また会いましょう means...'see you again' and i hope very soon, tokyo :)
the final day of my summer tokyo vacation was clouded by sadness of leaving this beautiful city later that evening. although my spirits were dampened, i still wanted to enjoy the rest of the day as much as i could.
i didn't really plan out the itinerary except to cover the rest of the places that we may have missed the first three days. for breakfast, i actually thought of getting one of those onigiri but we had delicious lunch plans that i wasn't sure if that was a good idea. but as a small snack to hold me over till then, we shared the french macarons from ladurée and the fresh uni from tsukiji fish market! :)
snacking in the room was the best option since we were busy packing up our bring our luggages so we could check out and leave them at the front desk while we explored more of tokyo. but while {rmc} was doing some final packing, i took the opportunity to take photos of the area surrounding our hotel which i haven't managed to do the first 3 days.
btw have i mention that i cannot be more amazed by how uber clean tokyo is -- wherever you go!? it's freaking awesome and i love it!
lunch plans led us to ginza for another sushi dining. i've read so many great things about this restaurant that i figured even though there are so many japanese cuisine i'd like to try, i'd say that it's worth having sushi twice! i mean, c'mon! it's japan where the fish is super fresh and japanese mastery & expertise at fish in itself are reason enough for the many sushi meals!
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| hooters? really?! almost an irony? |
i had trouble finding the restaurant even though i had the address and a little map. i still can't figure out how to find certain buildings - with numbers and dashes that got me all confused. i finally caved in and asked for directions and realized we just walked past it so many times without realizing and it was under our nose this whole time!
kyubei is the name of the restaurant and i can't wait to tell you all about it in an upcoming entry -- after a couple more other entries i should have written a long time ago.
after lunch, we decided to visit tokyo tower although we've seen the the aerial view of tokyo from the top of tokyo skytree tower. i felt tokyo tower was a must visit destination despite it no longer being the tallest broadcast tower in japan anymore. in fact, when you think of japan, tokyo tower is one of the first things that comes to mind (besides sushi, mount fuji, and the land of the rising sun, to name a few).
modelled after the eiffel tower, the signature red and white landmark served as tv and radio broadcast antenna. not only do they have an observatory deck, there are several souvenir shops, perfect for any last minute gift shopping we might've missed. we did not head up the observatory tower but just wanted to have a look at the tower itself.
info! the closest station accesible is the onarimon station
but first, i know i've had marion crepes on the first day but i've always read people eating the crepes with a chunk of cheesecake in it and wondered how it tasted -- would it be an overkill of sweetness or be the best thing ever? right at the base of the tower, i tried the cheesecake with strawberry ice cream + syrup and whipped cream. it was a calorie hub but quite a delicious one at that.
it wasn't too sweet and i thought the slight tartness and creaminess of the cheesecake was echoed by the tartness of the strawberry syrup, the lightness of the whipped cream and the coolness of the ice cream made it all awesome on a warm summer afternoon. oh, the ice cream was slightly melted by the freshly made warm crepe.
today was more of a relaxed day so we hung out a couple of hours at tokyo tower before heading back to tokyo station for some final souvenir shopping and to find the other french macaron counterpart, pierre hermé. armed with those french macaron, off we went to starbucks for some refreshing drinks as an after-heat treatand possibly free wifi.
much to my disappointment, to log onto starbucks wifi, i was required to make an account and most of the instructions were in japanese. so no internet! sad panda! :(
regardless, this was where i met the barista who was one of the few japanese who could speak good english and said he thought i was a japanese :p (i'd like to think myself as an asian chameleon, which i am rather proud of..tyvm)
dinner plan was initially yakitori but we weren't too keen on traveling far. so we ended up exploring the different restaurants in the area. i loved the decor of some of the restaurants that i had to take some quick snaps.
