A log of everything I ate and coffee I drank during my Tokyo 2019 trip ๐กโ๐
- ๐ Shinjuku
- ๐ฝ Horse sashimi
- ๐ Google Maps / Website / Tabelog
Great first dinner. This small joint literally translates to "meat sushi"โas expected, we had horse sashimi (aka basashi), as well as raw chicken! I enjoyed the many ways they prepared basashi: nigiri, sashimi, negitoro, marinated, etc. I also recommend the cured egg yolks.
- ๐ Daikanyama
- ๐ฐ Fluffy pancakes
- ๐ Google Maps / Website / Tabelog
| โน๏ธ | ๐ท |
|---|---|
| Brunch at this famous fluffy pancake chain! I tried the berry pancakes. Definitely good, but was more dense than I expected. |  |
- ๐ Daikanyama
- โ Afternoon pourover
- ๐ Google Maps / Website / Tabelog
| โน๏ธ | ๐ท |
|---|---|
| Cozy coffee shop with a beautiful interior. The pourover was decent. |  |
- ๐ Jingumae
- ๐ฝ Gyoza
- ๐ Google Maps / Tabelog
Our pre-dinner. Fairly standard gyoza joint. Lots of seating.
- ๐ Shibuya
- ๐ฝ Yakitori
- ๐ Google Maps / Website / Tabelog
| โน๏ธ | ๐ท |
|---|---|
| ๐ Really great yakitori place, one of my favorite meals. They have an English menu, but ordering may be difficult if you're uncomfortable speaking Japanese. ๐ธ Cash only! |  |
- ๐ Nishi-shinjuku
- โ Morning pourover
- ๐ Google Maps / Website / Tabelog
| โน๏ธ | ๐ท |
|---|---|
| ๐ Within my top two coffee shops we visited, for sure. Had a chiller vibe amongst the third-wave coffee shops we tried. I was able to try every single bean they had on rotation during the first week ๐ |  |
- ๐ Asakusa
- ๐ฐ Melon pan
- ๐ Google Maps / Tabelog
Huge and delicious melon pan!!!
- ๐ Asakusa
- ๐ฝ Okonomiyaki + monjayaki
- ๐ Google Maps / Website / Tabelog
We tried both the monja and okonomiyaki. It was okay, but that's probably because I prefer Hiroshima style.
- ๐ Shinjuku
- ๐ฐ Sweets
- ๐ Google Maps / Website
| โน๏ธ | ๐ท |
|---|---|
| ๐ Super yummy dessert shop with a variety of sweets, from traditional zenzai to modern parfaits. I got the black sesame anmitsu. We had to wait a bit, but definitely worth it. |  |
- ๐ Shinjuku
- ๐ Udon
- ๐ Google Maps / Website / Tabelog
| โน๏ธ | ๐ท |
|---|---|
| There was quite a line when we wentโseems to be a popular spot. Noodles were nice and bouncy, but not sure if it was worth the wait! |  |
- ๐ Nishi-shinjuku
- โ Morning pourover
- ๐ Google Maps / Website / Tabelog
Yup. Went here again.
- ๐ Shibakoen
- ๐ฃ Sushi
- ๐ Google Maps / Website / Tabelog
WHOA, this place was only ๏ฟฅ1,000 for a chirashi. We went with the Tokyo GitHubbers ๐
- ๐ Shibakoen
- โ Afternoon latte
- ๐ Google Maps / Website / Tabelog
- ๐ Ginza
- ๐ฝ Tonkatsu
- ๐ Google Maps / Website / Tabelog
| โน๏ธ | ๐ท |
|---|---|
| Breading was good, pork was juicy, but a little too fatty for my tastes. Dinner set also came with tonjiru and pickles. |  |
- ๐ Nishi-shinjuku
- โ Morning pourover
- ๐ Google Maps / Website / Tabelog
๐
- ๐ Akihabara
- ๐ฝ Omurice
- ๐ Google Maps / Website / Tabelog
| โน๏ธ | ๐ท |
|---|---|
| Quick bite typa place, but really tasty! You have the option to choose two sauces. I picked tomato and demiglace. |  |
- ๐ Kanda nishikicho
- โ Afternoon pourover flight
- ๐ Google Maps / Website
| โน๏ธ | ๐ท |
|---|---|
| Well-known shop. We did a pourover tasting with a Kenya and two Ethiopia beans. Bold and clear flavors, I distinctly remember the tomato taste. Super third wave-y. |  |
- ๐ Nakano
- ๐ฝ Izakaya
- ๐ Google Maps / Website / Tabelog
| โน๏ธ | ๐ท |
|---|---|
| Our first izakaya of the trip, guided by a local friend. Really lovely, seasonal dishes. I enjoyed their take on izakaya classics, like this potato salad with cornhash beef and a soft-boiled egg. |  |
And then we drunkenly went to a lovely karaoke bar that I don't remember the name of. It was a good night.
