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Old 23 Mar 17, 09:10 PM  
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Hannikins
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Bucket List or Bust! - Tokyo & Shanghai - November 2016 - Day 6

Bucket List or Bust! - Tokyo & Shanghai - November 2016 - Day 6

today was glorious!

Well I won’t get carried away, it was still a little chilly but the sun was shining and since I had a day of mainly outdoor activities planned this was a blessing.

Sadly the hotel didn’t serve breakfast so we ate a few of the biscuits we had stashed from the plane again and set off.

Our plan was to visit the senso-ji template area first in order to beat the crowds. I had the wifi device with me today so I connected to work out which train line to take. I used an app called navitime japan mainly for this which was a great app. I helped work out the quickest route but also just as importantly the price. Changing train may save you 5 minutes but if you’re jumping between separately owned train companies the cost can be more than double! (although it did take me a few days to work out that some of the numbers shown on bigger stations were platform numbers, that would have been even more helpful to know earlier on!).

Having the Wifi certainly helped, and was a bargain at a tenner for the whole trip! I’d expected it to be a naff device but it was one of the high-end ones I’d been quoted a lot more for previously, I’m still puzzled how Klook can be making any money from it.Although I wasn’t sure how long the battery would last so I kept turning it on and off again for a few days, I didn’t need to, as long as I kept it to navigation and info lookups and didn’t rinse it on Facebook etc it was fine for the whole day).

When leaving the train station I spotted a drinks machine.



I still hadn’t had my morning drink so I suggested to Adam we grab something. You can use your suica cards for this at most machines so it was very handy to have so you aren’t faffing with change.



We arrived VERY early to the senso-ji area and from the train station made our way through the streets to the temple. It’s very well signposted as well as having torii gates the whole way.





The temple was lovely and quiet and it was great to explore in the low morning light.













The only negative I would say is that the stalls leading up to it were only just setting up when we arrived. I suggested we grab a snack from one but Adam wasn’t keen so we carried on.





I left Adam taking photos here and went to grab a fortune. You make a donation and shake the tin until a wooden stick comes out. On the stick in a number which corresponds to one of the drawers, in which, is your fortune.



Unfortunately I got a BAD fortune, booooo. I particularly disliked the advice not to start a trip…. bit late for that!



So in order to make sure it didn’t come to pass and appease the spirits I tied it to the gate and went in search of Adam







Next we took the train one stop to Ueno Park to explore.

Considering it was a Saturday I thought it was pretty quiet, although again, it was early.

Unfortunately this isn’t really a great place to visit in autumn, It’s beautiful lily pads are all but done.



On the way to visit the temple we passed the two american girls from yesterday, small world! We caught up on the experience yesterday and joked we’d probably see each other again in the holiday at this rate!

I had heard of a nice shopping area near here called Ameya Yokocho so we headed over. It was a great mixed of market stalls, shops and eateries.

I think if we’d been later in the day we may have stopped at a few for lunch as it was I didn’t fancy a Turkish kebab or sushi for breakfast!

There’s a nice little gallery of the place here: likeafishinwater/2013/02/26/ameya-yokocho/
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Nov 16-Shanghai & Japan - In Progress
Nov 15-Hong Kong & Singapore - Coming Soon!
June 15-Rome & Florence
Dec 14-WDW | 13-WDW | 12-DLP | 12-NY&DC | 11-West Coast | 10-DLP | 09-WDW

Edited at 09:13 PM.
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Old 23 Mar 17, 09:11 PM  
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Hannikins
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theDIBB Guidebook
Pages Created: 6
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Next up was the imperial palace. My guide map gave me rough directions but the train station wasn’t that close so we had a bit of a walk to the entrance.



MASSES of people were heading in the same direction, clearly the rest of the world had woken up and were joining us.



Today really was beautiful and we took our time strolling around the outside.











Unfortunately I hadn’t been able to secure guided tour tickets, we hadn’t been quick enough as they went MONTHS in advance so instead we made our way to the east gardens which you can enter.

