Tokyo: The Healthy Locavore Guide to Eating and Drinking

Eating and Drinking Guide: Two Weeks in Tokyo

From standing sushi shops to century-old knife shops to elaborate tea experiences, Tokyo is every cook’s paradise.

Piss Alley

As I boarded my flight, back to Honolulu, leaving Tokyo behind, I felt a rush of excitement. Not to get home, although it is always wonderful to return to Honolulu, but for what was to come. My first trip to Japan, my two weeks in Tokyo, was only an introduction to what I would experience there in the future. 

Tokyo was not one of those, “OK! Been there, done that!” trips, it was an opening to a new portal of travels yet to come. I had ridden dozens of trains, crossed bridges, walked (I’ll say it) hundreds of miles, and only (and hopefully) I had just scratched the surface. I had fulfilled my big goals so that I can return to enjoy the little things: more back alleys, more off-the-beaten paths, more aimless walks. 

I’m excited to make more friends in Japan and keep in touch with the ones I just made, so we can catch up when I return. I’m excited to try more foods, explore the countryside, and visit other areas like Osaka, Kyoto, Sapporo, and Hokkaido. 

You cannot begin to grasp what Japan has to offer until you see it for yourself. It is thousands of orderly lines moving in ten different directions. It is bowing deeply from your waist in front of the chef. It is clapping two times after a heartfelt prayer. It is waiting in line for good coffee. It is the loud sound of slurping all around you. It is standing on trains, paying attention to where you are walking, and saying “Kanpai!” before you eat or drink. 

After forty-two years of living on this earth, I’ve had the opportunity to experience many different countries and cultures. Never have I seen the level of honor, humility, and care I witnessed in Japan. To be there is to enjoy the feeling of presence. From others and from yourself. It is the ultimate opportunity to practice mindfulness because there it is just so easy and ordinary to do. 

I look forward to going back again and again for years to come and know there will be something new and old to thrill me again each time, commanding me joyfully into the present.

Getting there:

It takes 9 1/2 hours to fly to Tokyo from Honolulu. If you are flying from the continental US, I recommend a layover here, before heading over. Fly into Haneda Airport. When you get through immigration follow the signs for the “Keikyu line.” On the far right you will find a wall with three machines. Look at the sign on the wall to find out how much it costs to travel to your destination and purchase a ticket for that amount. For example, I was going to Shinagawa station, so I purchased a 300 yen ticket to get there. Follow the Keikyu signs to the train entrance. Get on the blue line going north. Make sure you see your station on the map, if you don’t you are likely going in the wrong direction. Course correct.

Once you get to your destination, purchase a Suiza Card. Load it with 5000 yen. Now, you don’t have to worry about purchasing a train ticket whenever you get on the train. It works with all local trains. You can even use it on vending machines. At the end of your trip bring it to the ticket office at the train station you purchased it at and they will refund the remaining balance on the card.

Don’t be intimidated by the map of the train systems in Tokyo. All you need is the Apple or Google Maps app on your phone. Type in your destination, choose “transit” and follow the directions. The app will tell you which train to take, which train station exit to leave from and give you walking directions once you are outside. This is all you will need to get around, I promise. On that note, bring a portable charger so your phone doesn’t run out of juice halfway through the day.

Accommodations:

I recommend a budget hotel. It will be affordable, nice and have all of the amenities you need. Our budget hotel in Shinagawa had the following (most hotels of all kinds will have these for you):

  • Shampoo & conditioner

  • Bodywash

  • Shaver and shaving cream

  • Hairbrush

  • Toothbrush

  • Hair dryer

  • Pajamas

  • Q-tips

  • Toilet drops

  • Linen/Garment refreshening spray

Shibuya Scramble (view from Starbucks)

My perfect day in Tokyo:

9:00am - Coffee at Onibus in Nakameguro (if it is sakura season take a walk by the river afterward)

10:30am - Pastries from City Bakery at Nakameguro Station

11:30am - Tokyo Photographic Art Museum at Yebisu Place (Ebisu)

1:30pm - Lunch at Brown Rice by Neals' Yard Remedies in Omotesando

3:00pm - Sakurai Tea Experience in Omotesando

4:30pm - Yoyogi Park for a stroll or a nap

6:00pm - SG Club for cocktails

7:30pm - Dinner at Grigio in Daikanyamacho

9:30pm - Bar Martha in Ebisu

City Bakery

Tokyo recommendations by neighborhood:

Shibuya

  • Shibuya Scramble (you can get a good view on the 2nd floor of Starbucks)

  • SG Club (3 cocktail bar concepts in one)

  • JBS bar (Jazz Blues Soul, listening bar)

  • Hashida-ya (Jidori Chicken & hot pot)

  • Shizen (modern kaiseki)

Kyushu Jangara Ramen

Omotesando

  • Tokyo Whisky Library

  • Brown Rice by Neals' Yard Remedies (organic vegan Japanese cuisine)

  • Sakurai Tea Experience (tea & wagashi tasting)

  • KOFFEE MAMEYA (Speciality coffee like Jingumae coffee, one-on-one service)

  • Call Cafe (lunch or dinner with natural wine and specialty goods market)

Tokyo Whiskey Library

Shinjuku

  • Isetan depachika (extensive collection of fresh and prepared foods, pastries, food gifts, etc.)

