Temples, Parks and Shops - Thursday in Tokyo

I woke up this morning at 3.30am, I must still be on Sydney time. I spend the time loading the photos from yesterday day time. 

Drew wakes at 5.30am and I make coffee for us both and then a cup of tea. Ablutions complete we head down to breakfast

Breakfast

We arrive at Breakfast as they open at 7am.

Drew starts with a selection of fruit

I had fruit, nuts and seeds - very tasty.

Drew opted for a cheese, onion and tomato omelette with a side of Bacon

I opted for fried eggs, over hard with sides of mushrooms, bacon, tomato, asparagus, pork sausage, chicken sausage and bacon.

I had three kinds of bread with my breakfast - Baguette, Pan de Champagne and Cranberry Bread.

Drew enjoyed a very pretty Orange Cream Roll and a smartly shaped Raspberry Danish

I had cheese with some more of the delicious bread

Drew finished with an Almond Croissant which was flaky and mouthwatering.

We went back to the room where I edited and posted the photos from the restaurant last night.

Asakusa

We leave the hotel at 9am and head to Nihombashi Station,

where we ended yesterday afternoon, and catch the Ginga metro line to Asakusa, where we arrive at 9.50am.

Asakusa is one of Tokyo’s best-preserved old neighborhoods and it attracts large numbers of tourists. Here are some of the street scenes in Asakusa.

Sensoji Temple

After spending the time in the Asakusa area looking at the old-fashioned arcades we headed to the Buddhist temple around which this part of town developed. Sensoji Temple is Tokyo’s oldest temple and its most famous. Its entryway is marked by a signature large red lantern. The temple itself has a beautiful red frame and green rooftops all made of wood. It is a wonderful feeling walking through the crowds gathering. Even getting here early we find the place full. But a walk into the gardens of the temple lead to a much more peaceful area where the crowds are less evident to a smaller temple, statues and a coy carp pool. Here are some of our photos

though there are many more, which you can see on Flickr, starting here.

Asakusa Nishi-sandō Shopping Street

Many visitors to this part of Tokyo head next to the Tokyo Skytree, this building is the tallest structure in Japan with its observation platforms giving views across the city - but given Drew's problem with heights we took a photo of it in the distance

and then headed in the opposite direction, into the Asakusa Nishi-sando shopping street with its striking images.

I even managed to get Drew into the streets advert.

Out of the other end of the shopping street we come to another busy area with some interesting stores and bars, including a Sumo Club. Thankfully it was closed this early in the day, as I don't think I'd really cope with large Sumo wrestlers serving food and drink.

Kappabashi Street

We walk past the Sumo club and down Kappabashi Street. This street is known in English as Kitchen Town as it has a wide selection of shops selling various kitchen equipment including dishes, pots, pans, cooking utensils, stoves, tables, chairs, signs, lanterns alongside a similar temple and a lot of amusing street art. Drew was particularly taken by the doll on the back of someone’s back pack – he hopes Captain Jack doesn’t start wanting to travel that way!! 

Here are some of the images from the street as usual there are even more on Flickr.

Ueno Park and Gardens

When we reach the end of Kappabashi Street we come to a major railway station - Ueno Station. This seems to have as many lines as Tokyo Station does

We cross over the railway lines and come to Ueno Park and Gardens. We were impressed to see a coffee shop as by this time (11.40am) it was getting warmer and warmer. The coffee shop was a Starbucks and we had our usual:

The park has a range of walking trails in many directions and as well as a large fountain it also includes the Natural History Museum, other Historical Monuments, two Shrines and a Shinto Temple. We spent an hour and a half exploring the park and here are some of the photos from that exploration.

We were surprised, as we approached the edge of the park, to see a Totem Pole 

You'd think we were in Canada, not Japan! 

We also passed some fascinatingly dressed gentlemen

and some local musicians

Plus a frog statue

What a fascinating place.

Akihabara

From the bottom exit of Ueno Park we come to the AkihabaraDistrict, which has became famous for its focus on anime and manga culture and its huge electronics/gaming shops. There are literally streets and streets of electronics shops and gaming centres in this part of town. 

Here are some of them, including the seven story camera and mobile phone shop called Bic Camera Store - it is such a famous store that there are even articles online about the various floors of the store, like this one. Drew has been looking to replace his camera and saw plenty of ones that could replace his current, old, one. He still didn't buy one, spending money isn't easy for us!! [Co-pilot's note: He does, however, dear readers, seem to have no problem spending money on poncy dinners!!] I'm sure he'll get a new one someday.

