Anyway, i was greeted by Masa and his family in the hotel. It was an awesome hotel with a great view of the city and of Tokyo tower.
Yeah, Tokyo didn't really have many supertall buildings, but the buildings were big, fat and compacted. Really maximizing space huh! I don't really remember wot i did on the first day or the second or so on, so it aint in chronology but i'll include the important parts ( which is the good japanese food!). On the first night, we went out to get some dinner nearby the hotel. There was a good Nabe (なべ物) restaurant nearby which was awesome.
Nabemono (なべ物)And we had some Yakitori (やきとり) too,
Yakitori (やきとり)
Mum, R , Dad, Masa_____________
The next day, Masa's mum decided to give us a traditional japanese welcome tea ceremony.
Then ofcourse, we spent the next 6 days going around Tokyo. Such an awesome and clean city. We went to most of the famous districts like Ginza (銀座), Shinjuku (新宿区), Shibuya (渋谷区), Akihabara (秋葉原) and Harajuku (原宿). Unfortunately it was a weekday when i went to Harajuku, so all the harajuku girls were in school instead of perfoming along the street.
What better way to enjoy Japan than to enjoy the good food it has to offer. On the second day, we headed off to Tsukiji Fish Market (築地市場) , which sells the freshest seafood you can ever find. And in Tsukiji, one has to try the awesome sashimi (刺身) and sushi (寿司). The best shop that sells it is Daiwa (大和）. There is no menu in this restaurant because everyone has to eat one course of sashimi/sushi. Whatever they serve, you eat. The shop is a real small shop with about 10 seats along the counter, there's 2 counters. You barely have enough space to sit comfortably. However, the sushi/sashimi you find here is regarded as the best in the world, so it was worth it! The highlight must definitely be fresh sea urchin (雲丹), which apparently is something you can't find in most shops.
Then ofcourse, we spent the next 6 days going around Tokyo. Such an awesome and clean city. We went to most of the famous districts like Ginza (銀座), Shinjuku (新宿区), Shibuya (渋谷区), Akihabara (秋葉原) and Harajuku (原宿). Unfortunately it was a weekday when i went to Harajuku, so all the harajuku girls were in school instead of perfoming along the street.What better way to enjoy Japan than to enjoy the good food it has to offer. On the second day, we headed off to Tsukiji Fish Market (築地市場) , which sells the freshest seafood you can ever find. And in Tsukiji, one has to try the awesome sashimi (刺身) and sushi (寿司). The best shop that sells it is Daiwa (大和）. There is no menu in this restaurant because everyone has to eat one course of sashimi/sushi. Whatever they serve, you eat. The shop is a real small shop with about 10 seats along the counter, there's 2 counters. You barely have enough space to sit comfortably. However, the sushi/sashimi you find here is regarded as the best in the world, so it was worth it! The highlight must definitely be fresh sea urchin (雲丹), which apparently is something you can't find in most shops.
Daiwa (大和）Another highlight of the trip was having tempura (天麩羅) at the most expensive tempura restaurant in Tokyo, Ten Ichi (天一). The meals comes in a full course, while you can always add extras by paying more $$$. Anyway, i ordered the basic course which costed about 10 000 yen (100 US$). All sorts of seafood were used in cooking the tempura, and it's nowonder why this restaurant is a frequent stop by most celebrities ( japanese and from abroad).
___________The next few days after that, we were pretty much just going around to visit famous shrines and temples, historic places around Tokyo. I won't blog about those parts because it's not really exciting, but i'll upload some pics anyway. Another highlight was in Akihabara Electric Town. Akihabara is a true Otaku's (おたく) wonderland. Literally, thousands and thousands of neon lights and catchy/colourful slogans depicting anime characters and electric gadgets are found all throughout Akihabara. All the latest technology and anime can be found here, and most of them are quite affordable. I bought 5 Gundam models for quite a steal, was pretty happy bout it. Anyway, a highlight of Akihabara has to be Maid Cafes (メイドカフェ) which are cosplay cafes. I visited 2 Maid Cafes with 3 friends, Masa, Sakiko and Manami. The waitress were dressed up as either french maids or other anime characters and is very popular among the otaku subculture. It's also an attraction for tourists, to see how this subculture influences the japanese society. However, you are not allowed to take photos in a Maid cafe but you can always purchase a picture with the waitresses for quite a fee of 500 yen ( a single polaroid).
Hachiko (ハチ公)
Harajuku (原宿)
Sashimi
Sakiko, Mum, Sakiko's mum
Eating in the depachika
Ginza (銀座)
Crossroads at Ginza
Yeah well, that's sums up most of the main points in my Tokyo trip, i'll leave out the minor details because it's not that exciting. On the last day, I had Basashi (馬刺し) at an Izakaya (居酒屋). Try having a guess what meat is that in the pic ;p
Basashi (馬刺し)
