Day 9, Part 1 | Tsukiji Market and Akihabara (the electronics nirvana)

The Tokyo Metropolitan Central Wholesale Market (東京都中央卸売市場 Tōkyō-to Chūō Oroshiuri Shijō^?), commonly known as theTsukiji Market (築地市場 Tsukiji shijō^?), is the biggest wholesale fish and seafood market in the world and also one of the largest wholesale food markets of any kind. The market is located in Tsukiji in central Tokyo, and is a major attraction for foreign visitors. – Wikipedia

Right before the Japan trip, I read somewhere that the decades-old iconic Tsukiji Fish Market (since 1935) was going to be relocated prior to the 2020 Olympics. This was our only chance to visit a soon to be historical site. A must-not-miss. Of course, part of the pull was to eat fresh sushi and sashimi in Japan. Reports of radiation contamination due to a nuclear plant leak did not deter me at all. That’s just me.

The seafood auction begins at the wee hours of the morning and usually finishes at 7:00am. So by the time tourists like us arrive, we will only see the packing and shipping post-auction.

Inner Tsukiji Market post-auction

A visit to Tsukiji Market is best combined with a fresh sushi breakfast or lunch at one of the local restaurants. There are restaurants both in the inner and outer market area, which are typically open from 5:00 in the morning to around noon or early afternoon. – Wikipedia

We then proceeded to the “outer market” to find some fresh shushi. I found a sushi bar that had no queue (how lucky!). The sushi was exquisite. Watch the sushi master at work!

Brunch done, we proceeded to Akihabara for another sightseeing shopping walk.

Day 11 | The search for Mizuno shoes

On our last day, the hubby and I ventured out alone. The boys have had enough of walking and wanted to stay-in (and enjoy the hotel Wi-Fi) with grandma.

I grabbed the chance and first wanted to visit an onsen called Ooeda Onsen Monogatari. But I got distracted by an ad for factory outlets on Japanese TV. I am in Japan, why the bloody hell am I not shopping for a new pair of Mizuno? I’d simply forgotten that the maker of my current favourite running shoes is Japanese!

I quickly googled “Mizuno Tokyo”. At the top of the search results heap was a Tripadvisor question from someone looking to buy a pair of Mizuno.

Apparently there was a sporting goods street around Jimbocho station. I told the hubby that we are ditching a day at the onsen, in favour of a pair of runners. And to please figure out how to get to Jimbocho. Later, we realised that Jimbocho was not the best station to get off of. (See bottom of blog for our recommendation.)

Hot udon with half-boiled egg, seasoned cod roe and okra

Udon salad

We have not had breakfast yet. So at 9.30AM outside Jimbocho Station, we decided to have our first authentic Japanese breakie. I had what is called a “salad udon”, basically cold udon topped with salad prepared the Japanese way. I’ve not tasted anything like it. It’s so darn good. The hubby had hot udon with half-boiled egg, seasoned cod roe, okra and grated yam. YUM does not even begin to describe it. We’re just glad to experience breakfast the Japanese way.

Remember that stores open at 11am on Sundays.

I tried a total of, I think, five pairs of running shoes. I wanted the Wave Rider but I did not like the fit of it. A few other models had my colour but not my size. Finally, I opted for a Wave Inspire in blue with pink trims. They were not my colours but it hugged my feet and that is all that matters, really. I am happy as a…dog with a bone! (Aside: It’s half the price of what I pay for it in Sydney!)

Mizuno Wave Inspire

Lunch was the Japanese take of a curry. It’s unlike the subcontinent’s curry, apparently introduced by the British and adapted to Japanese taste. It has chicken katsu, making it uniquely Japanese.

Japanese Chicken Katsu Curry

How to get to Sporting Goods Store Street

Ogawamachi Station on Toei Shinjuku Line, Exit B5

Stop at Ogawamachi Station on the Toei Shinjuku line, Exit at B5. Then walk in the general direction going to Jimbocho Station if you are looking for the Mizuno store.

Stay on the street called Yasukuni-dori.

Walk towards the direction going to Jimbocho Station.

