Blogmas Day 18: Ichiran Ramen

Another unmissable experience in Tokyo is Ichiran Ramen.  This large chain is open 24 hr, it's a fast food joint really, and honestly, it serves some really fab tonkotsu soup ramen.  

What draws in the tourists is the unique dining experience - you pay for your ramen at a vending machine and sit in isolated booths, where your ramen gets served to you through the window at your booth.  On paper it doesn't sound great but it's such a silly novelty for us foreigners and did I mention that the ramen is really good!

Other Posts:

- Blogmas Day 19: Odaiba

- Blogmas Day 17: BAKED CHEESE TARTS

- Blogmas Intro: Japan Trip

Blogmas Day 17: BAKED CHEESE TARTS

I first encountered these tarts in Hong Kong last year - the chain exploded all over Asia, quite recently and when I say encountered, I mean I found the store, saw the insanely long queue, queued in it for about 20 minutes but then bailed on it when the staff member announced that the back of the queue could expect to wait up to 2 hours.

Luckily the queues, at least the Shinjuku Branch, where not that long.  Had I tried these tarts before my last Hong Kong trip then I would have gladly waited in that 2 hour queue!  Seriously this is easily in my top 5, probably top 3 things to eat in Tokyo!  The Shinjuku branch is at Shinjuku train station, so hopefully if I get a chance to go to Tokyo again, I know as soon as I get off the plane, Bake Cheese Tart is my first stop!

Other Posts:

- Blogmas Day 18: Ichiran Ramen

- Blogmas Day 16: Blogmas Continues

- Blogmas Intro: Japan Trip

Blogmas Day 12 Part 2: Gyukatsu 牛かつ

Another fun eat I found online was a beef katsu place called Gyukatsu Motomura 牛かつ もと村 新宿店.  Above was the set that I ordered.  I love fresh wasabi and the rice had pearl barley in it.

The fun part about this restaurant is that the fantastic piece of beef is cooked very rare and you are able to grill a little longer on your own mini-grill/hot-plate-type thing in front of you.  I would put it on for a few seconds on each side and the put wasabi on it before dipping it into the sauces.  Really enjoyable diner and I'm sure the price was great for the set too.

Other Posts:

- Blogmas Day 13: Asakusa

- Blogmas Day 12 Part 1: Tsukemen at Rokurinsha

- Blogmas Intro: Japan Trip

Blogmas Day 10: Shinjuku!

I loved staying in Shinjuku during my time in Tokyo.  Every night we'd get to wander through all this!  I imagine that it is a great place for night life - that side of it was completely wasted on us! My sister and I aren't big drinkers plus I love sight seeing so we never had a night out around here, definitely next time! The main reason I chose to stay in Shinjuku is because of its location to all the sights I wanted to see - being close to Shinjuku Station makes things much more convenient when traveling around Tokyo and it is very important to pick accommodation that will make traveling easier for you because Tokyo is HUGE!

Above is the Kabukicho Gate.  Kabukicho is the red light district but you are not going to get any trouble around here unless you go looking for it, it was like any other busy city street made to look like Blade Runner! :D

We caught the famous Golden Gai before business started one evening as well as a quick picture of Omoide Yokocho, Piss Alley, first thing in the morning.  I would have loved to try out Yakitori at one of these places but like I said earlier because we don't drink much or smoke at all these sorts of places are lost on us.

Do you see the Godzilla?  We had amazing dry weather for most of our time there but don't be afraid of a little rain, it really puts Tokyo in an amazing light!

Other Posts:

- Blogmas Day 11: Meiji Jingu and Imperial Palace Gardens

- Blogmas Day 09: Uobei Sushi and Coco Curry

- Blogmas Intro: Japan Trip