day 2

Day 2 started with more rain. Satoshi called to check whether the game he wanted to watch would be on, but it was cancelled.

So, we went downstairs to check out the free breakfast at our hotel. I just had part of a donut, some cucumber, a hard boiled egg & some coffee. (because I was saving my appetite for the day ahead)

Satoshi ate quite a bit and then we were off to check out the Bank of Japan.

It is a huge building, I'm not sure if you can actually go in for a tour as we were there on the weekend.

We did check out the Currency Museum located right across the street. It was free and it was interesting to see Japanese currency as well as other countries currencies that was over 100 years old.

Most of the displays are in Japanese, but they do have English pamphlets.

After the museum we walked to Marunouchi to check out various shops I had on my list "to see".

One was Echire. This butter shop from France is the only one in Japan, maybe the only one overseas?!

Anyway, while others lined up to buy lots of items, we lined up to buy a croissant, a pain au chocolat, a financier & a madeleine.

They control how many people are in the shop, so we had to stand outside the store, when 2 customers came out, 2 were let in.

When we were let into the shop, OM! we were enveloped by a delicious butter aroma...heavenly!

We ordered our items and paid for them, then walked over to an open area and devoured our goodies.

The croissant was so good, made your hands all buttery!

And the madeleine was delicious too. We thought the pain au chocolat could have used a tad more chocolate and the financier was kinda on the tough side....4 items were 1397 yen (about US$13.97)

Next door to Echire is Cacao Sampaka.

I've tried their chocolates awhile back and was interested to see what kinds of things they sold at their store.

Their tomato chocolate jam, an interesting combination, was delicious when we tasted it, so we got a jar...1780 yen (about US$17.80), can't wait to try it on bread.

The sales lady mentioned it is delicious on yogurt, so we'll need to try it that way too.

(UPDATE: it was delicious on bread the chocolate and tomato match perfectly, my only complaint is that when I opened the jar it was half empty!)

We walked around a little more then popped into Boulangerie Viron.

I had originally wanted to have lunch here but the line for seats was long, and Satoshi didn't like the atmosphere, so we just bought some sandwiches and went back to the open area (where we had our buttery treats).

Satoshi chose the Jambon Crudites, which was ham, cheese & egg on a crusty baguette.

I chose the Poulet Roti, roasted chicken, grated carrot salad, butter and a honey mustard vinaigrette on a crusty baguette.

Both were delicious...we loved the bread as well as the fillings...1386 yen (about US$13.86) for both sandwiches.

The Marunouchi area had a European feel to it, maybe because the weather was a bit dreary and wet.

I loved the cobblestone roads and trees. I also loved how they had benches for people to sit if they wanted to, something that is rare in Osaka.

After lunch, we walked to the Outer moat area of the Imperial Palace.

Satoshi said he also wanted to check out more of the Palace grounds so while he did that, I went to walk around Marunouchi and we decided to meet up at Tokyo Daimaru.

We had some dessert and coffee at Cafe Boissier.

I've tried their chocolates before. They no longer have a counter in the food area but instead now have a cafe inside Daimaru.

Satoshi tried the triple chocolate verrine and I tried their chocolate macaron...delicious and rich....2583 yen (about US$25.83) for both desserts with coffees.

After resting our feet a bit, we went back out and checked out Ginza Mitsukoshi.

They recently renovated their food area and were supposed to have a tea section selling 400 different teas.

The area turned out to be very small, but I was able to get some Dammann Tea. A chinese based tea, this tea is flavored with citrus fruits, similar to Earl Grey.

I hope this one is good...787 yen (about US$7.87) (UPDATE: this is very fragrant before brewing, but still a nice black tea.)

The rain had stopped and the sun came out.

We had done a lot of walking and were hungry for dinner.

We walked to Ningyocho and checked out a tiny place called Kyoka...this one is also listed on Tabelog.

This shop specializes in fugu (puffer fish) and whale, but we weren't really interested, instead we had lots of other seafood, like sashimi and fried squid.

Another long day, some rain, lots of walking and lots of eating.

Currency Museum
Nihonbashi-hongokucho
Chuo, Tokyo
Phone: 03.3277.3037
Open 9:30-16:30, Closed on Mondays and Holidays

Echire
2-6-1 Marunouchi, Brick Square 1F
Chiyoda, Tokyo
Phone: 03.6269.9840

Cacao Sampaka
2-6-1 Marunouchi, Brick Square 1F
Chiyoda, Tokyo
Phone: 03.3283.2238

Boulangerie Viron
2-7-3 Marunouchi, Tokia 1F
Chiyoda, Tokyo
Phone: 03.5220.7289

Cafe Boissier (UPDATE: 2016 no longer in business)
Daimaru Marunouchi 3F

Kyoka
2-8-7 Nihonbashi-Ningyo
Chuo, Tokyo
Phone: 03.3668.5752
Closed Saturdays & Holidays