Day 6 - Meiji Jingu Shrine, Shinjuku Park, Curry & Shibuya Bar Tour

Day 6 was a monster that kept us busy from 8AM until after midnight - so i'll do my best to condense the summary of the day to as few words as possible, as writing these blog posts is quite difficult after a 12-16 hour day of exploring.

We began our 6th day by meeting up at our hotel at 8:30AM, with Devin and Neil riding the train over from Akihabara. We headed out immediately, catching a JR line train from the nearby Suidobashi station to Meiji-jingu mae, a stop about 15 minutes away. We climbed off the train and walked about 15 minutes to the gates of Meiji Jingu shrine, which consists mostly of a beautiful forest with a shrine at its center.

Lauren and I at Meiji Jingu shrine

The main tori gate at the entrance to the shrine.

The main shrine building at Meiji Jingu

The walk to the shrine is about 1.5km, and takes you through some beautiful old oak trees, before passing through a tori gate into the shrine itself. The shrine was packed with tourists, but we were able to get some good video footage and take some nice photos while there.

After taking photos and exploring the shrine, we all headed back to the entrance and began a short walk to Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden, a prime spot to view the cherry blossoms and see typical Japanese landscaping. Unfortunately, it was bitterly cold on Friday morning, so our photography was constrained by a desire to keep moving and warm.

The scenery at Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden

Some sakura (cherry blossoms)

An interesting flower we found in the greenhouse - look at all that detail!

After exploring the outdoor portion of the garden, we headed into the greenhouse to warm up in the humid environs indoors. The greenhouse is home to a host of tropical plants found closer to Japan's southern tip and on Okinawa, and is a short 10 minute circuit to explore.

We wrapped up our exploration of the gardens around 11:30AM, ready to eat some lunch and warm ourselves. With the cold weather that morning, none of us could object to the idea of a bowl of CoCo Curry, a chain here that sells traditional curry in a fast casual setting. Curry here is traditionally ordered by choosing your sauce base (vegetable, beef or pork), rice amount (300g is normal, but some customers order up to 800g of rice) and spice level (between 1 and 10), before selecting toppings. Toppings are traditionally meat in the form of katsu, which are panko breaded cutlets that have been pan fried. We all opted for a katsu on our curry, though some like Lauren added cheese while I added extra vegetables.

My bowl of CoCo Curry, with vegetables and a pork cutlet.

A few minutes later, our curries had arrived, been devoured and we were ready to head out. Our afternoon agenda was to head to Shibuya, a famously crowded and busy district of Tokyo that is as famed for its busy crosswalks outside Shibuya station as it is for the statue of Hachiko, a dog whose loyalty is inspiring. We braved the crowds of the Shibuya crosswalk and tried to find seats at a nearby Starbucks before realizing that the line would take us several hours. We looked for alternatives, and chose to walk just under a kilometer to a nearby area full of cafes. Once we arrived, the cafe was packed as well, and we were getting quite tired of being on our feet, so we reversed course by approximately 500m and headed to a nearby craft bewery, OL by Oslo Brewing Co.

A small shrine we stumbled upon while walking to the train station bound for Shibuya

The brewery was blessedly quiet, and much to our delight had a real Mexican taco stand out front, operated by a Mexican immigrant. We ordered a few tacos for fun and each ordered a glass of beer so we could sit and relax for a while. Our relaxation ended up lasting a couple of hours, as none of us wanted to leave the warm and comfy interior of the brewery, though around 4PM we had to head out to get Winn, Steve, Devin & Neil's rail passes activated.

The busy crosswalk outside Shibuya station

For those who aren't aware, JTB (the Japanese Tourism Bureau) offers a rail pass to foreign visitors that allows unlimited Shinkansen (bullet train) use for a period of 7, 14 or 21 days. These are a fantastic deal and enable travelers to see a great deal more of Japan without the prohibitive cost of buying multiple fares on the bullet train. Activating the passes was surprisingly easy, as there was no line and took only a few minutes, unlike the 30-60 minutes it can take at the airport.

