While I was doing my research online, prior to my Tokyo vacation, I came across many recommendation for Bills – an Australian restaurant. All the reviews I came across were raving about one dish specifically – the ricotta hotcakes, banana and honeycomb butter (¥1400). I knew I had to have it! Read More
Arriving to Kawaii Moster Cafe on Sunday morning, we were shocked to witness the long queue stretching for 3 floors and getting longer by the minute. Not wanting to spend a few hours in line along with Kawaii Japanese girls, we proceeded to pursue other adventures and came back afternoon. Luckily, we were let in straight away and didn’t have to queue at all! A few sitting options were offered at the four different zones: Mushroom Disco, Milk Stand, Bar experiments and Mel-Tea Room. Since Mushroom Disco was the most impressive one in my opinion I opted for this zone. There’s a cover charge of ¥3000 ($25/ 96₪) for dining in this zone, but we felt that it’s justified considering the incredible experience we had inside. Read More
Tensuke Tempura was one of the few places about which I didn’t really inquire much before going. On one of my last days in Tokyo, I visited Koenji, a nice quiet neighborhood, not far from Shinjuku. The neighborhood is packed with vintage and second hand clothing stores and quirky little shops. Knowing I have only a few days left and that I haven’t yet had a proper tempura meal, I was on the lookout for a great authentic tempura place in Koenji. There’s not a lot of information online in English about this place, but even the little I read made me feel like this place is worth a visit. Read More
Looking for cool\unusual arcades I read about Namja Town. Namja Town is a Namco theme park opened in 1996 inside the Sunshine City shopping complex in east Ikebukuro, Toshima, Tokyo. In retrospect this arcade is mostly suitable to Japanese kids of younger age, since the vast majority of the attractions there require knowing Japanese. So after paying the entrance fee (¥500) and doing a quick tour around the place, we turned to the main reason we came there – tasting gyozas and weird ice cream. Read More
I’ve kept hearing all about Tokyo’s vending machines, and in particular, soft drink vending machines. Coming to Japan, I felt like I’m on a mission to gamble and try a different drink each day of my vacation in Tokyo. Read More
Apparently shaved Ice, or kakigori, is a thing in Tokyo, and many places are selling this dessert. The first image that came to my mind when thinking about shaved ice, was not so appetizing, to say the least. But when seeing Ice Monster images online, I was hooked. I had to taste this magnificent looking mountain of ice.
This Taiwan-based store has one branch in Japan, located right in the center of Harajuku, 3 minutes walk from Omotesando exit. The first time I wanted to go there, I saw that the Bubble Milk Tea Sensation is sold out. Knowing that I’m going to get back to Harajuku a few days later, I decided to leave Ice Monster for my next visit. Read More
8bit Maneki-neko
8bit dolphin
Traveling in Tokyo for the first time, I didn’t feel that it is exceptionally expensive. We were actually quite surprise how reasonably priced food and drinks, restaurants, clothes, public transportation and attractions, since Japan is perceived as being a very expensive country.
In my first 2 days there, the only fruits and vegetables I encountered were those presented in Depachika (department store basements which are filled with fine-quality food). The counters selling fruits and vegetables in Depachika are actually gift shops. They are considered luxury gift items and are wrapped, presented and prices as such. I was a bit puzzled at first – could it really be that these are the prices of apples, grapes and melons in Tokyo? Read More
When I first sat down to write my first blog post I encountered a small obstruction. I was unable to use my keyboard because of Japanese snacks. Yes, a mountain of Japanese snacks literally got in my way of writing this one. Just got back from 2 weeks long vacation in Tokyo, following posts will portray some of Tokyo’s sights, adventures and (mostly) food. I’ve actually started writing this post while standing in line of one of the most delicious burgers in Tokyo. So here we go..
We discovered Luke’s Lobsters Rolls on our second day in Harajuku, passing some time before our lunch at Ukai-tei. What caught my attention was the long line trailing from this small booth. Later I learned that Luke’s Lobsters is a New York institution opened back in 2009. Now it already has more than 15 locations and is considered an east coast staple. Read More
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