Japan--who's got the hookup?

[DOR]

Yo Hogg!!!

I did Tokyo & Kyoto last April and it looks like I'm doing Japan again this April. My home boy DJ Serious is doing 3 months in Asia and I'm doing the first 3 weeks with him in Japan & Korea. All I can say is you're gonna have a blast!


I've got a billion pics, but here are some possible places to check out in Kyoto. Side note: When you walk into the subway in Kyoto. Hit up the info counter and pick up the free tourist maps they have. It will show all transit info (Subway, trains, buses) plus all main attractions. They really made everything a breeze to get around! I can't stress home much they came in handy! Plus, you can buy any transit passes you might wanna pick up from them that let you travel around for a few days with the one ticket. Cheaper, plus it makes it easier than trying to figure out prices each time you go somewhere.


Got off the train and this was the first thing I saw and needed to eat!

Kyoto has some wicked Zen Gardens!

Make sure to hit up Gion in Kyoto and be sure to get off the main streets and hit up the amazing backstreets that are simply beautiful. The realness is there...

If your lucky you'll run into some real Geisha's on their way to work. They are like rock stars on the streets.

Hit up the Fushimi Inari Shrine with the Torri Tunnels!!!

Oh shit, don't miss the Tenryu-Ji bamboo groves in back behind the temple grounds!!!!!!!!

Lots of good food!!

Everything under the sun with Green Tea/Matcha! Try to get a traditional Matcha/Green Tea Whisk thing done somewhere!!!

I'm missing my Tokyo pics right now (Cept this one). But you'll have zero problem finding things to see and do there...

Have a great time!!! OH, and if ur going with the gurl and really wanna knock her socks off and you got the cash and a bit of free time. Take her to a hot spring outside Tokyo. A good spot is a bit expensive, but shit is AMAZING!!!

 

[hogginthefogg]

Thanks, D-O-Aru! I'd heard about the Kyoto bus navigator guides and traveler info booth--glad to get a firsthand account of its awesomeness.

Great pics, too!

 

[hiptone]

hi,
Toritake is a nice Yakitori (kind of grilled chicken) bar near the Shibuya station. which is rather cheap (around 30bucks/person at night if eat & drink gently..) but great on taste. recommended.
http://shibuyachuogai.com/toritake/index.html
http://r.tabelog.com/tokyo/A1303/A130301/13001702/

do you have specific food you want to have?

 

[hogginthefogg]

Man, that karaage looks great! And I don't think we'll doing much drinking (sumimasen, Shig-San), so that would be very affordable.

As far as specific foods, wifey can't have namano sakana, but anything else is fair game. We're pretty open. Oh, and OKONOMIYAKIYA recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

Looking at those menu photos in your second link makes me realize that I'm gonna have a tough time not knowing kanji! At least the words "yakitori" and "unagi" are in hiragana on the sign.

 

[Swayze]

OKONOMIYAKI

Yo, just so you know. It's pretty well known in Japan that Kansai rocks the best okonomiyaki.

 

[grandpa_shig]

i got 2 words for u

RAMEN

its like maybe 8-9 us dollars prolly even cheaper. found everywhere. there is also a ramen museum in yokohama that you might want to look into.

rice balls at the combini are about $2 good for lunch or snack and the drinks are great. not too sweet and they have a bunch of gatorade type thingies with "amino acids" although i could never tell if that was true or not. the kiosks at the train station are reasonable or comparable to combinis. itll most likely be cold and there are sodacan hot drinks and hot drink vending machines that fucken rule.

breakfast is gon be hard to come by if youre used to traditional western style. there are bakeries that are ok and theyre always in the dept stores and grocery stores.

careful of the okonomiyaki cuz it traditionally has fish in it. octopus and what nots.

there are all kinds of curry shops that are basically fast food joints. if u gotta gotta go western, id suggest mosburger. there may be some newfangled burger thing in tokyo now, but i remember mosburger being delicious.

there are tonkatsu houses that fry everything from pork chops to oysters. mmmmm. the ase-man mentioned izakayas which are like japanese tapas. hint: those arent chicken nuggets, its nosebone cartilege and shit. but yeah, bar atmosphere with tasty plates of food.

there is a big flea market in yoyogi park on the weekends. vintage american and some old japanese stuff for fairly cheap. i mean, it is all quality shit of course but its reasonable and not any more than you would pay here at a vintage shop. clothes, bric-a-brac

, records all kinds of shit. and by shit i mean good stuff.

im pretty sure this is all over japan but the busking scene in places like shibuya and stuff are ridiculous. jazz bands, noise bands, u never know. its kinda cool to just walk around.

hmm, i'll try and think of some more cheap fun stuff for u. keeping in mind youre preggers.

 

[grandpa_shig]

oh i forgot its gon be freezing cold when youre there. might not be much busking and stuff. also, could u do me a favor? could u try a banana milk at the 7-11 and pour some out on the curb for me. i miss that stuff. oishikatta desss.

 

[hogginthefogg]

You nerds are helpful--really, you are--but I've found that when I need lots and lots of info, I have to turn to far nerdier forums, like this Kyoto Survival Guide from a Magic The Gathering forum.