  • New York Bar (Live jazz, cocktails and dinner at Park Hyatt)

  • Golden Gai (200 tiny bars in 3 blocks)

  • Piss Alley (Lively spot for dining. Good yakitori)

  • Bar BenFiddich (Top 50 bar, reservations are necessary)

  • B&F Bar (Bar BenFiddich’s sister bar downstairs, excellent “dealer’s choice” cocktails)

  • Bar Composition (Underground oasis for cocktails, some on the bizarre side)

  • Kappo Nakajima restaurant (sardines)

  • Meiji Shrine (Haruki Murakami runs here!)

  • Tonkatsu Wako (Lunch set w/ tiny pork cutlets, miso soup with tiny clams, pickles, rice, cabbage)

  • Verve Coffee Roasters (Specialty Coffee shop and roaster from SF)

  • Yoyogi park (For relaxation)

  • Kamome Books + Weekender Coffee (Specialty coffee like Worka, light roast from Ethiopia)

  • Kinokuniya (bookstore)

  • Standing Sushi Bar

Matcha Old Fashioned at B&F Bar

Harajuku

  • Clothes and costumes shopping (some shoppers dress up in costumes on Sundays)

  • Chicago Thrift Store

  • Kyushu Jangara Ramen

Ebisu

  • Bar Martha (Listening bar)

  • Ramen Kamuro (Chicken ramen)

  • Sushiya-ono (Sushi)

  • Ebisu Yokocho (Drinking and late-night eating)

New York Bar at Park Hyatt

Daikanyama

  • Grigio (French and Spanish tapas. Order a glass of Spanish red with the Sauteed hatsu (heart) with Cajon-spiced green mustard sauce and the pan-roasted house-made pork sausage with potato puree)

  • Vintage stores (Stroll around, they are sprinkled everywhere)

  • Heavenly Island Lifestyle (Healthy, island-style grinds. Same as the one in Waikīkī!)

  • Tsutaya Books

Nihonbashi

  • Mitskoshi depachika (basement of department store carrying an extensive collection of fresh and prepared foods, pastries, food gifts, etc.)

  • Itoen Wa no Cha (Tea tasting inside Mitskoshi depachika)

  • Tsuruya Yoshinobu (Wagashi tasting)

  • Kiya (knives and kitchen tools in Coredo Muromachi 1)

  • Okui Kaiseido (Kombu, Coredo Muromachi 2)

  • Ninben Nihonbashi Honten (Bonito flakes, Coredo Muromachi 1, Mitsui Hall)

  • Sennen Kojiya / Hakkaisan (Sake tasting & amazake)

  • Mikado Kissaten (Opened in1948. Order the toast breakfast set, Nihonbashi blend coffee, Mocha soft serve, Coffee jelly)

Ninben Nihonbashi Honten

Ginza

  • Ginza Akebono (Mochi)

  • Takashimaya (Eel)

  • Mitskoshi depachika (Basement of department store carrying an extensive collection of fresh and prepared foods, pastries, food gifts, etc.)

  • Ginza Sweets March (desserts)

  • Tsutaya Books

Ginza Akebono

Ueno Park

  • Museums

  • Ameyoko market (open market with plenty of ingredients and prepared foods)

Tsukiji

  • Tsukiji Outer Market (Closed Wed & Sun. *Note: Inside the old fish market there is still one fresh fish vendor and also the place to get cash back for duty-free purchases.)

    • Wagyu skewer with horseradish cream

    • Dried fish of all kinds

    • Nuts

    • Beans

    • Seaweed

    • Pickles

    • Fruits and vegetables

    • Uni

    • Unagi rice bowls

    • Soft Serve - try the white peach!

    • Masahisa (handmade knives)

    • Nenohi (knives)

    • Tsukiji Hitachiya (kitchen tools)

Tsukiji Outer Market - Unagi rice bowl

Downtown

  • East Imperial gardens

  • Imperial Palace (cannot visit, only see from a distance)

  • Palace Hotel (high tea and Evian spa)

  • Koko Head Cafe (Chef Lee Anne Wong’s 2nd location. Local Hawai’i food. Try the Saimin, hummus, lilikoi souffle, pina coladas, french toast, fruit plate. Hell, it's ALL good. There are also lots of other good restaurants in the same building! )

  • Ippodo tea (Marunouchi bulding)

  • Mr. Farmer (farm-to-table cafe)

Palace Hotel

Asakusa  

  • Kappabashi

    • Dengama (ceramics)

    • Kiwami (knives)

    • Kappa-iida (kitchen tools)

    • Seisuke (knives)

    • Kamata (knives)

    • Majimaya (confectionery tools)

  • Asakusa Open Market 

Suidobashi

  • REC Coffee (Specialty coffee like Geisha or Panama/Honduras blend, pastries and honey toast)

Jimbocho

  • Kitazawa Bookstore

  • Bohemians guild

  • Magnif (zinebocho)

  • Book Hotel

Wako Tonkatsu

Nakameguro

  • Onibus Coffee shop

  • Meguro River/canal (cherry blossom trees)

  • City Bakery (black sesame kouign-amann) 

Sumida City

  • Single-O

  • Leaves Roasters

  • Chin Chinte (Japanese style Chinese food, local spot)

  • Sumo wrestling arena (Ryogoku )

Single O Coffee

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