We spent the next hour or so exploring Tokyu Department Store, as we had nothing else to occupy our time, finally heading back downstairs to meet our friends David and Grace, who had arrived in Japan a couple of days earlier and had been exploring on their own. We were all slated to embark on a bar tour of Shibuya with two local guides who speak English to act as our intermediaries. Our guides were named Rina and Yu, and were both friendly and fun to talk to. They kicked off the tour by walking us over to a nearby bar that serves yakitori, where we each ordered a drink and a food item (required by the owner). Lauren ordered the yakitori, while Winn and I had chicken karaage (friend chicken), and Steve had a fried ham dish. This bar is also well known for something called Frozen beer, where they freeze the foam on top of the beer creating a sort of ice dam. Almost everyone in the group had this to drink, while I had a soda water with some creme de cassis mixed in.

The afore-mentioned frozen beer

After some challenges splitting the bill at the first bar, we were grateful to be headed to the second and third, both of which were prepaid as part of our tour and would give us a food item and two drinks. Both bars were both located in the same dining complex (a tower of about 8 floors) and were bursting at the seams with people. Thankfully, our tour included table reservations and enabled us to walk right in and sit down. At the second bar, we ordered some wagyu beef rolls, wagyu beef nigiri (sushi pieces on rice), and some grilled chicken thighs. This bar has a unique drink called a ginger sour, which consists of the same sliced pickled ginger you would get at a sushi restaurant mixed with soda water and shochu, which is a traditional Japanese spirit made from potatoes. Lauren and Winn both ordered one of these and enjoyed it, while it seemed like the rest of us mostly drank highballs (whiskey and soda water).

The statue of Hachiko, next to a man I have no acquaintance with. Sorry folks, this is what longs lines for photos mean!

After finishing our food and drinks, Rina and Yu directed us downstairs to our third and final bar, though this time we had a private room and some very loud electronic/club music playing. We drank more highballs here, and a few lemon sours while our food order was Gyoza. Unfortunately, our Gyoza order was taken to the other half of our group and was turned away, so those of us in the back half just finished our drinks before we finally called it a night just after 11:30. Yu and Rina who had both been fabulous walked us back to the train station where we said a happy farewell and caught the last train of the night back to our hotel where we fell into bed, utterly exhausted.

Day 5 - Back to Narita To Meet Friends

Day 5 started with us heading back to Narita on the Narita Express train with Winn and Steve. Our plan was to spend a few hours in the town of Narita before heading to the airport around 3PM to meet Devin, who was arriving.

Our trip to Narita was relatively uneventful until we reached the airport, which is a necessary stop on the way to the town. Once we exited the train, we went up the stairs and were forced to cross a gate by a rather surly guard. We wasted a solid 40 minutes looking for the train to Narita-shi (the town of Narita) before finally learning it would depart from the same platform where we had arrived. We finally reached the town of Narita around 12:30PM, just in time for lunch. This meant we could head over to my favorite ramen shop, Ramen Bayashi for a bowl of Chili Ramen, which is a delicious and spicy bowl of soup. We all ordered the Chili Ramen, and shared 2 orders of Gyoza, while also drinking some Sapporo beer.

My bowl of chili ramen, topped with pork chashu.

The group after our sake tasting.

Sated and much happier about 30 minutes later, we left the restaurant for a very reasonable 5300 yen and headed down the hill to explore. Unfortunately, while we were dining the weather had begun to turn and rain was starting to fall, so we all forked out an additional 400 yen for umbrellas before continuing our walk.

Our first stop was a local sake brewery, where we sampled some local sake and pickles, before stopping by a booth serving traditional Japanese dorayaki, which are pancakes with red bean filling. These were nice, but not quite to the taste of Winn, Steve or myself, so we only ate about half. Just down the hill from the dorayaki shop, is one of my favorite Japanese stores - Sugi Bee Garden. This chain is immensely popular here, and sells fruit flavored honey that can be used in cooking, baking or drinks (the most common use). Sugi Bee Garden operates many apiaries throughout Japan, and feed the bees a diet of high quality local flowers in Kumamoto before infusing the honey with fruit. We purchased about 8 large bottles of honey, in flavors like Yuzu, Mango, Blueberry and Raspberry, and had to complete some tax and export paperwork before we could finish checking out. While we did so, Lauren managed to befriend the store staff and explained who we all were and where we were from. At this stage we had nearly run out of time to explore, so we hiked back up the hill to the train station, where Steve, Winn and Lauren sat down to wait.

