yurakucho to tamachi

Saturday was the only day forecast for sun.

Unfortunately, Satoshi had to work.

I still wanted to check out the fall colors, so I got out early, like 7:45 and went to Yurakucho.

From the station it is about a 5 minute walk to Hibiya Park.

It was my first time checking out this park and it is quite large, they even have tennis courts!

I didn't walk the whole park, just certain areas.

They had some roses blooming but most were blocked by fences so that you couldn’t get too close to take photos of them....boo!

I was impressed by the size of the ginkgo nut trees.

Like this one.

And this one.

This is the pond that Satoshi would eat his lunch at.

Unfortunately, he is so busy these days, he rarely gets to eat outside of the office.

From Hibiya Park, I walked down the street to Shiba Park.

It was my first time here also and I didn't realize it was so close to Tokyo Tower and Zojoji temple

I was also surprised to see that there was more than one Shiba Park...I think they must have divided the land to make way for roads...

Right outside of Zojoji, I stopped in to Le Pain Quotidien to pick up lunch as well as other baked items.

Pistachio tarte, blueberry muffin, nicoise sandwich and 15 grain bagel.

Saturday, I enjoyed the nicoise sandwich for lunch which was tuna salad and egg salad, some olives and a lot of veggies.

(We shared the pistachio tarte and blueberry muffin on Sunday...the tarte was so moist and topped with lots of pistachios (this was the most expensive item I purchased) it reminded me of an olive oil cake.

The blueberry muffin was moist but could have used more blueberries.

This morning we shared the bagel, it was tasty but didn't have the chew I like with bagels...)

Then I walked all the way to Tamachi to catch the train back to where we live.

It was nice to be out and about.

Where I would normally go here and there to check out the fall colors, I think this might be my one and only this season, our (Tokyo) numbers have gone up to 500 plus every day!

Le Pain Quotidien

3-3-1 Shibakoen

Minato, Tokyo

Phone: 03.6430.4157

Open daily 7:30-22:00

foodie sunday

Sunday started out with breakfast at Shinpachi Shokudo.

Their breakfast is cheaper than lunch...like half price! (if you choose the fish on their breakfast menu, I think if you choose the other types you would need to pay a higher price)

During breakfast, rice is only a small portion but was enough for me and Satoshi (because he didn't want to pay 50 yen more for the regular size).

Snacks at Starbucks while we waited for Takeya to open.

I tried this rich chocolate mousse "cake" by Ichiei Taguma...delicious with black coffee.

"no smorking"....ha!

Picked up a dorayaki and kusamochi to try from Usagiya which has been around since 1913.

We ate these after dinner and I am not sure how Satoshi liked the kusamochi, but I enjoyed the dorayaki.

It wasn't different from other dorayaki I have tried but still glad we were able to try them.

Cheeseburger and fries at Henry's.

They use all wagyu no fillers...my burger had quite a bit of gristle, but was still delicious.

Very juicy!

Satoshi had the regular burger with onion rings.

I loved their onion rings which seemed housemade not those thick pre-battered types.

And then we walked from Okachimachi all the way to Shinbashi.

The weather was so warm and felt good to walk after all that eating.

At the Hamamatsu-cho station, where we needed to change trains, I went to check out the Mannekin Pis...he was dressed as Char Aznable of Gundam...

Dinner was ehomaki.

The lucky direction is west-south-west.

This half sized sushi was filled with maguro, hamachi (or maybe it was tai), egg, ikura, shiso, crab, salmon and cucumber!

Satoshi ate out yesterday which was Setsubun, so it was good we had our ehomaki on Sunday.

Usagiya
1-10-10 Ueno
Taito, Tokyo
Phone: 03.3831.6195
Closed Wednesdays
Hours: 9:00-18:00

Henry's Burgers (UPDATE: 2021 out of business)
3-7-13 Sotokanda
Chiyoda, Tokyo
Phone: 03.6206.8841
Hours: 11:00-20:00

ginza sky lounge

When Satoshi and I had lunch at Pyonpyonsha, we were sitting near the window and were able to look out at Tokyo.

We noticed a revolving restaurant and afterwards I looked online to see what it was...Ginza Sky Lounge.

Wednesday, we went to celebrate our anniversary there.

Lunch comes with one free drink...I chose sparkling wine.

The first course said marinated mushrooms with proscuitto...but it was a smoked chicken with garbanzos.

