfish, a winter treat.
Maybe I will blog it 4U.
I assume you'll be hitting the Tsukiji fish market as well. Ah, and if you'll be staying in Asakusa, you'll see the Asahi beer unko building I blogged a while ago.
you can send me as many recommendations as you like, I'd love to get some more
Only there for 3 nights but intend on eating a lot
Tip 1: Know when the Tsukiji fish market is closed.
For seafood, if you are picky, avoid going on Sundays, because the Tsukiji fish market is closed, so the fish is not the freshest possible.
As a matter of fact, most of the upscale seafood places close when the Tsukiji market closes.
You can also get the Tsukji market schedule here http://www.tsukiji-market.or.jp/tukiji_e.htm (in English... yes, it has become a tourist attraction as well).
Tip 2: Go to food tourism in the basement of department stores.
Definitely check out some of those basement food sections in big-name department stores, like Isetan and Takashima-ya in Shinjuku, Takashima-ya main outlet in Nihonbashi, Mitsukoshi in Ebisu, Tokyu department store main outlet in Shibuya, Matsu-ya in Ginza, etc., etc.
It's a kind of heaven, where you can purchase almost every food item if you are ready to spend and be amazed what middle-class Japanese people indulgingly spend money on because a piece of land is too expensive to purchase and they already have over-polished cars sitting in garage because overpriced highways are not freeways in Japan.
Or just get nice boxed lunches for around 1,000 yen.
Or, just walk around and get those abundant bite-size free samples, it may even make you full by just touring around there!
those are good tips...
basically you can't really go wrong in Tokyo...
it definitely helps to have a local resident show you around. shall I ask my buds Emi & Yuki to take you somewhere? they're fun!
there are places I'd like to recommend but don't know addresses and directions could be really difficult...
i think some of the youthful izakaya places can be fun, ...there is an Okinawan place on left side of Dogenzaka street in Shibuya, that is very casual and crammed, (it has Halloween type decor),
and their goya champuru (stir fried goya with egg, fluffy tofu, bonito shavings and bean sprouts) is yummy as is their fried pigs ears ;-)
Good place to drink shouchu. or awamori (Okinawan liquor).
a tofu-specialising izakaya can be nice too:
here's one I haven't been to, but could be good:
http://www.bento.com/rev/2312.html
the back streets of Asakusa where you are staying, where Nalika said there are monja-yaki restaurants, are definitely worth strolling around and having a beer at some little outside table, ... i love that downtown vibe. it's really unique and 'neighbourhoody'. v different to shibuya etc. you know you're in the right area when you see strange street sign light boxes with 60s tv characters on them.
to get around the difficulty with directions and things,
maybe you should have a look through this blog: some of these places look awesome e.g. Ayumasa
http://www.potatomato.com/seat/category/foodgenre/japanese/