I kept moving, passing through the train station and into the newer part of Narita, where I visited a Japan Post office to ship the honey and some other souvenirs back home - our secret to traveling with only a carry on sized bag.

My dinner at Roast Beef Ohno

Akihabara's Yodabashi camera by night.

After shipping the good home, I met the group back at the station to head to the airport. As soon as we reached the atrium at the airport, Devin was exiting security, so we grabbed him and proceeded to get him a Suica card for the subway before buying tickets back into town.

Our friend Neil would be arriving about 90 minutes later and would meet us in town. We all agreed to meet for dinner at Roast Beef Ohno, a restaurant in Akihabara near Neil and Devin's hotel and headed that direction, which took about 2 hours. The meal at Roast Beef Ohno consisted of a bowl of rice topped with a generous helping of sliced roast beef, crowned with a pasteurized egg yolk. The meat is topped with Japanese mayonnaise and an onion sauce. We all devoured our meals before heading our separate ways to fall into bed.

Day 4 - Exploring Akihabara And A Strange Dinner

We began day 4 with breakfast at our hotel with Winn & Steve before catching a short train to Akihabara. For those who are unaware, Akihabara is considered the nexus of otaku culture in Tokyo, with manga, anime and video game related billboards, merchandise and activities aplenty.

Lauren and Winn had plans at 11:30, so we spent the first part of the morning in a Yodabashi Camera, shopping for music and stationery. If the thought of going to Japan for stationery shopping raises an eyebrow, now is probably a good time to give a little background on Japanese culture. Being a highly traditional nation with a massive professional workforce, pen and paper are alive and well here in Japan. Japanese offices, schools and businesses all make regular use of day planners, paper notes and take pride in excellent penmanship, which is even more critical with the use of the highly stylized Kanji alphabet. As a result the Japanese have managed to innovate in the field of stationary as much as any other nation excepting perhaps the Germans. In Japan, one can buy multi-colored erasable pens, mechanical pencils that refill with a shake instead of a click, and a myriad of ballpoint, fountain and gel pens that puts the selection at any American store to shame. We all spent a good half an hour exploring the stationery section and left with a bag full of new acquisitions, including several of Lauren's much beloved erasable pens.

Our next stop was the Tower Records music shop on the 8th floor, where we all picked up some more music before heading back down to the street level. We walked around Akihabara for a few minutes before parting ways with Winn & Lauren, who had a lunch reservation at Eorzea Cafe, a cafe run by Square Enix themed after Final Fantasy XIV, a game that Winn and Lauren play online together.

Steve and I headed to a nearby building that has 10 floors dedicated to beef restaurants and features an outline of a cow's head as its sign. On the top floor there is an excellent teppanyaki restaurant that serves Wagyu beef cooked on a flat griddle. Steve and I ordered a glass of merlot and the 130g lunch set, which consisted of 130g of steak, a stir-fry of bean sprouts, green onions, carrots and garlic, and a bowl of rice. The steak was perfectly prepared a nice medium rare right in front of us by one of the chefs, and accompanied by a selection of wasabi, horseradish, sea salt and two dipping sauces.

The steak meal Steve and I shared.

After our delicious lunch, Steve and I walked back to Winn and Lauren's lunch venue and sat down at a Honey Toast Cafe on the first floor. This cafe, as its name suggests serves a dish called honey toast which Steve and I wanted to try. Honey toast is essentially a large square loaf of white bread that has been hollowed out, toasted and then coated in honey, before being topped with whipped cream, ice cream and the topping of your choice (we chose banana with chocolate sauce). The dessert was tasty but very sweet, so we shared it to keep our blood sugar somewhere just beneath the stratosphere. While we were finishing up our honey toast, Lauren and Winn came downstairs from their lunch, so we finished up and continued to explore the area for another hour before all succumbing to the soporific effects of our meals and heading back to the hotel for a nap.

