For our last full day in Tokyo, we decided to stick around our neighbourhood to explore. Besides housing the busiest railway station in the world, Shinjuku is a major metropolitan area of Tokyo. West of the station lies the immense skyscraper district, and east lies Kabukicho, the red light district. Within the immediate surroundings of the station, you'll find numerous department stores and restaurants. Basically, you'll never run out of things to do and see around Shinjuku.
For a quick breakfast, we popped into the convenience store across the street for some onigiri (which I dearly miss) and drinks.
On our way to our first destination, we walked through the infamous Omoide Yokocho. Direct translation: Memory Lane. Or better yet, "Piss Alley" as it's more commonly known among locals. I'll let you use your imaginations for where the name comes from.
Crammed within these alleyways are tiny bars, yakitori grills, and food stalls. It's a popular lively spot for salarymen to unwind after a long day at work. In the morning, not much is open.
What we came to see: the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building. It's a popular tourist attraction as they have two observation decks located on the 45th floor of each tower. Best part, it's free!
This is possibly the cutest thing I saw in all of Japan. Daycare workers transporting little ones in the coolest strollers ever.
I'm normally afraid of heights but it wasn't so bad since the windows don't go all the way down to the floor. I was just amazed that the city is so dense.
The observation floor also had a cafe and two gift shops for you to browse through.
One more picture of the view for good measure.
Getting a bit peckish, we headed for lunch at Shin Udon, a popular but tiny 10-seat restaurant located equidistant from the government building and Shinjuku station. We arrived a little past opening and were greeted with a short line out front.
To get served a little faster, we split into groups of two and three. It's pretty impossible to come here with a large group as there's only 6 stools at the counter, and two tables of two. To expedite the line, menus are given out and orders are taken in advance.
Shin Udon makes their udon in house, and boils them fresh upon order. You can order it cold (zaru udon) or hot (kake udon), with various toppings.
I went for the cold udon with tempura, a set that cost ¥1300. The udon is cooled after cooking and served with a side katsuobushi dipping sauce. You can tell the udon was super fresh with its chewy, bouncy texture. Unfortunately the sauce was a bit muted and could've used more flavour. The assorted tempura was piping hot and deliciously crisp. A good contrast to the cold udon. Included in the mix were two shrimps, eggplant, yam, and a shishito pepper.
Both my sister and my mom went for the hot soy sauce udon with a soft boiled egg tempura and pork fillet (¥1200). I'll just let the egg do the talking.
Since KN and her mom ate and left before us, we hung out at a nearby convenience store while waiting to regroup. My mom bought an ice cream for dessert, more specifically the Häagen-Dazs Crunchy Crunch Coconut ice cream bar.
Best. Ice. Cream. Bar. Ever. If only these were available outside of Japan!
Another quick food stop -- Gontran Cherrier, a French bakery located super close to one of the main exits of Shinjuku station. We didn't plan to go here but the sight of carbs persuaded us.
Picked up a couple of croissants and a kouign-amann for next day's breakfast. I was trying a kouign-amann for the first time and it's certainly a once-in-a-while treat. Sweet and sticky. Think a caramelized croissant if you will.
One of the central exits of Shinjuku Station. Packed no matter the time of day.
Spotted my boyfriend in Japan. No, not Thomas the Train.
Cars coming and going.
We spent the next few hours exploring the many department stores in the area. Japanese stationary = love.
For dinner, we headed out pretty late, hoping to go to a cheap yakitori place nearby. The restaurant occupied the 4th floor of a building, but we were stopped by a guy on the main floor who told us the restaurant had a 2-hour wait time. He suggested we go to the restaurant located downstairs instead, even offering us 10% discount coupons. I was a bit iffy on his intentions as it seemed his job was primarily to steal customers away. In my head I wanted to leave, but with the language barrier and not having a plan B, we decided to follow him anyways.
Thankfully, the restaurant wasn't super sketch. It was pretty busy, with a bar-like atmosphere and private dining rooms.
The menu was mainly yakitori and skewers, with some other appetizers. Pretty much what you'd expect from an izakaya. We started off with gyoza.
Chicken kaarage.
And an 8-set yakitori sampler. I couldn't tell you exactly what we ate as there was definitely some interesting things included. Besides the more safe chicken thigh and tsukune (chicken meatball), there was definitely some cartilage, some intestines, and some organs. The cartilage wasn't my cup of tea as it had a weird crunchy texture but the rest wasn't as bad as I expected.
In the end, I still think we were being ripped off as the English menu didn't list any prices. And those 10% discount coupons? Useless. Oh well, lesson learned for next time.
After dinner, we took the train to Roppongi to visit the Roppongi Hills Mori Tower. A giant spider sculpture greets you on your way there. Super creepy and intimidating in the night.
The tower has an observation deck which you can visit for an admission fee of ¥1800. Pretty pricey but it also includes admission to whichever exhibit they have going on at the same time. There's also an art museum and an open sky deck which you can go to for an additional fee. Our moms didn't think it was worth the admission price so the three of us headed up while they waited down below.
The beautiful view with Tokyo Tower all lit up. Although the nighttime view was amazing, it's hard to say whether visiting in the day or night would be better. At night, it was hard to get a good shot without any glare from the windows. Certainly possible though. I think next time I'd plan a visit to catch the view right before the sun has gone down to get the best of both worlds.
A Marvel exhibit was going on at the same time so there was a giant Iron Man on display, along with other movie artifacts as you make your way around the perimeter. Only certain areas were allowed to be photographed.
Trick shot. Iron Man walking through the city.
Out of all the observation decks and towers in Tokyo, Roppongi Hills is definitely the one I'd recommend visiting!
Until next time Tokyo! Hope to see you again. Up next, Kyoto!
- CT
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