To meet a Ninja and learn his/her magical method might be one of your dream.
There is a hidden spot in Tokyo, where we can meet some Ninja and enjoy nice dining experience as well.
Ninja Akasaka is located near Akasaka-mitsuke subway station in central Tokyo, not far from the official residence of Prime Minister of Japan. We often visit the area where we can find some other interesting restaurants such as produced Umaya by a Kabuki actor. But we have overlooked the house of Ninja for long years as the entrance exists almost in hidden location. Ninja Akasaka is on the ground floor of Akasaka Tokyu Plaza, where Akasaka Excel Tokyu Hotel is accommodated. The building can be found easily by anyone when they get out from Akasaka-mitsuke subway station. But it is not easy to find the entrance of Ninja Akasaka.
Anyway, before looking for the entrance, we strongly recommend you make a reservation for Ninja Akasaka, because the restaurant is quite popular and is likely to be fully booked for every evening. Reservation is available from the official website here.
Well from here, it is our visit report....
Once we arrived at the restaurant, a couple of Ninja welcomed us and showed the way to our reserved dining table.
But on the way to the table, we were asked to take small training to be more familiar with the world of Ninja. Hahaha. Don't worry that was not so hard.
When we were finally seated, we got "a scroll" which is called "menu" in ordinary restaurants. To look at each of food descriptions on the scroll was fun, because most of them can never be found in any other restaurants. For example, "Shuriken star-blades grissini", Snow crab and grapefruit served "with a sword trick" etc.
At Ninja restaurant, we were also asked to have "another training to find a call bell hidden around our table." That was another fun experience even though it was too hard for us. Hahaha...
We have not been enough trained yet to be a Ninja!
We would NOT like to tell you so much about this restaurant, because that may spoil your surprising opportunities there. So we won't tell you so much but it was really joyful moment for sure.
We will show you a few more pieces of what we saw there.
One of icon menus, "Shuriken star-blades grissini" .
Treasure box served as ...
A cocktail served by a bowl for "goldfish"
Ninja restaurant hires cooks from different fields such as Japanese, Chinese, French etc.
So all the menu sounds innovative and interesting to enjoy the world of Ninja at the same time the food is in good quality. It also offers some alternative cuisine menu for vegetarians and other with food diet restriction.
Their Ninja have served some VIP guests from the world. And the plates satisfied even such people.
It's quite worth to visit there (with reservation!!) for having one of exciting moments in Tokyo.
Restaurant name: NInja Akasaka
Address: 1st floor, Akasaka Tokyu Plaza, 2-14-3 Nagata-cho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo
Official website: http://www.ninjaakasaka.com
3 years ago we introduced the first unit of “Genka Bar” in Gotanda.
Charging system of the bar is unique. You can purchase your drink & food at “NET price”, ONCE you have paid “entrance fee.”
Genka Bar Ginza is located in the middle of Corridor street, popuar dining area among locals. We can find a plenty of nice restaurants and bars along a street between JR Yurakucho and Shimbashi stations on west end of Ginza.
Compared with other Genka Bar units, in Gotanda and Akasaka, the Ginza unit offers upscale service, quality and atmosphere in place of higher entrance fee Yen 2500 per person.
Food and drink menu are also upscale at Genka Bar Ginza but all are net price as same with other units.
For example, you will find some premium selections of Japanese and Scotch whisky at net prices...
Highland Ardmore Yen 140
Spyeside Glen Fiddich 12years Yen 140
Spyeside Macallan 18years Yen 720
Spyeside Macallan 25years Yen 4100
Japanese Taketsuru 21years Yen 410
Japanese Yoichi 20years Yen 810
Even though you do not have an idea of net prices of those alcohol drinks, if you know the average prices at ordinary bars, you will find the prices at Genka Bar are incredible as long as you forget the amount of entrance fee.
Food is selected depending on the season and to be well matched with the premium alcohol drinks, such as cheese imported from France, skewered vegetable etc. Many of them costs less than Yen500.
While we enjoy relaxing time at the unique charging system bar, it is nothing change with other peaceful cozy bars. When we find the prices of the menu, we realize that it is an unusual place in term of food and drink prices!! It is very kind to those who love alcohol. Just be careful not to drink TOO MUCH!!
Genka Bar Ginza is located on the 2nd floor of the building.
Please find the red sign of “原価BAR” to find the entrance door.