We spent the afternoon relaxing in our rooms before heading to what Lauren would only call a "surprise" dinner in Shinbashi. Once we reached the venue, we learned that the name of our restaurant was Kagaya: Frog is Stranger than Fiction. It's a one man operation where the proprietor serves a group no larger than 14 traditional Japanese food and drinks while delivering bizarre and hilarious entertainment. When we sat down, he brought us our oshibori (hot towels) by placing them on the head of a robot, doing a dance while humming the imperial march from Star Wars, getting closer and closer until his head was touching Steve's and he was stroking his beard before abruptly standing up and driving the robot up to the table for us to grab our towels.

He then gave us a drink menu, which is drawn in crayon on a children's workbook. You choose your beverage, and a style, which consists of one of six countries: USA, France, England, Brazil, China and Japan. I won't spoil the experience by describing the rest of our evening in too great of detail, but I will upload a video later that should give you an idea of what we enjoyed.

A couple of hours later, sated with delicious home cooked food and having laughed until we cried, the group retired back to the hotel, where we shared a bottle of wine in the spa lounge before falling into bed.

Day 3 - Toyosu Market & Sushi!

We began our third day in Japan by getting up at 3AM to catch a taxi to Toyosu Market, the new venue for fish sales in the Tokyo area after relocating from Tsukiji last year. We weren't headed to Toyosu for the fish auction however, we had a much more important reason for getting up so early; sushi.

One of the fabled sushi spots of Toyko is Sushi Dai, a shop that sells the freshest sushi in the world, buying its catch as soon as Toyos market opens, and then opening their doors to customers at 5:30AM.

Getting in to Sushi Dai is a bit of a challenge, but I will summarize it here for future visitors. First, you need to arrive at Toyosu market no later than 4:30AM to secure a spot in the line. Then, you need to navigate your way into the market and find Sushi Dai inside, a much larger challenge than it sounds like.

Our Taxi driver dropped us off just before 4:30 at the designated Taxi area of the market. Directly behind our drop off point was a crosswalk leading to the market building. Once you get across and up to the building, you need to take the stairs up to the 3rd floor, as the elevators don't work this early. From there, you take a sharp left and cross past a barrier (we were nervous about this initially, but decided it was necessary) onto a walkway/bridge that leads to the main building. On the left side of the building there is a doorway that leads inside. Head in through the doors and take an immediate right. You'll note that the hallway veers left pretty quickly, so head that way. You'll see a metal gate with some stools in front of it. These stools are the waiting area for Sushi Dai.

When we arrived, a friendly group of foreigners were already waiting, including a few Australians and two groups from San Francisco. A short 40 minute wait later, the doors opened and we were welcomed inside.

Sushi Dai consists of a single sushi bar that can seat 14 in an L shape, and a table that can seat 2. We were positioned on the short side of the L, right in front of the chef, Urushibara-san. Our service began with hot green tea, miso soup and an oshibori ( a piping hot towel for cleansing your hands). The chef then immediately began service, as the Sushi Dai seating time is limited to 45 minutes to accommodate the massive lines they receive.

Yellow Tail at Sushi Dai. To Dai For!

Our first piece of sushi was a large serving of yellowtail topped with minced green onion and garlic and brushed in Chef Urushibara's signature nikiri soy sauce mix. The moment Lauren and I put these in our mouths, we were stunned. This was without a doubt the best sushi we'd ever had, combining a tantalizing savory (umami) element with the freshness of the green onions and the slight hint of vinegar and salt in the rice all to enhance the flavor of incredibly fresh yellowtail. We both agree that the yellowtail we were served is the best sushi we've had in our lives, and that includes our meal later that same day at Sukiyabashi Jiro.