despite all that, we still had trouble deciding on what to eat and finally chose japanese curry although we were contemplating to do another round of tonkotsu ramen, perhaps at a different place. thought we should try something new and quick since we were pressed for time to get to the airport. funnily, this restaurant was just across from the ramen place we had dinner at the past two nights.
they have quite a few selections of japanese 'kare' that it took me a while to figure out what i wanted to eat. (i'm beginning to think that i just didn't have appetite cos i was leaving in a few hours! T.T) i noticed a lot of condiments in jars at the table that you are more than welcome to add to your curry based on your preference as well as a side dish of pickled vegetable.
i loved the seats we picked out which was right in front of the window to the kitchen so i could happily watch the chefs at work while enjoying my creamy curry. i wasn't too sure on what to expect from the kare but i sure was excited to try :)
curry & rice with shrimps (¥680)
this may look like a whole lot of curry but it was just nice amount with the perfectly cooked rice. the curry was not too spicy (both in heat and spices) and was a savory, creamy addiction. the rice itself was a star in itself - you could taste each grain in itself. i've decided that japanese just know how to cook their rice very well, almost at every restaurant i've been amazed by it. it was a huge serving of rice which i try to reduce the consumption of carbohydrate but i just could not help myself and kept eating doused in the yummy 'kare'.
the only teeny-tiny thing if i had to find fault with the dish was that they cooked the shrimp separately (boiled it, i believe) then poured the gravy over the top. i'd prefer cooked with the sauce but at the same time it ensures the shrimp is cooked perfectly, and yes, the shrimp were really fresh!
omelet containing fried rice with hashed beef sauce (¥720)
{rmc} seemed to have enjoyed this dish, however i thought there wasn't much meat which he was fine with. i had a small bite and i remember being it very tasty. the curry was subtly different from the shrimp curry i had.
heavy-hearted, we returned to our hotel reluctantly to get all our luggages before heading towards the airport. i can't believe i am leaving tokyo :( i literally had to sit down at the hotel lobby, to take in all the surroundings for a bit while taking in deep breaths. (not hyperventilating, no worries)
i suppose our journey to the airport involved me thinking of when would the next time i would return to this beautiful country ... reaching the airport, i never noticed how tired i was (probably running on my reserve energy) that i had to take a quick nap at the airport since we were there too early (since i have to get my luggage that i kept at the airport at 10pm)
we boarded the plane for a red eye flight, filled with snacks, memories and the desire to return to japan to experience its embrace once more. oh, and of course to stuff myself silly with the delicious fresh food selections japan has to offer. to appease my sad heart, i bought a souvenir for myself to remember this special vacation by :) oh i had to make this myself and very proud of it!
i will be writing a very brief summary of my itinerary including my food plans in an upcoming post for easy reference. possibly throw in some quick tips whenever i can and what went through my head as i planned out this trip over a several weeks. :)
disclaimer this is written based on personal experience and opinion. experiences and taste buds may vary for others.
kyubei is the name of the restaurant and i can't wait to tell you all about it in an upcoming entry -- after a couple more other entries i should have written a long time ago.
after lunch, we decided to visit tokyo tower although we've seen the the aerial view of tokyo from the top of tokyo skytree tower. i felt tokyo tower was a must visit destination despite it no longer being the tallest broadcast tower in japan anymore. in fact, when you think of japan, tokyo tower is one of the first things that comes to mind (besides sushi, mount fuji, and the land of the rising sun, to name a few).
modelled after the eiffel tower, the signature red and white landmark served as tv and radio broadcast antenna. not only do they have an observatory deck, there are several souvenir shops, perfect for any last minute gift shopping we might've missed. we did not head up the observatory tower but just wanted to have a look at the tower itself.
info! the closest station accesible is the onarimon station
but first, i know i've had marion crepes on the first day but i've always read people eating the crepes with a chunk of cheesecake in it and wondered how it tasted -- would it be an overkill of sweetness or be the best thing ever? right at the base of the tower, i tried the cheesecake with strawberry ice cream + syrup and whipped cream. it was a calorie hub but quite a delicious one at that.
