Sojibou (Narita International Airport Terminal 2): Tokyo 2017

The international departing Terminal 2 of Narita International Airport has a wide variety of food shops where you can pick up last minute food stuff before you fly back home. They also have some pretty good restaurants that you can dine at, which is where we had our last meal during our visit to Japan.

Kobe Motomachi Doria: Tokyo 2017

In our continuing attempt to try different Japanese dishes, we stopped by Kobe Motomachi Doria in the LaQua Shopping Centre near Tokyo Dome. Japanese seem to love their cheese (and I don’t blame them). It’s a bit interesting because Chinese and Japanese share a lot in common in terms of food yet you really don’t see cheese used in Chinese cooking (perhaps it’s because so many Chinese are lactose intolerant).

Sakuraya Taiyaki: Tokyo 2017

After our extremely filling meal at Ginza Bairin, we walked to nearby Hakuhinkan Toy Park (a great place to check out your favourite cartoon or anime character). A couple of blocks away, in the Shinbashi area of Minato, is a tiny street-level taiyaki stand called Sakuraya Taiyaki.

Nenrinya Ginza: Tokyo 2017

Our first exposure to baumkuchen was earlier on our Japan trip when we came across Kyo-Baum in Kyoto. This German cake, which is made on a rotating spit, had us so enamoured that we specifically went looking for baumkuchen when we were in Tokyo.

Ginza Bairin: Tokyo 2017

One of the dishes that you have to try in Japan is tonkatsu. No, I didn’t just misspell tonkotsu, which is a pork bone based broth most often associated with ramen. Rather, tonkotsu refers to deep fried pork cutlets which are covered in a crispy panko coating. Our first introduction to Ginza Bairin was actually on our trip to Hawaii where they have a restaurant called Tonkatsu Ginza Bairin Hawaii.

Shunpu Banri: Tokyo 2017

Tokyo Dome City (also known as “Big Egg City” due to the dome-shaped roof of the stadium located in Bunkyo) is also home of LaQua, a shopping mall and amusement centre. Located on the 9th floor of LaQua is Shunpu Banri, a higher-end Japanese restaurant that is both spacious and tourist-friendly.

Marusho Yakisoba Hongo: Tokyo 2017

On our trip to Japan in 2016, we made the mistake of not having enough yakisoba dishes. This time around, we made sure we had some yakisoba in Osaka and Tokyo. After spending most of the day visiting museums around the Ueno area, we decided to grab some eats at Marusho Yakisoba Hongo as I heard that they specialize in yakisoba.

Benitora Gyozabou (Hong Hu Jiao Fang): Tokyo 2017

I guess we were getting a bit homesick for Chinese food because we decided to try a Chinese restaurant in the LaQua shopping area near Tokyo Dome. The name of this restaurant is a bit confusing because it’s known both as Benitora Gyozabou and Hong Hu Jiao Fang – perhaps one is the Japanese name and the other is the Chinese name.

Ishibekouji Mamecha: Tokyo 2017

After exploring the autumn foliage at Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden, we walked to the nearby Shinjuku Marui Annex for some much needed nourishment. That’s where we found Mamecha – located on the 8th floor of this department store.

Ippudo Takadanobaba: Tokyo 2017

On our first visit to Japan back in 2016, I recall dining at a ramen shop called Ippudo. It’s a fairly well known chain (perhaps not as popular as Ichiran) that serves up tonkotsu ramen. We found ourselves in Takadanobaba (an area on the northern outskirts of Shinjuku and the hometown of Astro Boy) when we came across this Ippudo location.

Nisshin Tasuke (Tsukiji Fish Market): Tokyo 2017

In addition to the famous sushi restaurants that Tsukiji Fish Market is known for, there are a number of small stalls littered around the market hawking various street food items.

Sushi Dokoro Sei (Tsukiji Fish Market): Tokyo 2017

If you’re like us… and not willing to wait 3 hours to eat at one of the super popular sushi restaurants in Tsukiji Fish Market, you’re not alone. You’re also not without options. There are plenty of less popular sushi restaurants that are just as enjoyable.