Japan 2018: Last Full Day in Tokyo (Food & Food Extras)
DAY 7
Here is to my last full day in Japan. Travelling is such a weird experience (especially since this was the first time for me (not including in Canada/USA)). It felt as if I’ve seen so much and eaten so much yet I can’t remember anything. Also, it’s the feeling of not having done anything the whole trip… it’s a strange, strange feeling - I hope it isn’t just me. Probably because my trip was a short 7 full days (but 9 calendar days)…
During my last day, I was going to take it real easy and chill. I knew I wanted to pick up some last minute things before I left and maybe eat some new foods or foods that I loved and need to have again. So, I didn’t see much really or ate too many new foods this day. However, I have a few photos I hadn’t been able to use previously, so I will add them to this one!
This day, my sister was actually free because her friend had a small medical emergency and decided to stay at their Airbnb with her boyfriend. My sister didn’t have the chance to see Meiji shrine yet, so we decided to go. This being my second time, I didn’t expect to see or experience much more than my first time but we actually saw a wedding taking place, it was pretty cool. Also, this time I purchased an Ema board.
Unfortunately, I don’t know the history behind the wooden plaques but you are supposed to write your wish on them and hang them up in a designated spot in the shrine. I believe every year, they are burned in a ritual and the Buddhists will pray for the wishes to come true (I’m not 100% sure, so correct me if I’m wrong!). Also, no I do not know what those characters say and you can of course take it home instead of hanging it up if you wish.
I think by the time we were done with Meiji Shrine, we were all hungry. Since we were in the Harajuku area, we decided to search for the best eats there. On Google, we came across Harajuku Gyoza Iou, which had tons of reviews and great ones too. There was quite a long lineup there but it didn’t take us too long to be seated. The area is quite small and crowded but I guess these are the types of establishments with the best food, right?
Gyoza are essentially the Japanese version of Chinese dumplings. There were quite a few flavours to pick from and you could have them either pan fried or boiled.
I would say (and my sister would agree) that this place wasn’t anything special - it was okay. Probably because we’re Chinese and we’ve had our fair share of dumplings… But for a tasty meal that’s pretty cheap?! This is definitely the place to go then. We were STUFFED and we probably paid just less than $10 per person.
I don’t know when but my sister had tried this crème brûlée donut at Krispy Kreme and she said it was like the best thing she’s ever had. Honestly, to this day, she still talks about it, haha. But I was like… ok well we are going to go to the Shibuya area to do some shopping again, there is a Krispy Kreme there - let’s go then. Let me leave you the photo here first:
I want to preface this by saying: I do like sweet stuff but I don’t have the biggest sweet tooth. Don’t get my wrong the donut was pretty damn tasty but I don’t crave and rave about it like my sister does. The top of the donut has that signature hard/crackly sugar crust that crème brûlée’s have of course and its filled with custard. You can actually see them doing it fresh through the glass!
Would I still recommend you go and try it? Yes! I have never seen such a creation here in Canada from Krispy Kreme.
For the remainder of the day, we just walked around and did a little shopping. So I won’t have much to say here but I will leave you with a few more food photos and a small description.
You can find these cheese tarts in Tokyo Station, unfortunately I forgot the name of the shop and unfortunately I didn’t get to try them. My sister tried it and she said it was DELICIOUS.
This is gyudon* from Yoshinoya Gyudon, which is a popular chain in Japan. It is a quick, cheap and filling meal. This place actually ran of of beef which is what Gyu is in Japanese, so I opted for the pork. It came with a soft boiled egg which you mix into your meat and rice mixture.
I actually got this from Ichiran Ramen - you can order this as an extra when you’re seated. I believe it’s a matcha almond pudding with a sugary matcha syrup. It was tasty but probably not something I would get again.
There are quite a few restaurants in Tokyo Station (it’s HUGE in there). I was starving and I decided to stop at this soba place. I got hot soba (soba I believe is typically eaten cold) with tempura - very tasty. Would definitely recommend you try soba in Japan!
To the left, I got a shrimp burger combo from Moss Burger which is a burger chain similar to Burger King or McDonalds. Shrimp burgers are actually really tasty. I prefer this one to the McDonalds ebi burger.
To the right, I honestly have no idea (LOL). I went to some random restaurant that was on the bottom floor of a department store in Ginza. I was really hungry and I randomly stopped by this place. The cashier/server at this place was extremely kind! I think she knew I didn’t know what this dish was so she explained to me you have to dip the noodles into the soup that it came with and eat. It was too salty for my taste but that’s probably why they gave you soup to dip the noodles in…
Apologies for the horrid photo quality. A lot of department store have packaged food offerings like this on the basement floor. When the stores are near closing time, they put big discounts on their fresh foods in order to sell them that day. You’ll notice there is A LOT of people here at this time. You can not only find some great food but you can totally eat on a budget like this. I got these two huge boxes of sushi/sushi rice bowl for less than $15!
And so, this concludes my 2018 trip to Japan. I really hope you enjoyed my posts documenting my very first trip to Japan, which also happens to be my first trip outside of Canada/USA, which also happens to be my first solo trip. Japan is a great place to visit and I highly recommend you travel here if you get the chance - whether you do it with people or if you decide to travel solo like I did! The food was amazing and the scenery was breathtaking.
I would love to know what was your favourite part of my 2018 Japan series, what you’re favourite thing about Japan is or what you are looking forward to when you get the chance to visit Japan.
I will say… I loved Japan so much I actually went again in 2019. So look out for even more Japan adventure posts coming out! Again, thanks so much for following along on my journey. If this is your first post or only a few posts in, I recommend you see all my other Japan travel posts!
Until next time
-Thomas