it wasn't too sweet and i thought the slight tartness and creaminess of the cheesecake was echoed by the tartness of the strawberry syrup, the lightness of the whipped cream and the coolness of the ice cream made it all awesome on a warm summer afternoon. oh, the ice cream was slightly melted by the freshly made warm crepe.
today was more of a relaxed day so we hung out a couple of hours at tokyo tower before heading back to tokyo station for some final souvenir shopping and to find the other french macaron counterpart, pierre hermé. armed with those french macaron, off we went to starbucks for some refreshing drinks as an after-heat treatand possibly free wifi.
much to my disappointment, to log onto starbucks wifi, i was required to make an account and most of the instructions were in japanese. so no internet! sad panda! :(
regardless, this was where i met the barista who was one of the few japanese who could speak good english and said he thought i was a japanese :p (i'd like to think myself as an asian chameleon, which i am rather proud of..tyvm)
dinner plan was initially yakitori but we weren't too keen on traveling far. so we ended up exploring the different restaurants in the area. i loved the decor of some of the restaurants that i had to take some quick snaps.
despite all that, we still had trouble deciding on what to eat and finally chose japanese curry although we were contemplating to do another round of tonkotsu ramen, perhaps at a different place. thought we should try something new and quick since we were pressed for time to get to the airport. funnily, this restaurant was just across from the ramen place we had dinner at the past two nights.
they have quite a few selections of japanese 'kare' that it took me a while to figure out what i wanted to eat. (i'm beginning to think that i just didn't have appetite cos i was leaving in a few hours! T.T) i noticed a lot of condiments in jars at the table that you are more than welcome to add to your curry based on your preference as well as a side dish of pickled vegetable.
curry & rice with shrimps (¥680)
this may look like a whole lot of curry but it was just nice amount with the perfectly cooked rice. the curry was not too spicy (both in heat and spices) and was a savory, creamy addiction. the rice itself was a star in itself - you could taste each grain in itself. i've decided that japanese just know how to cook their rice very well, almost at every restaurant i've been amazed by it. it was a huge serving of rice which i try to reduce the consumption of carbohydrate but i just could not help myself and kept eating doused in the yummy 'kare'.
the only teeny-tiny thing if i had to find fault with the dish was that they cooked the shrimp separately (boiled it, i believe) then poured the gravy over the top. i'd prefer cooked with the sauce but at the same time it ensures the shrimp is cooked perfectly, and yes, the shrimp were really fresh!
omelet containing fried rice with hashed beef sauce (¥720)
{rmc} seemed to have enjoyed this dish, however i thought there wasn't much meat which he was fine with. i had a small bite and i remember being it very tasty. the curry was subtly different from the shrimp curry i had.
heavy-hearted, we returned to our hotel reluctantly to get all our luggages before heading towards the airport. i can't believe i am leaving tokyo :( i literally had to sit down at the hotel lobby, to take in all the surroundings for a bit while taking in deep breaths. (not hyperventilating, no worries)
i suppose our journey to the airport involved me thinking of when would the next time i would return to this beautiful country ... reaching the airport, i never noticed how tired i was (probably running on my reserve energy) that i had to take a quick nap at the airport since we were there too early (since i have to get my luggage that i kept at the airport at 10pm)
we boarded the plane for a red eye flight, filled with snacks, memories and the desire to return to japan to experience its embrace once more. oh, and of course to stuff myself silly with the delicious fresh food selections japan has to offer. to appease my sad heart, i bought a souvenir for myself to remember this special vacation by :) oh i had to make this myself and very proud of it!
i will be writing a very brief summary of my itinerary including my food plans in an upcoming post for easy reference. possibly throw in some quick tips whenever i can and what went through my head as i planned out this trip over a several weeks. :)
disclaimer this is written based on personal experience and opinion. experiences and taste buds may vary for others.
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