Tokyo Gourmet Trip --Day 7 Part 2

Tuesday, 19 May 2009

After lunch, we started to explore this old Tokyo area. This was the Kaminari Gate(雷門), the first of two large entrance gates leading to Sensoji Temple.

On the approach to the temple after entering the big gate, it was Nakamise Shopping Street , lined with numerous lively stalls selling traditional tourist souvenirs and local snacks.

Simon had been waiting to come here to buy the fortunate cats for days!!! I couldn't help but be amazed by the Japanese craftsmanship.

At the end of the shopping street was Sensoji Temple, Tokyo's most famous temple. A giant grass shoe hanging on the wall. A very friendly Japanese old man proposed to take a picture for us .

It's a Buddhist temple so is very similar to those in China. And I am not surprised to see the fortunate-telling box. For 100 yen, I rattled the box until a stick came out through a small hole. The number shown on the stick was 50 and I took a pre-printed sheet from the corresponding box numbered 50.

My fortune's good one.





Simon got number 81 and the paper shows "small fortune".

We were not keen on entering the temple. Instead we returned to one of the shops we had been in earlier.

Simon was spoiled with choices. Although it was a hard decision, he finally chose 2 fortune cats out of millions. He could have brought home more if there had been no luggage limit.

We then transferred to the Kappabashi street ( some people call it Kitchen Town) nearby. This is actually a kitchen equipment area and had pretty much anything that you might need to start and furnish a restaurant. But it has now become a famous tourist attraction for souvenirs.

I've always been fascinated by the plastic food that every Japanese restaurant displays outside.

Heaps of plastic models and they have every type of sushi you can think of.

Totally convincing bowls of ramen. We wandered up the street for a while then headed back to the hotel as we couldn't wait to drop our luggage in the hotel.

Out in Shinjuku again. This is one of many department stores in Shinjuku and is called "Isetan".

We will have first half of our dinner in this Yakitori Alley tonight. Yakitori ( meats on stick), a roasted skewer of bite-sized pieces of meat, usually different parts of chicken such as heart, skin, liver, tongue etc. The is the entrance to the small and famous yakitori Alley in Shinjuku.

Omoide Yokocho 1-2-11 Nishi-Shinjuku

We picked any one of the restaurant and order 2 drinks and a plate of this set with different part of the chicken to try. With the sit-down charge, it came to about 2000 yen. A rip-off for the first time in Japan but no regret as it was an experience. A warning: don't dress nicely if you want to come here as the area was so smoky that by the time I left my whole body smelt stink.

We then need to have the second half of our dinner. There was no way of us being full after just a few sticks of meat to share. They were more like appetizers. I found a Yoshinoya (吉野屋) just around the corner. Perfect! I always wanted to try that. It is a chained fast food restaurant that sells beef on rice (牛丼).

Wow. That was one of the biggest surprises. The beef was so tender that you could never imagine they came from a fast food restaurant. And the sauce was perfect companion. More importantly, the food was served hot literally 1 minute after we ordered.

My beef set with grilled fish (牛鮭定食). Just the right portion for me. I am not a fan of fast food. But I can take this every day. Magical.

The total of the bill was a pleasant surprise, came under 1200 yen. It was a perfect finish of the day.

Go to Day 8 Part 1

Tokyo Gourmet Trip --Day 7 Part 1 ( Hakone--Asakusa 浅草)

Tuesday 19 May 2009

Simon woke up at 7am in the morning to enjoy the bath. So early! This is the morning view from the onsen. It's such a divine.

We were then greeted with breakfast. Breakfast was an equal banquet.




We had the rice for breakfast for the very first time. A bit strange though.

After the breakfast, we had a bath for the very last time before checking out reluctantly.

It was by far the most expensive stay at 72,00 yen. Was it worth it? Oh god yes as this essentially included a Michelin level dinner/breakfast.

I love every minute of it. By the time we left i felt so refreshed and rejuvenated.

When departed I was again amazed at the Japanese services. Our shoes were ready when we came to the entrance ( how did they manage to know which shoes belong to whom?).

Then the lady who served us breakfast walked us to the main street to see us off. She bowed until we disappeared!

We got on the bus from cross the road to Odawara, where we took the Shinkansen (World famous bullet train) back to Tokyo station.

