research

Sunday, after doing some errands in the morning, we headed out to Shibuya

Satoshi has another tour coming up and wanted to check some things out

While he does his checking, I usually take photos of things that interest me

They plan to close Seibu Department store in Shibuya in September

I thought the building was so cool looking, it actually connects to the other half of the department store (on the left side of the photo)
 

Jump comic store in Parco Shibuya

I haven't been to Cat Street in some time, so it was cool to see the Coach Cafe (from the outside)

A stop into Kiddy Land (I waited outside)

And then we headed to Akihabara

Rules on how to enjoy Tokyo/Japan

I want to stick this on my suitcase

When friend Val was visiting, we didn't go into the Donki at Akihabara, we should've, there were all sorts of anime goods, maybe she could've found more items for her son 

inside Donki Akihabara

I hadn't known that on Sundays they block off traffic here.

I do know that they do this in Ginza

It was my first time in the AKB Cultures Zone Building

And into Onoden, an electric/appliance store which has been around since 1941

And then back to Radio Kan

It was so sunny, I felt a little crispy after we got back home...

Hoping the family that Satoshi takes around will enjoy their trip

research

Satoshi has another tour coming up and wanted to check out different areas

We checked out the hotel his guests will be staying at...Andaz
 

Beautiful lobby

Nice view of Tokyo Tower

Loved the paper reliefs in the elevators

Down to the Palace's Nijubashi

Outer market of Tsukiji

We had egg sandwiches with tsukemono (pickles) in it at Nishikawa Roastery

Satoshi's had narazuke, mine had pickled ginger in it...delicious

I want to try the egg sandwich with shibazuke in it...I'll be back

area near Gokokuji 

Omotesando & Shibuya

Daikanyama, the last time we were in this area was back in 2022...so many changes

Teriyaki Chicken sandwich from Et Nunc which opened in 2024

I want to eat breakfast here...I'll be back

Et Nunc is located in Forestgate Daikanyama which opened in 2023

T-site Daikanyama which opened in 2011....I think there is another one in Kansai (Hirakata)

Huge bookstore with cafes and shops on the property

T stands for Tsutaya

Loved how the "T" shaped tiles were placed in a "T" on the building

It was a long day of walking & eating, I hope Satoshi will be able to take his guests to all the places they have requested to visit, the schedule seems tight

Nishikawa Roastery

2-15-17 Tsukiji

Chuo, Tokyo

Hours: 8:30-20:00

Et Nunc

20-23 Daikanyamacho (Forestgate Daikanyama 1F)

Shibuya, Tokyo

Hours: 9:30-18:30

yoroniku

The other month, I told you that V was visiting, she said her friend J and her husband L wanted to eat at Yoroniku so if we could also join them because the last time Satoshi had to cancel last minute

We went yesterday and it was just as great as the first time

Satoshi didn’t want to eat raw beef sashimi, so his portion for the sashimi and yukke (tartare) were changed to kalbi and I don’t remember what other cut of meat, both were cooked for Satoshi 

He did have the beef nigiri sushi though

Everything was so tasty and every cut was melt in your mouth! you literally did not need teeth..ha!

If you're interested in what we had, please look at my original post on Yoroniku.

Thank you V we appreciate you treating us to dinner and for the beautiful bottle of umeshu

We enjoyed meeting your friends too

We are thankful for your friendship and hope you enjoyed your trip in Japan

thanks for today

Friend Val was visiting with her friend J

On Saturday, we checked out Shibuya

Not having been to Shibuya for some time, I didn’t know that everything opens at 11!

Luckily Donki is open 24 hours so we hung out and shopped there until everything else opened up.

We also checked out the Jump store in Parco and Tower Records 

Lunch was at Miyashita Park’s food court's Pizza Slice.

Their pizzas are on display in the showcase, tell them what you want and they'll heat it up

The crust is so crisp!

Satoshi and I shared this mushroom slice and a slice of their supreme type...I enjoyed the mushroom one more

J bought her lunch at VegeGo...bibimbap, it looked ono but took so long for her to get her order!