Counterpart Coffee again โ
- ๐ Roppongi
- ๐ Ramen/tsukemen
- ๐ Google Maps / Website / Tabelog
| โน๏ธ | ๐ท |
|---|---|
| First time trying the famous Afuri chain! I'm personally a fan of assari (light) broths, so I really enjoyed the yuzu tsukemen. Others in my group who like kotteri (rich) broths weren't as impressed. |  |
- ๐ Roppongi
- โ Afternoon latte
- ๐ Google Maps / Website / Tabelog
This shop is owned by Mercedes Benz and has a large downstairs seating area. It was super packed when we went, and the soy latte was alright.
- ๐ Roppongi
- ๐ฝ Yakiniku
- ๐ Google Maps / Tabelog
This yakiniku joint had a more upscale vibe than what I'm used to, but still decently priced. The gyutan was great, and the nicer meats were ๐ฅ
- ๐ Roppongi
- ๐ท Fancy lounge
- ๐ Google Maps / Website / Tabelog
Garden lounge at night was ๐ We paid ๏ฟฅ800 per person to get in. Decent cocktails.
- ๐ Shimokitazawa
- โ Morning gibraltor
- ๐ Google Maps / Website / Tabelog
Lots of buzz about this place! Really great espresso in the gibraltor I got. I even braved dairy milk (I'm lactose intolerant) and it was worth it. No photos allowed inside the shop.
- ๐ Shimokitazawa
- ๐ฝ Potato dishes
- ๐ Google Maps / Website / Tabelog
As the name would suggest, this place had a lot of potato specials. We got the nikujaga lunch set, which was simple and home-y.
- ๐ Shimokitazawa
- ๐ฐ Shaved ice + sweets
- ๐ Google Maps / Website / Tabelog
๐ This was my favorite dessert place ๐ญ We got the matcha shaved ice with shirotama + kinako, and zenzai with fried mochi and frothy matcha to pour on top.
| Shaved ice | Zenzai |
|---|---|
 |
 |
- ๐ Jiyugaoka
- ๐ฝ Soba
- ๐ Google Maps / Tabelog
Tabelog and Google Maps translate the shop name differently ๐คทโ Either way, the soba was delicious!!! I was too busy catching up with friends that I didn't take any photos ๐
- ๐ Shibuya
- ๐ Club
- ๐ Google Maps / Website
The one club we went to ๐ Drinks were whatever, people were respectful, and they played tropical and deep house all night.
Counterpart Coffee again โ
- ๐ Ikebukuro
- ๐ฝ Oyakodon
- ๐ Google Maps / Website / Tabelog
| โน๏ธ | ๐ท |
|---|---|
| Oyakodon speciality shop in the Sunshine City Alpa mall. The special with raw egg on top was ๐ฅ ๐ณ โค๏ธ |  |
- ๐ Tsukiji
- ๐ฝ Unagi
- ๐ Google Maps / Website / Tabelog
| โน๏ธ | ๐ท |
|---|---|
| Delicious mid-tier unagi place. We got the a la carte dinner, which was definitely enough. They had other unagi appetizers, too. |  |