Saba at Sushi Dai

Sea Eel at Sushi Dai (cooked)

Horse Mackerel

Lean Tuna

Flounder

4 types of rolls, including Tuna and Salmon Roe with cumin

The next few courses consisted of Tuna, Aji (horse mackerel), Eel, Needle fish, Uni, Red Clam, Chu-toro (medium fatty tuna belly) and flounder. We left 45 minutes later completely satisfied to find a line at least 50 people long. Suffice to say, go on a weekday and arrive early - it's worth it!

We made it back to the hotel just before 8AM, and spent the morning relaxing in our hotel room, writing yesterday's blog post and napping before our next outing. We weren't done with Sushi for the day quite yet. Our friend Carl Rosa had secured us a spot at Sukiyabashi Jiro in Roppongi, arguably one of the most famous sushi restaurants in the world and an incredibly hard spot to get into.

Our lunch seating was scheduled for 1PM, and we arrived about 10 minutes early just to be safe. Our seating was only 5 people, and started with green tea. Jiro Ono-san served us 14 pieces of sushi, while also conversing with us in English, a language he tells us he started to learn only 3 years ago, because so many customers didn't speak Japanese. The 14-piece course consisted of the following pieces: Flounder, Squid, Needle Fish, Giant Scallop, Tuna, Medium Tuna Belly, Gizzard Shad, Red Clam, Salmon Roe, Horse Mackerel, Prawn, Mackerel, Uni and Sea Eal. All were excellent, and prepared with great care, however we noticed that Jiro's sushi had a much higher vinegar content than we are used to, and in some cases this overwhelmed the flavor of the fish. Jiro Ono-san was an incredibly gracious host, and we enjoyed our time thoroughly, though when comparing our lunch to breakfast experience, we both agreed that Sushi Dai was the more enjoyable and affordable option.

The front of Sukiyabashi Jiro

The sushi bar at Sukiyabashi Jiro

Chef Jiro Ono at work

Prawn

Medium Tuna Belly (Chu Toro)

Lauren and I with Chef Jiro Ono after our meal

After a little shopping, we spent the afternoon back in the hotel room relaxing, waiting for Winn & Steve to arrive before heading to dinner together at Biodynamie Jimbocho once again. We were all a bit tired, and figured that a dinner close to home was a good idea. We all thoroughly enjoyed our meals of pasta and pizza before heading over to the Ginza district of Toyko, which is famed for its high end clothing stores and wealthy denizens to grab a drink at Bar High Five, a hidden gem that is near impossible to find, but well worth the effort.

Once we arrived at Bar High Five, the english speaking bar tenders asked each of us about our flavor and alcohol preferences, before preparing a unique cocktail for each member of the table. Unsurprisingly, Lauren's contained Gin, while Steve and Winn both had Whiskey in theirs. Mine was a combination of local spirits and very refreshing, using some sort of cherry blossom liqueur to round out the taste. We all agreed that a single drink was enough as the entire party were sleepy after a long day. We all made our way back to the hotel just after 9PM before collapsing into bed - another busy day completed.

Day 2 - Kichijoji & Studio Ghibli Museum

We began our second day with an early start and breakfast at the hotel, which was surprisingly good. The hotel offers cooked-to-order eggs and a large assortment of both traditional Japanese and western breakfast foods, though the Japanese version of bacon is a thick sliced and less cooked version of what we have back home.

After our breakfast, Lauren and I walked to the nearby Suidobashi station, to catch a train to Kichijoji during rush hour - a relatively lengthy 30 minute ride down the Chuo line.

Upon arrival in Kichijoji, we headed to a nearby Yodabashi Camera, a ubiquitous department store here in Japan that is famous for its multi-floor layout selling everything from the expected cameras and electronics to cell phones, cosmetics and clothing. I picked up a tripod and handle for the GoPro, while Lauren got some fancy Japanese sunscreen called Anesa, which she has worn for years.

We continued to meander through the store, eventually stumbling across a massive aisle of GashaPon machines. These are coin operated vending machines that spit out a plastic balls with collectible items inside. While one might think these are just for kids, people of all ages seem to enjoy them and Lauren picked up a couple for fun.