Bar name: Genka Bar Ginza (原価BAR GINZA)
Address: 2nd floor, 26th Paul Star building 7-2-14 Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo
Official website (Japanese): http://www.genkabar.jp
Menu for the Ginza unit :http://www.genkabar.jp/ginza_menu.html
What we are going to introduce today is unlike an ordinary restaurant.
The name includes surely a word “restaurant” and it provides (boxed) meal in its main hall. But probably it will be better to consider it as a “show place” rather than a place where you enjoy meal and drink.
Anyway as we found that it’s a fun place and provides amazing entertainment for adults, we would like to introduce the venue as an option to enjoy a moment in Tokyo.
Robot restaurant is situated in the middle of Kabukicho (歌舞伎町). The area is five minutes walk from Shinjuku station. It is known as “red-light” district among locals. Usually females and kids are unlikely to drop in the area. However Robot Restaurant is the 16th most popular tourist spot among international travelers visiting Japan, according to Tripadvisor.
So why not to go there?!
It’s an exception, where female can be welcomed, in Kabukicho.
The show provided 4 times a day and the number of seats are limited for each show. So we strongly recommend that you make a booking in advance through its website.
http://www.shinjuku-robot.com/
It has English version and reservation screen!! No worry to book.
At the entrance, some female robot can be found. From the entrance, it is filled with colorful and shiny decoration.
On the wall at the entrance, we can also find a lot of pictures capturing celebrities, artists or journalists visiting Robot Restaurant.
We arrived much earlier than the main show start, because we head that we can enjoy very much even at the waiting lounge before the main show.
That is true!!
The waiting lounge itself is so gorgeous and is worth to visiting it. As we arrived earlier, we could take the most comfortable armchairs.
At the waiting lounge, some light snacks and alcohol drink are offered. But you can stay even without ordering any item.
I ordered tequila to enjoy the wonderful moment.
Live music is also provided for a while. They look like also robot but maybe human who play nice peaceful music.
There we were also welcomed by a cute and small ROBOT called pleo.
After we fully enjoyed the waiting lounge. We were invited to downstairs where we can find the main show.
Even before its starting, I felt exciting at the dark floor with some colourful decoration.
Here we could put a few images of the show but they are not all.
For the rest, we won’t disclose as we want you to enjoy them by your own eyes.
The main show includes many different simple stories with amazing entertainment not only by robot but also by Japanese female dancers. For some people, the show could be felt like watching cheap comedy show on TV. But still it was fun and we had good time. And that exceeds our expectation much!!
If you want to enjoy with laughing and excitement for a couple of hours, while leaving your daily life and something annoying you, we recommend that you spend Yen 6000 and 2 hours at Robot Restaurant. But that is as long as you are a matured adult, because of the show by too sexy female dancers and taken place at the largest red-district in Japan.
After that, simply enjoy the show!!
Restaurant name: Robot Restaurant
Address: 1-7-1 Kabukicho, Shinjuku, Tokyo
Official website: http://www.shinjuku-robot.com
What kind of food do you image for "vegetable dishes"? something for vegans?
Marche de VinShu could change your impression on "vegetable dishes". The unique restaurant features vegetable cuisines that are not only for vegetarians but for everyone. It means the restaurant offers various dishes for which vegetables are used as main ingredients and which give pleasure to non-vegetarian diners. Their ingredients are not necessarily vegetable only. For most dishes, it places stress on good taste of vegetables.
One of the most significant examples is "daikon steak with miso paste" (大根の味噌焼きステーキ). Daikon is Japanese radish which is often used for Japanese traditional home cuisines like Oden. When it is cooked with low heat for long time, daikon appears with sweetness and very soft texture. Grill with miso paste could be the best way to enjoy the radish.
Sweet, tender and browned edge gives savory flavour
Usually we don't take such big portion of daikon at a time.
But this way of cooking makes us enjoy the dish and finish it.
Surely it can be a main dish as alternative to meat or fish.
For non-Japanese people, Marche de VinShu also gives a chance to try Japanese unique vegetable speices; daikon (大根) as above, yamaimo (山芋, yam potato), okura (オクラ, gombo), kyo-yasai (京野菜, vegetables from Kyoto).
At the same time, the restaurant provides plates that must be familiar for you. That might be another reason to visit the restaurant when you would like to take a break between times to discover Japanese cuisine.
For example...
