After resting up from our early morning trip to the fish market on Monday, we decided we needed a somewhat low-key day. We chose to head to Ginza, just a few stops away from our hotel on the subway. It's the area of town dotted with high end boutiques and restaurants and often referred to as Japan's equivalent of Rodeo Drive or Madison Avenue. Above is a photo of me in the subway, which we now consider ourselves pros at navigating. Our first stop: lunch. We were starving.
We are loving Japanese food. Back in NY, we used to think of Sushi, tempura, or "Benihana" as Japanese cuisine. Today we discovered "Shabu-Shabu" - where you boil all of your food in hot water, similar to the Hot Pot I tried in China. While it might sound a bit weird, it is delicious. Above is Brian struggling a bit with his soba noodle soup. This was our final dish after having a snow crab salad (not boiled), thinly sliced, tender boiled beef, veggies, tofu, and clear noodles. The staff was incredibly nice to guide Brian and I through the meal as we were never sure what could go in when, when to "shabu shabu" (seems to mean 'stir it around') and when it was finished cooking.
After lunch, we got our first real glimpse of the beauty of Ginza. Above is a dessert display from the basement food court of the Matsuya department store. Like in London's Harrod's, the department stores are famous for over-the-top displays in their basement food halls. As soon as we saw this, we began the hours-long exercise of figuring out exactly what treasure we were going to order!
We then continued on to discover the main avenues and adorable brick side streets of Ginza. Below is Brian in front of a door to a Japanese restaurant - he seemed so tall in comparison!
Above: This is Barney's in Ginza. An incredibly sleek building that effectively blends new and old.
Though sleek, Ginza still had some more traditional elements such as the street vendor above.
A view of the glitzy lights of Ginza's stores.
Back home, this is Brian in front of the lights of Tokyo Midtown Tower where our hotel is located. Rappongi, the area in which we are staying, has two new developments like this one (the other is called Rappongi Hills). Very high end, high design, multi-use shopping/dining/hotel/entertainment centers that were meant to spruce up this once seedy area. They have more than succeeded. No detail was overlooked - each little nook is more beautifully designed than the next and you can't help but notice the twinkling sounds of music in the background and the sound of running water everywhere you go.... even as you enter the subway. Oh, how we love Japanese style. Makes for an excellent home away from home in Tokyo....
To end our day, we had to see what you get when you cross a Brazilian, a Russian, and two tired Americans.....
This is quite possibly the most incredible dinner table we have ever dined at! Brian's friend, Eduardo, was able to book a table at the Rappongi Hills Club, a private club on the 47th floor of the Rappongi Hills complex. The view and the overall setting took our breath away. We sat around this table in a private room with our own chef who cooked the most incredible Tapinyaki meal for us (think Benihana style). The menu:
- A small dish of traditional Japanese vegetables mixed with a creamy tofu sauce
- Crab soup served in our own individual mini copper pots
- The most perfect lightly crisp yet soft garlic toasts
- A green salad with choice of three dressings: carrot, citrus, or spicy onion
- The chef then began placing small grilled items on our plate that we could choose to dip into any one of the four dipping sauces in front of us: toasted rice squares, grilled eggplant, yams, mushrooms, and the most tender beef we have ever had.
- To finish, we had a dish of vanilla ice cream and moved to the bar for a cocktail.
Big smiles below after our meal: R to L, Nadia, Eduardo, Brian, me
This is the view from the bar, you can see Tokyo Tower (like the Eiffel Tower but smaller) in the distance. All in all, an incredible meal to top off another incredible day in Tokyo. We're off to Kyoto this morning on the bullet train (2 hours and 20 minutes for a ride that would normally take 8 hours by car). We are so excited to see what Kyoto has to offer. We are leaving the computer here in Tokyo, so we'll be back online on Thursday! Hope everyone is doing well!!
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