Dining Tip #3 | Pre-paid orders

The land of the vending machines

 

Extending Japan’s love affair for vending machines, restaurants usually have coin-operated-meal-ordering-vending machines. One basically orders their meal and pay for it outside the restaurant. If there is a queue (there is normally one as the space inside is quite small), then wait in line. There are chairs available, thankfully.

Most of these food ordering vending machines have English translations. If there isn’t and you are keen to try, don’t be shy to ask for assistance from the restaurant staff.

Meal ordering machine

 

Day 4 | The Namba shopping walk

Having spent two exhausting days (traveling from Narita to Osaka, and the Kyoto tour), we opted to check out the shopping centres for Day 4. It was supposedly a day of easy no-schedule-to-follow-chilling-kind-of-day. It quickly became evident that this was the longest walk we will ever do in the entire trip.

I decided to visit Osaka’s Mirami area, specifically the street shops in Namba. My guidebook had a walking tour so we simply followed it.

Kuromon Market. It was a Sunday and at 9am, most of the stalls were closed. Still, the ones that were open were entertaining enough. I’ll let the pictures do the talking.

Fresh sashimi all you can eat

Eel (unagi). Gabo’s favourite.

Then we ventured to Den Den Town, the electronics district.

Next up was Dotomburi. Here you will find cookware in all shapes and sizes. The idea is, after shopping for your ingredients at the wet market (Kuromon), you can buy cookware to cook your ingredients with.

By this time, my boys were bored stiff. We all know how long faces can sap everybody else’s energy, particularly mine. So we had a lunch break at comfort food, that is, good old Maccas (the Big M for you). I decided that the boys have had enough. And they were free to go back to the hotel. A sigh of relief went down the table. Grandma and I have not started shopping yet and will continue browsing.

Next up for Mama and I was a shopping street called Shinsaibashisuji.

Wearing my new boots. I simply cannot resist a #selfie!

My mum and I found irresistible shoes for sale. I did not plan on buying anything during this trip, yet I ended up buying not one, not two, but three pairs ! I was looking for books and stationeries and I ended up with shoes. The prices were low compared to Sydney’s, however the lure was the design and variety of colours. I now understand why some Sydneysiders come to Japan for shopping!

Woe me and my luggage. But wait… I traveled light, didn’t I? Yey me. I’ve got a spare 6 kilos out of my 20 kilo baggage allowance.

So, happy me then.

That day which was meant to be a relaxing day, I clocked 21,202 steps in my pedometer.

Let’s have a final look at how a Japanese shopping street looks like!

Dining #2 | Shimbashi street crawl and a Yakitori food bar

Ariel and I went on a street crawl around Shimbashi one night. But first, let me acknowledge how grateful I am to have grandma travel with us, my ever-reliable babysitter (for Migo).

Shimbashi was the district where we were holed up for 5 nights in Tokyo. Shimbashi station is an old train station, surrounded by hole-in-the-walls in its labyrinth of alleyways. I noticed that several of these places are standing-only affairs. Wow. Standing while eating? We gotta try that!

The appetizer that we thought was beans or some such.

We decided to try authentic yakitori this time. We found a yakitori hole-in-the-wall and saw that the ground floor was packed. So we went up to the second floor where we squeezed into a table. Tight and cozy.

“Sumimasen! Beeru kudasai!”, we requested in our pidgin Japanese.

“And a plate of yakitori please”, pointing to the picture on the wall, as there was no English menu. The young waiter pondered and asked if we wanted a “big plate”?

“How many skewers is in a big plate?” (Actually we asked “How many sticks?”)

He answered “18”.

Whoa, that’s plenty! “How about a small plate?”

“6!”, the nice-looking waiter proudly responded.

“Hai! Small plate please!”

It was 8pm and the place was packed with corporate-type Japanese. Their form of winding down was “eating, smoking and drinking”. A few women were present and they all drank beer too. The smell of tobacco is unavoidable in most eating places. So have a little bit of forbearance if you want to mix in with the locals. Ariel and I were determined to experience the local life.

The place was cramped, smoky and filled with conversation.

The two elderly waiters were well dressed with ties and speak no English. The younger waiter was wearing a traditonal yukata garb.

