Kaiten Style Sushi
Kaiten style sushi restaurants are
very fun for sushi lovers! Plates of freshly prepared sushi continuously rotate past you on a conveyor belt...! The bill is based on the amount and types of plates you take. The four of us did some damage.
Japanese Ice Cream
Ice cream in Japan has a nice but different texture to it from the ice cream that I regularly know and love, it's a bit thicker, slightly chewy. And there are some very creative standard flavors. In case you are wondering, Purple Sweet Potato ice cream is not awesome. I also find Green Tea ice cream to be particularly nasty – sorry! Lemon was my favorite of the flavors I tried.
Pork Ramen and an Asahi Beer
Blessedly, many restaurant menus in Japan feature pictures of each item. The menu at this restaurant did not. I wanted to try Nagoya
style ramen and mine was quite good, I ate most of it (as I stared longingly at the veggie heaped bowls of ramen around me). Asahi beer was everywhere, so I ordered it often and thoroughly enjoyed the beer with lunch custom that I observed across Japan.
Kobe Beef in Kobe
We shamelessly stopped in Kobe on our way from Tokyo to Hiroshima for one reason: meat tourism. Served as the main entree in a multiple course meal, the Kobe beef was phenomenal.
Shabu Shabu in Tokyo
I originally read about
Shabu Shabu on Fathom and immediately knew it belonged on Tim's must do in
Japan list. He initially expressed must do interest in just three
things: Kobe beef in Kobe, sushi breakfast at the Tokyo Fish Market, and
Robot Restaurant in Tokyo.
We
started with a roots and mushroom salad. The meal itself is a bit like
fondu with lettuce wraps and soup. At the end we got rice to sop up the
rest of the broth and beef. Desert was included! Everything was
delicious. Yes, we did eat that entire giant bowl of vegetables.
Yasaiya Mei is a great Shabu Shabu spot in Roppongi Hills.
Chocolate Ice Cream Waffle to Go
Yum.
Tokyo Fish Market
Walking (wedging your way) through the
Tokyo Fish Market is a must do Tokyo experience. I did not get up for the 5 a.m. morning auction, but the sights, sounds, smells and tastes in the outside market are extremely unique. I could however, have done without the downpour that was happening the morning of our visit. I was very happy to get out of the rain and warm up with a sushi breakfast at one of the many small restaurants in the market.
Buta Don for Breakfast in Hakuba
Locally raised organic pork on rice with an egg – breakfast is served! This simple meal was one of my favorites of the trip.
Hiroshima and Osaka Style Okonomiyaki
Okonomiyaki consists of batter, cabbage, and various other ingredients that depend on where it’s made. We first tried Hiroshima style (pictured bottom left corner) from a small shop in a four story building; each floor had about 10 Okonomiyaki shops in it. We chose the first shop that had four open seats, it was around a corner on the third floor!
We also tried Okonomiyaki in Kyoto, but I believe we had Osaka style (pictured directly above the Hiroshima style). The dish pictured in the last bottom left photo collection was something similar to Okonomiyaki...or perhaps was Okonomiyaki, but it had cheese! This was my favorite of the three. These two dishes we ate directly off an iron griddle in the center of the table with chopsticks and a little shovel. :)
Soba Noodles in Tokyo
Sarashina Horii has been a renowned Soba restaurant since 1789. It is honored with the favor of the Imperial Household, but Tim and I first saw it on
No Reservations. It's thanks to Anthony Bourdain that we knew how to properly slurp up the noodles!
This was our last meal in Japan and were excited by how easy the restaurant was to find. Tim tried the Mori-Soba and an amazing giant fried ball of shrimp (for lack of a formal description...). I tried the Futouti-Soba and teriyaki chicken. Everything was delicious.
At the end of the meal, you pour the contents of the red teapot (which we think contained the water that the noodles had been cooked in) into what remains of your noodle sauce. “It is very good for your health,” explained our server. I didn’t get sick on my 12 hour flight, so this could very well be true!
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