Overworked. Underfed.

Shoraian

Shoraian Google Maps I planned to spend a half day visiting the famed bamboo forest of Arashiyama and the nearby Iwatayama Monkey Park. Shoraian is conveniently located between the two. Now, I make the place sound easy to find, but keep in mind it is in the middle of a forest. I guess people get…

Morita Ya

Morita Ya Multiple locations throughout Kyoto Smooth Obturator told me I had to eat at the Kiyamachi location of Morita Ya for their famous sukiyaki. I’ve never had much experience with sukiyaki. It seemed somewhat similar to shabu shabu but with a sweet soy sauce base to cook the raw meat and vegetables, rather than just…

Sobanomi Yoshimura

Sobanomi Yoshimura Google Maps After taking the Shinkansen (bullet train) without incident, we arrived to Kyoto Station ready to eat our way through the city. I swear those stations were so frustrating. We didn’t know how to walk through it without having to pay for a ticket, so we walked around it. That was a bad…

Fukuhachi @ Omoide Yokocho (Memory Lane)

Fukuhachi (Stall No. 58 on the map) Google Maps (general location of Omoide Yokocho) I started to hit that point on a vacation where the constantly hustle and on-the-go speed caught up to me. I took a massive nap around 6pm and woke up at 10pm. With The Annoyer’s help, I overcame my laziness and took a…

Ichiran Ramen

Ichiran Ramen Multiple locations throughout Japan While Rokurinsha was hands down AMAZING beyond words, it didn’t quite satisfying my ramen craving. I still yearned for hot noodles bouncing about in an ocean of opaque fatty flavor rich broth. Chuka Soba Inoue obviously did not satisfy me to this degree, though I was quite full from…

Chuka Soba Inoue

Chuka Soba Inoue Google Maps The other food stand with the long line at Tsukiji Market is Chuka Soba Inoue, which is just down the way from Kitsuneya. The large crowd hovering around this spot grabbed my attention. Some quick Googling clued me into the fame and legitimacy of the ramen served here. While it…

Kitsuneya

Kitsuneya Google Maps If you’ve ever been to Tsukiji Market, you’ve surely come across Kitsuneya. It is located in the outer market along the main row of restaurant stands that line the main street, Shin-Ohashi Dori. This area of the market is quite a reprieve from the cramped alleyways of the rest of the outer…

Kyubey

Kyubey Ginza Annex My plan was to dine at the famed Sukiyabashi Jiro Honten as well as another high end sushi establishment for comparison. Jiro didn’t work out, but everything went very smoothly with Kyubey. Kyubey has a long history as one of the oldest and most well regarded sushi establishments in Tokyo. It was…

Henri Charpentier

Henri Charpentier Multiple locations throughout Japan Part of my research into Japan eats involved Googling things like “Best [insert food] in Tokyo.” Cross referencing enough of the results whittled down the list of “bests” to a manageable selection of eats. Very scientific right? My method has yet to steer me wrong when it came to eating…

Rokurinsha

Rokurinsha Ramen Street, Tokyo Station location Tokyo Skytree location It had been 3 whole days in the land of ramen and a slurp of noodles had yet to pass these lips. It felt criminal. It felt like I let the Michelin guide get the better of me. It was high time I get down to some more unpretentious eats. I had a good…

Harutaka

Harutaka Google Maps Many of you may know, but I was supposed to eat at the 3 star Michelin restaurant, Sukiyabashi Jiro Honten during my Japan trip. We knew someone who knew someone who secured a reservation for us. The Annoyer and I loved the documentary “Jiro Dreams of Sushi,” the film that really skyrocketed…

Tempura Kondo

Tempura Kondo Sakaguchi Building 9F Google Maps location In planning my Japan trip, I wanted to make sure to vary the meals. The dining scene in Tokyo is just so vast. You can go cheap and casual or you can splurge Michelin style. I wanted to do a little bit of both and try a…