Lunch came with a roll and baguette. (too bad the baguette wasn't toasted just nuked)

Madai (red snapper) Grenoble style...mushroom butter sauce.

The fish was moist and the skin crispy.

Pork with a chaliapin sauce.

Chaliapin is apparently a Japanese creation and is an onion sauce.

And according to "Cooking with Dog", was devised to tenderize steak.

Loved this sauce.

Photo by Satoshi

Dessert was panna cotta.

It takes about 80 minutes for the restaurant to make a full circle...too bad the day we went it was raining, so there wasn't much to see.

Still, it was a nice way to celebrate.

We want to try their dinner and see the lights of Tokyo, we'll be back when there is a special occasion.

Ginza Sky Lounge
Tokyo Kaikan 15F
Chiyoda, Tokyo
Phone: 03.3212.2775
Hours: 11:00-22:00

foodie thursday

Thursday I went to check out some antenna shops in the Shinbashi-Yurakucho area.

My first stop was the Tottori-Okayama shop because I was in search of rakkyo (pickled scallions).

A lot of makers in Japan use scallions from China along with artificial sweeteners (because both are probably cheaper), but the ones from Tottori prefecture seem to be more "natural" using their locally grown scallions and sugar.

The shop also had a kim chee version as well as some anpogaki.

Then I walked towards Ginza and stumbled upon Kuuya.

Apparently they have been in business since 1884!

Their monaka (wafers filled with sweet bean paste) is so popular that normally you need to reserve the amount you want to purchase.

Luckily, they were not sold out and I was able to purchase a box.

Actually, I had originally only wanted 2 pieces (1 for me and 1 for Satoshi) but they don't sell them individually, so bought a box 10 pieces.

These were delicious! the wafer was light and a little crisp, the sweet bean paste wasn't overly sweet.

Friday, I sent Satoshi with the rest of the box to share with his co-workers.

As I walked towards Ginza, I enjoyed looking at the different buildings...like the Shiseido Building.

And the Mikimoto Building.

I also checked out the new Muji.

They sell veggies as well as have a Muji Hotel above the store.

At the edge of Yurakucho is the Kochi Antenna shop.

I bought some katsuo (bonito) products and look forward to trying them.

Across the road is the Marunouchi area.

Japan has been hosting the Rugby World Cup since mid-September and the finals are this weekend.

They also have a temporary Rugby Shrine at the Maru Building...it was fun to see various objet, like this ninja

and a bronze statue of sumo wrestler Tochinoshin in "rugby mode".

Lunch was at Wise Sons, a San Francisco Deli.

I had the small pastrami reuben...delicious.

The basement area of the Maru Building have many eateries and shops.

I checked out Akomeya...a shop that is dedicated to rice and all things that can be eaten with rice. Will check out the main shop in Ginza another day!

We tried this rice flour sweet filled with sweet potato and sweet bean paste and these soy beans with seasoned arare (rice cracker) coatings.

My last stop before catching the train was Zopf's curry pan stand.

This popular Chiba bakery sells their curry pan inside of the wickets of the JR Tokyo station in an area called GrandSta.

The curry is spicy, I'm glad we tried this.

Lots of walking, lots of eating..I'm glad the last day of October was a sunny one.

Tottori Okayama Antenna Shop
1-11-7 Shinbashi
Minato, Tokyo
Phone: 03.3571.0092
Hours: 10:00-21:00

Kuuya
6-7-19 Ginza
Chuo, Tokyo
Phone: 03.3571.3304
Closed Sundays
Hours: Mondays-Fridays 10:00-17:00, Saturdays 10:00-16:00

Kochi Antenna Shop
1-3-13 Ginza
Chuo, Tokyo
Phone: 03.3538.4365
Hours: 10:30-20:00

Wise Sons Tokyo (UPDATE: 2024 no longer in business)
2-4-1 Marunouchi, Maru Building B1F
Chiyoda, Tokyo
Phone: 03.6551.2477
Hours: Mondays-Fridays 7:30-21:00, Saturdays & Sundays 8:30-21:00

Akomeya (UPDATE: 2025 no longer at this address)
2-4-1 Marunouchi, Maru Building B1F
Chiyoda, Tokyo
Phone: 03.6206.3349
Hours: Mondays-Saturdays 11:00-21:00, Sundays & Holidays 11:00-20:00

Zopf
inside of JR Tokyo wicket, in GranSta B1