Our yakitori plate consisted of skewered chicken thighs, chicken mince and something that I guessed to be chicken skin seared to crispy perfection. We soaked in the Japanese atmosphere around us. We ate, drank and enjoyed our third date night for this trip. The hubby was happy and his happiness washed over me.

“Well done, wookie, for picking this place”, he said and “Kampai!”

Tha yakitori bar brightly lit from outside

Snaps #1 | Shibuya crossing and paying homage to the legendary Hachiko

A visit to Tokyo will not be complete without visiting Shibuya.

Shibuya Crossing.

Many a movie featured Shibuya Crossing scenes, the most popular being Lost In Translation. So of course, I cannot miss a visit to this tourist destination. Best to visit at night to experience the sensory overload of garishly bright billboard lights and the hustle of bustle of Tokyo-ites!

Shibuya Crossing at night, from a distance.

Hachiko, the legendary dog.

I have not met “Hachiko” until this Japan trip slowly took shape. A friend from Instagram @zeetzjones convinced me that a visit to see Hachiko is a must. Thank you @zeetzjones for this worthwhile push.

Hachikō (ハチ公?, November 10, 1923 – March 8, 1935), known in Japanese as chūken Hachikō (忠犬ハチ公 “faithful dog Hachikō” [‘hachi’ meaning ‘eight’, a number referring to the dog’s birth order in the litter, and ‘kō’, meaning prince or duke]), was an Akita dog remembered for his remarkable loyalty to his owner, even many years after his owner’s death. – Wikipedia

An American movie starring Richard Gere titled Hachi: A Dog’s Tale is a 2009 drama film based on the true story of a faithful Hachiko.

Hachiko heaven coming up…

 

The Cha has turned Japanese with the typical “peace” sign

Dining Tip #1 | Department Stores ~ Top floors and basements

Top floors

In big department stores such as Isetan (Kyoto Station) or Takashimaya (Namba Station, Osaka), the top floors are reserved for restaurants and fast foods. All very affordable, of course.

Ramen heaven

We had our first authentic ramen at the 10th floor of Isetan. The 10th floor housed the “all-ramen” restaurants. Despite the numerous ramen outlets, there is always a queue. After all, shop spaces are tight, so a queue outside is quite normal. Don’t despair, the Japanese eat fast too. The wait is anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes. We looked for one that had the shortest queue. The hubby was in ramen heaven, as you would be.

At Takashimaya Namba, the food court is from the 8th to 10th floor. We had our first taste of Osaka’s Okonomiyaki there. This is like the Japanese version of pizza that consists of flour batter, eggs and an assortment of ingredients. Mostly cabbage, and a choice of pork, seafood mix etc. Gabo enjoyed this new find. So it must be good!

Okonomiyaki is a Japanese savoury pancake containing a variety of ingredients. The name is derived from the word okonomi, meaning “what you like” or “what you want”, and yaki meaning “grilled” or “cooked”. – Wikipedia

Okonomiyaki. Photo courtesy of http://www.closetcooking.com/2009/05/okonomiyaki-japanese-pancake.html

Basement floors

The bottom floors are reserved for grocery and “Depachika” (oh-my-goodness all sorts of Japanese delicacies, pastries, cakes, kakanin…). You will literally be walking into eye-popping visual food nirvana. Here let me show you in pictures!

My thoughts exactly

Simply stunning

Foodgasm

Foodgasm, Part 2

Melt in your mouth Roll Cake. To die for Rhubarb Crumble.

Day 3, Part 2 | Kyoto tour in pictures

A picture collage of our Kyoto afternoon, AU$68 per person, pre-booked with Pitt Travel Sydney, 1:40pm to 6:30pm.

All pictures taken with iPhone 4S. For now. I’ll post better pictures from my lowly point-and-shoot camera when I get back to Sydney.

Heian Jingu Shrine

Ema. Small wooden plaques of wishes and prayers. A shinto tradition.

O-mikuji. Fortunes written in pieces of paper.

Kiyozumi Temple

Kiyozumi Temple

Japanese girls in kimono

Taking a breather.