On the way I walked under a tree and Adam stopped dead in his tracks staring above my head. I looked up to see this monster



ARGH!

there were loads of these big buggers when you really looked, we both kept out of the treeline after that as we made our way through the entranceway.





Within the east gardens was a beautiful open grass area, we grabbed yet another drink each from a vending machine and sat down on the grass for a rest and some people watching









Afterwards we walked around some of the other garden areas, it really is beautiful and worth a visit.



















We were both a little peckish by now so we decided to go in search of lunch, for this we took the train to Ginza as I had a specific place in mind

Kyushu Jangara for Ramen!



I’d heard about this place on a blog and they have a few within Tokyo. Judging by the queue of workmen outside it was obviously VERY popular.

Even though the queue was large (it was 12.30 after all) we didn’t wait long and we were soon inside. As with most ramen joints you order when you enter before taking your seat.



I pointed at what we both wanted and ordered in Japanese, I was VERY pleased with myself, I think even Adam was a little impressed

We were seated on a long low table along with the other workmen as they slurped away on their yummy ramen (2,300 yen)



Shortly afterwards our food arrived and we dug in too, It was yummy and I added lots of extra chilli and ginger to mine.



Both had a slightly different base, I think Adam’s was a lot richer and darker than mine but still very tasty.



Quick food stop over and very full we thanked the guy (in japanese again of course :P ) and headed out.
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Nov 16-Shanghai & Japan - In Progress
Nov 15-Hong Kong & Singapore - Coming Soon!
June 15-Rome & Florence
Dec 14-WDW | 13-WDW | 12-DLP | 12-NY&DC | 11-West Coast | 10-DLP | 09-WDW

Edited at 09:15 PM.
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Old 23 Mar 17, 09:11 PM  
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Hannikins
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theDIBB Guidebook
Pages Created: 6
Guidebook Photos: 135
Next I wanted to check out a few shops in Ginza, In particular Itoya.





This was like stationery heaven as I think I mentioned in my pretrippy. It is expensive though and some of the things I bought I found in other shops later on in the trip so it’s in no way exclusive in that regard.

I spent ages in here and at the point where Adam lost the will to live (when we reach the 2017 calendar floor, yes, a whole FLOOR of calendars) I paid up and headed out.

Schedule-wise we were doing pretty darn well and had covered a lot of ground. Next we jumped on the train and headed further west towards Shinjuku. I had heard that the Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden was a great place to visit in the autumn and I wanted to see some of the foliage for myself.

There is a fee to enter but I think it’s more than worth it (200yen).

It reminded me a lot of central park and one in Paris that I’ve completely forgotten the name of. By now the sun was starting to set so we were getting much better lighting for photos too.







The maples were in full foliage and many people were stopping to take selfies in front of them







They were so impressive, I don’t think the pictures really do the colours justice.



On the way out Adam ask if we had anywhere else to go, I told him just one more shop and took him to Tokyo hands a short walk away.



Now again “one more shop” really doesn’t do this place justice, it’s like a mall of shops in its own right!

I left Adam looking at gloves and Christmas decorations whilst I picked up yet more stationery and some gifts within the homeware section. It also attached to a mall with a big food hall downstairs. At this time of day 3/4 ish they were selling off most of the fresh food and ridiculously low prices. I think I worked out and enormous sushi platter was going for approx 3 pounds! If we weren’t heading out for a special dinner I would have been very tempted!

By now we were both a little pooped so we headed back to the hotel for some R&R, stopping at Starbucks for a hot chocolate on the way (2 large 1,101 yen).

