I’m always going on about Kanda like you should know it, but most people don’t have much experience with it. At least most people in my experience. It’s this kind of neighborhood – 6-7 story buildings that are mainly offices for small companies. I like to think that this is the heart of Edo, updated […]
Author: Jon
- Other treats
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Shodai Keisuke, Hongo (初代けいすけ)
Keisuke has a bunch of different ramen shops and deserves a lot of credit for being creative. The first one I went to was the ‘lobster noodle’ place, which is like a very light, lobster-flavored ramen (and nothing like the lobster noodles you might get in Southeast Asia). That one’s called “Second Generation Keisuke”, so […]
Firehouse, Hongo
Boooooooy am I happy with this picture. I took one without the biker, but then I saw him coming, and BOOM! Anyway, now you know what Firehouse looks like. I’ve been riding my bike by here for years on my 20km ‘city loop’ and never noticed one of Tokyo’s best-known burger shops. And best. It’s […]
- Other treats
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Dai San Harumi Sushi, Shinbashi (第三春美鮨)
First sentences of reviews of top sushi places should include the words ‘hidden’ or ‘unassuming’ (or if you’re an American writer, please use the phrase ‘sushi joint’. And if you’re reviewing Kyubei, please include “more money than sense” also.). Look, I worked them in! Dai San Harumi is fairly described as a top place with […]
Towers Beer Bar, Tokyo
How many times have I walked by Towers? A dozen, maybe more. Most people wouldn’t walk from the office to Ginza, but it’s only 20-30 minutes depending on what part of Ginza, and I always do it. Towers is right in the middle, and I thought it looked cool even before my friends mentioned this […]
- Kanda
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Musashino Aburasoba, Kanda (武蔵野油学会)
Ahhh, I just love the name here – “Oil Study Meeting” or if you wanted to be extravagant, “Scientific Society for the Study of Oil”. ‘Musashino’ refers to an area of Tokyo that was formerly famous for beef carpaccio. These guys now occupy the space where Nocchi was in western Inner Kanda (it’s actually on […]
- Other treats
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Yojinbo, Todaimae (用心棒 本号)
Hongo Sanchome – a curious neighborhood. On one hand, the well-educated or at least well-traveled among you will recognize this as the famous red gate of Tokyo University (Todai), the ‘Harvard of the East’ (or the ‘Wesleyan of Wa‘ if you prefer), and the neighborhood is roughly jumbled with used book and expensive antique stores. […]
- Italian
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Biodinamico, Shibuya
Between drinking beers at Craftheads and eating dinner at the exclusive, highly-regarded Biodinamico, we stopped off at this hip bike shop to look at their vintage and rebuilt fixed gear specimens. Only after a while did we realize that it’s actually a design firm, and we were kinda standing in their lobby while they tried […]
- bar
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Craftheads, Shibuya
It’s likely that most of you need no introduction to Craftheads. In the limited time that I spent there, a good 50% of the clientele was foreign (which is 50% more than most places I go, or in fact the average place in Japan). You may even have been there. If you do need an […]
Ikebe Guitar Station, Shibuya (池部楽器店 ギターズステーション)
As part of my regular diversionary series, I’d like to say “I went to a great guitar store today.” [And I can say that, because this place is awesome. You thought I was leading up to a snide remark, didn’t you?]. The Ikebe complex in Shibuya is cool – more for sampling and playing the […]