Frankly, being in a new neighborhood is confusing these days. I’ve spent so much time wandering a few blocks of Kanda that it feels like home, and it’s disconcerting to visit streets that have the same faceless similarity of most of Tokyo…but aren’t the same. And that’s cool! I was standing on a corner, dithering […]
Author: Jon
- izakaya
- ...
Daitetsu, Kanda (大鉄)
Japan’s construction philosophy is often described as ‘scrap and build’. You’d think that the narrow buildings and cramped neighborhoods would impede construction, but no…it just means they find ways to be careful. Here, a building is being torn out from between others, and a pint-sized backhoe is perched atop the rubble. But that’s not particularly […]
Yamagoya Ramen, Kiyosumi Shirakawa (山小屋、清澄白川)
Years ago I visited Yamagoya and pronounced it ‘undistinguished’. On the other hand, I didn’t have a clue about ramen. Now I can tell you with a little more certainty that it’s a decent Fukuoka-style ramen. The most notable things about it weren’t in the bowl – both were out in the room. First, as […]
Sumidagawa Fireworks
There’s a first time for everything, and this was the first time I’ve been dragged along to brave the crowds at the Sumida River Fireworks festival, Tokyo’s biggest (though pretty limited by the urban setting; some other displays are much bigger). If you’re really up for a big evening, you should pony up for tickets […]
Kinariya Ramen, Jimbocho (きなり屋)
Pretty much hopeless to try to classify ramen in Tokyo, isn’t it? Maybe even if you venture out to other famous places the ramen also defines description? Surely in Hakata there’s no confusion, and pretty much everyone has Hakata ramen? Kinariya looks nice from the outside, if by ‘nice’ you mean ‘Gonna have some thick, […]
- izakaya
- ...
Penguin Seafood World, Shinjuku
If you were walking down the street in Shinjuku, casting your eyes up so as not to miss any good places that were hiding away on upper floors, and you saw a sign with a pair of penguins happily vacationing far from their native clime, what would you think? Perhaps not “Hey, this place has […]
- Other treats
- ...
Imaiya Honten, Shinjuku (今井屋本店、三丁目)
‘Honten’ means ‘main store’ or ‘original store’ – if a restaurant spawns a chain, they’ll refer to the first one as the honten. Maybe you could call it the ‘flagship’, but for some chains the original store is smaller and less glamorous, and they preserve it for historical reasons. The funny thing about Imaiya Honten is […]
Matoi ramen, Jimbocho (まとい)
Do you think a little thing like pouring rain is going to stop lunch from happening? nnnnnnno, it’s not. It will produce some concessions though. If you go underground, you can can get from the office to the subway without seeing sky, and then you can take the train one stop north to Awajicho, which […]
- Kanda
- ...
Sanshuya, Kanda ( 大衆割烹 三州屋)
Things are so hot in Tokyo at the moment that whole sections of street keep spontaneously combusting, forcing the fire department to work overtime racing to conflagrations for liquid refreshment. But it’s always cool as an uri up in Kanda, where this branch of the Sanshuya chain is dishing out tasty dishes. Hard to say […]
Doromitei, Kagurazaka (泥味亭)
Tokyo is sprawling. Tokyo is compact. If you have a meeting in the office at 8 PM, and can sneak out before that, 90 minutes will be enough to run for the train to Kagurazaka (Dad, I told you I was into Kagurazaka before it was cool, didn’t I?), enjoy a little mid-Summer dusk air, have […]