The Food Pursuit
0
Eat, explore, eat, and explore some more. That’s always been the gist of this website. So today, we’re going to take a look at the ever popular Ginza. Popular in that Ginza is arguably the root cause of foreigners taking shopping vacations in Tokyo. Flagship stores left and right, there’s no denying it’s the center of materialism. Not a big shopper? That’s okay. There are plenty of other reasons why one would visit Ginza. This post will reveal what you can expect from a day in the area.
Yasukuni is one of many shrines in Japan. What makes this shrine special is that it’s dedicated to those who lost their lives in wars and other struggles serving Japan (or the Emperor). Ironically, the shrine is located near the Imperial Palace in Tokyo where the Imperial Family lives. Another unique fact is there are numerous controversies that stem from conflicts that happened in history surrounding this shrine. In mid July, there’s a festival called Mitama Matsuri that commemorates the lives lost and attracts a huge crowd. I’m thinking they’re going to have some sort of vigil for the earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan last week. The weekend following the disaster, areas surrounding shrines smell largely of incense as people prayed.
Café Restaurant Gusto, or from its direct translation Café Resutoran Gusto, is something I’ve been meaning to try for a while. This restaurant gives me the same feeling I get from eating at IKEA, possibly because of the lighting and the self-serve drink bar. It also helps that they serve typical items found in western cuisine – steak, burgers, pasta, potato, soups, salads, and a variety of desserts. Albeit, with a Japanese twist.
Located in the popular Shinjuku district, Shinokubo houses a large Korean community in Tokyo. As with other Koreatowns in the world, you can expect to find a number of restaurants, grocery stores, and products from Korea. Say you’ve landed in Tokyo but a part of you wants to feel some Korean vibe. No problem. This post will introduce what you can expect to see at Shinokubo’s Koreatown in Tokyo, including a restaurant visit.
Izakaya is one of those places that the Japanese working class gathers at the end of a day. As a brief summary, it’s mainly a place for drinking alcohol which is a favorite after-work activity for white collar folks, possibly to relieve stress. You may know this already and you may also know that many of these salarymen are found sound asleep on subways or streets in the wee hours. They’re either too tired to drag themselves home, are knocked unconscious, or missed their train home, in which case they may also choose to spend the night at a 24-hour McDonald’s or karaoke establishments – something I’ve observed during my short stay thus far. But, you may not know that some of these places may provide a great dining experience as with, or maybe even better than, any other restaurant in Japan.
Back to top