Eating through Tokyo like a local

Nebayaki udon

Udon place

A little guest house we stayed in for the first night

Standing sushi

Banana pudding cake

Best matcha latte!

A weekend trip to Tokyo? ✔️. The most common question I’ve been asked about my travels is ‘how do you have that much time off?’ Oh honey bunches of oats, I don’t. I have a big whopping 12 days off. So, how do I do it? I maximize my weekend time and the long weekends. Tokyo was just a normal weekend, but I bought flights (thank you Tuesday morning fanfares) that depart Friday night and come back on a red eye Monday morning and go straight to the office when I land. Am I crazy? Potentially. Is it worth it? 100%.

J-A-Pan, as my dad would call it, is beautiful. Japan seems to be a trending place as well, maybe it’s the next Thailand that kids (and adults) go to? I have been to Japan many times, from Tokyo to Kyoto to Osaka and seeing Mt. Fuji, the list goes on. But, this time was different. The past times I went with my family, but this time I went to visit my friend, Lisa.

Side story of how I met Lisa. 2011 summer, I went back to Beijing for the second summer to ‘learn’ Chinese. I did a program at Beida University for 6 weeks. I use the term ‘learn’ very loosely because we basically went out every night and rarely made it to class. In my defence, one learns better outside the classroom than in. Am I right or am I right (just trying to justify my actions here). Anyways, Lisa and I were in the same program. We have stayed in touch and have met up in NYC, Turkey, Hong Kong and now Tokyo.

Back to my trip to Tokyo. As I said, this time was different. I experienced Tokyo in a local way. Lisa isn’t from Tokyo, she’s doing her masters there, but she lives there now, so I consider her a local and so does she. She’s half Japanese and half American, so it’s nice that she can speak Japanese. FYI, most Japanese people do not speak English or they speak very little English. It’s still very easy to get around, but it’s a perk that Lisa speaks Japanese. What did we do in my 48 hrs in Japan? EAT, duh. Let’s be real, for the ones that know me, you know how much I love to eat. So, here’s a list of places we ate at. Most of these places won’t show up on tripadvisor, lonely planet etc. This is where the locals go (or the people who hear about these places from locals).

-Alley Cafe -> coffee shop. The best matcha latte I’ve had, and trust me I’ve tried plenty. We also had this banana pudding cake, DROOL!

-L’occitane Cafe. Yes, the beauty brand. They have a cafe in Shibuya. Creme brûlée, to die for!
-Standing sushi in kichijoji -> omasake style, OMG so good and not expensive at all!
-Sumire -> yakitori 1000 for all you can drink not including beer. 1500 for all you can drink with beer. This is for 90 mins. There’s a couple of locations, so just google.

-There’s an Udon place we went to in Shibuya as well. Really good nebayaki udon. I only have the name in Japanese, but it’s in my pictures.

-There’s a few locations to where Lisa took us for dinner my last night I was there. I don’t have the name, but I have the business card, so ask me if you want to try it. The one we went to in Shibuya was speakeasy-esque. Really great sushi and sashimi and other dishes. When you walk through a sketchy train alley way, you’ll see two doors. Don’t go into the normal looking one, go through the wooden 3ft. one. The dishes were absolutely amazing. I loved this mashed avocado dish with some tuna and you spread it on bread like bruschetta. The sear fish was amazing and the sashimi was literally so good and fresh. Not expensive at all either. Around 25USd

-Oh and I can’t forget McDonald’s. I definitely like trying McDonald’s in different countries. Can you say chicken teriyaki burger? Yes, please! Extra fries too. Yum!

Because of the Yen, Japan isn’t expensive right now. It was great catching up with Lisa and eating our way through Tokyo. When I say we ate 5+ meals a day, WE ATE 5+ MEALS A DAY. Not your ‘5 mini meals a day’, I’m talking about, stuffing your face until you can’t breathe meals. Well worth it. This just made my mouth water, so I’m going to go and stuff my face with endless pork buns in Hong Kong. Share this blog to the friends who are interested in going to Japan or just want a quick read about my Asia life. Tata for now kids! XoxoBasicallysingle