On the top floor of the store, we found Tower Records, which always has a massive selection of CD's, so yours truly picked up a couple of metal albums that have "Japan Only" exclusive tracks on them.

Finally done with Yodabashi Camera, we left the store and began the 20-minute walk to the Ghibli Museum. Along the way, we ran into YouTubers Simon and Martina, who run a popular Japanese cuisine and travel vlog. Lauren was ecstatic to meet them, as she's followed their videos for several years now and spent a few minutes saying hello before parting ways.

The Ghibli Museum is located on the periphery of a large public park, surrounded by trees and tennis courts. Just like the films of Studio Ghibli, the museum itself is colorful and whimsical, featuring climbing vines on brightly colored walls, unique architecture and of course, a gift shop!

Lauren and I in front of the Ghibli museum. Note Totoro behind us!

Upon admission into the museum, we explored several rooms dedicated to the art and film methods of how Ghibli films are made, including some fascinating stop-motion animation demonstrations using strobe lights and a spinning model. The bottom floor's other half is taken up by a theater, where a Ghibli animated short is shown three times every hour. The show of the day when we arrived was about a small water spider and his misadventures in the pond where he lives. After the 15 minute show ended, we walked up to the second floor, where a variety of cells from the Ghibli films are on exhibit, including some displays showing how the scenes are painted layer by layer. In an adjoining room,  shelves are full of the specialized paint pigments used in the production of these films, though the area is roped off and you can only look on from the entrance.

The exterior of the Ghibli museum.

A life size recreation of the robot from the Ghibli film Laputa: Castle in the Sky. This is on the roof of the museum building.

The remainder of the top floor is taken up by the gift shop, and a giant replica of the cat bus from My Neighbor Totoro, and Lauren was very disappointed to learn that only those 12 years old and younger can jump on it.

We wrapped up our tour of the museum at the gift shop, where Lauren picked up some beautiful post cards, a paper weight for me, and a pillow cover for herself.

The sakura are just starting to bloom in Tokyo. We spotted this tree on our way back to lunch from the Ghibli Museum.

We left the museum just after lunch, and walked back towards the train station where there's a fairly large market area. This area features several famous eateries, including a Menchikatsu (fried meat ball) spot called Satou, where we each ate a rather messy and very juicy meatball. From Satou, we headed to another hole in the wall nearby that is well known for their Gyoza (pot sticker dumplings) before finishing up with Taiyaki, which are fish shaped pancakes traditionally filled with red bean paste or custard.

Stuffed to the gills, we hopped back on the subway towards home, but got off only a couple of stops later at Nakano station. Nakano is famous for a pedestrian mall called Nakano Broadway, a mecca for otaku culture (anime, manga, and video games) which gave Lauren and I a chance to look at some unique collectibles and people watch. Ironically, while being best known for its nerdy stores, Nakano Broadway also happens to be home to most of the ultra-high end used watch shops in Tokyo. There's something hilarious about seeing a business man haggling for a Rolex one shop over from plastic models of anime characters and keychains selling for a couple of US dollars.

We wrapped up day 2 with dinner at a hole in the wall near our hotel called Biodynamie Jimbucho, which serves farm to table Japanese-Italian food and also offers a nice selection of wines. Lauren and I shared a salmon and avocado salad for our appetizer, and ordered a bottle of Chianti to share. I ordered a margherita pizza for my entree, while Lauren ordered a berkshire pork bolognese pasta. Both entrees were delicious, and were quickly devoured. We then made the short walk back to the hotel, and fell into bed just before 9PM to prepare for a very early 3AM start the next morning.

Day 1 - We Have Arrived!

We left Houston at 1AM on the morning of March 23rd, boarding our EVA Airways flight from Houston to Taipei. Thanks to some planning ahead, we had managed to procure Exit Row seats, which gave us plenty of room to stretch out.