Ratatouille and German potato,
both are good match with wine and other alcohol drinks.
The German potato is the restaurant's own style.
Well cooked potato brings sweet flavor.
Some of French speaker may notice the name includes "vin" (=wine in French language). Wine is the restaurant's second feature after vegetable dishes. In same way with food menu, Marche de VinShu put worldwide selections for wine from France, Italy to South Americas. Particularly we suggest that you try Japanese wine from different regions. The restaurant has selected good quality of Japanese wine based on their visit of wineries and tasting by own.
Marche de VinShu is located in Nishimbashi (Nihonbashi, 日本橋) and is very close to Mitsukoshi Department flagship store and Mandarin Oriental Hotel. It also less than 10 minutes drive from JR Tokyo station.
Restaurant name: Mache de VinShu
Address: B1 (underground) floor, 3-4-4 Nihonbashimuromachi, Chuo-ku, Tokyo
Official site (Japanese) : http://sake-dining.com/marche
Genka (原価) is a business term and it means "original cost price".
The bar, called Genka bar (cost price bar), offers an interesting system.
First at the entrance, guest is required to pay Yen 1500 for entrance. After that, all drinks and food menu are served at cost price.
Yes, that is true Let's us list up some of their menu with price.
Beer Asahi Super Dry regular pint - Yen 180
Cocktail Gin Tonic single size - Yen 90
Cocktail Martini single size - Yen 120
Whisky I.W.Harper - Yen 90
Scotch Whisky Lagavulin 16years - Yen 300
Potato chips - Yen 90
Salami and olives - Yen 150
Cheese platter - Yen 300
Sausage platter - Yen 300
Fois gras terrine - Yen 420
Surprising prices
The quality of food plates provided is as good as or even better than ones at other casual bars which charge much more. As long as you are ready to drink a few glasses, it is a wortwhile option.
Of course the more you take drinks and food, the more you get better total value.
Please be careful not to drink too much
The bar is only one minute walk from JR Gotanda station which is on JR Yamanote line. It is 3 stops from Shibuya and 2 stops from Shinagawa stations.
*************************** UPDATE December 2014 ***********************
Entrance fee
for Genka Bar Gotanda is now Yen 1600,
for the newer unit in Akasaka Mitsuke (Add: B1 floor, 3-21-17 Akasaka, Minato-ku) is Yen1800
We posted new report about the newest, upscale, Genka Bar Ginza. Please click here.
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Bar name: Genka Bar (原価BAR)
Address: 2-5-8 Nishi-Gotanda, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo
Website: http://www.genkabar.jp
"Rose Bakery" is not an ordinary style bakery where we can buy some bread. It is a cafe produced by a British lady Ms. Rose Carrarini and her French husband. The unit in Marunouchi Tokyo is their 6th one after Paris, London and Korea.
What is unique of Rose Bakery in Marunouchi is that the cafe is sharing the space with COMME des GARCONS brand boutique for which Ms. Rose Carrarini's sister-in-law (Ms. Rei Kawakubo) produces and design its products.
Marunouchi area, where luxury brand boutiques, many of them from Europe, stand by in a row along its main street, is just five minutes walk from JR Tokyo station. The space of COMME des GARCONS boutique is surrounded by white walls and ceiling. It is very modern that is well matched with COMME des GARCONS cloths. On the other hand, foods offered at Rose Bakery, like their cafes in other locations, are rather natural taste and traditional European dishes with a lot of vegetable menu, such as quiche, pancake, scone or carrot salad.
It also adds a bit Japanese flavor in its tea selection and pot.
"Campagne" bread on a board is one of the cafe's icon item.
It is baked in its original recipe and
served with butter by Lescure (French high quality butter producer) and rock salt in rose color.
Enjoy healthy and natural light meal, while looking at the latest fashion by COMMES des GARCONS.
Cafe name: Rose Bakery
Address: 1st floor Meiji Yasuda Seimei building, 2-1-1 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo
Website: http://rosebakery.jp/
Location map: http://rosebakery.jp/map.html
The global prestige car manufacturer Mercedes-Benz did open a cafe restaurant in its showroom in Roppongi (六本木), Tokyo last month. The German company named the whole two floors space facing Tokyo Midtown, as "Mercedes-Benz Connection", refering that the place is a connect point between autocars and people's lifestyle.
