We dropped Sharky off with his home stay family on Monday night and then, Tuesday at noon, boarded a flight for Japan!
Taking care of business before the flight.
The 14 hour flight was unremarkable. I checked out two crime shows – Bookie and Based on a True Story – which were, uh, not good, much like the in-flight meals. Akemi, never a good flyer, was sick. We got into Tokyo a half hour later than scheduled, caught the metro to Ginza, and checked into our hotel before making the short walk to Akemi’s favorite yakitori spot, Marugen for skewers and yuzu sours…
It’s great to be back!
We went to sleep at 9:30 p.m. (which was 7:30 a.m. our time). We were pretty exhausted.
This morning we were up at the crack of done and, as is the custom, made the 15 minute walk to the Tsukiji market for my favorite horumon bowl at Kitsunaya.
Even though it was a little before 7:00 a.m., there was already a lineup!
The horumon is labeled from the giant simmering pot into your bowls –
I got mine with onsen tamago (63 degree egg). If you’re a fan of offal, this is the breakfast of champions.
An earl morning stroll through the fish market.
We grabbed a coffee and a matcha at this little bean buggy – Sanya Coffee. Follow them on Instagram (@sanya.coffee) for 50 cents off your next purchase! They only have 117 followers so throw them a follow!
Akemi checking out the beer garden restaurant. It’s closed.
What the heck is dark beer lasagna?
For lunch, we headed to Roppongi…
My favorite Japanese crime show.
Wolfman Barber Shop
It’s my year – The Year of the Snake!
Lounging on the buta.
Akemi comes across this by an old temple and could not resist.
Akemi shows off her bowl of cold udon at Tsurutontan.
Akemi with the giant spider at Roppongi Hills.
A tiny oasis in the heart of the city.
I ordered two pistachio-chocolate desserts at Jean-Paul Hevin. Akemi helped out.
Dinner was an okay unagi meal after which we strolled through Ginza because it was too damn early to go to bed been though we were exhausted.
We wandered in a Squid Game pop-up event…
Then stumbled upon a whiskey museum that boasted easily over a thousand bottles of very very expensive high-end whiskey including…
Considering I used to buy Yamazaki 18 now goes for about $1200/bottle (I used to pick them up for $200/bottle back in the day), I cannot imagine how much the 55 year old goes for.
Akemi and I liked these bottles, reminiscent of supermarket honey.
Also, this dog-themed Suntory.
Space Cats at Ginza-6!
Finally, stopped off at Palet D’Or and picked up some of my favorite sake chocolates.
Delicious.
Tomorrow, we’re doing the Tsukiji fish market for breakfast again, grabbing a coffee, and then I have to be back in the hotel at 8:30 a.m. for another one of those pre-pitches!
21,500+ steps today! Good thing I brought comfy shoes.
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Bon voyage!
Awesome pictures and Thanks for sharing Japan with us!
21,500 steps?! No wonder you’re tired.
“ The hormone is labeled from the giant simmering pot”
Autocorrect run amok?
So jealous. I’d love to be in Japan in Winter. I bet you have the place to yourself (well, relatively).
Great pictures! Looks like a lot of fun! Thanks for sharing.
Great pics! So much foods… I think my favourite of al them was the pistachio-chocolate dessert. Sounds delicious.
I’ve been very busy the last few days, but I stopped by to read your post, drool over chocolates, and to tell you that – as I understand it – citrus is good for motion sickness. I tested this out on the local ferry while crossing the Delaware Bay one very treacherous night during a nor’easter. David wasn’t doing well at all, his chartreuse pallor betraying his tummy’s turmoil. I had an orange with me and I remembered that it’s good for motion sickness so I gave him some, and immediately his face regained its pinkish hue.
We were later told that that particular bay crossing boasted the most barf bags used in a single voyage. That didn’t include the people we saw running for the trash cans. Fortunately, neither David nor I tossed our cookies, all thanks to that one dignity-saving orange.
das
Hey Das, first of all thanks for the citrus tip. I’ll pass it on to Akemi. Secondly, congratulations on using chartreuse as a descriptor for pallor.