About food in Japan

Tokyo Skytree view spot - Cielo y rio, Kuramae (蔵前)

Tokyo Skytree, the newest icon of Tokyo, opened last month. Although the 634-meter-high tower's main role is broadcasting transmission, many people are more attracted by the observation deck on 450 meters height from the ground. For the entrance until 10 July 2012, advance reservation is required and is almost sold out. On 11July or after, long queue for getting an entrance ticket is anticipated. Then let's think another way to enjoy the newest tourist spot of Tokyo.

A riverside cafe, Cielo y rio is one of such options, situating a stop away from Asakusa on Oedo and Asakusa subway lines. When the weather is fine, it is a nice stroll of 15 minutes along the Sumida river from Asakusa to the cafe in Kuramae (蔵前) area.

The interior decoration of Cielo y rio is totally different from what you can find in Asakusa, the most popular tourist spot of Tokyo. It is modern and very lovely everywhere.

       

The restaurant faces to Sumida river side widely and Tokyo Skytree on the other side of river is visible from the window side and outside terrace.

The menu is also far from ones in Asakusa. It offers Western style plates that match with the adorable decoration. Lunch set, available until afternoon, includes rice or bread as much as you can at reasonable price less than Yen 1000. The bistro provides wide variety dishes for dinner, from fresh fish carppacio, cheese platter, several kinds of pasta plates, Spanish paella, meat plates as main dish. 

As it opens without a break, it can be used as a cosy cafe on afternoon. In addition, only for weekend, it opens for breakfast from 9 a.m. It's a good idea to leave your hotel or room from early morning on weekend and, after having breakfast at Cielo y rio, to visit Asakusa in the morning, less crowded time. 

 

 

Restaurant name: Riverside Cafe Cielo y Rio

Address: 2-15-5 Kuramae, Taito-ku, Tokyo

Website: http://cieloyrio.com

     

大きな地図で見る

beer & cafe BERG, Shinjuku (新宿) the last small shop at Shinjuku Station

I do not know any other restaurant like Berg, nor how I can explain the type of the restaurant.

The small cafe is only 30 seconds from East exsit of JR Shinjuku station or on B1 (underground) floor of Lumine Est shopping complex.

Beer & cafe Berg opens from morning, serving breakfast. For lunch time, It offers Japanese style curry set, German plate (ham, salami and bread on a plate), with option of a glass of beer or wine. On evening, it looks like a cozy bar.

For a half of the floor standing bar counter occupies, while small chairs and tables each for two people stay close each other in the small restaurant. Japanese business men in gray suites, students in jeans, a lady reading a book hang on the counter, enjoyeing their meal with beer or wine on evening.

 

At least what we know about Berg,

it is an indipendent (non-chain affiliate) cafe

aiming at "cafe culture" mix of German, French and British style

leving from profit-first management way.

At the small restaurant,

morning coffee is prepared by the coffee master,

authentic German style sausages, the best feature of Berg, is done by the sausage master

bread with wild yeast is baked by the baker master everyday.

Although many of single menu at Berg cost less than 500 yen, quality of food & drink is very important for the owner and its clients, of course. 

 

The menu board is organized with photos of each plate and the staff are very friendly.

SO don't hesitate to jump in the crowd of beer & cafe Berg just for a glass of beer with sausage, breakfast or Japanese style curry lunch.

The blog title "The last small shop at Shinjuku Station" is taken from a book with the same name in Japanese and telling about the unique management style of Berg. Exactly as the book's title, it is the last small shop at the vital and very busy Shinjuku station. 

 

Restaurant name: beer & cafe Berg

Address: 3-38-1 Shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo

Website: http://www.berg.jp

 This is the message from beer & cafe Berg that we can find on the paper sheet, to understand more (or less?) about the cafe.

 

Grilled tea (ほうじ茶) parfait at Morinoen, Ningyocho (人形町)

Ningyocho (人形町), literally meaning "dolls town", is an interesting district for a stroll in east Tokyo. The name reportedly comes from the history of the town where a few of Japanese traditional puppet theaters had been there or where a lot of puppeteers lived there in Edo period. Nowaday one of major theaters for Kabuki and other plays, Meijiza (明治座), stands on the town. 

