friday

Spent some time with V

We went to Kuramae Shrine to see the mimosa tree and kawazu sakura tree

When we arrived there was a line snaking around, luckily it wasn't to view these trees.

But, there were already tons of people trying to take photos of the trees on the shrine's property

Apparently the Mimosa tree is a symbol of the Women's movement in Italy in the 1940s

The flower represents solidarity and resistance and the bright yellow served as a beacon of hope in the fight for equality

The colors were a nice way to brighten up the gloomy clouds

there were also a rose plant

and a beautiful camellia

After checking out the shrine, we checked out some things at Akihabara and then had lunch inside of JR Shinagawa at Spice Factory

Satoshi and I have had lunch here before

This time, V and I tried their soup curry...

Loved the sausage that was served on a bone, even though the sausage was sliced, it was still very snappy!

The soup was quite spicy and I enjoyed all the veggies, especially the roasted pumpkin

It was nice spending time with V, I hope she enjoyed seeing the flowers.

crane house sandwich shop

Lunch was at Crane House Sandwich Shop

They are related to Crane Burger where I had the Luther Burger

The store manager cooks everything to order so everything takes some time to come out

Plus they do delivery/take out too

I had their iced citrus berry coffee...this was delicious! like chocolate raspberry

My sandwich was a BLT plus hummus...love that they toast the bread!

And since crispy bacon is hard to come by in Japan, their "bacon" was more like the outer part of a baked ham! loved it!

Satoshi had their hamburger with egg...the sandwich looked good!

They do have rules...when taking photos of your food, make sure there are no other diners in your photo (to respect their privacy) and no videos

Since all of us were seated at a huge table, I waited until the other diners left to take these photos.

I love their huge windows and plants!

I'm glad we got to try this place, I'll be back whenever I'm in the area

Crane House Sandwich Shop

1-11-12 Kojima

Taito, Tokyo

Closed: Tuesdays

Hours: 11:30-17:00 (Sundays & Mondays), 11:30-15:00 & 17:00-19:00 (Wednesdays-Saturdays)

irifuneya

Saturday, we were near Akihabara and needed to kill some time

As we were in search of lunch, we walked through Okazu Yokocho

You may remember I walked through here before

This time, more businesses were open...like Irifuneya which has been in business since 1935

They make all sorts of tsukudani and side dishes which they have displayed in the front window

The cool thing is that there is a screen door on the back of their front window, kinda like those old skool refrigerators/cabinet thingy that my grandma used to have

We bought a 100 grams of shiitake konbu...650 yen (tax included)

There wasn't too much shiitake in the tsukudani but it was super flavorful and good with rice

and 100 grams of furikake...350 yen (tax included)

The furikake was delicious too, lots of katsuo bushi (bonito flakes).

I also thought the scales they used were cool too

We look forward to eating this in the coming days.

And I look forward to trying other things the next time I'm in this area

Irifuneya

1-4-5 Torigoe

Taito, Tokyo

Closed: Sundays

Hours: 9:30-18:00

*cash only

asakusa

Over the weekend the temps went up, up, up...I think they were saying April?!

There were some things we wanted to see in Asakusa, so we headed out

Stumbled on this ukulele maker...they have been in business since 1919, but were only record player makers back then, they started making ukuleles in 1955...still cool!
 

We wanted to see Yasaki Inari Shrine because they have 100 colored drawings of shogun and their horses...especially since the lunar sign this year is the Year of the Horse.

Apparently this shrine was built to protect Tokyo’s Sanjusangendo

Unfortunately Tokyo’s Sanjusangendo which was located near Monzen Nakacho was destroyed in 1872

These panels were cool to see

FYI: shoes must be removed to enter this building AND socks/stockings must be worn…no bare feet!

Lunch was at Monburan, which is known for their hamburg

After putting your name on the waiting list, look over the menu and order, the wait staff will call in your order so that when you finally get seated (maybe a half an hour or so after that), your meal should come out pretty quick.

I chose their hamburg stew with half rice

it doesn't look like it but there is a ton of noodles at the bottom

the sauce is a rich demi glace

The hamburg is so moist and tender, I enjoyed this

Satoshi chose their ebi fry curry...he said he enjoyed it (no photo)

After lunch we walked around so I could show Satoshi where the Edo Kiriko class was held at and the tabi shoes that A bought.

We then walked along a big street to try Suzukien's matcha gelato, which was on my “to try” list

Choose between 1 to 7 for the potency of the matcha gelato, 1 being the least potent

They also have other flavors like hojicha, black sesame and other seasonal flavors too

Satoshi chose the 1 and 7....I chose 7 and black sesame

7 is so potent! but delicious. I enjoyed the black sesame too!