Coffee Dotour

It was after 2pm now and we were beginning to feel our weary legs when we walked past a Coffee Dotour, a brand we had enjoyed yesterday. So we went in and I had another cold brew coffee and Drew a latte.

In checking our location while in the coffee shop, it became clear we had walked a long way back in the direction of our hotel. Our route had been something like this:

So we decided to walk back and arrived at the hotel at 3.30pm.

Dinner

We had decided, as this is our last night here, to have a more familiar meal to give our innards chance to settle down after last night's extravagance. We had spotted that Tokyo Station had a Italian Restaurant, so we had booked a table for 8.30pm.

We leave the hotel at 7.45pm and wander through the shops in Tokyo Station. Every time we walk through the station we find another set of stores selling all kind of products. Tonight we explore "Tokyo Character Street" where adults and children are both excited by toys, manga and other characters; “Tokyo Okashi Land” where you can experience specialist sweets and souvenirs and "Tokyo Gift Palette" where 33 luxury brands sell their wares. We were only window shopping (a misnomer as these are open spaced stores like a market - i.e. no windows).

We arrived at Osteria Il Viaggio at our booking time of 8.30pm and are seated immediately. This is clearly a popular place with many people looking as if they have stopped off for dinner on their way back from work. 

We ordered drinks while reviewing the menu. Drew's opted for drink called Jasmine and Mandarin Tea, this was made with Jasmine tea, Mandarin, Elderflower Syrup, Tonic Water and Soda Water with some thyme. He described it as sweet but delicious. I went for sparkling water, this was a bit off-brand for an Italian restaurant it was English Sparkling Water!! 

They offered two types of bread (Pane) to go with the meats I'd ordered - two soft rolls and two crunchy bits of baguette.

The meats (Affettato Misto) are like an Antipasto but without the cheese - very tasty selection of Italian Meats with bread sticks.

Drew opted for a Chicory, Apple and Gorgonzola Salad, he really loved this saying it was crunchy and flavourful.

I was obviously in meat mode after all last night's sea food. I choose the Wood-Fired Hakkinton Pork, it is a Chuck Eye Roll of pork - if I'd known it was unaccompanied I'd have ordered more sides, but it was chargrilled to perfection, with a lovely smoky flavour

I had ordered a side of Shitake Mushrooms, again a lovely smoky taste to a delicious mushroom

Drew chose Rigatoni with Wagyu Beef Cheek Ragout, it was a el dente pasta and rich succulent ragu. Drew, who choose pasta over pizza on this occasion was extremely pleased with his choice. 

We finished the meal with a Espresso each, this was a lovely espresso made with Italian beans and the flavour formed a perfect end to the meal.

We completed the meal and walked the five minutes back to the hotel, arriving at 10pm and we were in bed by 10.30pm.

RyuGin - Dragon Roars - and the sound is exquisite food

 

Ryugin means Dragon and Ryugin Unki - the Dragon Roars - is the motto of the chef who established this restaurant six years ago, building on the smaller place he ran for nine years. You can read more of his philosophy here.

Why are we here

Unlike Australia, which doesn't have Michelin stars, when we decided to fly back home via Tokyo we looked at Michelin starred restaurants here and discovered Tokyo has the largest number of Michelin starred restaurants in the world - so how to choose between them? 

I began by looking at the two and three stars restaurants at the Michelin site and then started exploring the menus. This place sounded so odd with its rules - it seemed appealing, just to see how strict they were.

What rules do you mean, well here are some examples:

• Guests (both male and female) wearing t-shirts (include branded), male guests wearing shorts or sandals will be rejected.
• The savoury smell of food is part of the cuisine at RyuGin, which is carefully presented throughout the year. If even a single person wears perfumes or colognes, as the aroma will disturb everyone else's ability to enjoy their meal. To lose the fragrance of the meal is an extremely serious problem at the Japanese restaurant. This is the reason why perfumes or colognes are prohibited in our restaurant. We would highly appreciate the understanding of all the guests.
• Do not use cell phones in the restaurant, including elevator hall to the entrance. Please do not use the phone near the entrance. It will obstruct the other guests' passage. In case of emergency, phone call is available at the waiting room.

The list goes on and on - it is worth reading it. The tone of voice is one of penal servitude, not encouragement to come as a guest to the restaurant. It was so extreme, we just had to try it.

