We started our day in traditional Japanese style (as advised by my friend) with salmon filled onigiri, aka a large rice ball with filling, and a cup miso soup (which is far better than anything you find in the UK).
These are amazing, yes fish for breakfast is a bit weird at first but actually so much better than cereal once you’ve used to it. They also come in a variety of flavours, all available from the local 24 hr mini mart, where incidentally you can also buy any fresh cooked takeaway you want and pay your bills, any time day or night. Not too shabby.
On a stroll out of Shibuya towards Omotesando we came across a farmer’s market (one of the joys of visiting during Golden Week – a week long of national holidays in Japan).
Here we sampled some local delicacies as well as some more unusual things. Our favourite was the mochi a kind of glutinous rice ball – please don’t let this description put you off, sounds awful tastes amazing, it’s like eating a sweet floury pillow with delicious sweet red bean filling.
After filling our bellies with market treats, we headed to Roppongi to see the National Art Museum where we marvelled at the architecture of the building, the sculptures inside and then decided we were hungry again.
We headed to the bustling Roppongi hills and found ourselves at the basement floor of a cinema complex transported to the most authentic of sushi restaurants. A place called Pintokona, with conveyor belt sushi, where in reality the belt is a feature and for freshness the food is made to order. Not all sushi is made equal…
One set we ordered was prepared raw then the chef ran a blowtorch over it to char the edges, giving it a wonderful mild grill flavour.
We spent the rest of a sleepy, slightly jetlagged afternoon wandering around an impressive shopping centre in Roppongi Hills.
On arrival back in Shibuya our stomachs were ready again for something new. We headed to a restaurant local to the apartment we were staying at for some Okinawan fare.
Okinawa is the most southern region in Japan and apparently has very different food and traditions. Being on the sea there was a lot of sea based food from fish to unusual seaweed. As usual food goes this was probably the most unusual of all…
With these dishes and a couple of hibiscus saketinis under our belts it was time to call it a day.
And what a day.
For any personal recommendations or anything in this post you want to know more about leave a comment.
>Okinawa is the most southern region in Japan and apparently has very different food and traditions.
Every region of Japan has it’s own unique food culture / cuisine.
Did you try Tokyo’s original dish “Monja-yaki”?
Thanks for reading! We didn’t try monja yaki but we did try okonomiyaki which I believe is similar? That’s something to try next time! Okinawan food was totally unique, unlike anything Japanese I’ve ever tried before
>Thanks for reading!
Sure! Please check out my blog (http://tokyo5.wordpress.com ), as well.
>we did try okonomiyaki which I believe is similar?
Similar, but not the same. Okonomiyaki is from the other side of Japan…so, of course, you should try Monja when you’re in Tokyo!
>Okinawan food was totally unique, unlike anything Japanese I’ve ever tried before
Okinawans are fond of pork. They eat every part of the pig!
They also have a unique vegetable called “goya” that is used in many of their dishes.
I like Okinawan cuisine. I ate at an Okinawan restaurant in Tokyo a couple of weeks ago, in fact!
I would have loved to have visited Okinawa but this restaurant in Tokyo was as close as we got sadly! Next time we will go! No we didn’t try Monja-yaki, I’d love to know what that is!