Apart from Meijiza, many small shops, bars, restaurants and studio of Japanese traditional craftwork can be found in the district. Many of them have been loved and supported by local clients for long years. In the heart of Tokyo, Ningyocho reminds us a good old day of Japan, while walking and shopping around at the town. It exist in a town of 10 minutes drive from Tokyo station where tens of Shinkansen bullet trains run in and out. 

Morinoen (森乃園) is one of such small but great shops. The tea shop with a century long history is specialized in Hojicha (焙じ茶), Japanese grilled tea. If you walk down the main street of Ningyocho on weekday afternoon, you may sense the roasting tea aroma. The scent comes from the second floor of Morinoen making grilled tea. The brown tea has excellent flavor and joy different from fresh green tea. It gives you a calm peaceful moment.

It will be a good idea to get a pack of Hojicha, Japanese grilled tea at Morinoen for souvenir. What can't miss at Morinoen is not only the tea leaf.

On the second floor, the tea shop offers a cozy tea salon, next to the studio making tea grilled. The small space is filled by local guests and staff are running around to serve them.

The list of attractive Japanese sweets from ice cream parfait, anmitsu (beans paste and syrup), sweet bean soup to dumplings, will make you be in trouble to select just one or two from them. So let's take the one very unique to the tea store.

This is it, Hojicha ice cream parfait

Ice cream, jelly and cream, all of Hojicha flavor

as well as small pieces of cake, dumplings

fill a tall glass.

 

That is another way to enjoy the grilled tea introduced by the tea shop master.

Why not try it?

 

Tea store and cafe name: Morinoen 森乃園

Official website: http://morinoen.jp/

Address: 2-4-9 NIhonbashi-Ningyocho, Chuo-ku, Tokyo 

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Cafe MUJI - simple but good quality like its products

You may know Japanese varaiery store "MUJI". The shops offers huge range of selections from funiture, stationary, fashion items to grocary foods etc, almost everything you need for your daily life. We believe that the store concept "simple" attract people across borders and regardless culture, language or gender. That is same in Japan, the origin country. MUJI might be a part of life for many people.

In addition to the retail outlets, in Japan, MUJI runs cafe in some places and a few of them are located in central Tokyo, such as Shinjuku, Aoyama or Yurakucho.

Cafe MUJI, which we introduce here, is in Hibiya or close to the Imperial Palace. The cafe is not attached to the brand's retail store but is accommodated in a hotel called "remm Hibiya". We can say it is on a prime location location surrounded by the Imperial Hotel, Hibiya Park and JR Yurakucho station. But the cafe on the secound floor is quite peaceful with wooden chairs and tables, and sunlight from large windows.

Well about the food offered at Cafe MUJI.

 As same with MUJI products, food & drink at Cafe MUJI are never be gorgeous but are sought for the quality and rustic. For example, on the website, it introduces ingredients carefully selected by them and how they are good in term of quality and nutrition; rice of rich-mineral, 100% cane sugar, preservative-free lemons etc. 

The cafe offers the food in delicatessen style. You can select main and side dishes from the counter showcase. Many include more than a few kinds of fresh seasonal vegetables and they are appetizing colorful It is really hard to select just a few plates for a meal.

The lunch set includes "rice with 10 grains" (十穀米) that helps you with taking mineral, fiber and vitamin. You cannot be unhealthy at this cafe.

 

After meal or during tea time, it provides interesting selections of soft drinks from fair trade coffee, Rainforest Alliance Certified orange juice, to fresh ginger ale.

 

It looks gorgeous with a chandelier

No no, can you recognize that it is made with simple glass bottles  

Cafe name: Cafe MUJI

Address: 2nd floor, 1-2-1 Yurakucho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo

Official site (Japanese): http://www.muji.net/shop/cafemeal.html   

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Amanoya, a good-old-day cafe next to Kanda Myojin Shrine

In Japan, a school year almost ends and we see students holding graduation ceremonies at any kind of schools from elementary to universities. Some of these students must have visited the Kanda Shrine, which has 1300 years history as the guardian of Edo or Tokyo, one or a few months before taking entrance examination, wishing their success in the challenges. Winter season including New Year is the busiest time for Shrines, when they need warmly to welcome prayers with each strong wish.

