There’s really a wealth of semi-hidden nooks all around Otemachi. As discussed with Koala yesterday, a lot of them aren’t worth seeking out, but I maintain the search is…oh, about 20% of the fun. Still, we soldier on. The North side of Tokyo station has a big bus boarding area (this is the convenient entrance […]
Month: March 2009
Menosou, Kagurazaka (目乃想)
Kagurazaka is a little…bewitching. It’s the small, dark alleys, packed with the promise of exclusive Japanese-style dining where you need an introduction and a 3rd-generation fortune to get in. For the rest of us, there are plenty of interesting places tucked away off the main street (both behind and above). You just have to work […]
Tant Pour Tant, Tsukishima
Nothing follows monja like cake (?), so after lunching at Bambi and strolling around a bit more, it was time to enjoy a quiet coffee and a piece of cake in my maiden aunt’s living room. Not really, of course, but this cute cake shop has a second floor that features the owner’s landscape paintings […]
Bambi, Tsukishima (バンビ)
My friends, I’m pleased to say that I broke the ‘one time per year’ rule and enjoyed it. With the weather as nice as it was today, walking around Shitamachi just seemed like the thing to do. And one’s steps naturally seem to lead to…Tsukishima. At least if you live in Monnaka. And don’t start […]
Hap, Kagurazaka
After being a bit disappointed with the Artist Cafe, I wanted to redeem the evening by walking around somewhere nice – and thought that Kagurazaka was close. Y’know, it’s hard to find stuff there when walking around at random. Hap, I think I had seen before on a random expedition. It’s kinda neat and modern-looking […]
Artist Cafe, Korakuen
This sounds like a great idea – live jazz every night with stunning views from the 43rd floor of Tokyo Dome Hotel. In practice, it’s a little less impressive than that… The decor and menu are a little on the family-restaurant side. I know they’d be pizzed to read that, but it’s true. The names […]
Rock Inn, Shinjuku
The latest in a continuing but rare series of posts (this is the second one, isn’t it?) about guitar stores. Rock Inn has a few stores around Shinjuku, with the main two right across from each other in the alleys of 3-chome behind Mitsukoshi (I say this to remind myself for next time). They have […]
- Italian
- ...
Carta Bianca, Nishi Shinjuku
Shinjuku is a difficult area for me. It’s huge, it’s complex, I get confused, and it’s tough to find restaurants worth going to. Clue me in if you have good ideas; I struggle a lot. Recently I needed a destination for a holiday lunch with Nanban (南蛮) and others, and happened across this charming-looking place […]
Pui, Kiba
The whole team here at EOITwJ has done a LOT of scouting missions around the greater Monzennakacho area (the ‘metro area’ we like to call it). Outside the main regions, there isn’t usually much to see, and things don’t come and go the way they do on the Monnaka back streets either. So when we […]
Ikoi, Tokyo
Anonymous, I stand by my amended statement that nothing good comes from Nagoya except your aunt and grandmother and miso katsu (and you when you come back from holiday!). Ikoi’s miso katsu is different from those I’ve had in the past; some would say worse. I’m trying my darndest to be positive, so I wouldn’t […]