I have to admit after a shower and the hot chocolate I did nod off in the lovely flannel Pj’s they give you (I need a pair of these in my life!), I woke up an hour later to this at the end of the bed



That’s the problem with a small room, there’s not much room to move, let allow iron a shirt!
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Nov 16-Shanghai & Japan - In Progress
Nov 15-Hong Kong & Singapore - Coming Soon!
June 15-Rome & Florence
Dec 14-WDW | 13-WDW | 12-DLP | 12-NY&DC | 11-West Coast | 10-DLP | 09-WDW

Edited at 09:19 PM.
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Old 23 Mar 17, 09:11 PM  
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Hannikins
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Tonight was our “special” holiday meal. If you’ve read by trip pies previously you’ll know we tend to try and find one really special place to have a meal on each holiday. It’s our christmas pressie to each other as we don’t do gifts.

Tonight we were off to Tapas Molecular Bar at the Mandarin Oriental. I’d read about it on a few blogs and the food looked amazing. The number 1 position on trip advisor didn’t hurt either. I had to ring months in advance and provide credit card details in order to secure the booking as they only have 8 covers per seating, and they have 2 a night. This being a saturday I was lucky to get in.

We set off in plenty of time (I’d learnt my lesson from yesterday! ) and as we arrived early we were seated in the bar first, where we ordered a cocktail each and watched the previously seating finishing off at the bar.



It’s worth coming just for a cocktail in the bar, the prices are eye watering but the views are amazing











We were soon led over to our seats, as we were first we grabbed a prime spot at the front

On sitting down we were instantly intrigued by the place setting in front of us.



With everyone seated our chefs came out. I was delighted to see that as it was a saturday we had the main man himself tonight.

He went on to explain a little about what we were about to taste and explained more about what was in front of us.

(NOTE: don’t worry about spoilers if you are considering a visit, it changes completely every 3 months so you won’t be eating the same as us)

The wrap was our napkin and inside was a tool box. The “Pill” in front of us we were instructed to pour water over, which we did. And it turned into a hand towel!



At this point our drinks arrived.

A beer for Adam



and a singapore sling for me



Inside the toolbox were our “tools” for the evening



We were asked first to examine the tape measure. To everyone’s delight it turned out to be tonights menu, and boy was it a long one!



Our first course was Gazpacho, which they started to make in front of us



it’s worth pointing out that most of the prep happens in advance, the bits you see is the “show” as they finish everything off



This was interesting, it had been made fizzy afterwards via a soda stream so that mean’t when you bit into the tomato it exploded in your mouth. I’m glad he warned us!

Next came the chefs take on a Nicoise





For this he’d used all the classic ingredients but made it looks like sushi



The green on top for example was beans rather than wasabi

The rice? Potato



The chef and his assistant were great throughtout, letting us experience the dish before telling us what it comprised of and in some cases giving us further info on the providence of each ingredient and it’s place in Japanese cuisine.

Next came the waffles



These were served with Caviar and creme fraiche. Now I’ve had some bad caviar in my time, this was not one of them!



look how delicate it is!



Next up was “cheesy potato”

I can’t exactly remember the quirk in this though :/





Whilst we were eating Chef place a smoking box on the bar top.



We were instantly given a blast of rich smokey flavour, even more so when the chefs assistant opened the box



Inside?

Cigars!



Now obviously we knew that nothing is ever what it seems here so we were intrigued



We soon discovered that it was a pork spring roll with Sesame “ash” to dip it into. AMAZING!

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Nov 16-Shanghai & Japan - In Progress
Nov 15-Hong Kong & Singapore - Coming Soon!
June 15-Rome & Florence
Dec 14-WDW | 13-WDW | 12-DLP | 12-NY&DC | 11-West Coast | 10-DLP | 09-WDW

Edited at 09:20 PM.
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Old 23 Mar 17, 09:12 PM  
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Hannikins
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Next up came a chowder









The idea here was that you “made your own” when they poured the sauce over it





VERY yum



So far I was liking that even though it was really all about the “show” the food still tasted amazing and truly reflected it’s Michelin star.


Then came the “Onsen Tamago”





Now this looked pretty normal…





except that’s not an egg…

It’s a pumpkin puree INSIDE tofu…. the mind boggles. He explained how he did it but even then I couldn’t figure it out!