So the small cafe, being proud of 160 years history along with the shrine, does. Amanoya under the 6th generation shop manager owns a food store and Japanese style cafe located just nest to the red gate of Kanda Myojin. The food store is known for Amazake (甘酒, sweet hot rice wine) and its food products made of soy beans, such as Natto (納豆, fermented beans with very strong odor) and Miso (味噌, as well fermented beans paste, used for miso-soup in many cases). Amazake is a good item for a short break after visiting the shrine.

If you can take longer relaxing time than just a cup of Amazake, open the small door with wooden frame, just next to the small food store maybe packed with even a few visitors. Both the food store and old cafe are operated by same owner and have same name "Amanoya" (天野屋). 

Enter and look at inside. The world is completely different from what we can see in Akihabara noisy electric shopping town, still a kilometer away from there. 

 

Could not imagine such peaceful space with small courtyard.

Objects, sign boards, clocks and everything can be seen at the cafe

represent "good old days" of Japan

that we have almost forgotten in our modern digital life. 

 

Wow I felt as if I came to grand-parents' old house. It is a kind of time-trip.

 

As for the food, Amanoya offers many traditional dessert and food plates that would never tarnished the good-old-day atmosphere. 

 

As a few examples...

Warabi mochi (わらび餅, traditional cake made from starch)

It is enough soft to be escaped from thrust by a folk.

 

 

Konjaku potato cake with sweet miso paste.

It must be good match with sake or beer rather than Japanese green tea.

 

Other plates by Amanoya include Mochi (rice cakes) or Anmitsu (Japanese style parfait) and shredded ice with syrup in Summer.

 

Kanda Myojin Shrine and Amanoya are situated between two JR stations Ochanomizu and Akihabara. It takes less than 10 minutes walk from the well-known electric shopping town Akihabara. It is a good idea to stroll up a hill to the Shrine before or after shopping around modern Japanese products. Then you will see the opposite side of Japanese culture as well.

 

Cafe name: Amanoya (天野屋)

Address: 2-18-5 Soto-Kanda, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo

Website in Japanese: http://www.amanoya.jp/

Website of Kanda Myojin Shrine in Japanese: http://www.kandamyoujin.or.jp/

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Las Chicas - No worry, totally international!!

We understand that sometimes you would like totally to be released from uneasiness of language barrier in this country, even though you have been happy to come to Japan. 

So today we introduce a cafe & restaurant with very international atmosphere in Aoyama, Tokyo. It means, at the restaurant you do never have to worry whether they have English menu, whether the staff understand English or whether the meal provided there would satisfy you.

Las Chicas is located a few hundred meters away from Aoyama's main street Route 246 or Aoyama Street. The restaurant is surrounded by green plants and the environment is incredibly peaceful in the middle of the most fashionable town of Tokyo. It is as if we came to a resort destination. When the weather is fine, you can also enjoy the peaceful time with breeze on the terrace. 

Entering into the modern cafe restaurant, you may find a few staff obviously who are not Japanese national. Yes they are happy to welcome you in perfect English. No Japanese language necessary here. Here we Japanese rather could worry whether the staff speak Japanese...

On the bilingual menu, you will find ones that are very familiar with you, burger, pizza, penne, club sandwiches, even Buffalo Wings, Fish & Chips etc. 

While waiting for your orders, enjoy looking at the big screen broadcasting English program or chatting with staff there. 

You must feel that you were in your home country. It is the atmosphere Las Chicas has created. 

The cafe restaurant opens from lunch time to late evening without a break. 