The bus journey took about 45 minutes. It was quite a long time considering there was no traffic at all. But on every stop, the driver didn't set off until all the passengers were seated. And we also found that the drive had to keep on announcing something on the speaker ( in Japanese). During the 45 minutes, the time he was on the speaker must have been at least 40 minutes. I would have been thirsty to death if I were him.

By the time we arrived at Odawara station, there was 10 minutes left before our train arrived (Trains in Japan all arrive and leave on time). Fortunately we already had the tickets. We could have took the Romance Car to Shinjuku but Simon was desperate to try the Shinkansen and therefore we paid extra for the experience.

The train ran so smoothly that we didn't feel we were on a bullet train, but the views from the window told me that it was very fast. All the seat were in pairs and big in size with a lot of leg room which made it feel very spacious, but what was surprising was they all pointed in the same direction as the train was heading.

30 minutes later we were at Tokyo, 1 hour faster than the EXPRESS Romance Car. Yes, 1 hours early. When we got off the train, we noticed 2 women cleaning the carriages (not that there was any mess or litter left by the travellers) and they kicked a foot pedal on the side of all the seats and that would spin the seat around (so that it would face the same direction as the train is going).

We then transferred to Asakusa. By this time, we were quite hungry. And we had lunch at the following tempura restaurant.

葵丸進--東京都台東区浅草1-4-4


Sitting and eating on Tatami for the first time.

My tempura udon set menu.

Simon's Prawn tempura set (天丼). Both sets were about 1000 yen as far as I remember.

Go to Day 7 Part 2

Tokyo Gourmet Trip --Day 6 Part 2 ( Kinnotake Ryokan 金乃竹)

Monday 18th May 2009

Getting off at Daigatake bus stop, it was in the middle of the hill directly opposite. But it took us a while to find as we didn't see the signpost. Here we go at the entrance of the Ryokan. It was so peaceful and quiet.

Kinnotake 金乃竹

Because of the name "金乃竹", bamboos were found all over the Ryokan for decoration. This was the reception. We took our shoes off before stepping in. On pressing the bell, the hostess appeared with a welcoming smile and said that they were waiting for us for a long time!

We were then taken to our room "HARUKA (遥)". There are only 10 guest rooms in this Ryokan and each room has different layouts and features. All of the rooms have a private onsen (hot spring bath).

Entering the room, the toilet was on the left. Again super high tech.

Our room was beautifully designed with 2 floors. The lounge and toilet were downstairs while the bedroom with the in-room onsen upstairs. The Japanese lady gave us a tour of the bedroom and confirmed the dinner time we wanted. Then the room was all ours. I couldn't wait but ran up the stairs to see the onsen.

WOW!!!! That was absolutely amazing! The view was breathtaking overlooking the mountains and greenery.

I wanted to jump in at once. There was a shower area on the left which was very convenient.

Next to the bath is the little dressing room with modern design. I like the glass tap. This area was cleverly separated from the bedroom with a glass door.

No need to bring anything. Like all the hotels in Japan, they had all the amenities you could possibly need. They were all branded skincare. Love them!

This was the super huge and comfortable bed.

To enjoy the whole experience of Ryokan genuinely, we also tried on the Yukata. This is the dinning area downstairs where our dinner and breakfast would be served. The view was equally amazing.

Simon looked like a Japanese in Yukata. Haha!

We then started our bathing immediately. For 72,000 yen a night ( about £500), of course we had to make the best of it. With the stunning views, the bathing/soaping was very very relaxing and soulful. That was such a unique and lifetime experience that it was worth every penny.

About 1 hour later, our own personal server started to serve our dinner in our room. She treated us with great respect and courtesy in traditional Japanese manners. e.g. bow everytimes she came in the room or went out of the room, showcasing the best that Japanese hospitality has to offer.

This was our dinner menu. Over 10 course Kaiseki meal which featured seasonal and regional specialties. We were spoiled rotten.

Every dish was presented so beautifully like a piece of art.

So creatively arranged that you don't want to ruin it.

Desserts. I don't remember what they were but they tasted wonderful and a perfect ending to our spectacular dinner.

The whole dinner lasted about 2 hours.

After dinner, we watched TV for a while then started our bathing experience again. I have lost count on how many times we had a bath on that night.

Go to Day 7 Part 1