Tuyen's Blog

Posts for Tag: tokyo

Shinkansen Bento Meal

We are off to Kyoto after our one night layover in Tokyo. Taking the Shinkansen and, of course, had to get our ekiben.

We picked up our box lunches at Ekiben-ya Matsuri in Tokyo Station. The place is awesome and a madhouse. Constant steam of travelers pushing their way through the shop. So many bentos to choose from and a new revelation to me - miso soup in a can that was still hot!

So my daughter chose a panda bento with a cute lunch bag. I chose the wagyu bento and my wife got the crab deluxe one. Each one made with great detail and good sized portions. We were all completely stuffed by the time we got to Kyoto!

First meal in Tokyo - Misokatsu Yabaton

After leaving Narita Airport, we headed to Ginza which has become our HQ in Tokyo. We’re only here for a day before heading to Kyoto but will be back in Tokyo for a few days before we leave for the US.

Checked into our hotel a little late and found ourselves hungry. Luckily this place was open and a block away - Misokatsu Yabaton. It was a cozy, welcoming place with a mix of modern and homey appeal. Friendly, impeccable service (English menus available) which is the norm in Japan.

They serve mainly fried dishes but their speciality is the pork cutlet. Different than your standard tonkotsu restaurants like Maizen because of the miso based sauce. Everything was perfectly cooked and though fried, never felt greasy. Jumbo prawn was huge! Plus freshly chopped negi (green onion) was a nice accompaniment to the fried items.

Back in Japan for Presidents Week 2018

Surprised baby girl with a trip to Japan for Presidents Week. We previously went in the summer which was very hot so decided to see what it was like in the winter. So far, pretty cold but not unbearable. Think Tahoe level cold, not Chicago cold.

We flew into Tokyo on a great deal with Japan Airlines so it was an easy decision. Only catch was we had to leave from Los Angeles instead of SFO but even with the cost of the trip down to LAX, it was still a bargain.

Will post more as we get settled. For now, here’s some bullet train action.

Off to Kyoto!

We took the bullet train to Kyoto. Went to a bento emporium in Tokyo Station called Ekibenya Matsuri. Had probably 50 different types to choose from. They even had one with a pull tab that heats up your food!

Department Store Eating

Our last meals in Tokyo were at the shopping malls. First I went to a 3rd wave coffee shop called "Be A Good Neighbor" which was in the Tokyo Skytree mall. Quite good and on par with shops like Blue Bottle.


We then hit the food court and had awesome udon. You get a base bowl of noodles and broth which you then can load up with toppings. This particular bowl had a tempura soft boiled egg and chicken karaage on the side. Our other bowl came with an onion and little shrimp tempura basket.


For dinner we had hand made soba at one of the finer malls in Ginza. Was quite a contrast to tenzaru soba in the US. The icing on the cake was a pot of soba water which you poured into your dipping sauce after you're done eating and drink like a savory tea.