On afternoon, it must be a good place to have a break with a cup of coffee or tea. The sweets offered they are also in "non-Japanese" style. They are bigger and sweeter enough to satisfy your appetite 

 

Restaurant name: Las Chicas

Official website: http://www.vision.co.jp

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Vegetable plant in SUBWAY sandwich restaurant

You may be able to find SUBWAY sandwich restaurant in your country too.

But, does the restaurant have a "vegetable plant" on site? 

 

Yes 

 

SUBWAY sandwich restaurant in Marunouchi Building Tokyo does grow green leaf vegetable in a plant located on the center of the firtst food chain restaurant. Tables and chairs are placed around the glass-wall plant case. The harvested leaf of lettuce is, of course like at normal SUBWAY unit, served there for your sandwich.

Like this

 

Enjoy your sandwich with very very fresh vegetable, while making sure where it is from on your own eyes

  

Marunouchi is a business district in very central Tokyo. The area is facing to JR Tokyo station, one of the largest terminal of Tokyo as well as holds headquater offices of major national banks and government ministries. It is also a place whose land price is one of the heighest in Japan.

So how much the value of lettuce leaf harvested in Marunouchi???  It must be more tasty if you eat it, while thinking of that

 

 

Restaurant name: SUBWAY Marunouchi Yasai Lobo

Address: B1 floor Marunouchi Building, 2-4-1 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 

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Toraya Cafe, Roppongi (トラヤカフェ, 六本木)

Toraya (虎屋) is an established sweets maker born in Kyoto over five hundreds years ago. The Japanese traditional sweets producer, mostly known for their high quality Yokan (羊羹, red beans cake), offers their modern Western style products in different way from their Yokan.

Toraya Cafe at Roppongi Hills, highend shopping complex in Roppongi, looks ordinary modern cafe from outside along Keyakizaka street. Its dessert menu is not what we can find at ordinary Western style cafe, for example cheese cake, chocolate tarte etc.

Fresh sweets at Toraya Cafe are created with the knowledge and skills by the established Japanese traditional sweets producer. Japanese ingredients such "an" (餡, sweet red beans paste) and matcha (抹茶, green tea) are mainly used. We can also recognize their new challenges to generate good harmony with non-Japanese ingredients like cacao. They look like Western style dessert but the flavour remains Japanese taste. 

Another point, what can't be missed is, unlike ordinary modern cafe, Toraya Cafe provides Japanese tea on the menu list, which must be also good combination with Toraya sweets.

Try the interesting fusion between East and West and also between tradition and modern.

Cafe name: Toraya Cafe at Roppongi Hills

Address: Roppongi Hills, Roppongi-Keyakizaka street, 6-12-2 Roppongi, MInato-ku, Tokyo

Website: http://www.toraya-cafe.co.jp/

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Rose Bakery in COMME des GARCONS, Marunouchi Tokyo

"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

Hidden luxury oasis in Roppongi - The Ritz-Carlton Cafe & Deli

Anyone believes that it is very expensive to have even a cup of coffee at the Ritz-Carlton hotel. The cafe would break such preconceptions.

The Ritz-Carlton Cafe & Deli is accommodated in luxury shopping complex "Tokyo Midtown" in central Roppongi. Of course it is a part of the sophisticated upscale hotel. While most of the hotel's facilities are on the 45th or upper floors of the building, Cafe & Deli is situated on the ground (1st) floor. It is easily accessible from exterior of the building or other parts of Tokyo Midtown. No psychological barrier can be felt to visit one of the most luxury accommodation in Tokyo, as long as you are appropriately dressing for it.

The price of coffee is nothing change from ones at Starbucks and other coffee shops. For its lunch set, the price starts from Yen 1000 for sandwich and coffee. Considering the quality and service level provided there, as you can imagine, it is really value for money choice.

 

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Enjoy a graceful moment with high quality light meal or sweets at the Ritz-Carlton but only with small amount of investment!

Some food and drinks are also available for take-away.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cafe name: The Ritz-Carlton Cafe & Deli

Addess: Tokyo Midtown 9-7-1, Akasaka, Tokyo

Website: http://www.ritzcarlton.com/en/Properties/Tokyo/Dining/Cafe_Deli/Default.htm