More food stuff from Japan trip

Day 8 - Lunch - More Mos Burgers

It's our last day in Tokyo. Our flight in the afternoon means we still have time to visit the kitchen supplies stores near Asakusa. How I wish I knew that this place is so close to our ryokan. I could have come here by myself and go from store to store. This is my Disneyland. How I wish I could bring home those cute bowls and teapots.



After going through the kitchen supplies stores in Asakusa, we decided to go back the Mos Burger for more burgers. We could not get enough to last us until we come back to Tokyo.

Day 8 - Breakfast - Mos Burgers

We had list of places we want to eat in Tokyo and Mos burger is one of them. For our last day in Tokyo, we did no want to go far from our ryokan to save time. We need to check out around noon. We have few hours to go to the kitchen supplies stores in Asakusa



The burgers are just like any burgers, except that it's served with some kind of spaghetti sauce. What's also different is that you can wait at your table as your food will be brought to your table. Orange juice are also served on glass and not on paper cups.

Good thing, burgers are available for breakfast. At McDonald's, burgers are not served until lunchtime.

Day 7 Dinner - Sushi at Asakusa

We could not decide where we want to go for our last dinner in Tokyo. After our dinner in Kyoto, it is a bit difficult to find a place to make our Japan trip a memorable one.

We saw the unagi place next to the shopping building we went to yesterday. It did not look like it was a popular local hang out. I suggested we go back to where we had our first dinner in Tokyo.




Who does not enjoy sushi in Tokyo. This time, we decided to do what the locals do. They order two-piece meals rather than the set meals. I was not sure if that was less expensive or not. I think the reasoning behind this way is that you order what you want. For our first order, we had the unagi. My daughter had been thinking of broiled eel since lunch.



One difference in how sushi is served in Tokyo is that they do not provide the wasabi. The green stuff served on the side that you mix with soy sauce is not common here. According to my daughter, the sushi chef supposedly adds the wasabi on your sushi. The pickled ginger is available to you from a square wooden container and you can have as much as you want. We ordered miso soup and wakame beans for our appetizer. In summary, this meal cost more than our first meal. But we ate what we want and that is enough for us to remember how enjoyable our trip to Japan.

Day 7 - Lunch at Steak House Satou

I had high expectations for this place. First of all, it was not easy to find. We almost gave up as we been going in circles. We read a blog from a Canadian couple who just came back, and based on his write up, it is one of things to do before you die. This steak house/butcher shop is in the Kichijoji.








We had ordered the most expensive dish, the Wagyu beef. Wagyu is produced from Matzusaka. "Kobe, Matsuzaka and Oumi are considered to be the three most prestigious cattle-producing regions in Japan. Not that other regions can't produce top quality cattles, but traditionally these three were the more well-known and commanded the top prices."



My opinion, it was not worth the effort in finding this steak house and price we paid for (almost $100 for 2) was quite expensive. I would recommend high-end restaurant at where we had sukiyaki dinner at Kyoto (see day 5)rather than this place.

Day 7 - Breakfast Tokyo

I could not remember what we had for dinner last night. Today is our last day in Tokyo to do what we need to do. Trina had planned on going to her store - where Japanese comics are sold. Besides, we were planning on something special for lunch so light breakfast seems to be the right thing to do.

We tried the grocery at the basement of the shopping building to check if there is foodstuff we bring home. There were not too many options and decided to pick up instant noodles. There is always a thermo of hot water for tea in our room and a small ref for our cold drinks. I don't think there would be space for any food stuff to bring home. We have not been to the kitchen supplies stores where I definitely will buy something to bring home.

Day 6 - Lunch Tokyo - Ramen with wakame seaweeds

We arrived at Tokyo around lunch time and checked-in the ryokan where we stayed the first night in Tokyo. We decided to do some shopping and had been eyeballing the shopping area near our ryokan. Going back to Shinjuku for shopping is too far and time consuming. Besides we need to retrieve our other bags at the train station.

I have been craving for another bowl of ramen and fortunately, there is a noodle shop nearby. The ramen noodle shop seems to be a favorite for housewives going shopping. The price was reasonable but as far as the taste, the ramen here fell short of the ramen we had at the Hakone train station. The gyoza was also ordinary. The gyoza in Flushing, Queens NY tastes the same as their gyoza.

I am not sure if we had dinner on our 6th day. We both had a long nap after shopping and since we started early today from Kyoto, sleeping seems to be more enjoyable than eating.

