Another day, another Michelin-starred meal in Japan. This one wasn’t quite as cheap as Nakajima, but it’s hard to care when the food is this good. This was straight-up one of the best things I’ve ever eaten.
There was a stand near Yoyogi Park selling what they called baby castella (castella being a type of cake popular in Japan). You can see the lady piping in some fresh batter into the moulds.
Sometimes it’s nice to get out of the city and see some trees — it’s especially nice when said trees are actually in an enormous park inside the city. Because let’s face it, that’s just so much easier.
Remember when I mentioned how the Jagalchi Market is the biggest fish market in South Korea? Well, the Tsukiji Market in Tokyo is the biggest fish market in the world.
Just in case you need more evidence that Toyko is a special city, a store in Akihabara called Super Potato can be exhibit #7632.
It was a sad, sad day when the Beard Papa in the Pacific Mall (which was the only Beard Papa in Canada outside of Vancouver) shut down.
Tragically, I discovered this by actually going to the Pacific Mall to pick up some Beard Papa, only to find that the spot where it used to be was completely ripped apart (I think they were turning it another Chinese restaurant). There was nothing left but a hollowed-out husk filled with unused equipment and shattered dreams. It was heartbreaking.
Well, Japan is the home of Beard Papa, and it is just as glorious as I remembered.
There’s a whole store in Tokyo dedicated to Star Wars stuff, and it’s pretty much the best.
There’s a restaurant in Tokyo called Nakajima — it’s in the bottom floor of a very nondescript building (if you were just walking by, you wouldn’t even know it’s a restaurant).
You know what one of the (many) great things about Tokyo is? It seems to be one of the few places left on the planet where arcades are still a big deal. Having spent an untold number of hours and quarters in various arcades as a kid, this is something I can get behind.
I had a hell of a time getting from Narita airport to my Airbnb in Tokyo. I’m not sure exactly where I went wrong — I had the stops for each of my transfers written down, and it all seemed straightforward enough. But somehow it went horribly awry, and I found myself staring at the almost comically complex criss-crossing lines of the Tokyo metro, wondering where I even was, or where I needed to go.