Guess where was I? I was at the train station waiting for the first train to head to Tsukiji Fish Market! Tsukiji Fish Market was supposed to move to a new location in November 2016 but it was delayed until further notice. Before it moves, I must definitely check out this largest fish market in the world.
Japan’s Golden Week starts from 29 April 2017 and last for an entire week because there are four national holidays within the same week. From what I know, most Japanese does not take leaves for vacations throughout the year. So, with Golden Week combined with well-placed weekends, they can go on vacations without taking leaves and this makes the Golden Week one of the busier holiday seasons in Japan.
I arrived at Higashi-Ginza Station and walked 15 minutes to Tsukiji Fish Market with the help of my offline map app. My main mission of the day is to have breakfast at Sushi Dai. I reached there at about 6.20am and the queue was already very long. The staff informed me that I would need to expect 4 hours of queuing from this position.
Fast forward 4 hours later, I was finally inside the shop. This was the first time in my life queuing for so many hours just for food. I ordered the Omakase set (JPY4,000) which has 10 pieces of nigiri sushi. I only get to choose 1 piece and the remaining 9 pieces were determined by the chef based on the best choices of the day. The sushi were really fresh. It basically just melts the moment you put them into your mouth. I guess the 4 hours of queuing was really worth it. You can click here for a more detailed blog post of Sushi Dai.
I initially planned to try out Kaizen Don (Seafood rice) but after the long hours spent in Sushi Dai, it was already 11.30 a.m. And all the Kaizen Don restaurants had a really long queue by then. After the queuing experience from Sushi Dai, I decided to just buy whatever that does not have a long queue.
Yummy Tamagoyaki (Japanese rolled omelette). It seemed to be a little milky from the inside. Only cost JPY120.
Strawberry Matcha Mochi. Surprisingly, the strawberry was sweet instead of sour. Costs JPY300.
The tamagoyaki was just too nice and I decided to get another one from another stall. I preferred the first one which was milkier (this one was a little dried). But this was a little cheaper at JPY100.
Other foods available at Tsukiji Fish Market.
Tsukiji Fish Market (築地市場, Tsukiji Shijo)
Address: 5 Chome-2-1 Tsukiji, Chuo, Tokyo 104-0045, Japan.
Operating hours:
Outer Market - 5.00am to 2.00pm (varies by shop)
Wholesale Area - Open to visitors after 10.00am
Tuna Auction - Open to visitors from 5.25am to 6.15am (restricted to 120 visitors per day); Usually, people will start queuing around 3.00am
Closed on Sundays, national holidays and some Wednesdays
I then walked to Ginza Station and took the train to Meijijingu-Mae Station. From there, I walked to Afuri Ramen for my lunch. Luckily, the queue was not very long the moment I reached there. Buying ramen from a vending machine was something new for me. Luckily, there were English words on the machine. I ordered the Yuzu Shio Ramen at JPY980. The taste of the ramen was just average for me. Maybe, it was just not my type of ramen. You can click here for the detailed blog post of Afuri Ramen.
My next mission of the day was to rush to Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden with the hope that I can still see some sakura (cherry blossom). The expected time of cherry blossom to be fully bloomed in the Tokyo region is end-March to early-April. The cherry blossom season moves from south to north. To catch the fully bloomed cherry blossom, I would probably need to fly to Hokkaido now (a little after mid-April).
I took the train from Meijijingu-Mae Station to Shinjuku-sanchome Station and walked towards the garden. Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden is one of the more popular cherry blossom viewing gardens in Tokyo. The entrance fee for the garden was JPY200. Thankfully, there were still cherry blossoms for me to see. Although, most of them have starting to fall, I was glad that I could tick cherry blossom viewing out from my bucket list.
Unlike the parks in Malaysia, there were actually a lot of people relaxing or having a picnic at the garden. It is a Japanese culture to have Hanami (flower viewing) under a cherry blossom tree. I even spotted a pair of newly-weds taking their wedding photographs there.
Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden (新宿御苑)
Operating hours: 9.00am to 4.30pm (last entry at 4.00pm)
Closed on Mondays (or following day if Monday is a national holiday), December 29 to January 3. There are no closing days during the cherry blossom season (late March to late April) and the Chrysanthemum Exhibition (first half of November).
Admission: JPY200
Next stop, Takeshita Street. Takeshita Street is a shopping street with fashion boutiques, cafes and restaurants. Since shopping doesn’t interest me, I spent my time there eating different kinds of snacks.
First stop, Marion Crepes. I ordered their No. 1 Bestseller for JPY500. The crepe consists of cream, custard and ice cream. The crepe texture was soft, quite thin but not crispy. The custard was not bad but I thought that too much fresh cream affected the overall taste. Definitely not my type of food. I actually regretted buying this but Miss J will love this though.
Marion Crepes
Address: Harajuku Takeshitadori store, 1-6-15 Jingumae Shibuya-ku Junesu Building 1F (原宿竹下通り店, 渋谷区神宮前1-6-15 ジュネスビル1F)
Operating hours: 10.30am - 8.00 pm (Daily)
Website: http://www.marion.co.jp/english/
Contact No.: +81 3 3401 7297
Next, Calbee+. There were tables at the first floor of the shop. No chairs provided though. You just stand and eat your potato chips. I ordered the Maple Syrup & Cream Cheese Potato Chips for JPY330. The food was a little overrated in my opinion. They just poured some maple syrup and cream cheese on the potato chips. The potato chips might be fresh but there is nothing more than that.
Calbee+
Operating hours: 9.30am to 8.30pm (Open all year round)
I found Gindaco a little further away from Takeshita Street. There are tables and chairs for customers above the shop. You need to take the elevator beside the shop to get to the eating area. I ordered the smallest set which was 8 pieces of takoyaki for JPY550. How I wished they would sell 4 pieces or 6 pieces. 8 pieces was a little too much for one person.
Gindaco
Address: Japan, 〒150-0001 Tokyo, Shibuya, Jingumae, 1 Chome−14−24, 第5寿和
Operating hours: 11.00am to 10.00pm (Daily)
Website: https://www.gindaco.com/
Contact No.: +81 3 5775 1788
A four storey Daiso stall at Takeshita Street!!!
Other shops at Takeshita Street.
My dinner for the day is gyoza. Yes, just gyoza will do. I was still very full from the snacks eaten at Takeshita Street. From Takeshita Street, I walked to Gyozarou and queue for about 20 minutes.
Once inside, I ordered the original pan-fried dumplings (6 pieces) for JPY290. English menus are available at this restaurant. Complimentary cold water was served which was just perfect after an entire day of walking. The pan-fried dumplings (gyoza) was really delicious. Even though it looked a little burnt, the inside of the gyoza was so juicy. The skin was finely thin yet smooth. The taste was just marvelous. I would say this was one of the best gyoza that I have ever eaten.
Gyozarou
Address: Japan, 〒150-0001 Tokyo, 渋谷区Jingumae, 6−2−4
Operating hours: 11.30am - 4.30 am (Monday - Saturday), 11.30am - 11.00pm (Sundays)
Contact No.: +81 3 3406 4743
So, that was the end of my first vacation day in Japan. I need to catch the train back to Yokohama and tomorrow will be a full day of exploring Yokohama.
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