After all that eating we walked back to JR Ueno to catch the train home.

With the warm weather, it was nice to be out and about.

Monburan

1-8-6 Asakusa

Taito, Tokyo

Closed Wednesdays

Hours: 11:00-21:30

Suzukien

3-4-3 Asakusa

Taito, Tokyo

Hours: 11:00-17:00

ueno

In order to get to Think, I walked through Ueno Park
 

I noticed this huge tree on the grounds of the Tokyo National Museum luckily it could be seen from between the slats of the outer fence 

Tokyo University of Arts

So stinky but so pretty

think

After Vaner went out of business, Think went into its space in 2023

The lines for this bakery are always long and krazy

Plus, they only allow 4 people in the store at a time, so be prepared to wait.

I saw on social media that they were selling stollen, so I reserved one online and went to pick it up yesterday.

The thing about "just picking up" is that you still need to wait in line, so I went early and was 2nd in line...whoo

I purchased their marron hazelnut financier...so buttery, a little chocolatey, with big pieces of chestnut here and there and lots of hazelnuts...love!

Had their cultured scone for breakfast...so buttery! the outer part got a little crisp after I heated it up in the fish grill…love

Cassoulet...a piece of baguette topped with tomato sauce and cassoulet beans and a snappy sausage

I ate this with a knife and fork...delicious!

 

Sangria Red...was looking for an explanation of this online, but couldn't find one...I think they use red wine in the dough or maybe to rehydrate the dried figs and fold in dried figs and nuts...I sliced this and put it in the freezer.

And their stollen...the ingredients are almond powder, butter, orange peel and raisins...look forward to trying this in the coming days.

I don't know that I'll be back here since it isn't nearby, but I'm glad I got to try these items

Think

2-15-6 Uenosakuragi

Taito, Tokyo

Closed: Mondays & Tuesdays

Hours: 10:30-17:00

asakusabashi-kuramae-asakusa

Before meeting up with V & A, I walked up from Asakusabashi
 

Bought some things from Tori Toyo, which I have visited in the past

I bought some karaage chicken wings & a mini portion of keema curry

The curry was spicy and a tad bit salty, I guess I should've eaten this with some rice, but would get this again....520 yen (tax included) (for the wings & curry)

The wings haven't changed, meaty and juicy

Up the street was Daily's Muffin, which I saw on a television show

Everything muffins...

I picked up a savory muffin to try...their hashed pork...420 yen (tax included)

The little muffin on the package shows you how to reheat their muffin

zap then toast

While the pork on top was very flavorful with grainy mustard and a little shoyu, it was too oily leaving a heavy mouth feel...meh and the muffin itself was quite dry

Still, I'm glad I tried this

Nearby is a Toyoko Inn.

Back in the day, this was the property of Masudaya Toys.

This area had many toy factories and has changed over the years due to the change in the markets

Mighty 8, a huge robot, is a symbol of Masudaya Toys

Up the street is Pelican Bakery...we've visited here in the past and it seems that their shop got a facelift

In Asakusa is this cutie...I learned about it from social media

It is quite a small store though

The line wasn't too krazy at Kameju, so I stood in line

And purchased some warabi mochi for V and a dorayaki for myself

the price has gone up but it is still huge and fluffy

Choose between kuro (black) or shiro (white) bean paste

So good

It was nice to explore and reconnect with Asakusabashi, Kuramae & Asakusa

Daily's Muffin

2-3-1 Kuramae

Taito, Tokyo

Closed: Sundays & Mondays

Hours: 8:00-16:00 (Tuesdays-Fridays), 11:00-17:00 (Saturdays)

sokichi

Met up with V, A and V's friend M at Sokichi in Asakusa on Friday.

Last year, V & A had a nice experience making their own Edo kiriko (etched glass), so they booked a class for all of us 
 

Choose your glass, there are some that are included in the price of the class, or some that you need to pay extra for

The teacher then shows you how to etch and you get to practice on their practice glasses

Then you choose your design

with a marker and stencil you draw your design on your glass 

Me, I wimped out and chose the same design we practiced...stars

V, A and M chose more difficult things like irises, sakura and such

After you finish, they set up a mini studio for your glass' photo shoot

The teacher also teaches you how to take the photo so it looks "professional"

It was a cool experience.

Thanks for today A, V & M

Sokichi

2-1-14 Kaminarimon

Taito, Tokyo

*reservations recommended for a class