*My SD card corrupted on the second day of my trip -.- so photos will be limited to my phone camera which I do not have much*
Warning ~ Food intensive post ahead
Booked a redeye flight from Singapore to Narita airport. 0035 – 0825. Pretty much slept the whole journey.
Arriving at Narita, I bought the Keisei Skyliner + Tokyo Subway Ticket (keisei.co.jp/…/us/value_ticket/subway.php) and used it to get to Tokyo. Journey was pretty fast (about 40mins?) and there was free wifi (albeit spotty) for tourist too, just remember to get the log in from the counter where you bought the ticket from.
Went straight to my hostel, Irori hostel and kitchen (irorihostel.com/en), to leave my luggage and left to do my stuffs till night time. Really nice hostel if you prefer a quiet stay I guess, everyone keeps to themselves compared to the more “party” kind of hostels. The place is clean and the staffs are really nice! The only complain I will have is that the pillow is so thin it felt non-existent, had to fold it in half to feel more comfortable.
After leaving my luggage, my very first meal after touching down would be sweets! Had mousse cakes at Hidemi Sugino, located between kyobashi and ginza-itchome station. Recommended by my sisters friend, he was awarded Asia’s best pastry chef back in 2015 and is famous for his mousse cakes. Opening at 11, I reached at 11 and there was already a queue of 20 people inside.
No photos was allowed for all the cakes that was displayed but they all looked so well done and delicious. Choose my two cakes and dined in at the back of the shop. Apparently photos was allowed if you dined since everyone was doing it and the staffs didn’t bother so of course I took them to my hearts content! Felt so embarrassed when they asked what drink I would to order, I requested for ice water only but there was a compulsory drink order if you are dining in.
Ambriose – Dark choco and pistachio mousse with rasberry jam inside.
Really lucky to have gotten this as they only make 10 pieces of it each day.
Marie – Strawberry and Pistachio mousse
One of the most popular, extremely light and balanced!
Overall the cakes was done extremely well, would visit again the next time I come to japan. 2 cakes was probably a bit too much for me since I was heading to eat lunch next.
LUNCH! Right after eating the cakes, headed to Tonta (tabelog.com/…tokyo/A1305/A130503/13003984) at Takadanobaba station. One of the top tonkatsu shops in tokyo. There was a queue 15 people in front of me and since it was a small shop, it moved pretty slow. Ordered the special loin set and no regrets was made that day.
The menu outside.
Was so juicy and flavorful, not oily, batter was thin and light. Hands down the best I ever had in my life.
After lunch, went to do some shopping at Harajuku, or to be specific, making new spectacles at Zoff and buying shoes at nike (they had no size in the end D:) Do consider making your spectacles in japan as it is really cheap, especially if you got extremely high degree like me (950-1000), and the quality of the frame and lens is top notch. No worries if you do not know how to speak Japanese as the big stores have English and Chinese speaking staffs around. You can do a eyesight check there as well.
Bought the top one but fully black color. 24,000 yen with 1.74 index lens (ultra thin) and with additional hard coat to prevent scratches. Would have cost me in the high $3xx if I made it in Singapore.
DINNER! after shopping, had my dinner at tendon kaneko hannosuke, Nihombashi area. There is only one item on the menu and that is tendon, 950yen. Met a group of Singaporeans queuing in front of me and we started chatting about each others trip and places to recommend to each other. Before going in, a staff takes your order while you are still waiting outside.
Going in, your clothes and jackets and everything basically, is bound to absorb the smell of the deep frying oil. My jacket had the oily smell for the next 2 days before somewhat losing the smell just enough for me to ignore it.
Storefront – Yes there was a queue again, moved quite fast though as the food is served almost immediately once you sit.
Edomae Tendon – Prawns, eggs, longbean, octopus, seaweed and a whole anago. The best item definitely has to be the octopus and the anago with a sauce that I can’t make quite out being different from the rest. Must try!
Went around tokyo station to take some night shots which I wont be able to see ever again (raging still) before heading back to my hostel to crash for the night.
Next up, Kawazu for D2!