 

[DOR]

Speaking of cheap eats in Kyoto.

Does anyone know the name of this chain from the logo on the bowl?

I wanna go back in April. I know it's like going to Burger king or some shit.

But damn that was a good cheap meal when I was dead from walking for 10 hours...

 

[cas]

Magic The Gathering

^^TRUE HOBBIES REVEALED^^

 

[johmbolaya]

Never been to Japan, has always been a dream of mine since a kid.

But I did find this cover on a blog a few seconds ago:

 

[NachoManCandySandwich]

Speaking of cheap eats in Kyoto.

Does anyone know the name of this chain from the logo on the bowl?

I wanna go back in April. I know it's like going to Burger king or some shit.

But damn that was a good cheap meal when I was dead from walking for 10 hours...

Yup, that's "Nakau." Not too bad every once in a while.
~~~~~~~~~
Hogg, if you like curry, I always recommend visitors try "Moyan Curry " in Shinjuku or Ikebukuro. There's only 3 stores to their chain. It's my favorite curry place in all of Tokyo, aside from real authentic Indian places like A-RAJ in Higashi-Ikebukuro or Thai restaurants. Lemme know if you're interested and can't figure out where they are.

 

[NachoManCandySandwich]

Yr hotel is close walk to K-Towns, Okubo and Shin-Okubo. Good eats to be had there fir Korean style pork barbeques (like yakiniku, basically) and good Chijimis or whatever.

Also, you're just a straight shot North of Shinjuku Gyoen, which if you have day you're a bit tsukareta-ed I can't recommend a laydown halfnap on their grass more. It's such a beautiful park. Look out, however because it closes at 4:30 pm everyday, and does cost 200 yen or so to get in. Beautiful gardens and what not.

If you leave Tokyo withou checking out that park, it would be a real pity.

 

[hogginthefogg]

You're right--we're very close to Shinjuku Gyoen (and I appreciate a recommendation for HIGASHI-Shinjuku; everything I find seems to be in Nishi-Shinjuku).

The one downer is that it looks like it'll be raining (and cold) while we're there, so no park naps for us.

And we love Indian curry, but aren't super into the Japanese version. (And the "cheese curry" listed on Moyan's menu sounds...chotto.....)

 

[NachoManCandySandwich]

Yes, I hear you on the Japanese version, as it can end up just being a sweeter, blander roux compared to the awesome world of flavor of Indian or thai or Malaysian curries.

BUT...Moyan is a really unique pan-Asian type of curry flavor that has more going on than any other typical Japanese curry you'll ever try. One of the reasons why I'm not the only Moyan-addict I know, gaijin and otherwise. It's like a Japanese masala where you choose the spice level you want, from 1 to 20 (anything over 10 they only recommend for "spice maniacs"). It's one of those places where they just "do things right" and I haven't had anyone not thoroughly enjoy their meal--usually for about ten bucks or less.

Not to go on too long about it, but yeah...that's a tasty curry.

Try "Ban-Thai" in Kabukicho for very good Thai. The bento.com review doesn't have anything good to say about it, but they're sorely mistaken.

Higashi shinjuku is way more interesting than Nishi, especially after dark (aside from real near the station), but they're so close a walk that there's not much need to delineate.

 

[hiptone]

here's OKONOMIYAKI recommendation!

i believe the best place to enjoy OKONOMIYAKI is OSAKA or HIROSHIMA. but as far as Tokyo, that's definitely Tsukishima which is 30min from Shibuya by subway. Tsukishima is famous for MONJA (kinda cousin of OKONOMIYAKI). known as Monja town. there are 30-50 or more MONJA/ OKONOMIYAKI restaurant. though i don't know which is the best, all restaurants seems to be in pretty high level on taste cause i've never failed there.
usually MONJA restaurants serve OKONOMIYAKI too.

http://photograph.kensuke.net/archives/0023_tsukishima/06.html
http://tkss.jp/pjn/archives/2006/10/25235739.php

enjoy!

 

[DOR]

A years worth of Japanese Food in Tokyo brought to you by The tokyo stormtrooper lol

 

[hogginthefogg]

Update: Yokohama is magical.

 

[hogginthefogg]

UPDATE: Trip of a lifetime. So many photos and stories--here are a couple (mainly food-related):

Toro Niku (from pig's cheek, a la fatty tuna) from Takaraya Ramen in Kyoto:

We ate there two nights in a row--unbelievable.

And lots of Okonomiyaki:

These two look gross, but were great:

Best part is that they're from a restaurant called...

We even had an okonomiyaki DONUT (cabbage inside--and yes, that's katsuoboshi 'pon top):

Don't sleep on green tea desserts:

Vending machine waffle-encased caramel ice cream:

Speaking of machines, Tommy Lee Jones is a BOWSE:

Yatsuhashi, the Kyoto Treat:

Early sakura at Kiyomizudera:

Some of those Nara deer are gangster:

And some are not:

Strolling in Kyoto:

Gotta include a few classique signs:

^^^^Clothing store; did not deliver.

And because it wouldn't be Soulstrut without samples (man, plastic food is expensive):

Thanks to everyone who helped with tips!

 

[Brian]

Cool pictures man. I haven't been back to the motherland since I was like 10