Even as a Brit I am amazed by how long it can rain in Tokyo. Since our flight touched down the clouds have not stopped crying, leaving the city and its people heavily saturated. However, even under a veil of water Tokyo is beautiful. The city, which boasts the largest metropolitan population in the world, has buildings so tightly packed together that even a squirrel would have a tough time trying to walk in between them. Yet, despite the incredibly dense population you would never know it was so heavily inhabited, Tokyo is remarkably quiet and clean. Walking along the streets, not one horn honks or one piece of rubbish blows past me. The traffic moves and the people respect each others space, you don't have to fight your way through a crowd but move effortlessly along with it, making for an incredibly pleasant (yet surreal) urban experience.
Tokyo has so much to offer but in a city with so much rain and such amazing food, we are constantly stopping in random eateries to sample the delectable cuisine. From a simple hole in the wall with a vending machine-esque ordering system to a cafe specializing in chocolate from around the world we are drawn in, like bears to honey and order more than we could ever eat. Although it is safe to say that at least half the time we have no clue what we are ordering, we know what we want to avoid and therefore always manage to discover something scrumptious.
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| Kantarou Restaurant in Toyocho |
Having eaten in a countless number of restaurants, hands down, no contest, without a doubt THE best place we stopped to eat was an inconspicuous little restaurant near Toyocho station (exit 4 turn left) named Kantarou. Sliding the door open and stepping inside, we were slightly confused by the strange decor adorning every table but quickly bustled in and sat down. We were the only customers in the restaurant, save one quiet group in the corner whose food had yet to arrive, so the strange fans posing as lanterns over each table appeared as a puzzling form of air conditioning. Picking up our menus we stared at the pictures surrounded by hieroglyphs on the menu trying to determine what to choose. Luckily for us the other table received their food just after our beverages arrived and suddenly the decor made sense, the fans weren't air conditioning after all. In fact they were chimneys, because the specialty here was yakiniku (BBQ.) Not only was it fun to prepare our own food but the quality of the meat and the flavor was absolutely exquisite. We had little clue what some of the meat was that was brought to us, as nobody in the restaurant spoke any English, but our waiter was a real star and even took the time to show us what we were unsure about on his iPhone (turned out it was Stingray! Surprisingly delicious!). By the time we were finishing our meal, every table in the place was packed and it was clear that this was a local favorite! Thanks to the fabulous service and quality of not just the food but the experience, Kantarou is definitely somewhere I will be returning to on my next trip to Tokyo.
No matter where you stop to eat in Tokyo you will be hard pressed to find somewhere that isn't preparing something delectable. The sushi & sashimi needless to say is to die for, the noodle bowls are deceptively large & slurpishly good, and the edamame melts in your mouth with the perfect level of saltiness to tantalize the tongue.
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| Kantarou Restaurant |
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| Yakiniku in Kantarou |
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| In Tsukiji |
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| Breakfast in Tsukiji |
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| Sushi @ Shimizu Restaurant |
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| 100% Chocolate Cafe |
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| 100% Chocolate Cafe |
That looks delicious. You'll have to recommend some dishes to try... particularly for the less adventurous!
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