Day 3, Part 1 | Kyoto half-day afternoon tour + RAMEN heaven

Before leaving Sydney, we booked our Kyoto tour where we purchased our JR pass (Pitt Travel Sydney). There is a choice of a full day or a half day (morning or afternoon tours) at $68 per person . With two teenagers, Ariel and I decided to go with the afternoon tour to avoid rushing from place to place.

Since we had a JR pass, we opted to join the tour at Kyoto.

We arrived at Kyoto at 10am. We had about 3.5 hours to kill before joining the tour so we opted to roam around the massive Kyoto Station.

First stop was the Kyoto Central Post Office. As a random thought, I wanted to send a few postcards to some special folk around the world. I haven’t done this in previous travels. I bet them special folk will be surprised, pleasantly I hope.

Ramen oh-my-goodness

Then we roamed the massive Isetan Department Store. And stumbled upon a fast food at the 10th level of pure ramen heaven. It’s a ramen-only kind of fast food. And they were cheap too.

We joined the tour bus in New Miyako Hotel. Note to self. Stay in this centrally located hotel for our next visit.

Meet Yoshi.

Our elderly tour guide talked like an encyclopedia of countries. He apparently has 3 foster children in the Philippines. Knew that Mactan Island is in Cebu and showed off his University of the Philippines baseball cap.

He has a story for each county.

Japanese life according to Yoshi…

Wet Leaves. The term used to refer to retired Japanese men. You see, all their working lives, men are married to their work and to the companies they work for. Working hard day and night including partying with work colleagues (read: karaoke bars). They go home to sleep. In effect, they live “divorced” lives from their wives. So when they retire, without any hobby to occupy their time, the Japanese ex-professional finds himself “sticking” to his wife because he has nothing else to do. He goes with her everywhere. Hence, they have become “wet leaves”. Hard to sweep off. The wife finds this suffocating.

Narita Airport Divorce. According to Yoshi, there is a high incidence of airport divorces in Japan. When the husband and wife farewells a newly wed daughter to her honeymoon at the airport, after ensuring that the daughter is safely sent off, the wife faces the husband and exclaims like so.

“I am divorcing you. I want to spend the rest of my life without you!”

The long suffering Japanese wife decides to leave a loveless marriage as soon as the last child leaves home.

Oh I didn’t even talk about the Kyoto tour. My dominant thought that day was Ramen and Yoshi, you see. But I will try to go back to the tour in Part 2.

Another look at ramen…

Day 2 | Osaka, New Oriental Hotel for 5 nights

We made Osaka our first base. From there the plan was to visit Kyoto, Hiroshima and Osaka itself. We checked into the New Oriental Hotel. Which is not really new, it’s just that the Japanese seem to have a penchant for using the word “new” even if it’s not new at all. I booked three rooms (2 double/twins and a single room) and this hotel was within my string of a budget.

There is no in-room WiFi in our hotel #2. It was a mistake to book this 3-star (or is it a 2-star) hotel. I thought that I covered the WiFi requirement. But i guess I did not. They claim to have WiFi in the lobby but it is crappy. I can’t believe it because I am in Japan after all. It is so darn slow when I tried it that I simply gave up. The rooms in the New Oriental Hotel are so tiny (I heard this is the case everywhere anyway except the airport hotels). Simply enough to fit two single beds and a toilet. There’s an aisle between the beds and a corner space for the TV and fridge and a narrow closet. And that’s it. It is very cozy. There is no room to even open the luggage. One has to step over the luggage on the narrow passageway. So never bring a large suitcase. Besides, you will be lugging your suitcase from one train to another, traveling light is traveling sensibly. There is a coin operated laundry, so have no fear.

The cramped bathroom is another story. It’s like a prefabricated toilet and bath, like in a cruise liner. So tight it is.

Gabo who is used to staying in better hotels keep asking what the next hotel will be like. Then too, only Japanese shows are available on cable TV. Bring your own entertainment if you need some. That is, movies on laptops etc. Don’t forget to bring a number of power adaptors and an extension power strip.

The saving grace of this hotel is its own onsen or public bath located at the basement. The onsen makes the stay worthwhile. My mum and I used it many times to our great satisfaction.

Complimentary breakfast. New Oriental Hotel.

Diet friendly 🙂