Going to Ryugin

We left the hotel at 5.15pm for a 6pm reservation, we had been warned not to be late as "Your booking will be cancelled 15 minutes after your due time and no refund will be made." We walked along as sunset gathered around us following a route we had travelled on Tuesday morning and arrived at 5.45pm. 

Ryugin is on the seventh floor of one of Tokyo's ubiquitous tower blocks, this one called Midtown Hibiya which we had walked past, unknowingly, on our first day in the city.

So it is in to the lift

and out into the reception area

Where they are clearly proud of this 3 star status.

While, after three days, we have become used to people bowing to you, and us bowing back, it was interesting to see that the entrance to the restaurant forced a profound bow to get to the door.

We did enjoy the little Michelin Man, with his three stars, right by the entrance.

A little grog like creature was there at the door

And when we entered we were greeted by a gentleman in very formal Japanese dress (as indeed were all the staff) and taken to our table. Here is Drew ready for his meal, with the very ornate crockery in front of us

This is the view from the table we were sat at - ahead is the grounds of the Imperial Palace, a view we can see at right-angles from this from our hotel room.

We were presented with a selection of ten sets of chopsticks, each in their own box and each of the boxes of a different colour. I opted for the red ones.

The restaurant only has one menu, the ten course tasting menu and it has three drink options, a wine flight, a sake flight or a tea flights. As we don't drink alcohol, this was an easy choice for us. 

The first tea arrives before the first course, it is a Taiwanese Sparkling Tea

Our first course, with lots of bowing from the servers, is Shiitake mushroom and Soy Pulp and Clam. The hot Shiitake soup was served on a bed of mushrooms. The soy pulp and clam came next. The first was drunk from the container, the latter eaten with our chopsticks, good practice for what is to come.

We are then presented with Green Bamboo, not to eat, but as a demonstration, we are going to eat a cut version of it for the next course.

The green bamboo from Kagoshima is served with dried green seaweed and potato made into a transparent tuile. The idea of potato as a tuile just blows my mind, the flavours of the bamboo are exciting and much more earthy than I expected. 

Our second tea is a light Japanese green tea with a fresh, almost straw like flavour.

The range of cutlery also increased, though the chopsticks remain the main item, they rest between courses on an ornamental china fish. 

The next course is a Senpoushi Oyster from Hokkaido Konbumori, a deep fried oyster with caviar and a Japanese rice foam. We were encouraged to take our first taste and then sprinkle with lemon and have the second taste, so we almost have two different dishes in one. I'd not had fried oyster before, only raw ones, but this tasted so sea like you expected to hear the sound of the waves as you eat it. 

The next course is Matsutake Mushroom Soup with Pike Conger Eel, again we are guided in how to eat the course. Taking the ingredients from the soup with chopsticks and then drink the remaining soup out of the bowl - a novel, but tasty approach. Again, drinking the soup is broken by adding the lime to give the rich, fleshy eel taste an extra tangy goodness. [Co-pilot's note: It was, dear reader, eelly, eelly, good.]

The next course continued the sea theme with Botan Shrimp and Sea Urchin with wasabi wrapped into the urchin and chives cut across the top. I really loved this, but Drew was less enamoured by the sea urchin than I - the taste wasn't the problem but the texture, so I was invited to help eat his dish as well as my own.

We then had our third tea. A golden tea with a full bodied rich flavour, it had the taste not dissimilar to a non-sugary irn-bru. 

This tea was a complement to the Miso soup, made with a dashi base - a strong, salty flavour that has a umami background - delicious.

The next dish was Shark Fin with Squid Ink Somen Noodle, we were warned not to mix it, but eat the soup with a spoon, provided, while eating the noodles with the chopsticks - this was very impressive chopstick work, clearly we must have enjoyed the food as we wouldn't have put so much effort in not missing a single strand of the noodles.

During the rest of the meal we had four more teas, but I seem to have forgotten to photo them - hiding my phone, not to get told off for taking photos (as per the rules) meant I didn't take any photos when any staff were in sight!!

The teas were a Jasmine tea which was light and palette tingling; a tea made from toasted rice, which had a toasted flavour; a woody black japanese tea and a hot green tea which was very refreshing.

Our next course (the one that was accompanied by the Jasmine Tea) was Sanma with grilled eggplant with chestnut and ginko nut. This has Daikon radish under anchovy wrapped aubergine with a chestnut crumb on top and ginko nuts. It was sliced but still somewhat slippery to eat with chopsticks - I managed Drew combined chopsticks with fingers as his eating method. (We have a hot towel beside us at all times, so the fingers are quickly cleaned). 