Next came a “Sauna”

This consisted of a shrimp broth made in a vacuum







and kuruma ebi (a prawn basically)



These were cooked in a sauna over red hot coals



for 10 seconds



Voila!





This included something I never even knew was a “thing”, sea grapes!



Next came “Chicken Pie”





and for this, we used our “shovel”



It certainly tasted like a homely chicken pot pie, even though there was no visible pie crust, the flavour was there, again, no idea how!

Next, we had a “Bee Hive”





This was wagyu beef in honey with a “beehive” (can’t remember what was in here, some “offal” of some sort.)

We were now at our final “main course” and I was REALLY full by this point.

It was BBQ Rib with coleslaw and “beer”

The “coleslaw” was made in liquid nitrogen to make it cold and crispy





and the “ribs” were finished off at the bar



I can’t remember what the “beer” was…. it wasn’t beer though I know that!





The rib was AMAZING! it had been cooked on a cinnamon stick which had really added to the amazing flavour.

We were onto the next part of the meal now. “Breakfast”







Except obviously, it’s NOT breakfast

That is, in fact, a raspberry jam cheesecake sausage. A mango and coconut egg and “toast” flavoured ice cream.

And it tasted as amazing as it looked.

Dessert time to finish, this was an “Instant Fondant” using the good old liquid nitrogen







You really had to be quick eating this before it melted again





Our “palette cleanser” was a Caprese salad



Tomato ice and jelly cheese :P



The final course was called “After Eight” and these were mini mint chocolate meringues.

These were again done in nitrogen and it’s a bit of a party piece and so they are served on a wooden spike so you don’t have to touch them and burn yourself for long



The guy next to me had had the wine pairing option and was by this point completely sozzled.

He tried to eat the wood as well, he really wasn’t getting it nothing like watching a ≈≈≈≈≈≈ man try and break his teeth on solid wood, plonker!

The idea is that as you bite into it you breathe out through your nose, and it comes out as smoke. They gave us several turns so we could video the effects

In total, the meal took nearly three hours. Our chef stayed to answer our questions and people gradually started to leave. I nipped to the restrooms and had this lovely view whilst Adam sorted the bill



All in all an amazing experience, and one I would love to repeat. Cost wise it wasn’t the worst we’ve ever had all things considered (£330). And I thoroughly recommend it!

We were both shattered and headed straight back to the hotel via the metro, luckily it wasn’t far and I was soon in my beloved hotel PJ’s :P
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Nov 16-Shanghai & Japan - In Progress
Nov 15-Hong Kong & Singapore - Coming Soon!
June 15-Rome & Florence
Dec 14-WDW | 13-WDW | 12-DLP | 12-NY&DC | 11-West Coast | 10-DLP | 09-WDW

Edited at 09:22 PM.
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Old 23 Mar 17, 10:08 PM  
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kevin_cambs_uk
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You make me remember so many great things about Japan
I had forgotten about our visit to itoya!

Again a great write up
Thanks again some great ideas for me next time
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Old 24 Mar 17, 02:55 PM  
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janewah
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So beautiful. That restaurant is insane! X
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Old 26 Mar 17, 08:04 AM  
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Nesbits
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Did the roast ice cream taste of toast?

Lovely park.

What is it about girls/women and stationery?
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Old 26 Mar 17, 02:17 PM  
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Hannikins
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Originally Posted by kevin_cambs_uk View Post
You make me remember so many great things about Japan
I had forgotten about our visit to itoya!

Again a great write up
Thanks again some great ideas for me next time
happy planning!

Originally Posted by janewah View Post
So beautiful. That restaurant is insane! X
very, I would love to go back

Originally Posted by Nesbits View Post
Did the roast ice cream taste of toast?

Lovely park.

What is it about girls/women and stationery?
Yes, it had loads of melba toast in it so it really did!

I think it's the organising, we can't help ourselves
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Old 27 Mar 17, 11:40 AM  
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Wow. That meal was something else . Very Heston Blumenthal but better .
I fact doesn't The mandarin oriental in London have a Heston restaurant ?
Great day
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