Tokyo…two days, too short
Kabukicho
Over the weekend we had the chance to visit Tokyo, the capital of Japan and one of the most vibrant cities in the world. And a weekend is not enough to enjoy the sights and soak in the excitement and energy of this city. We arrived late on a Friday night (almost midnight) hungry and very keen to experience this city straight away! We dropped our luggage and went for our late dinner/midnight snack. Our hotel was in the west side of Shinjuku area, also known as the Skyscraper district, where you will find Tokyo’s tallest buildings and the Metropolitan Government Offices. So on a Friday night/weekend the restaurants in this area are shut early. We were fortunate to be in the company of a proud ex-Tokyo resident and our first stop did not fail to impress our hungry palate. She took us to Zekkocyouteppen – a famous Japanese grill restaurant and part of the Z-Teppen group of restaurants. I liked the philosophy of the restaurant – if you are a dreamer come to this place and dream your dreams…they have groomed their staff members to become restaurant owners themselves and hence maintaining similar food and energy worth experiencing whilst visiting their restaurant. So I better show you some photos of what I experienced at the dinner bar.
Our chef – taking the order, whilst grilling and entertaining us
Some of the food we sampled over
The food was excellent! Fresh and delicious! I really enjoyed it as it was simply grilled food served with typical Japanese flair for presentation that was very tasteful as well. The area where the restaurant was is Kabukicho, described by Japan Guide.com as the “largest and wildest red light district” in Tokyo! And take my word for it, it was wild, they were not too keen on us girls though but they kept hounding my hubby… But don’t be put off by the area as it only made the experience all the more worth visiting.
View from our room, looking onto the Shinjuku Central Park
I love this sculpture – Adan y Eva
And then there was Shibuya, famous for the crossing and as the fashion centre for the young and trendy. I was looking forward to seeing this area as in the past when you talk about Tokyo it was always centred around “that crossing.”
Statue of Hachiko, the dog who waited for his master for over a decade after his death
And it is a famous meeting place. Now where were we supposed to meet again?
The flip side of it all
On our second night, after our rendezvous with Shibuya and the rest of Shinjuku around our hotel, we went back to the hotel late and hungry (yet again.) The concierge recommended a restaurant nearby – Fungo Dining. The meals were simple and delicious, the ambience cozy and beautiful.
My hubby had Grilled Fish and Scampi
I had Risotto Porcini
They had good wine selection, we had a New Zealander
Then we shared dessert (to lessen the guilt of indulgence)
On our last morning after a big breakfast at the hotel we wandered around the area, had a some refreshing gelati then in the afternoon we visited the Hyatt Regency for some late lunch. We opted for Caffe’ an Italian-inspired all-day dining restaurant. I was more intrigued by the decor than my meal (I need not say more.) They had a weekend ladies lunch special and the place was packed with groups of ladies in their kimonos.
I couldn’t help myself…and they happily obliged
Tokyo is such a vibrant city and like I said, two days is too short. We promised to come back as there was more to this city than just the busy streets of Shibuya and Harajuku.
Our Weird and Wonderful World 