Next we were dressed in bibs for our next dish (the toasted rice tea were served with this dish)

The dish was Abalone from Tokushima and Matsutake Mushroom, it arrived on a hot plate, sizzling with a flame and coals below it.

There was also a piece of toast to mop up the delightful sauce

After the coal is put out we get to taste the very rich flavours. The very tasty Abalone is lovely on its own, but this savoury juice in which it is served makes it absolutely astounding.

I'm not sure I have tasted abalone before, but I would look out for it again. It reminds me of a fishy version of goose liver, rich and unctuous. [Co-pilot's note: he knows, dear readers, that the previous word is on the BANNED list. How can you call a uncooked seafood with lips by the U word!!!]

I seem to have missed a photo of the Suppon Turtle with Matsutake Mushroom - it was another delicate soup with chunks of mushroom, a nice way of refreshing the palette after the rich Abalone.

Our next course was a palette cleanser of Yuzu with honey and lemon jelly. I'd not heard of Yuzu before this holiday, now we are having it for the fifth time! It is like a cross between lemon and lime.

Our next course was Original Smoked method Megumi Duck. The duck was rich and smoky as was the Hen of the Wood Mushroom. The yuzu sauce slightly sweet making the dish something like Duck a la Orange, the chive sauce was oniony and perfect with the duck. The duck was cooked a little pink for Drew's taste but was perfect for me.

Salt and Figs with chives on top and a cold potato soup were all served on the side. The woody black japanese tea was served with this main course and complemented it very well.

Our next course was Fresh water Eel from Oigawa River with Kodawari Egg. The Eel and egg were served in an old fashioned bento box. 

The eel was cooked in shiso leaves with their citrusy flavour bringing out the trout's deliciousness. 

The eggs were cooked with soft Japanese rice - reminding me of bad rice pudding, not my favourite texture or flavour. 

Beside these were lovely miso broth with herbs and spring onions and a Japanese vegetable, not unlike cucumber in flavour and texture with courgette flowers. Astoundingly delicious, so many tangy, salty flavours.

After the eel came the chopstick wipes, I kid you not, we are invited to wipe our chopsticks and keep them as souvenirs. This is a live action shot of Drew cleaning his. 

We were then given a paper folder so that the top of the chopstick can be wrapped inside before being returned to their box! We brought them home as a memorial of the meal (and the whole trip) they are now in the sideboard (the one that Martin broke! - family joke) in our dining room at home.

A hot green tea is brought to drink as a warm balance to the cold desserts. I drink this while Drew eats the desserts which are to sweet for me.

Japanese pear with wasanbon sugar, this was very, very sweet, Drew loved it - twice

Coconut with Sesame - this was a warm coconut soup around a mochi - both were very sweet. The mouchis had the texture of a sweet toffee. 'They are only little desserts honest' says Drew as he eats both his and mine.

Japanese Hot Sake Soufflé with Ice Cream - This light soufflé was made with a Non-alcoholic sake, as we had given them notice that we didn't eat raw alcohol. The ice cream (on the right in the photo) was rice ice cream with rice paper spheres to complement it. The whole dessert  was light fluffy and not to sweet, a nice end to the meal.

The final dish is a cup of matcha tea. Drew thinks matcha tea is odd, he doesn't think you should be drinking something this green.

I have noticed in the past that some Japanese teas prized by others have a mackerel taste to me - this is one of them. It is not that I don't like mackerel, I love it, but my palette rejects the idea of tea that tastes like fish to me, if not to others, yuk - luckily I'd not finished the final dessert when the tea came, so was able to replace the final taste on my palette.

What an amazing meal. It had started at 6pm and was finished at 9pm - a gentle speed but with so many new flavours to explore, we were very, very content at the end of the meal and feel we have had a real tour of the excellence of Japanese textures and flavours - just what we had hoped for.  

Back to the Hotel

When we left the restaurant at 9pm it was dark, so Drew, who'd put his camera away when we arrived at the restaurant not to offend the rules, was able to use his lens which is good for night-time shots and took the photos of our route back to the hotel.

The bright lights of Tokyo are something quite special. We got back to the hotel at 9.30pm and were in bed by 10pm. Drew noted that we had walked, 24 kilometres that is 15 miles during the day, so our excessive calorie intake at the meal might be balanced by the walking we had done!