Unfortunately, we were seated next a young mother who was traveling along with her two very young boys. I'm sure you can imagine what a shrieking toddler does to the nerves after a couple of hours, but thankfully the kids did eventually fall asleep and we were able to nap intermittently on the plane. It's funny how three years later, I managed to completely forget how interminably long a flight to Asia feels. By the time we landed in Taipei, Lauren and I were both desperate for a proper restroom and meal, so we made the walk over to the food court in Taipei's Taoyuan airport which feels a lot more like a mall than an airport.

Lauren has a slight obsession with Japanese burger chain Mos Burger, so one we saw one in the food court, that's where we got our meal.

Lauren ordered the seafood burger in a rice patty, while I had the wagyu beef burger. Both came out after a 10 minute wait, and were far superior to anything we ate on the airplane. The wagyu burger I ordered actually had a truffle and horseradish sauce on it that was slightly overpowering, but a neat idea none the less.

Lauren's meal came with some sort of Grape Jello in a cup that you consume with a straw. Weird!

Following our meal, we waited for about an hour before heading to our gate and boarding the 3 hour flight to Narita airport just outside Tokyo. From Narita, we cleared customs and collected our Rail Passes before hopping on the Narita Express train into Tokyo Station.

We are staying at the Hotel Niwa Tokyo, a nice hotel in the Chiyoda ward of Tokyo. Getting to our hotel took a quick transfer to the Chuo subway line, and a 2 stop ride to a station called Ochanomizu.

After a quick 10 minute walk we arrived at our hotel and checked in. Check in was slightly more eventful than usual when Mie Ito-san, a wonderful employee of Hotel Niwa came out to greet Lauren. The two managed to strike up a friendship while planning the trip, so they were excited to meet face to face for the first time. Ito-san was kind enough to purchase a gift for Lauren and I, a collection of Sake from Aomori near Okinawa.

Once we got settled in our room, Lauren and I took a short nap before heading to dinner at a delicious Sukiyaki spot called Imahan located just next to the Hyatt here in Tokyo's Shinjuku ward. The meal is sold as a set, and you get to choose your meat quality. Being the carnivores that we are, we chose Top Quality - which is basically a heavily marbled Wagyu. The set includes a Kaiseki style appetizer course, a sashimi course, the sukiyaki itself which is served with white rice, and dessert.

Our sashimi course. This was Lauren's plate and consisted of Conch, Tuna, Fatty Tuna and Snapper.

Look at that amazing marbling! You can see our beef, the assorted vegetables and tofu, as well as the pot they will cook the sukiyaki in.

Dessert consisted of Sakura (cherry blossom) Sorbet, Honeydew Melon, Strawberry, Grapefruit, Sweet Potato and a Milk Pudding.

Our Adventure Awaits

My wife Lauren and I first fell in love with Japan and its cuisine in 2015, when a fellow Houston native, Carl Rosa led a small group of us on a 1 week tour of Japan. This tour gave us an introduction to Japanese culture, heritage and cuisine that was so enjoyable, we chose to come back one year later for nearly a full month.

On that second trip in the Spring of 2016, we explored the sprawling metropolis of Tokyo, Japan's ancient capital of Kyoto,  and the scenic mountain village of Hakone before heading to Kanazawa, a city on the north cost of Japan where we would relax for a few days before wrapping up our trip in Osaka and Hiroshima.

In each location we ate amazing food and got to know this country and its denizens better, developing a deeper appreciation for the incredibly rich culinary and cultural history of Japan.

When Lauren and I chose to travel for our 10th wedding anniversary, Japan seemed like the obvious choice. To some it may sound like treading the path already worn, yet our inescapable conclusion on the last trip was that we had so much of Japan yet to see.

On March 23rd 2019, just two days after our 10th anniversary, Lauren and I will be leaving for Japan once again to continue our exploration during a month long trip.

For the first week, some dear friends will be joining us as we renew our vows at the foot of Mount Fuji, and give them a taste of this country we have grown to love.

Once our friends leave, Lauren and I will begin a 3 week journey across Japan, looking for new foods and interesting sights. Unlike previous trips where we've kept a paper travel journal, this time we will attempt to chronicle our trip in this blog. As I wrap up this post, we are about to leave the house for the airport - so my next post will be from Japan. Our adventure awaits!