When we enter to the modern designed showroom, firtsly we found a large wooden table with electric outlets on it and a coffee shop counter next to high and big glass wall. The cafe space is called "DOWNSTAIRS".
The coffee provided there are as high quality as ones served at chain coffee shops like Starbucks.
The upper floor is a restaurant offering lunch and dinner and also opens as a bar until 4a.m. during weekend. For lunch time, it offers several choices of main dishes like pasta, meat or fish all include appetizer and dessert buffet. The price is NEVER expensive as much as Mercedes-Benz cars... It is quite reasonable price, less than Yen 2000.
Because the restaurant's dishes are produced by a chef who works for AW Kitchen, known for fine quality selection of vegetable ingredients, we are able to find colorful and healthy collections of fresh vegetable plates on the buffet table. Here we do not have to worry about nutritional balance, you cannot take less healthy meal.
What I took from the buffet board
Right: from dessert buffet, including pumpkin role cake, carrotte mousse
Main dish - pasta plate
Sauce with minched meat and turnip
Tokyo Tower and Midtown buildings are visible from the window side seats.
The cafe restaurant provides what ladies like in the globaly-known autocar showroom.
The comfortable space with high quality and well-designed funiture is also adding value to experience at the restaurant. It is an ideal place to take a break during shopping or visiting art museums or hanging with friends before going out for night entertainment in Roppongi.
************ UPDATE 14 January 2013 **************
As scheduled. Mercedes-Benz Connection restaurant & cafe was once closed on December 2012. And from 18 January 2013, the luxury autocar showroom will be moved to another location, just across a steert from the former location, and the restaurant & cafe will be also re-opened.
We will post a new report, when we visit the newer space.
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*The cafe and restaurant opens limited-time until December 2012.
Please do not miss a chance to try the modern and cool oasis in Roppongi.
Restaurant name: Mercedes-Benz Connection
DOWNSTAIRS (coffee shop)
UPSTAIRS (restaurant & bar)
Official site: http://www.mercedes-benz-connection.com
Address: 7-8-1 Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo
After mount hike in Takao (高尾), to make the most use of travelling far from central Tokyo, whether it is lunch or dinner time, we suggest a fantastic dining experience in Takao.
Website: http://www.ukai.co.jp/toriyama/
Accommodation in the area
From the end of April to the first week of May, it is one of the biggest holiday seasons in Japan, called "Golden Week". Along with four bank holidays, the 29th of April Day of Showa (previously known as Showa Emperor's birthday), the 3rd through to 5th of May Constitution Memorial Day, Green Day, Children's Day consecutively and weekends around, some people take a long holiday week and go out for vacation, outdoor activities or sightseeing. This year it is a bit different especially in Tohoku region where the best season of Sakura, cherry blossoms, falls in the Golden Week of May. Because of the natural disaster damage, less people visited cherry blossom spots in Tohoku, while many people across Japan rushed to the Pacific coast side for volunteer activities at damaged area.
Restaurant name: Nippon Shokudo (日本食堂)
Location: Gransta Dining, North Court, First floor of inside Tokyo station
Restaurant operator's site (in Japanese):
In addition to visit of Tsukiji Market (築地市場) wholesale area, we got a chance to dine at restaurants in the market site. In Tsukiji Market where the trades is mainly made for wholesale professionals, restaurants on site welcome not only market workers but also general visitors as their dining guests. That is why some restaurants have a long queue lines in front of them.
Among restaurants stand in a row and those are located on the ground floor of 10 buildings close to a car parking, a few hundreds meters away from the main gate, we selected Sushi Dai, one of the most popular restaurants in Tsukiji Market. For the restaurant Sushi Dai, it has NOT been rare that diners have to wait for a few hours to get a seat in the 12-seat counter Sushi restaurant. However when we visited the restaurant on a weekday of the last week on April 2011, only 4 people were waiting before us!! Finally we were seated after about 20 minutes waiting. What lucky we are !! In other words, it means, after the big earthquake on March 2011, Tsukiji Market restaurants also got negative impact on their business because of decreased number of both international and domestic tourists. Anyway, at least we got an advantage of the situation and we were happy financially to contribute to the restaurant's business.
The restaurant offer two sets menu; "Omakase course" (おまかせ, "trust chef" or chef's selections) and Jyou (上, literally meaning "Superior" but the restaurant humbly express in English as "Standard" course) On the entrance door, it hangs an information plate in English as well.