I’m baaack!
And Japan was every bit as awesome (even more so) as I remembered/hoped it would be!
I was traveling for nearly 3 weeks, so naturally I have a boatload of pictures, a boatload of laundry, and more than just a little jet lag! I’m not gonna even tell you what time it is right now as I write this because in a few short hours when it posts I know I’m not gonna wanna be reminded I was still awake!
So grab a cup of tea (or in real Japanese fashion, a beer!) and check out my first week in Tokyo:
Armed with my plane ticket, passport, and a little light reading material I hopped on that very plane, and 11 short hours later was reunited with one of my best (and oldest) friends in the world, Nami!
And when I say old, I obviously mean our friendship (20 years!) Crazy right?
It was raining and Nami had to work for half the day, so I amused myself wandering around Harajuku/Shibuya and admiring umbrellas. At the first hint of rain all the stores put out umbrella bags and some restaurants even have umbrella lock-ups to keep your umbrella safe (and their floors dry) while you eat. This level of organization makes me giddy.
I decided to get out of the rain and amuse myself in Tokyu Hands for a while. I had a coffee in their super cute cafe surrounded by succulents and took advantage of the free wifi. Tokyu Hands is a 7 story behemoth “creative lifestyle” store which stocks everything from cute camping gear, to face wash, to washi tape. There are entire floors devoted to stationery, DIY, housewares, and pet accessories to name just a few categories. It’s heaven.
I spent the next day with Nami’s adorable parents eating unagi (eel) at Oedo, a restaurant that serves only unagi. We also ate gelato and sakura mochi in our travels. It was a delicious day.
And just in case you want to see how unagi is served at an unagi restaurant:
It sits pretty on a bed of rice in a little laquer box! Disclaimer: I may or may not already have a mouthful of unagi at this point!
Saturday was my BIG eating day and Sukiyabashi Jiro did not disappoint! It was by far the best sushi (not to mention some of the best food) I’ve ever eaten, and of course I discovered new favorites! The experience merits it’s own post, but for now the edible art you’re looking at is chutoro and kuruma ebi. And it was amazing.
After lunch we did some shopping in Ginza (how crazy is it that they close the streets to cars on weekends?) and had coffee/dessert at La Duree. Yep- sushi followed by macarons pretty much makes this my favorite food day EVER. And how pretty are those strawberry desserts?
On Sunday we went on a little road trip to Chiba to go Strawberry Picking! Along the way we stopped and ate ice-cream at the cleanest rest-stop I’ve ever laid eyes on, visited the Pacific, and happened upon an awesome Taiko performance. We finished the night off at a local izakaya with lots of delicious small plates (sashimi, tempura, croquettes, french fries, yakitori, etc..) and lots of beer.
And that was my first week in Tokyo!
Just let me know if you have questions or want to know more about anything specific, otherwise I’ll just continue recapping week by week, with longer posts dedicated only to those experiences I found extra bonkers amazing!
Sukiyabashi Jiro! Calico Cat Cafe! Nikko! Tokyu Hands! I’m looking at you!
Another big thank you to all our guest posters who kept you company while I was away!
I’m so happy to be back and excited to share more of my trip with you guys!
It’s been forever…
What have you been up to?
Mmmm sushi! I can’t wait for my sister to come visit me next weekend, since getting sushi has become a bit of a ritual for us. (But we’re in south Texas, so I’m sure it’s nothing like the good stuff!)
Ha ha! I’ve always had sushi eating buddies too! Enjoy!
Tokyo Hands sounds amazing! My husband and I want to take a big trip out to Japan one day.
As for me, I finished a knitting project, and am in the midst of re-doing the look of my blog! Oh, and I posted about our honeymoon volunteering at a sloth rescue.
A sloth rescue? Get out of town!
I’m clicking over now!
I love this post, I’ve always wanted to go to Japan! How did you come to know your ‘family’ there?? Did you do an exchange when you were young?
I was just wondering if I’d ever told you guys how we met! Nami was our exchange student when I was 11 and she was 15. We kept in touch writing letters pre-digital age, then email, and we’ve both travelled back and forth to see each other many times now! She also visits my family in Hawaii sometimes without me (boo, jealous!) and so after 20 years she and her family really, well, feel like family. I feel so lucky to have them in my life and have gotten a really unique view of Tokyo/Japan life as a result!
Is it me, or are there shrimp in your beers? Ive been hearing so much about Jiro on NPR….I hope we get some in depth stories/pics…..:)
Ha ha, no shrimp in our beers, just beer!
And don’t worry, once the jet lag wears off I’ll delve into Sushi with Jiro in earnest!
So glad you’re back! I’ve loved seeing your instagram pics! Nothing new here other than planning my cross country move and wedding- WOO! (That’s my lame excuse for not having blogged but once in the last 6 months, but whatever…)
Can’t wait to see/hear/read more about your adventures!
Wait, there’s a cross country move involved?
You really have been keeping mum! And yay, wedding!
I adore all your photos! I loved following along with them (that strawberry farm looked amazing!) and it’s really cool to get to see a snapshot of Japanese culture (for someone who is, sadly, not well-traveled yet).
ahhhh I LOVE unagi! we went to a specialty restaurant too- I posted it a little bit ago.