After lunch it was more shopping at Akihabara and even more shopping at Yaesu Underground Shopping Arcade

Yesterday, we checked out Akasaka Aono that has been in business for over 120 years, since 1899

They are known for their Akasaka mochi, a soft warabi mochi with walnuts in it and is covered with LOTS of kinako

It is also strawberry season, so we also tried their ichigo daifuku

Both were so ono!

There is also Azabu Aono, which has been in business a little longer than Akasaka Aono, I hope to check out their sweets soon.

It was nice meeting J and catching up with Val.

They head back to Hawaii tomorrow and I hope they enjoyed their stay.

Thanks for today Val & J

Pizza Slice

Miyashita Park South 3F

Shibuya, Tokyo

Hours: 11:00-22:00

Akasaka Aono : Akasaka Mitsuke shop

3-1-11 Akasaka

Minato, Tokyo

Hours: 9:30-19:00 (Mondays-Fridays), 9:30-18:00 (Saturdays), 10:00-17:00 (Sundays & Holidays)

yoroniku & ebisu gardens

V invited us to celebrate her birthday at Yoroniku in Ebisu.

She and A dined here last year and enjoyed it.

Unfortunately Satoshi had something so he missed out

This post is gonna be long and you will gain weight...you have been warned

Assorted kim chee and namul

shoyu based sauce a little sweet, lemon & ume shu soda

beef tartare

after mixing it up and putting it on the garlic toast…so ono

2 types of beef sashimi ichibo (sirloin cap) and uchimomo (top round)

thick tongue, outside skirt and loin

salad with salt dressing (kinda like vinaigrette but not puckery)

this salad had huge pieces of lettuce in it, so a lot of us used it to wrap our meats in it as we ate

outside skirt with green onion sauce

thick tongue with lemon

loin with special sauce

lean meat and tsuchinoko (near thigh?)

eat in slightly sweetened sauce...so melt in your mouth

osuimono (clear soup) with bits of tripe...type of palate cleanser

wagyu onigiri

chateaubriand and silky loin

chateaubriand was cooked on super low heat to keep the tenderness and flavor of the meat

silky loin was cooked on a higher heat but was still very tender

dip the chateaubriand in sauce then cover the teeny rice ball...enjoy!

sirloin

eat sirloin with oroshi daikon and sauce first bite...add wasabi to change things up second bite

zabuton (chuck) "sukiyaki" with truffle

the chuck is shabu shabu-ed in this sukiyaki style sauce 

and then they truffle it

really truffle it

and then they froth it up

the rice they will add after you eat the meat, so don't eat up all the truffle egg mixture

frothed up truffle egg and meat

after adding the rice to the truffle egg

awa somen is a thicker type of somen from shikoku

chewy similar to reimen

add condiments...nori tsukudani and wasabi to change up the flavors

dessert...matcha shaved ice to share...first round eat as is

second round add the kuromame and condensed milk

surprise shaved ice for the birthday girl (left)

this one was shirokuma style which means fruits are embedded in the shave ice then covered with condensed milk

the staff worked so hard to cook the meats and serve so that we had the best dining experience

after dinner we walked (rolled) a little to Ebisu Gardens to see the Baccarat chandelier "tree"

This tree is displayed every year at about this time.

The chandelier is 5 meters (16 feet) tall and 3 meters (9 feet) wide and has about 8500 crystals and 250 light bulbs made by 13 MOF (meilleur ouvrier de france) craftsmen and took about 15,000 hours to make

At the opposite end they have this 10 meter (32 feet) tall Christmas tree!

Thank you V for letting me celebrate your birthday with you this year!

We are thankful for your friendship and appreciate your kindness.

We hope you enjoyed your trip! Have a safe trip home.

Yoroniku

1-11-5 Ebisu, GEMS 8F

Shibuya, Tokyo

Hours: 17:00-00:00

*reservations recommended