Day 6 - Breakfast on train trip from Kyoto to Tokyo

We left Kyoto early since our trip back to Tokyo would take take at least 3 hours. Fortunately, there is a convenient store, Lawson at the train station. I have to make sure I get enough for breakfast and snacks. I bought orange juice, coke and lots of goodies. The goodies are mostly catered to school kids. Can't blame me, I too am hungry. Included in my goody bag are hotcakes, crustless sandwich, bread with cheese and ham, bread with red bean paste and onigi, rice ball with salmon or tuna/mayonnaise filling. Most Japanese are happy with their 4 oz drinks from the vending machine. Too bad, I need 3 times as much to quench my thirst. I got the quart orange juice and litre size Coke.
In addition, Trina passed by the bakery adjacent to the place where we had the eat-all-you-can breakfast. The pastries are all so irresistible. She found rice cakes similar to our "puto". She got the regular white ones and green one with red beans(2nd photo). She also found something similar to what we had for breakfast yesterday, fried mochico with meat filling(3rd photo), watermelon pastry, croissants and coffee.

Day 5 Dinner at Kyoto - Sukiyaki at Moritaya

Sukiyaki at Moritaya- Kyoto Station at Isetan
Should anyone be in Kyoto, I would suggest to try this place. here's their website (sorry, it is not in English; can be translated by Google) www.moritaya-net.com/restaurant/isetan.html

Day 5 - Snacks on the train from Himeji to Kyoto

Day 5 Lunch - Bento boxes eaten at the train trip from Himeji to Kyoto

Day 5 - Himeji - Ice shavings with mango juice and red beans

Day 5 - Breakfast - Eat all you can breakfast at Kyoto station

I wanted something similar to what we had at the Hakone train station. We went around the Kyoto train station and instead found this place that always smell of curry. We were surprised to learn that for breakfast, they have this 500 yen deal of a drink of your choice and unlimited servings of boiled egg, pastries and fruits with yogurt. Pastries are either baked or fried. The croissant looks like croissant but does not have the layered texture that we are familiar with. The fried mochico balls are either plain or with meat fillings. Then there is another baked pastry with sesame seeds. I think I had twice as much as what is in the photo. Good deal, is it not.

Day 4 - Dinner at Kyoto - Tongkatsu

We always believe that the first and last meal should be the best meals to create lasting memories.

We were at the Kyoto train station and as usual, there are lots of places to eat. We decided to check the next building where Isetan department store is. We noticed that there was a crowd waiting for the elevator which goes to the top floors where the food mart is. We did not expect that there were plenty of good places to eat. We chose to go somewhere where the cost is neither expensive nor where the food is a bit ordinary. We were lucky as this chain restaurant (Katsura) serves the best tonkatsu (pork chops) I've ever tried.

The price of your meal depends on the size of the pork chops. We ordered the biggest one available since the price was reasonable. What really makes the difference is the tonkatsu sauce, which I read was made from apples and dates and served from the jars placed in front of you. The sauce is combined with the ground sesame seeds. Every meal comes with an unlimited serving of thinly sliced cabbage and Japanese rice. I would highly recommend this to anyone who visits Kyoto.

I took my daughter's picture outside the restaurant and the window display to make it easy for anyone who wants to come here.

Day 4 - Snacking at train trip to Kyoto

Day 4 - Breakfast at the Hakone train station

They say, you should go where the locals eat their meals. This place in the train station is as local as one can get. Ramen dishes for $3, more if you want the soft boiled egg. Before you know it, you would be joining everyone slurping their noodles as fast as you can. Everyone is trying to get a quick breakfast, as nobody wants to miss their train on their way to work.



As in any Japanese noodle shop, the plastic version of what is being offered are displayed at the outside window. It would have been easy for non speaking Japanese to point out which noodle dish they have chosen. Once inside the noodle shop, you would notice there is no one to take your order. People handle a ticket to the counter and in a few minutes, your order will be handed to you. To get the ticket, you go to the vending machine to pay for selected noodle dish, which is in Japanese. Thankfully, my daughter was able to match the written Japanese name on the window display to what is in the vending machine. In the future, we plan to look for this type of noodle shop in the next train station we go to. Not only because it is so inexpensive but the soup with the ramen is really good.

Day 3 - Dinner at Odowara

We decided to go to Odowara for dinner, as the restaurants in Hakone close early. Odowara is the last stop of JR trains and from Odowara, a local train will bring you to Hakone. We had a 24 hours pass in Hakone, so the train to Odowara did not cost us anything.

My daughter ordered this Japanese liquor, as big as a beer bottle, with a side cocktail drink to mix with the liquor. We ordered a bowl of ice (which was added to our bill) to further extend our drink.
Everything on this plate represent various chicken parts - chicken wing, chicken hearts, chicken butt, chicken gizzard chicken skin and ground chicken meatballs. We enjoyed this so much, we ordered another one.













This soup has rice balls with fish served with green tea.We saw how this dish was created on TV and decided to order this for dinner. Very unique and refreshing. I forgot what is on the side plate.